Last Updated on November 22, 2023 by Teemu Suomala
Tuning is a necessary evil of guitar playing. And because of that, it’s smart to make it as easy as possible…
Enter: Acoustic Guitars With Built-In Tuner.
Having your acoustic equipped with a workable and accurate tuner make your guitar-playing journey soo much easier. You don’t have to grab your phone, look for a clip-on tuner you once again lost, etc. If you got your acoustic guitar, you also got your tuner. Awesome.
I personally love when an acoustic guitar has a built-in tuner. It’s super handy. And this is why I was pumped to put together this article that gathers the cream of the crop acoustic guitars with tuners together. I also reveal which ones of these guitars are my absolute favorites. I also tackle some FAQs related to built-in tuners.
Let’s tune in and start!
Author: Teemu Suomala
How to Know If Acoustic Guitar Has A Built-In Tuner?
A built-in tuner is usually really easy to spot on acoustic guitars. It’s located at the side of the acoustic guitar as you can see from the image above. In some guitars, tuner and preamp systems can be located from the shoulder (still at the side of the guitar) of an acoustic guitar.
Most acoustic guitar preamp systems use 9V battery as a power source.
It should be noted that some guitars, although it is rare, have tuners inside of the soundhole. See one from the photo below:
51 Acoustic Guitars With Tuner
If you are after an acoustic guitar that costs around $200, has really slim and narrow neck, offers good all-around tones, and comes with solid electronics and a tuner, Ibanez PF15 is a great option.
Price Range Icon Meanings:
$= $130-299
$$= $300-599
$$$= $600-899
$$$$= $900-1199
$$$$$= $1200-
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| Model | Electronics | Top Material | Price Range | Check Current Price (affiliate links) |
| Harley Benton CLD-60SCE NT Custom Line – Cheapest Acoustic Guitar With Tuner | HB-03 preamp with integrated tuner | Solid Spruce | $ | Thomann* |
| Washburn Vintage Series WA90CEVSB | Barcus Berry LX4 with Tuner | Laminated Linden | $ | Sweetwater |
| Ibanez PN12E | AEQ-2T Preamp W/ Onboard Tuner | Laminated Sapele | $ | Sweetwater |
| Harley Benton Santos Series C-40SCE BK – Cheapest Classical Guitar With Tuner | HB-03 pickup system with built-in tuner | Solid Spruce | $ | Thomann |
| Yamaha APXT2 3/4-size Thin-line Cutaway – Great Travel Acoustic Guitar | System 68 with ART 1-way Contact Pickup | Laminated Spruce | $ | Sweetwater |
| D’Angelico Premier Gramercy LS | D’Angelico MG-30 Preamp with Tuner | Laminated Mahogany | $ | Sweetwater– Thomann |
| Ibanez PF15ECE – Excellent Budget Acoustic Guitar for Small Hands | Ibanez under-saddle pickup, AEQ2T preamp with onboard tuner | Laminated Spruce | $ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ibanez AAD50CE Advanced | Ibanez AEQ-TP2 Preamp with Tuner | Solid Sitka Spruce | $ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Yamaha CGX102 Classical – Cheap Classical Guitar With Tuner | System 68N with Tuner | Laminated Spruce | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ibanez AW54CE | Ibanez T-bar undersaddle with AEQ-TP2 Preamp, Tuner | Solid Okoume | $$ | Sweetwater |
| Ibanez Talman TCM50 – Plays Like An Electric Guitar | AEQ2-TM preamp with built-in Tuner, AP2 Pickup | Figured Ash (laminated) | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Yamaha FGX800C Dreadnought | Yamaha System-66 with Tuner | Solid Spruce | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Fender Malibu Player – Best Budget Fender Acoustic Guitar | Fishman CD-1 Preamp with Tuner | Solid Sitka Spruce | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Epiphone J-45 EC Studio | Fishman Presys Preamp with Tuner | Solid Sitka Spruce | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ovation Applause AE44-7S Mid-depth – Excellent Plugged-In Acoustic Guitar | CE304T Preamp with Tuner | Layered Spruce | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Yamaha APX600 Thin-line Cutaway – Great Acoustic Guitar for Small Hands | System 65A Preamp with Piezo Pickup, Built-in Tuner | Laminated Sitka Spruce | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Yamaha CGX122MS – Best Budget Classical Guitar | System 73 with Tuner | Solid Spruce | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ibanez AW5412CE – Cheap 12-String Acoustic Guitar With Built-In Tuner | Ibanez T-bar undersaddle with AEQ-TP2 Preamp with Tuner | Solid Okoume | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Gretsch G5024E Rancher Dreadnought – Best Acoustic Guitar For Blues | Fishman Sonicore Pickup and Isys + Preamp System with Tuner | Solid Spruce | $$ | Sweetwater |
