We've said it before, and we'll say it again, there's never been a better time to buy an acoustic guitar! Thanks to the refined building processes brought about by technological development, all the major manufacturers can now provide professional-level instruments that won't break the bank. So if you're looking to add a high-quality flat-top to your arsenal, this guide to the best acoustic guitars under $1,000 is most definitely for you.
Whether you're looking to move up from a beginner acoustic guitar or on the hunt for an instrument that will complement your existing collection, the best acoustic guitars under $1,000 represent incredible value for money. In addition, they put pro-level specs within the grasp of the vast majority of players offering solid tops, high-end tonewoods, excellent electronics, and improved hardware.
If you need more guidance, we've provided some helpful buying advice at the bottom of the article, which will walk you through what to look for in your new acoustic guitar.
Best acoustic guitars under $1,000: Guitar Player’s Choice
Representing incredible value for money, playability, and delivering a huge unplugged sound, the Epiphone ‘Inspired by Gibson’ Hummingbird takes the top spot for us. A simply stunning-looking acoustic guitar that plays fantastically well. This brilliant acoustic marries all the great aspects of Gibson’s most famous acoustic, whilst costing almost five times less.
A close second is the rugged Martin Road Series D-10e. Designed with the gigging musician in mind, this back to basics Martin gives you all the playability and tone you'd expect from the acoustic titans, just at a more reasonable price.
Best acoustic guitars under $1,000: Product guide
The Hummingbird is probably one of the most famous acoustic guitars of all time thanks to its distinctive looks and a list of players that reads like a rock and roll hall of fame. With everyone from Keith Richards to Chris Cornell wielding the original Gibson, Epiphone has now put this classic guitar firmly in the grasp of any player.
The ‘Inspired by Gibson’ range is designed to deliver Gibson design ethos and playability without the associated price tag. This means the Hummingbird has a completely solid wood construction, a feature normally reserved for acoustics twice the price.
Tonally it delivers a rich sound with plenty in the low range, a characteristic of dreadnought-sized guitars that’ll underpin your work in the mids and highs. The neck will feel familiar to any Gibson user thanks to its 12-inch radius, and single note riffs and chord work feel supremely comfortable.
Martin Guitars’ Road Series is designed for regularly gigging musicians, providing great electronics, instant playability, and hardware that will stand up to the rigors of the road. With a solid wood construction, the D10e delivers a premium tone without the price tag.
One of the best features of this guitar is the hand-rubbed Performing Artist neck, giving you a played-in feel from the off that will have you feeling immediately at home. Combined with the excellent MX-T onboard electronics, you’ve got a guitar that’s gig-ready from day one.
The sound of this guitar is very warm, lending itself well to powerfully strummed chords and harsh pick attacks. It’s a powerful tone but never feels too boomy or unbalanced in the low end, to which some dreadnoughts are susceptible.
It’s not often you pick up an acoustic guitar and have your mind blown by it, but that’s exactly what happened when we got our hands on the Yamaha FSC TA TransAcoustic. Without plugging it in, you can have a warm wash of chorus and luscious reverb sounds thanks to its unique tech.
It works thanks to an actuator in the soundhole, which picks up string vibrations, turns them into electrical signals, then pumps them back through the guitar body using it as a form of amplification.
Innovative tech aside, this guitar also plays incredibly well with low action and no hint of any buzz across the neck. Complemented by a bright tone and plenty of warmth in the low end from the body, it makes for one incredibly exciting acoustic guitar.
Fender isn’t particularly well known for its acoustic guitars, but that’s not to say it has no heritage building them. In fact, the company's been making acoustic guitars since the ’60s, with both Elvis and Johnny Cash wielding the big F on their acoustic headstocks.
The Paramount series refresh represents the top end of Fender acoustics, and the PO-220E is a brand new addition, with an all-solid Mahogany body construction. It’s smaller than a dreadnought, so you get a little less volume and low end, but the Mahogany provides a lovely warm tone that is still plenty loud enough for small gigs and busking.
The neck profile tips its hat towards the better known Fender electric guitars, with a slim ‘C’ profile that feels great for a whole variety of playing styles. It’s a matt finish on the back too, so you don’t get any of that new neck stickiness, allowing you to get straight to business.
Despite its comparatively recent foray into acoustic guitar building, PRS guitars has used all of its design ingenuity to provide a high-quality acoustic guitar range that delivers without breaking the bank. The SE Angelus A40E gives you slinky playability with trademark PRS looks.
Despite being part of the SE range, this guitar still comes with all the high-end PRS appointments, giving it the look of a much more expensive instrument with the trademark bird inlays and unique headstock design.
Sonically it delivers a great midrange tone that’s very neutral, suiting fingerpickers and strummers equally well. Featuring PRS’ signature ‘wide fat’ neck shape, this guitar will feel great for those transitioning from electric to acoustic, delivering superbly fast playability. Barre chords are a breeze on this neck, and even whole step bends are possible.
Ibanez has always been about fast-playing guitars for technical styles, so it’s no surprise to see this acoustic offering packed with cutting-edge tech, designed for players who like to slap, tap, and attack their instruments.
