In the market for a new guitar? Check out these recommendations for the best acoustic guitars released this year, courtesy of Colleen from Coustii.com…
Buying a new acoustic guitar is a really exciting experience. But to make the process hassle-free, you’ll want to spend some time considering a few important questions. Are you just starting out, or are you an experienced guitarist? Will you be playing solo, or with a band? What is your budget? Once you have the answers to these, it’s time to pick your guitar. Here is my list of the eight coolest acoustic guitars released in 2016.
Ibanez Artwood Vintage
Guitar Brand: Ibanez
Name: Artwood Vintage AVD6
Price: $499.99
Ideal for practicing, as well as playing small, intimate gigs.
Ibanez’s creation is a perfect mix of technological design and acoustic tradition. It has a dreadnought body with a solid sitka spruce top. The back, neck, and sides are made out of mahogany, and the bridge and fretboard are made out of rosewood.
The Artwood Vintage is ideal for carrying around as it does not take too much space. It also boasts a nice, rich sound.
Dean AXS Dreadnought
Guitar Brand: Dean
Name: AXS Dreadnought – Gloss Natural
Price: $179.00
Ideal for beginning guitarists on a budget.
This is the most affordable acoustic guitar on this list. It has a fantastic-looking spruce top, which is reinforced with a 2-ply binding. It’s a full-scale guitar with a rosewood fingerboard and solid die-cast tuners. These allow the ax to remain tuned at all times.
This guitar is great for practicing, recording, and live jamming. It’s fun to play, even for experienced players, and has an overall good feel to it.
Gibson Songwriter Koa
Guitar Brand: Gibson
Name: Songwriter Koa
Price: $3,649.00
Ideal for guitarists who like nice things and aren’t afraid to admit it.
The Gibson Songwriter Koa has set the bar for a great acoustic guitar. Its soothing, musical sound originates from the koa wood from which it is made. Gibson even added a new compound radius fingerboard to give you the feel of an electric guitar.
Perhaps no guitar is perfect, but I’ve yet to find a flaw in this one. If you can only buy one guitar in your life, this is the one you should choose!
Gibson Hummingbird Red Spruce
Guitar Brand: Gibson
Name: Hummingbird Red Spruce
Price: $3,649.00
Ideal for advanced guitarists who plan to perform.
This electric-acoustic guitar offers a comfortable rounded mahogany neck and a solid rosewood fingerboard. Keeping a firm grasp on the guitar is easy and your fingers just slide down the polished fingerboard. Its design is bright and eye-catching, and you can see the almost 60 years of experience that Gibson put into making the Hummingbird.
This is probably why megastars like Jimmy Page, John McLaughlin, Keith Richards, and Sheryl Crow count the Hummingbird as one of their favorites!
Dean Craig Wayne Boyd – Gloss Natural
Guitar Brand: Dean
Name: Craig Wayne Boyd A/E – Gloss Natural
Ideal for an intermediate guitarist who enjoys a good-looking ax.
This name might sound familiar: Craig Wayne Boyd rose to fame after winning Season 7 of the NBC reality singing show “The Voice”. Now, he’s released the guitar that helped him achieve this fame. This model even features his initials at the top.
Its body is made of mahogany, and the quilt ash top makes this guitar great for the eyes and the ears. Its C-shaped neck makes it a very comfortable guitar to use. What better way to follow in Boyd’s footsteps than by choosing this guitar?
Yamaha FG180-50TH
Guitar Brand: Yamaha
Name: FG180-50th
Price: $1,300
Ideal for an experienced guitarist who prefers to play folk music.
Yamaha released this guitar to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the FG180. It’s a limited edition model that holds much of the folk tradition that helped make the FG180 great in the first place.
This is an ideal guitar for practically anything, from practicing to recording. It sounds great in small venues and even in big mega concerts.
Martin X Series Custom 2016 X1-DE
Guitar Brand: Martin
Name: X Series 2016 X1-DE
Price: $599.99
Ideal for environmentally friendly guitarists.
This guitar is easy to play and easy on the environment, as it’s made with HPL (High Pressure Laminate). It also has a strong Stratabond neck and robust Richlite fingerboard.
The X Series offers an unexpected deep tone that sounds great, plugged in or not.
Orleans Stage Acoustic
Guitar Brand: Schecter
Name: Orleans Stage Acoustic
Price: Coming this Fall!
Ideal for performing artists who like to stand out.
Unlike most traditional acoustic guitars, the Orleans Stage comes in a vibrant Vampyre Red Burst Satin color. It’s expected to be released in the fall of 2016. The Stage acoustic has a 25-1/2″ scale, 20-fret fingerboards, and black chrome hardware. Its base material, body and neck, are all made out of maple.
Readers, what are the best acoustic guitars you’ve tried out this year? Leave a comment below and let us know!
Further Reading:
- Gibson’s 2017 Electric Guitar Collection
- How to Buy a Guitar: All Your Questions Answered
- Buying the Best Beginner Acoustic Guitar | What to Avoid
Colleen has a passion for guitars and ukuleles. She enjoys jamming, teaching, and getting others involved in music. Her website, Coustii, focuses specifically on guitars and ukes.
Photo by Kyle McCluer
Suzy S.