John Mayer announces North American acoustic solo tour By Matt Owen published 26 January 23 The Sob Rock singer-songwriter will temporarily hang up his PRS Silver Sky signature guitar for his Martin acoustic, with which he'll revisit old tracks and test-drive new material
Takamine's all-new sub-$500 GL Series headlines comprehensive 2023 acoustic collection By Matt Owen published 24 January 23 Six instruments have been introduced in total, including four shorter scale, reasonably priced GL Series acoustics and two high-end G Series guitars
Master the guitar style of 8 folk-rock legends, from John Martyn to Jimmy Page By Stuart Ryan published 23 January 23 This lesson takes a deep dive into the '60s and '70s music that blurred the line between the acoustic and electric and spoke to a rich British folk heritage
Taylor launches its best-looking American Dream models yet with the arrival of three new sunburst acoustics By Matt Parker published 18 January 23 The brand’s affordable US line has been expanded with new Grand Theater, Grand Concert and Grand Pacific builds
Watch Tommy Emmanuel pay tribute to Jeff Beck with a heartfelt acoustic fingerstyle performance of Cause We've Ended As Lovers By Sam Roche published 16 January 23 The Australian acoustic maestro honored the late guitar legend during his recent set at Kentucky's Lexington Opera House
How Martin supersized the Dreadnought for a Custom Shop acoustic that’s louder, more dynamic and “hits you in the chest” By Jamie Dickson published 12 January 23 If you can’t make the world’s most influential acoustic better, you can always make it bigger. Scott Sasser and Tim Teel of Martin explain the design of the awesome Super Dreadnought
Gibson J-45 50s Faded, J-35 30s Faded and Hummingbird Faded review By David Mead published 10 January 23 A trio of Gibson dreadnoughts with faded satin nitro finishes, vintage appointments and modern-day electronics. Serious players or mere novelty acts? Let the auditions begin…
Guitarist reworks the entirety of Iron Maiden's Powerslave for nylon-string acoustic guitar By Sam Roche published 9 January 23 Thomas Zwijsen gave the acoustic treatment to Maiden's latest album, Senjutsu, last year. Now, he dives deeper into the band's catalog
Ichika Nito wields Tim Henson’s signature nylon-string once again on new Polyphia-esque track By Matt Owen published 5 January 23 The Ibanez TOD10N received an extended run-out from Ichika, who paired it with his own ICHI10 headless signature model
Ibanez launches the FRH10N – a cheaper, standard-run version of Tim Henson’s nylon-string signature guitar By Matt Owen published 4 January 23 The streamlined $499 six-string arrives after the Polyphia virtuoso revealed he had to convince Ibanez to create his original TOD10N
The birth and evolution of the Martin D-18 Dreadnought – the archetypical acoustic guitar By Rod Brakes published 22 December 22 A true workhorse of the Martin line, this iconic guitar is a zenith of flat-top design
Takamine LTD2022 review By David Mead published 20 December 22 One of two limited-edition models that celebrate Takamine’s 60th Anniversary, both of which engage the charms of Hawaiian koa in their construction. Let’s take a closer look
The Chisels Are Calling, a new documentary about legendary luthier John Monteleone, is now streaming By Matt Parker published 20 December 22 The film documents the revered guitar builder for the likes of Mark Knopfler, Ben Harper and Julian Lage
Taylor 514ce review By Neville Marten published 16 December 22 Another new wood joins the Taylor stable: let’s introduce red ironbark to the world of guitar tone! But what does it bring to the table?
Manuel Gardner Fernandes equipped Tim Henson’s Ibanez nylon-string signature with a virtual whammy bar – and turned it into a different beast altogether By Matt Owen published 15 December 22 The fingerstyle virtuoso paired the percussive quality of Henson's TOD10N with FOMOfx's innovative Virtual Jeff Pro, and the results were pretty spectacular
Marisa Anderson on the art of improvisation versus composition and the everlasting allure of a sustaining electric guitar By Glenn Kimpton published 15 December 22 The Portland, Oregon instrumentalist returns with Still, Here, and unpacks her approach to writing socially conscious guitar music
Gordon Giltrap: “All the best stuff comes when you’re not thinking about it. It just flows: you start off with a one-bar idea and then build up on that” By Jamie Dickson published 13 December 22 What is good music? What is good guitar playing? It can take a lifetime to arrive at meaningful answers, as acoustic master Gordon Giltrap reflects when we join him to discuss his powerful new album, Scattered Chapters
What the heck is going on with these double-neck guitars? By Matt Owen published 9 December 22 From unique string configuration combinations to a double-sided space-saving body design, Busuyi's double-necks are up there with the wildest guitar designs of all time
An intrepid guitar researcher has assembled an exhaustive list of 100 alternate tunings – and he's just getting started By Matt Owen published 8 December 22 Stuck for ideas? Feeling uninspired? Not sure how to relight your six-string spark? George Howlett's comprehensive collection of global altered tunings is sure to help
Why the Collings OM2H is beloved by so many acoustic fingerstylists By Chris Gill published 7 December 22 With fans including Keith Richards, Julian Lage and Robert Earl Keen, this compact, sweet-sounding orchestra model acoustic is a bona-fide modern classic