What's The BEST Acoustic Guitar Brand? (Tier List)

Not long ago, I put together a brand tier list for electric guitars. A lot of you guys requested an acoustic list, so here I am, stirring the pot on which acoustic guitar brand is the best of the best (and the worst of the worst)...in my humble opinion.

To be fair, I’ve only included brands where I’ve had firsthand experience with their guitars. I know some of these products are made in the same factories, and some companies might have both entry-level products and high-end products, so I’ve created these tiers based on how I’d rank the brand as a whole.

Let the pot-stirring begin!

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[MusoraMedia]

Ready to level up your playing? Get personal coaching tips and structured lessons: enjoy your free 7-day trial to Guitareo!

[paulhayes]

I recently bought a Martin after playing on Tanglewood and Yamaha for years, The Martin is a whole different animal, it has a beautiful tone quality and feels great to play.

[kanelivingstone]

That video was sensational. I wish more people with a broad range of experience would do this "tier" sort of breakdown, whether that be Power Tools, Lathes, Scuba Diving gear or anything. It is very handy for when you're just trying to get a feel for a particular market before buying and it helps reduce the overall amount of research you need to do when getting in. Cheers

[zumbaRdie]

I am a Taylor fan. Owned a 310CE and traded it for 412E and sold it. Bought myself the Taylor Mini GS and it blew my mind. I played this guitar every day in the last 6 months of owning it than the 2 previous Taylors that I had when I owned it. It doesn't matter what brand or model or price of the guitar you get as long as it is comfortable and it has that connection to you.

[airborneassasin]

Cort is a very underrated guitar company

[Itsallawesome]

Seagull guitars have such an inspiring sound to them. Makes me want to play it all day.

[bg]

Buying a Martin after almost quitting was the spark I needed to fully learn guitar. Didn’t realize how good I had gotten until I actually played on a decent guitar - you’d be surprised by the difference. They are incredible in terms of playability

[bm]

Putting in a shout out for Epiphone. I am a beginner/intermediate guitarist picking it back up again after it sitting around for years when I bought it back in college and have an Epiphone DR-100. I see everyone complain about what goes wrong with cheap guitars (bad tone, buzzing, not staying in tune, etc) and have not really felt held back by this guitar yet so for the price I'd recommend it to anyone for getting starting under $200 a la your comments about Yamaha (who I've also heard is fantastic for the price point). Your analysis seems fair and perhaps YMMV with quality and consistency but none the less I will always remember and love this old Epiphone on my guitar journey.

Although I am not feeling held back of course my eyes are looking towards moving up soon. Have had Martin, Breedlove, Taylor and Yamaha all on my radar so glad to see I am on track to get something solid there. Good video man

[underpants]

I have a Takamine pro series made in Japan that I regularly gig with for about a year now. It was 1500.00 US dollars. I’ve owned and played everything from Rouge to Martin and in between. My Takamine plays and sounds better than all of them. Of course that’s subjective, but that’s been my personal experience.

[larrync]

Proud Yahama owner, good bang for my buck and helped get me jump started playing. ❤️

[mikegoh]

I have a Taylor and a Martin. Love them. You can include Collings, Furch and Lakewood guitars in that same level. Personally, my other favourite guitars that I have tried and are a notch higher are McPherson, Goodall, Charis and Kevin Ryan guitars. Ones I have not tried yet are the Froggy Bottom and Olson guitars. But the reviews are superb.

[Poppy-twve]

I’m still fairly new at playing guitar but I did recently upgrade to a PRS Angelus. I played one at a guitar center in Nashville. But I also played an Alvarez there too and thought it was really comparable to the PRS at about the same price range. About $750 price range. Great list

[duard]

For me the Taylor necks and fretboards are just perfect. They just feel right. I think how the guitar fits your particular body makes a big difference.

[Tyler_Wilson]

The BEST acoustic guitar brand is the guitar that you can afford and the guitar that INSPIRES you to pick it up and play every day. There is no BEST guitar brand. Just my opinion, of course.

[brianbriscoe]

I have a Taylor 410CE made in the late 90's. This guitar is absolutely amazing. It's my lifetime guitar and I've gone through a lot of guitars over the years. I will never replace it. I've played with other musicians who've owned Martins, Yamahas, Gibsons, Fenders (and the list goes on) and they all raise an eyebrow when I play this guitar. It cuts through like nothing else.

[RavenJCain]

I bought a Ovation plastic back one for $35 bucks almost two decades ago. Just loved the sound for some reason. It was so beat up and handed around many camp fires and parties way before I purchased it, and it is still going strong. Just easy to pick up and jam on without too much worry of hurting it.

[zlgofast]

I had a Yamaha FG 335 for over 40 years, it was great for what it was. I did a lot of work on it. Then I got a Collings this year, wow. Fabulous. I liked it so much better than all the Martins I tried and I honestly never thought I would get any guitar other than a Martin. I agree with so much of your review. Thanks

[daddio]

Very interesting and honest tier list. Too bad most responders didn't pay attention when you stated numerous times that this was based solely on your own personal experience with playing different guitars in their range. Though I didn't agree with the Guild placement, I only have experience with their upper tier models and not their lower tier, so I really wouldn't know the overall picture. Good job.

[mortonwilson]

Sorta fun list and seems pretty fair on the whole, esp. since it's 'personal' and based on instruments you have played. FWIW I have an 86 Ovation & 92 Taylor - love 'em both. A couple of other brands I would recommend any player check out are K. Yairi (hand crafted in Nagoya) and Lowden (Ireland). I own 3 Yairis (2 from the 70's) and they are exceptional. I've also played a couple of Lowdens belonging to a friend (steel & nylon) and they are also lovely instruments. Thanks for the review!

[gertlarsson]

My first guitar when I was 14 years old was aK Yairi for like 500 Euro, back in 1982. I Still Love It And Will Never Sell It 🥰 Incredible quality