What was your first acoustic guitar? Mine was a super cheap Yamaha classical guitar. I still own it and I still love it.
Here’s the thing, there are 100+ of these best acoustic guitar brand lists. Even we have one that our epic-bearded DL Shepherd put together. But the article you are just checking out…this is way cooler than any list put together by 1 person (no offense Darren, your list is great). You, me, and our guitarist buddies decide what acoustic guitar brand is the best. Ready? Let’s go.
PS. I give a hidden hint of who I voted for on this page, can you spot it? Go to the comments and leave your thoughts.
Author: Teemu Suomala
I first grabbed the guitar in 2009. I started this website in January 2020 because I couldn’t do window installation anymore due to my health problems. I love guitars and have played dozens and dozens of different guitars through different amps and pedals over the years, and also, building a website interested me, so I decided to just go for it! I got lucky and managed to get awesome people to help me with my website.
I also got lucky because I have you visiting my website right now. Thank you. I do all this for you guys. If you have any recommendations, tips, or feedback, just leave a comment, I would love to chat with you. I have also been fortunate to produce content for several large guitar websites, such as Songsterr, Musicnotes, GuitarGuitar, and Ultimate Guitar.
I spend my spare time exercising and hanging out with my wife and crazy dog (I guess that went the right way…).
Dude. Help us reach 10000 votes. Share with your buddies.
The more people vote, the more amazing this will be. I bet your buddies will find this cool too.
Best Acoustic Guitar Brands of The Universe & all time
If you do not see your fav acoustic guitar brand here…I know. You want to push me off the cliff. But take a deep breath. And then leave this guitar brand’s name in the comments and I’ll add that to this battle of all time. (Special thanks to Richard who took the time and emailed me to remind me of Emerald guitars.)
Instruction: Choose 1 and go hit the “Vote” button below this amazing acoustic brands list.
Imagine Having The Technique, Gear, and Sound of The GOATS… But Don’t just imagine. Find out.
Joe Satriani
Main Band
Solo Artist
Main Guitar
Ibanez Joe Satriani Signature JS2480
Joe Satriani
| Uniqueness | (4.5) |
| Accuracy | (5.0) |
| Speed | (5.0) |
| Right Hand | (5.0) |
| Techniques | (5.0) |
| Versatility | (3.5) |
| Performance | (4.5) |
| Overall Lead | (5.0) |
| Overall Rhythm | (4.5) |
Tommy Emmanuel
Main Band
Solo Artist
Main Guitar
Maton TE Personal
Tommy Emmanuel
| Uniqueness | (3.5) |
| Accuracy | (4.5) |
| Speed | (5.0) |
| Right Hand | (5.0) |
| Techniques | (5.0) |
| Versatility | (4.0) |
| Performance | (4.0) |
| Overall Lead | (5.0) |
| Overall Rhythm | (5.0) |
Steve Vai
Main Band
Solo Artist
Main Guitar
Ibanez Steve Vai JEM77
Steve Vai
| Uniqueness | (4.5) |
| Accuracy | (5.0) |
| Speed | (5.0) |
| Right Hand | (4.5) |
| Techniques | (5.0) |
| Versatility | (3.0) |
| Performance | (4.5) |
| Overall Lead | (5.0) |
| Overall Rhythm | (4.5) |
Have your say on these subjects too!
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The 5 Most Famous Electric Guitars of All Time (with voting!)
Dude. Help us reach 10000 votes. Share with your buddies.
The more people vote, the more amazing this will be. I bet your buddies will find this cool too.
Conclusion
Thank you x1000 for voting. If you didn’t…well, that’s weird. Contributing is always worth it. Being NPC is not. That’s just the truth. Anyway…I and everyone here at GND respect you. Thank you for coming here and if you enjoyed your visit, come again. See ya!
When you play them is just fell good and good sound ! It’s just me ,
Hi Dave and thanks for visiting us here at GND! You are talking about Martin?
My overall favorite major brand for consistency, depth of tone, and intonation is Martin. I have a fairly new D28 that I like a lot. It has a Baggs Anthem pickup which is great. Martin has a lot of very nice models. That said, I have a wonderful old Guild G37 from the 70s with great tone, but the neck isn’t as easy to play as some. I once played a Recording King 00028 copy with a very compelling sound, and a friend has an Epiphone Hummingbird with truly remarkable tone. It all comes down to what you want to hear in a guitar, and how it plays in your hands.