| Epiphone J-200EC Studio – Best Overall Epiphone With A Tuner – Check Our Favorite Epiphone Acoustics Here | Fishman Presys with Sonicore Pickup with Tuner | Solid Spruce | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Taylor Baby Taylor BT1e Walnut – Best Budget | ES-B with Tuner | Solid Sitka Spruce | $$ | Sweetwater |
| Cordoba C5-CET Thinline – Great Classical | Fishman Isys+ with onboard Tuner | Solid Canadian Cedar | $$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Alvarez AF66CESHB Artist 66 Folk – Great for Electric Players | LR Baggs StagePro EQ with Element Pickup with Tuner | Solid African Mahogany | $$$ | Sweetwater |
| Breedlove ECO Discovery S Concert CE | Fishman Presys I with Tuner | Solid Western Red Cedar | $$$ | Sweetwater |
| Yamaha A1M Dreadnought Cutaway | SRT system preamp with undersaddle pickup with Tuner | Solid Sitka Spruce | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ovation Elite Celebrity – Great for Recording | OP-4CT Preamp with Ovation Slimline Pickup with Tuner | Solid Spruce | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Takamine GN20CE | Takamine TP-4TD Preamp with Built-In Tuner | Solid Cedar | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Fender Newporter Special – Great Fender Acoustic Guitar | Fender/Fishman Preamp System with Tuner, Phase and EQ | Solid Mahogany | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Gretsch G5022CWFE Rancher Falcon Jumbo Cutaway | Fishman Sonicore and Isys+ Preamp with Tuner | Solid Spruce | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Takamine GD30CE-12, 12-String | TP-4TD with Tuner | Solid Spruce | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Taylor Baby Taylor BTe-Koa | ES-B with Tuner | Solid Hawaiian Koa | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Breedlove ECO Pursuit Exotic S Concert CE – Best Under $1000 Acoustic Guitar for Fingerstyle | Fishman Presys | Solid Myrtlewood | $$$ | Sweetwater |
| Takamine GN93CE NEX – Best Overall – More Great Takamine’s Here | Takamine TK-40D Preamp with Built-In Tuner | Solid Spruce | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Taylor Academy 10e | ES-B with Tuner | Solid Sitka Spruce | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Seagull Guitars S6 Cedar Original Presys II – Offers Excellent Value for The Money | Fishman Presys II with Tuner | Solid Cedar | $$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ovation Mod TX Super Shallow | OP Pro Preamp with OCP-1K pickup with Tuner | Solid Spruce | $$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ibanez ACFS580CE | Ibanez DP1 preamp with Tuner | Solid Alpine Spruce | $$$$ | Sweetwater |
| Martin SC-10E – Tuner Inside of The Soundhole | Fishman MX-T | Solid Spruce | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Takamine P1NC | CT4B II with Tuner | Solid Cedar | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Martin D-12E Koa – Tuner Inside of The Soundhole | Fishman MX-T | Solid Spruce | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Takamine Thinline TSP138CTB | Palathetic with Tuner | Solid Spruce | $$$$$ | Sweetwater |
| Martin SC-13E – Tuner Inside of The Soundhole | Fishman MX-T | Solid Spruce | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Takamine P3NY New Yorker – Best Premium Parlor Guitar With A Tuner | CT4B II with tuner | Solid Cedar | $$$$$ | Sweetwater |
