The best acoustic and classical guitars

Even if you’ve never heard of this company, you’ve probably heard one of its guitars — it was Takamine’s guitar that Glenn Frey from Eagles was “armed with” while recording Hotel California.

This song was the impetus for the development of a previously unknown company based in post-war Japan. The use of built-in preamps in their electroacoustic guitars soon became the hallmark of the brand, and it later became a pioneer in the development of DSP (digital signal processors).

Manufacturability is generally one of the main Takamine “chips”: if American conservatives rely on the maximum use of manual labor in their advertisements, the Japanese, by contrast, make extensive use of computer-aided design and numerical control machines. And it does not harm the sound of an iota - you will be confirmed by both Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen. However, for traditionalists, Takamine also offers Pro-Series - guitars, completely made by the masters.

The company has plenty to choose from: in the more budgetary G-Series line you can find everything from three-quarter guitars and ukuleles to full-length concert dreadnoughts and acoustic bass. It is simply impossible to list all the models in our article: look in the Takamine catalog and see for yourself. No less choice in the Pro-Series - Takamine will satisfy any request and novice guitarist, and famous musician.

The assortment of the Japanese concern, whose musical roots still provide tuning forks on the emblem, a huge number of guitars - from student to professional. Having gained recognition in the 1960s with the FG series, which proved that high-level guitar can be quite affordable, by the time the Japanese company has become one of the world leaders. Billy Corgan from The Smashing Pumpkins, Scott Holiday from Rival Sons - only two musicians from a huge list of those on whose acoustic guitars you can see the Yamaha label.

Do you need maximum quality and manual assembly? For you created a series L. Powerful and clear sound with a wealth of bottoms? Pay attention to the CPX guitars.Choice for a novice musician? You will be interested in very good and inexpensive acoustic guitars of the F and FX series.

No less rich is the choice of classical guitars, especially interesting for learning, and from an early age: there are not only three-quarter guitars in the line, but also 1/2 size instruments. But the professional who prefers the classic sound of nylon strings will find the right instrument among the hand-made GCX series.

The brand's history began with acoustic guitars: it was under it that in 1929, the Japanese company Hoshino Gakki began importing instruments from a small Spanish company Salvador Ibáñez. So the debate about how to properly read this name is easily resolvable: the original Spanish master Salvador Ibáñez created guitars.

After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the Japanese began to produce their own guitars, buying the trademark rights from Salvador Ibáñez. Although now the company is known primarily for extreme seven- and eight-string electric guitars for lovers of “meat” and instruments for shredders capable of playing “The Flight of the Bumblebee” three times faster than the original, nobody forgot about acoustic guitars. In its mass, classical and acoustic Ibanez guitars are instruments of a primary and intermediate level that will become a good choice for a musician who is just starting to play or perform in small clubs. There are, nevertheless, more expensive series of high-class tools. The company also offers subscription series of famous musicians - JSA (Joe Satriani) and EP (Steve Vai), which are the most famous Ibanez endorsers.

Ibanez guitars will appeal to lovers of “non-standard” - for example, the Talman series of instruments on the outlines of a soundboard is more like a Fender Jaguar than an acoustic guitar. EWP and AEW guitars will interest those who often play on the last frets. The artificially aged Artwood Vintage Thermo Aged guitars, although they do not compare in sound with the age instruments that withstood the “natural” drying, are very interesting with their powerful resonance and good sustain.

The name of the oldest American guitar manufacturer is not as popular as the upstarts from the 20th century, but the fact that Martin has been manufacturing musical instruments since 1833 is worthy of respect and attention. This will be confirmed by such musicians as Ed Sheeran (he is not known for his role in the “Game of Thrones”), Sturgill Simpson (Grammy nominee-2015), Del McCori, who plays bluegrass and country music since 1967 and has become the numerous winner of various awards . It was Martin who in the 1920s created the “dreadnought” type corpus, for the juicy and powerful sound that was beloved first by jazzmen, and then by blues performers, and now, in fact, has become the standard choice for a concert game. The same company came up with the X-shaped arrangement of the springs under the top deck, which allowed the classical guitar to be transformed into modern acoustics, avoiding distortion under the influence of the tension of steel strings.

Martin guitars can attract attention with a very good combination of price and quality, especially given the presence of this brand and the "student" series of entry-level, which, however, for a long time will not cause the desire to change the instrument. The prices they have at the same time, alas, are appropriate.

Retaining classic forms, Martin doesn’t shy away from modern technologies: for example, the Aura VT & Matrix VT Enhance proprietary know-how “directs” the sound to the cutout, making it easier to record with a microphone and enriching the sound. And, of course, the company has its own Custom Shop, which will allow you to make your guitar an individual, up to the manual aging of individual parts.

The story of Godin is an example of what a first-class master can achieve in a short time. Canadian master Robert Godin, who founded the company named after himself in 1972, quickly gained recognition from professional musicians. Although the firm focuses on electric guitars, it also has interesting instruments in the acoustic field.

The guitars of the Multiac Nylon (classic) and Multiac Steel (acoustic) families are interesting by an unconventional solution - instead of the usual round hole in the deck under the fingerboard, several small-sized holes of small diameter surround the controls of the built-in preamp above the fingerboard. This provides the guitars with a characteristic “taste” at resonance, which should be assessed by oneself. The Godin A11 eleven-string guitars and the A8 eight-string guitars are completely free from holes in the top ... However, the A11 is a fretless guitar!

So Godin guitars will be of interest to experimenters from the world of music: if the sound of a classical guitar or an American dreadnought seems bored and boring to you, Robert Godin knows what to offer.

Founded in 1857 by the German company Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is known primarily for its lip harmonics. Nevertheless, it also produces quite good guitars with quite affordable and in post-crisis time prices. In the assortment you can find both classics (including reduced models 3/4 and 1/2), and western guitars for steel strings.

Cheap Hohner acoustic guitars are a good choice if you are on a budget.The sound here is quite at the level, and you can only find fault with the quality of workmanship compared to more expensive instruments. Sign of the company - the use of spruce tops on all models, the choice of body materials is wider: sapele, catalpa, mahogany. Vultures on classical guitars are made exclusively from mahogany, acoustic ones can be bought with maple.