Finding the best acoustic guitar for country music that has that signature country twang isn’t easy. Whether you are looking for a country acoustic guitar or an electric guitar for country music, you need to find something that plays, sounds, and looks the part.
Plus, you want a guitar that is versatile with a wide range of sounds and tonal palettes. We’ve reviewed all of the most popular country guitars out there and compared their sounds, features, and specs, so you can find the right one for you and your playing style. Some of them are full-bodied acoustic guitars and some are acoustic/electric guitars, but all of them are straight country. We even through a 12-string country guitar in the list. 🙂
Let’s take a look at the top-rated guitars for country music, so you can get the right one and start playing today.
Compare the Top Country Music Guitars in 2021
Contents
- 1 Compare the Top Country Music Guitars in 2021
- 1.1 Epiphone EJ-200SCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar
- 1.2 Martin D-16GT Acoustic Guitar
- 1.3 Epiphone Hummingbird Pro Acoustic-Electric Guitar
- 1.4 Breedlove DSCO01SSMA Concerto Acoustic Guitar
- 1.5 Gretsch G5022CE Rancher Acoustic-Electric Guitar
- 1.6 Yamaha FG800 Acoustic Guitar
- 1.7 Gretsch G5022CWFE-12 Rancher Falcon 12-String Acoustic-Electric Guitar
- 2 What We Recommend and Why
Here is a list of the best country acoustic guitars that will give your music that country tone.
- Epiphone EJ-200SCE
- Martin D-16GT
- Epiphone Hummingbird Pro
- Breedlove DSCO01SSMA
- Gretsch G5022CE Rancher
- Yamaha FG800
- Gretsch G5022CWFE-12 Rancher Falcon
Epiphone EJ-200SCE Acoustic-Electric Guitar
Specs, features, and benefits
As an instrument manufacturer, Epiphone has been around for well over a hundred years. During this time, it has established itself as a brand that can be trusted to deliver some good quality instruments. One of such instruments is the Epiphone EJ-200SCE.
The EJ-200SCE is the brand’s attempt at offering the widely renowned Gibson J-200 of the 1930s to musicians today at a far more affordable price. Just as the original J-200, the EJ-200SCE has a jumbo body. This however doesn’t affect its scale length as it remains 25.50”.
This body consists of a solid spruce top with maple laminates for sides and back. The neck is also made of maple and features a pau ferro fretboard.
Giving it a nice boost is the electronic sections which features the Shadow eSonic-II HD stereo pickup system from Epiphone. This system comes with two pickups – a NanoFlex under-saddle piezo pickup and a NanoMag fretboard pickup, a EQ and a built-in tuner.
This is one guitar you will love to perform with. Its acoustic sound is rich and quite loud while its amplified sound is simply an amplification of that rich natural sound.
Pros and Highlights
- Tone – Rich and loud.
- Playability – The cut away increases playability.
- Build – Beautiful and well made.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Setup – May require proper setup before playing.
Bottom Line
If you ever dreamed of owning the Gibson J-200 but never seemed to be able to afford, the EJ-200SCE is a guitar you should consider as a substitute.
Martin D-16GT Acoustic Guitar
Specs, features, and benefits
F. Martin & Company, owners of the Martin Guitar brand have produced some of the best acoustic guitars you will find in the U.S.A today. With almost two centuries worth of experience, its guitars constantly rank among the very best.
The D-16GT is one of such top quality offerings from the brand. Though designed to achieve a lower price point, it still shows off that Martin quality.
This is a dreadnought body acoustic guitar with no cutaways. It features a solid spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides. The neck is made of select hardwood with a Richlite fretboard which holds 20 frets.
One of the major features of this guitar is the proprietary bracing system used. The hybrid X bracing allows for good support and tone.
With its top spotting a polished gloss finish and the back, sides and neck spotting the same satin finishes as well as the other little adornment, the guitar presents a simple but elegant look.
Picking up this guitar, you will be impressed by its playability and the warm and rich tone it offers.
Pros and Highlights
- Tone – Warm and rich.
- Playability – Highly playable.
- Case – Comes with a case.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Fretboard and bridge – Made of richlite.
Bottom Line
This guitar offers incredible playability and a tone that is rich and warm. If you want a great Martin but can’t afford the really high-end models, you can settle for this. It’s not a cheap guitar, but for a Martin, it’s a great deal.
Epiphone Hummingbird Pro Acoustic-Electric Guitar
Specs, features, and benefits
Epiphone has a way of bringing great guitars of the past back and then offering them at very affordable prices. In this case, it is Gibson’s classic steel-string Hummingbird guitar.
In case you do not know, this guitar was used by the likes of Lenny Kravitz, Keith Richards, U2, Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock. Design-wise, it retains the same vintage ideas as the original. It has the same dreadnought body, square shoulders and even the very prominent faux tortoiseshell pickguard.
The top is made of solid spruce while the sides and back are made of select mahogany laminates. The neck is made of select mahogany while the fretboard is made of rosewood and holds 20 frets. The pearloid parallelogram inlays is another thing borrowed from the original.
Elevating this guitar to the acoustic-electric class is the Shadow ePerformer preamp and the NanoFlex under-saddle pickup. This is a good quality system that comes with extensive controls for fine tuning the sound.
Tonewise, it has a bold, rich and warm tone. When plugged in, the system simply amplifies this same tone. You can however tweak it some with the included controls.
Pros and Highlights
- Tone – Bold, rich and warm.
- Build – Beautiful and well-made
- Cost – Very affordable.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Setup – It may require some setup.
Bottom Line
This is a very versatile guitar. The price may be a bit deceptive. You can use it as a practice guitar or a beginner guitar. You can actually also use it as a performance guitar.
