R.J. Ronquillo advances to semifinals of the Martin No Limits Challenge

This week, Martin – in partnership with Guitar World – kicked off the second quarterfinal round of its No Limits Challenge competition. 

The second quarterfinal round of the competition – which sees eight guitarists face off against one another, covering tunes you wouldn't normally associate with an acoustic using a Martin SC model – saw R.J. Ronquillo and Colin Scott cover a pair of very different classic rock standards. 

Ronquillo put his own acoustic spin on the Santana classic, Black Magic Woman, while Scott created an unplugged version of one of the great stadium-rockers of all time, AC/DC's Thunderstruck.

We asked Guitar World's readers – with the help of GW's editors – to weigh in, and vote for their favorite of the two covers. Both were terrific displays of six-string skill, but in the end, Ronquillo's beautifully tasteful Santana cover won the day, and advanced him to the semi-final round.

Each round of the competition revolves around two guitarists covering standards of a certain genre. The other two quarterfinals are '80s rock and '90s rock, respectively. There will be two genre-based face-offs in the semifinals, and the winners of those, of course, will advance to the finals. 

Be sure to check back on Monday to watch the next quarterfinal match-up, which will see Nili Brosh and Sophie Burrell put acoustic spins on two mainstays of '80s rock.

For more info on Martin's SC acoustics, visit the company's website.