I am a little snobbish when it comes to instruments, but two new Eastman guitars—the AC–GA1CE and AC–GA2CE—have led me to reappraise my view of lower-priced models.
This diminutive, slope-shouldered beauty has a warm and lively voice and is extremely responsive. It’s got a surprising amount of volume and projection for its size.
The Rayco has a warm and brilliant tone, drenched with harmonic color. It’s an impressively loud and lively instrument that almost sounds like multiple guitars played at once.
A pair of freshly made parlor guitars with a growl and bark perfect for fingerpicked blues and ragtime, conjuring up vintage sounds of the Mississippi Delta and the American South.
I’d been intrigued by Waterloo guitars ever since seeing Julian Lage play his WL-14 on an Acoustic Guitar Sessions video episode, but never seemed to be able to audition one. Due to the high demand, Collings had none for review and a new Waterloo was announced on the website of…
PRS’s Angelus SE A30E has got a lot going for it: top-notch playability and an agreeable voice that reproduces well thanks to its high-quality electronics.
Some skeptical guitarists might see phrases like “thermally cured” and “hide glue” as mere marketing tools, but there’s no denying that the J-45 Vintage has a full, rich voice with excellent definition and note separation. When I play it in the Carter style, I’m struck both by the depth of the bass notes and the crispness of the chordal accents. When I pick some G runs, I’m taken with the string-to-string balance and the thickness of the single notes.
When I first played Breedlove’s new Journey Concert, I was reminded of the depth of sound that a set of Brazilian rosewood back and sides lends to a steel-string acoustic guitar.
This 14-fret Orchestra cutaway model—a total winner for the price—has an easy playability and a tight, focused sound that lends itself equally well to strumming and fingerpicking.
These all-solid instruments are anything but whimsical. All three models feel and sound robust: more appropriate choices for the stage or studio than the beach.
The 00L-17 sounds every bit as awesome as it feels. It’s got a lovely, uncluttered sound, heavy on fundamentals but with shimmering overtones and a nice natural reverb. The string-to-string balance is excellent, as are the projection and sustain. It’s definitely a more powerful instrument than would be expected of one of its size and scale length.
While it is the descendant of instruments usually associated with swing and bop, virtually any style that you can play on a flattop could be rendered on this guitar.
Taylor’s 858e and 552ce offer effortless playability Twelve-string guitars are notoriously tricky instruments, particularly in terms of playability and intonation, and it can be hard to find a great one, though Taylor has earned a good reputation for its 12-strings. So it’s satisfying to make the acquaintance of not one,…
“It’s cool playing a guitar in space because it floats in front of you—you don’t need a strap,” Hadfield said on a 2013 Larrivée video. “But one of the weirdest things is that as you float around the room while you’re playing, you bump into things.”
This new guitar has perfect intonation and a voice that’s warmer and richer than those of the vintage instruments that inspired the Plainsman Double 0.
The 00-15E’s mahogany soundboard isn’t as excitable as spruce, but the guitar is responsive whether I’m playing gently or digging in with a pick. Single-note lines and complex chords alike are clear and brilliant up and down the neck.
The first thing you notice when you strum the Blueridge BG-1500ESB Jumbo is the robust warmth of its tone—like a splash of sunlight filtering through tall trees in the Smoky Mountains that give this company its name.
How do you choose which guitars to review? Our writers are guitar fanatics, just like you. They’re always on the lookout for new or updated offerings to recommend. We’re sometimes asked why we don’t publish negative or one-star reviews – there are so many great guitars being produced today that we’d rather share our balanced opinions on the instruments we do think you should consider.
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