Breedlove DSCO01SSMA Concerto Acoustic Guitar
Specs, features, and benefits
Breedlove as a relatively new guitar manufacturing company focuses mainly on guitars that offer the best of traditional methods as well as modern technological innovations.
The DSCO01SSMA is part of the brand’s Discovery Series which offers great guitars for beginners and those looking for guitars that are easy to play. The body design of this guitar is smaller and more comfortable than a regular dreadnought. This special concerto body design from Breedlove surprisingly delivers the same or even more volume than larger dreadnought body guitars.
It features a top made of solid Sitka spruce with sides and back made of layered mahogany. The neck with its slim profile is made of mahogany (nato) with a fretboard made of ovangkol.
This guitar does not just offer increased comfort and playability, nor does it only offer a loud volume. It offers all of these in addition to a tonal experience than is bold, lovely and well balanced as well as more complex than your regular than you big body sound.
Pros and Highlights
- Tone – Loud, complex and well-balanced.
- Comfort and Playability – The body size and shape is comfortable while the slim neck profile makes play easy.
- Case – Comes with a hardshell case.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Setup – Will likely require some setup.
Bottom Line
Do you love the big sound you get from a dreadnought body but hate the bulk you have to deal with? This guitar may just be what you need. It offers a big sound from a smaller body.
Gretsch G5022CE Rancher Acoustic-Electric Guitar
Specs, features, and benefits
Gretsch is one of the older instrument manufacturers in the country. Established in 1883, it has the advantage of over 130 years of experience, producing top quality instruments.
The Rancher Acoustic-Electric Guitar is specifically designed for the country musician and bears the full stamp of the Gretsch brand. This guitar was inspired by the 6022 Rancher of 1954 as a number of the design components confirm. It is however a more modern variation with the inclusion of an electronics section.
This is a jumbo body guitar with a single Venetian cutaway that is cut quite deep. The top is made of solid spruce while the sides and back are made of laminated flamed maple. Supporting this spruce top is a scalloped X bracing that provides good support while also allowing for optimum vibration.
The neck is made of mahogany and has a rosewood fretboard that houses 21 frets.
A peek into the electronics section reveals a Fishman Isys III preamp system with a Sonicore undersaddle pickup which makes amplification easy. The controls are also pretty straightforward and include an on-board digital tuner.
This is an outstanding guitar with a distinct coloring and a bright, crisp and precise tone.
Pros and Highlights
- Tone – Bright and precise.
- Build – Lovely and well-built.
- Electronics – Improves its sound.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Case – Doesn’t come with one.
Bottom Line
This is a guitar specifically designed for the country musician. It offers a bright and precise tone that will suit this genre. Its coloring is also simply striking.
Yamaha FG800 Acoustic Guitar
Specs, features, and benefits
Yamaha has always been able to offer musicians good quality instruments at very affordable prices. They have instruments that cost thousands of dollars and those that cost a few hundreds.
The FG800 is one of the latter. Finding good quality guitars for a few hundred dollars can be a difficult task. Yamaha has however made it a bit easier here.
The FG800 is a slightly stripped down version of the FG830. It features the same dreadnought body design and has a solid Sitka spruce top which is supported with Yamaha’s new scalloped bracing. The sides and back are made of nato which is a specie of mahogany.
The satin finished neck which is also made of nato, has a rosewood fretboard on which are 21 frets.
Being a dreadnought, it is quite large but also reasonably comfortable. It is well-made and looks quite lovely in its glossy finish, faux tortoiseshell pickguard, black and white binding and rosette.
More than its feel and look, it also sounds really lovely. It has a tone that is warm and sweet in addition to being loud courtesy of its large body.
Pros and Highlights
- Tone – Loud, warm and sweet.
- Playability – It’s comfortable to hold.
- Cost – Very affordable.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Setup – May require some setup.
Bottom Line
This is not a perfect guitar but one that delivers top value at a very affordable cost. Any slight imperfections you may notice will be forgiven when you consider its cost and the value it offers.
Gretsch G5022CWFE-12 Rancher Falcon 12-String Acoustic-Electric Guitar
Specs, features, and benefits
Gretsch is known for coming up with some of the most amazing and extravagant guitar designs. A simple look at this featured guitar will confirm this.
This is a 12 string guitar inspired by the original Falcon guitar. Its jumbo body features a single cutaway which grants easy access to the higher frets. This body has a white gloss finish which enhances the gold sparkle of the bindings as well as the gold colored pickguard. Saying that this guitar is lovely will just be stating the very obvious.
It also features a solid spruce top with sides and back made of laminated maple. The neck is made of mahogany with a rosewood fretboard that holds 21 frets.
For the electronics section, it comes with an Isys+ preamp and a Sonicore under-saddle pickup. These combine to provide good quality connection for amplification. Aside from the regular controls that come with it, it also features a built-in digital tuner.
The guitar offers a tone that is rich and well balanced. It may not deliver as much volume as you may expect, but with the included pickup and preamp, that should not be a problem.
Pros and Highlights
- Tone – Rich and balanced.
- Design – Exquisite.
- Electronics – Improves its sound.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Volume – Not as loud as you may expect.
Bottom Line
Simply put, this guitar is a looker. This is one guitar that will have everyone gaping in admiration. Thankfully, it also has a good tone which is enhanced by the included electronics. If you want to learn how to play country guitar, this is the one for you.
What We Recommend and Why
We’ve looked at some pretty amazing guitars in this review. These guitars were simply picked based on their suitability for country music and regardless of their cost. After careful review, the guitar we picked as our Top Country Guitar – Acoustic is the Martin D-16GT Acoustic Guitar. Considering that it is also the most expensive of the lot, the quality it offers over the rest should come as no surprise.