Its unique electronics system uses a combination of pickups, with contact pickups mounted to the underside of the bridge, a magnetic pickup just between the soundhole and fretboard end, and a T-bar under-saddle pickup. Individual controls for each pickup let you blend to your heart's content, crafting your perfect sound.
Sitting at the longer end of the acoustic guitar scale, the neck on this is wide and thin, giving a great platform for fingerstyle whilst still retaining plenty of playability for more traditional chord work.
If you’re looking to get on the gigging circuit, then you can do a lot worse than Takamine’s GJ72CE electro-acoustic offering. Famed for its pickups and preamps, Takamine certainly knows a thing or two about crafting top-quality acoustics.
The GJ72CE is absolutely colossal in size but it delivers a well-balanced tone. Crisp and clear notes abound in the mid-range, with a nice and tight low end. It takes to strumming superbly and when plugged in, you can warm things up with the addition of some bass EQ.
The neck is quite a stocky ‘C’ shape, giving you a great playing platform with a comfortable 12-inch radius. The action is low out of the box and it feels very much electric-guitar-like with its medium frets, lending itself well to all styles of playing.
Breedlove has slowly and steadily been making their mark on the competitive acoustic guitar market thanks to its progressive design ideas and an emphasis on sustainability. The Organic Artista Concert CE gives you a complete solid tonewood body, that’s 100% sustainable, all for under $1,000.
Featuring a torrefied Spruce top and Myrtlewood back and sides, this guitar delivers a lively and punchy unplugged tone. The torrefaction process artificially ages the top wood, resulting in a more mature sounding acoustic straight out of the box.
This guitar features a fairly narrow nut, which makes it very comfortable for chord work and arpeggios with a smooth African Ebony fretboard. Meanwhile, Breedlove’s pinless bridge makes string changes a breeze, as well as helping to enhance vibrations across the guitar’s top.
Despite not being the biggest name on this list, the Guild D-140 has some serious lineage, with big names like Nick Drake, Tom Petty and Jeff Buckley all having used Guild acoustics for their impassioned performances.
With no electronics, the D-140 is relying solely on its natural sound to project well and it certainly meets that brief incredibly well. It’s got a throaty midrange and chime-like high end, with plenty of oomph in the lows.
The neck has a ‘C’ profile which will feel instantly familiar to any guitar player. It’s got a relatively wide nut, so will suit fingerstyle players well, but isn’t so wide that you can’t comfortably fret barre chords. Combine that with a premium bone nut and saddle, and you’ve got yourself a very capable acoustic.
Best acoustic guitars under $1,000: Buying advice
Choosing The Best Acoustic Guitar Under $1,000
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When selecting the best acoustic guitar under $1,000, there are a few elements you’ll want to look at before selecting your purchase. As we’re entering the mid-range of the acoustic guitar world here, you’ll want to make sure you’re investing your money into an instrument that’s right for your style of playing.
Is The Wood Important On An Acoustic Guitar?
With acoustic guitars, the focal point of the instrument’s sound is the wood of the guitar, so you’ll want to make sure you select something based on your own personal preference, and your playing style.
At this price point, some acoustics will have a laminated construction, whereby the back and sides are crafted out of multiple pieces of wood stuck together via a combination of heat and pressure. You will also start to find solid back, sides, and tops in this price range, a feature of more premium-level instruments.
A solid top is put together from a single piece of wood, which stays the same from the moment it's cut at the source until the point the luthier carves it for the guitar. This delivers improvements in both resonance and sustain because it is one piece of wood moving together.
If you want to check which kind of top a guitar has, the best place to look is the edge of the soundhole. If you can see the cross-section of the grain running through, then you know you have a solid top, if you can see multiple shades of wood then you’ll know it’s laminated.
Now there’s nothing that necessarily says a laminated wood is objectively worse than solid wood – some players prefer one, some the other. If you’re plugging your acoustic into a PA for live performances, then this difference is even less, as you won’t be relying on the natural acoustic of the guitar for your sound. But generally speaking, solid wood will offer an improvement in tone, particularly when the guitar is unplugged.
What Size Of Acoustic Should I Go For?
The size of the acoustic you choose makes a massive difference to not only how it feels to play, but also the sound that is produced - so make sure you choose wisely.
You may want to opt for a smaller guitar for a tighter, more controlled sound. Concert, Grand Auditorium and Parlor all offer their own unique characteristics, but the one thing they have in common is a very focused tone, with not too much low-end. This means these guitars play well with others, as you don't need to EQ out all the extra bass energy.
In contrast, the humble Dreadnought and Jumbo deliver a deeper sound and increased bottom end. This is due to their larger size. It's no surprise that these models are firm favorites of singer-songwriters playing unaccompanied, as they contain the entire frequency spectrum, meaning they sound fantastic on their own.
Of course, this larger sound can get lost in a band situation, though, as the extra bass and low-mid frequencies interfere with a bass guitar or kick drum - so keep that in mind when making your decision.
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