Review: Martin’s New D-28 and D-X2E Billy Strings Signature Models
Inspired by two of Strings’ longtime musical companions, the stage-worthy D-28 and the road-ready D-X2E reflect the flatpicker's fast rise and deep roots.
Review: The Takamine FT340 BS—a Quality Modern Dreadnought Primed for the Stage or Studio
The Takamine FT340 BS is a versatile axe for the gigging acoustic guitarist who needs a consistent sound at a variety of volumes in a variety of venues.
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Review: Preston Thompson’s PKT D-EIS Is a Flatpicker’s Dream and More
This visually stunning, well-rounded flattop is ideal for a variety of musical styles and contexts.
Review: The Yamaha FG9 R Boasts Boutique Specs and a Vibrant Tone
This limited-edition beauty feels like a bespoke guitar, and it truly shines whether flatpicked or fingerpicked.
Review: Martin’s Super D and D-18 StreetLegend—Two Bold New Takes on Classic Dreadnoughts
Two new guitars that stretch the parameters of the models they take after without abandoning their core sonic or build qualities.
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Review: Gibson’s J-45 50s Faded and Keb’ Mo’ “3.0” 12-Fret J-45 Are Two New Takes on the Classic Workhorse
Both models stick to the strengths and depart from the script in terms of our preconceived ideas about the J-45 shape.
Review: Takamine’s CRN-TS1 Is a Stage-Ready Dreadnought with a Sensitive Side
Our reviewer found that for a big guitar with a big sound, the Takamine CRN-TS1 also offers an intimate quality that rewards an uncluttered approach, where notes are given the time and space to linger.
Review: Martin’s Modern Deluxe D-45 and 012-28 Are Majestic Flattops with Vintage-Inspired Designs and Modern Features
With the top-shelf Martin Modern Deluxe D-45 and 012-28 acoustic guitars, there’s no arguing with the overwhelming quality and class of the materials and craftmanship—and depth of sound.
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Guitar Review: Preston Thompson D-SMA Is a Light and Powerful Dreadnought
Handcrafted in the company's Sisters, Oregon, workshop, the Preston Thompson D-SMA has a poetic side you might not expect from an instrument of its size.
The Guild A-20 Marley Is a Cool and Affordable Re-Creation of Bob Marley’s Songwriting Guitar
For its new A-20 Marley acoustic guitar, Guild tracked down vintage Madeira models, seeking to copy most of the original details, while improving on certain aspects.
Guitar Review: Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Hummingbird
The street price on Epiphone’s "Inspired By Gibson" Hummingbird acoustic guitar? Just $799—and you get much of the vibe of its costlier Gibson counterparts.
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Review: Collings CJ-45 T Guitar
With the new CJ-45 T, Collings has delivered a new guitar that shows how much can be achieved with a mix of CNC manufacturing, handcrafting, and vision.
Guitar Review: Furch Blue MM Dreadnought Offers Warm and Surprising Tonal Colors
If I had to pick two words to describe the Furch Blue MM, they would be “Play me!” Right out of the box, this mahogany acoustic-electric dreadnought felt ready to make music.
Guitar Review: Yamaha’s FGX3 Is a Modern Folk Workhorse Inspired by 1960s Classics
The guitar has a soft, warm tone that works great for fingerpicked chord patterns and breezy strumming. When strumming chords with a pick, I found it definitely sounds best to approach the FGX3 with a more delicate touch—a thinner pick and a soft strum can go a long way—while heavy-handed strumming and picking tend to get harsh. Approached with a light to medium touch, chords sound rich while maintaining a clarity that allows individual notes to shine.
Review: Taylor’s American Dream AD27 Delivers All the Tone Without the Frills
The American Dream is alive, well, and living near San Diego, at least if you’ve been dreaming of an affordable American-made, all-solid-wood Taylor guitar. Launched in the midst of the pandemic, Taylor says its new American Dream series was “born from adversity”—an effort to make an affordable guitar available in…
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Acoustic Guitar Review: Epiphone Masterbilt Excellente Offers Modern Take on a Vintage Rarity
The Epiphone Masterbilt Excellente guitar is like a time machine—take a good look at it and you might think you’ve been transported back about 50 or so years.
Guitar Review: Gibson G-45 Studio
Gibson's G-45 Studio acoustic guitar is a more affordable cousin of its beloved namesake, the J-45 acoustic guitar. See how it stacks up on our review.
New Gear: Eastman DT30D
Eastman’s Double Top series is among the first to use the boutique-maker idea of a double top—a soundboard incorporating two outer wooden layers over a synthetic core, for enhanced sound and responsiveness—in a production steel-string guitar model.
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Guitar Review: Guild Memoir Series
Guild's Memoir series, which includes the P-240 Memoir and DS-240 Memoir acoustic guitars reviewed here, are part of the company's Westerly Collection.
Gear Review: Lâg Tramontane HyVibe 10
A collaboration between two French companies, the Lâg Tramontane HyVibe, turns the guitar’s body into a speaker that can add several different effects to your acoustic tone, loop, metronome, and interact with a smartphone app for even greater control of the preamp’s parameters.
Gear Review: Farida Old Town Series OT-65 Wide VBS and OT-25 NA
Farida's latest offerings are contemporary takes on a couple of wartime Gibson models: The OT-65 Wide VBS, inspired by the popular Gibson J-45, and the more petite 00-size OT-25 NA modeled on the lesser-known Gibson LG-3.
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Gear Review: Alvarez-Yairi Honduran DYM60HD
The partnership between Yairi and Alvarez goes back several decades, with the Alvarez-Yairi stamp reserved for Alvarez’s finest instruments. While much of Alvarez’s line is manufactured in China, the Yairi-branded guitars are made in a small shop in Kani, Japan, where modern power tools are eschewed in favor of hand tools, like spokeshaves for carving necks, and hide-glue construction is standard throughout.
Great Acoustics: Circa Guitars Steve Baughman 7/8 Dreadnought
In 2004, the fingerstyle virtuoso Steve Baughman was visiting the Source Guitar Festival in Lewiston, Maine, when he encountered a steel-string that changed his life.
Gear Review: Yamaha CSF3M and FG-TA Acoustics
The all-solid-wood CSF3M boasts scalloped bracing for enhanced tone, projection, and loudness; the TransAcoustic-equipped FG-TA dreadnought responds well to fingerpicking and flatpicking in standard and open tunings
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Gear Review: Pre-War Guitars Model-HD
Pre-War sent a model HD (herringbone dreadnought) to AG, and I knew something was up when I saw the Harptone hardshell case.