| Takamine P3DC | CT4B II with tuner | Solid Cedar | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Takamine Legacy EF508KC | CT4B II Preamp System with 3-band EQ, Built-in Tuner, and Palathetic Under-Saddle Pickup | Solid Figured Koa | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Takamine TC132SC Nylon String – Best Premium Classical Guitar With A Tuner | CTP-3 Cool Tube 12AU7 preamp system with 3-band EQ and Tuner | Solid Cedar | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Alvarez Yairi WY1 | LR Baggs StagePro with Element Pickup with Tuner | Solid AA Western Red Cedar | $$$$$ | Sweetwater |
| Takamine JJ325SRC-12 John Jorgenson | CT4B II Preamp with Palathetic Undersaddle Pickup with Tuner | Solid Spruce | $$$$$ | Sweetwater |
| Takamine TSP178ACKN – Best Premium | Palathetic with Tuner | Solid Arched Hawaiian Koa | $$$$$ | Sweetwater |
| Gibson Acoustic Songwriter Standard EC – Check Our Favorite Gibson Acoustics Here | Fishman Prefix Plus-T Preamp, Under Saddle Pickup with tuner | Solid Sitka Spruce | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
| Ovation Adamas MD80 Cutaway Mid-depth – The Best Ovation Guitar | OP Pro Studio with Tuner | Ultra-thin Carbon Fiber | $$$$$ | Sweetwater – Thomann |
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3 Best Acoustic Guitars With Tuner
Best Budget – Taylor Baby Taylor BT1e Walnut
What I like
- 3/4 sized body and 22.75″ scale length make playing smooth
- Ebony fingerboard
- Solid Sitka spruce top for a clear and articulate tone
- Comes with a durable, rugged gig bag
- Offers the Taylor sound
- Great playability, comfortable neck
- Real Taylor at an affordable price
- Tusq nut & saddle for this price is amazing
What I don’t like
- Laminated back and sides
Who is it for?
The wood combination, use of Tusq nut & saddle, and great overall quality make this Taylor a killer budget acoustic guitar with a built-in tuner. If all this sounds good, I recommend at least trying this comfortable to play & high-value acoustic guitar out.
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Best Overall – Takamine GN93CE NEX
What I like
- Its acoustic sound is rich and bright and suitable for any style of music
- Some of the most transparent electronics at this price
- Quality tonewoods that add to the beauty and durability
- Playability is next to none when set up properly
- Great quality electronics
What I don’t like
- Sometimes subject to poor quality control due to China-based manufacturing
- Synthetic bone nut/saddle are a bummer but definitely don’t ruin the guitar
Who is it for?
The Takamine GN93CE is a well-built and great-sounding guitar that isn’t designed for a specific need…It offers a versatile tonal quality and an innovative form factor that makes it ideal for any style from folk, blues, country to bluegrass, acoustic rock, and fingerstyle.
The highlighting aspects of this guitar are its comfy NEX body, easy-to-play neck, gorgeous 3-piece back, and brilliant pickup system. If you are after a versatile and comfortable to play acoustic guitar with great-quality electronics, this Takamine is worth testing.
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Best Premium – Takamine TSP178ACKN
What I like
- Solid Arched Hawaiian Koa top and Hawaiian Koa back & sides provide warm, and articulate sound with a nice sparkling tone in it
- Made for playing plugged in and recording
- Bone nut and saddle
- Slim & narrow Slender C shaped neck feels really comfortable to play
- Great all-around quality
- Body feels comfy
What I don’t like
- Expensive
Who is it for?
If you are after
- a premium thin-body acoustic guitar that has a built-in tuner,
- sounds great unplugged but shines when plugged in,
- is comfortable to play,
- and has a slim & comfortable neck and body…
…Takamine TSP178ACKN is a great option. Also, dunno if you noticed, it’s one of the most stunning acoustics I have ever seen.
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FAQ
Are Built-In Acoustic Guitar Tuners Worth It?
Almost always, built-in acoustic guitar tuners are worth it. I have played tons of acoustic guitars and I have never played an electric-acoustic guitar that had a tuner so bad that it was not worth using. That reveals a lot.