Hi Paul! All true, 100%. I would also add that the brand image person has build in his head also contributes on how a person hears and feels the guitar. PS. I had forgotten Recording King from this list. Just added them, thanks for reminding!
Blackbird makes a few interesting guitars. In my opinion their best is one that was discontinued a few years ago. It was called the Blackbird Lucky 13. It’s a carbon fiber guitar with 13 frets free of the body and has the feel of modern Robert Johnson style guitar.
Hi Tom! I didn’t know Blackbird at all. But now I know, thank you! I added it to the battle. And yes, they do make some really cool looking acoustics. Sound ports seem to be the thing for them. Really cool. Checked Lucky 13 sound demo, sounds amazing! Thank you for visiting and commenting!
No Worries. You asked for the “The Best Acoustic Guitar Brands of the Universe & All Time”. Blackbird has done some interesting work much like the recently defunct Rainsong. I like a lot of the brands and many have great guitars, but the game changing brand (for the better IMHO) in your list is probably Emerald. They didn’t invent guitars (like we could arguably say Martin did with the flattop), but they have made more innovations in the last 2 decades than anyone else carbon fiber or wood combined.
Yes, Emerald seems really cool. Hopefully I can test one in the future!
Actually, you (or anyone) can probably test one in the near future with little effort. Emerald has a program called the Ambassador program where some Emerald guitar owners are willing to meet with anyone in their area to let them try a chord or two.
Go to https://emeraldguitars.com/ambassador-program/
Cool & thanks! Even in cold Finland? haha
PS. How many votes so far? It seems to be changing by a little everyday, but I can’t tell if there’ve been a thousand votes or a million.
2,473 right now. It has to be noted that Emerald shared this on their social media. If all the others would do the same, results would be different.
The best guitar is a Mc Connell made in Canada
Thank you Fox. You might be right, at least those look totally awesome! I added them to the race
I like the Gibson Hummingbird the best.
Thank you for commenting Rob. Yes, to me as well that’s probably in top 5. Excellent instrument.
I played one for a while. The Blackbird Lucky 13 has the same scale length and is a much better guitar all around. I still have a Lucky 13, and I don’t have a Hummingbird these days. I think Blackbird made a mistake when they stopped making them.
They might bring that back at some point…hopefully.
How bout Cole Clark? I have the little lady RDBL I do think they can be a good choice too.
Thank you, I added them! I love these little bit smaller brands. That’s one reason I put this together, to people and I discovering new stuff!
I’m going to preface this with this: I’m really new to guitar. <2 years
My parents still had their old guitar. As it turns out, it's a '58 Gibson J45. It plays so nice, sounds absolutely perfect. I've tried a few others and heard people play many more . I still love the J more but I may be biased lol
That’s an amazing guitar. I wish I had ’58 Gibson Acoustic…would be awesome. Thank you for commenting and visiting!
To be able to answer this question, anyone would need to own at least one model of each of these brands at least for a year. Not many people including me have the luxury to do that. …and the comparison has to include several different budgets and categories. … So, most players can actually have an uninformed opinion….
Hi Robert and thanks for visiting! Yes, but even tho someone would have all the models from all the brands, someone could still argue that the opinion is uninformed, so I just figured out to let people revel their opinions, haha
Breedlove
What about ibenez? I have a Aw 40 that sounds like heaven!
Hi Ross and thanks for commenting! Maybe Ibanez is seen more as an electric brand. That’s where their focus still is. Many overlook their acoustics.
AV way underated
You mean Alvarez? Thank you for commenting tho!
Spend the extra $ and just buy a Martin and be done with it a mate for the rest of your life as long as you look after it
Thanks for commenting Brad! Yes, that could work really well. Same applies to many smaller guitar builders btw. And well, to Yamaha.
I have the 214ce and the A10. The electronics in the 214ce were horrible, but I liked the playability so much that I installed a Fishman Sonitone pickup. The A10 wasn’t electric so I installed a Fishman also. They both sound and play great, plugged in or not.
Hello John and thanks for commenting! Taylors are awesome. My favorite is 814ce. It’s amazing IMO.
I actually think LAG guitars are the very best!
Hello Doug! I added them! Thanks!
Lowden
Thank you John! I added Lowden!