Are Built-In Guitar Tuners Accurate?
Built-in tuners of acoustic guitars are usually accurate. Sure, some cheapest acoustic guitars might come with somewhat inaccurate built-in tuners, but those are almost always as good as tuner apps you can download to your smartphone. As I said earlier, I have never used a built-in tuner that was completely unusable.
1 thing not going in the built-in tuner’s way is the fact that they can pick up both, the sound coming from the strings and the vibration of the body. This can make them and clip-on tuners less accurate than high-quality external tuners used with a cable.
How Well Do Built-In Acoustic Guitar Tuners Work?
Built-in acoustic guitar tuners usually work really well and smoothly. Usually, the most annoying thing you can come up with is that the tuner’s battery runs out. That’s why it’s wise to have a tuner app installed on your smartphone as a backup.
Sometimes built-in tuners can break, especially if the acoustic is under rugged use. Annoying, but always the owner’s own fault.
I have heard and read some guitarists complaining that their cheap acoustic guitar’s built-in tuner is not the most accurate. And while this might be true, it’s also true that don’t expect the world from your budget acoustic guitars.
Can You Tune An Electric Guitar With An Acoustic Tuner?
In most cases, built-in acoustic guitar tuners use the same method of capturing the pitch of a guitar as normal clip-on tuners or tuner apps on your smartphone, which is via a microphone. This is why you can tune an eclectic guitar with the built-in tuner of an acoustic guitar.
You should note that if you are tuning your electric guitar unplugged using this method, you might not get the best results since the sound coming out of your electric guitar is really quiet. To get a better result, plug your electric guitar into your amp and use the clean settings/channel and start tuning! Of course, most amplifiers do also have a tuner, so using the amps tuner is a lot simpler method to tune your electric guitar.
I also personally think that just using a tuner app on your smartphone to tune your electric guitar is an easier and as accurate method as using the built-in tuner of your acoustic guitar.
Companies Creating Built-In Tuners
There are several companies that create preamp systems that also include a tuner. Here’s a few of them:
- Fishman (most common)
- LR Baggs
- Barcus Berry
- Artec
- Belcat
Guitar Brands Manufacturing Acoustic Guitars With Buil-In Tuners
Most guitar brands manufacturing acoustic guitars also manufacture acoustic guitars with built-in tuners. Some of these brands create their own preamp systems with a tuner and some brands use preamp systems with a tuner from preamp manufacturers (such as Fishman or LR Baggs).
Here are some great brands manufacturing acoustic guitars with built-in tuners:
- Yamaha (creates own preamps with a tuner)
- Ibanez (creates own preamps with a tuner)
- Taylor (creates own preamps with a tuner)
- Gibson
- Takamine (creates own preamps with a tuner)
- Epiphone
- Ovation
- Fender
- Washburn
- Harley Benton (creates own preamps with a tuner)
- D’Angelico (creates own preamps with a tuner)
- Cordoba
- Martin
- Gretsch
- Breedlove
- Seagull
- Alvarez
If you want to learn more about pickup systems of acoustic guitars, check this guide we made for you: 4 Types of Acoustic Guitar Pickups – Which One You Should Choose?
Why Many High-End Acoustic Guitars Don’t Have Electronics or Built-In Tuners?
Many high end acoustic guitars are created respecting the traditional style of guitar building and usually don’t have all the bells and whistles the guitar market has to offer. Also, creators of high end acoustic guitars want that the guitar vibrates as freely as it can and that it offers natural resonance. Built-in tuners can be on the way of achieving the best results regarding the resonance of an instrument.
Conclusion
We just glanced at some super-amazing acoustic guitars. The top-notch instruments. Best of the best acoustic guitars with tuners. Look, I can tolerate an amazing acoustic guitar without a tuner, but it’s always even better to have a tuner built-in to your guitar.
I hope this article helped you out, and maybe you even decided to get one of the guitars featured. If you have any questions, leave a comment, I and the GND team are here for you.
Now go, my son, and Rock (remember to tune first)!
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