Acoustic Guitar Roundup: Spring 2025
Published on 16 April 2025
If you are looking for a new acoustic guitar this year, this is the blog you need to read. We are only four months into 2025 and we’ve already seen some fantastic new releases: major brands and some that are slightly more niche.
I want to round up the acoustics that have been capturing my attention recently - in a good way of course - and show them to you in one place. This is that place, and whilst this is not a 2025 buyer’s guide (we’re a bit early for that), it is a good place to assess the lay of the market as it stands in April 2025.
My Acoustic Guitar Choices
Whilst I have no particular rules here, I have tried to place an emphasis on newer models. Why bother talking about the Martin D-28 or Taylor 214ce again? You already know they are excellent, and I fully expect you to check them out if they fall under your radar. No, today is more about what else has been happening, and whilst both Martin and Taylor are very much included today, it’s for other reasons.
You’ll see other brands too, and hopefully get a good idea for what’s popular in the world of acoustic guitars right now.
The Guitars at a Glance
RUMOUR: Taylor 413ce (The Last of Us Season 2)
Martin Junior
- Smaller-body versions of Martin classics
- All-solid timbers for an exceptional sound
- Built-in pickup and quality soft case
Historic heavyweights Martin have recently unveiled a tantalising new range called Martin Junior. I say ‘new’ but it’s actually a complete redesign and refresh of an existing range, and they are pretty impressive.
Featuring solid construction with smaller bodies, these new not-quite-mini Martins (the scale length is 24.9”) sound excellent, full of richness, low end and projection. It’s a big improvement over previous Martin Junior models (which were fine but these new ones are real contenders), and these also come with lovely thick gig bags that are more like soft-hard cases, something I love to see at this price point.
This range of compact acoustics is available in dreadnought form as well as the famous 000, with or without cutaways. You get E1 electronics built in too, so choose your preferred wood combo & finish, and you’re good to go anywhere with these, and sound great doing so!
PRS SE
- Uniquely attractive guitars at a wonderful price
- Based on top-end PRS Custom Shop models
PRS are probably best known for their exquisite electric guitars such the Custom 24 and the almighty Dragon special editions, but the brand are committed acoustic builders, too.
As part of their far eastern SE sub brand, PRS offer some quite beautiful acoustic models. These SE A40E, A50E and A60E guitars are based on top-drawer Private Stock USA-made Angelus models, and I do have to hand it to PRS: even in their lower priced instruments, they remain impressively built, excellent to play and very nice to hear. It’s like they don’t know how to make bad guitars!
From the front, they are subtly attractive, but turn certain finishes over and you’ll get a real touch of that famous PRS beauty!
Hybrid X bracing and a Fishman pickup system prove that these are as serious as they are gorgeous.
Sigma Guitars
- Quality replicas of famous historical acoustic guitars
- Affordable and high quality
- Excellent for gigging players
Sigma occupy a very interesting place in the market. They build guitars that are…let’s say ‘clearly inspired’ by Martin and Gibson classics, without being too close for the lawsuits. They are built overseas and are affordable, considering the quality that’s built into them. They are basically an excellent deal for players looking to approximate some classic styles and sounds without the ‘made in the US’ price tag.
Sigma started out as an apprentice brand for Martin luthiers, but that’s really not the case today. They are a separate brand, and they have a habit of turning out lovely instruments. Try the 000M-15E Aged and the GTA-SG200 as starting points for your Sigma adventure.
Gibson Special
- Extremely impressive semi-reimaginings of iconic Gibson guitars
- Exceptional sounds and a great feel
- Prices are very attractive for an all-solid, USA-made Gibson guitar
Gibson acoustics are always lovely things to behold, but I think this new Gibson Special range is a bit, well…special. Why? Well, they’ve taken three classics - the Hummingbird, the J-45 and the L-00 - and built them with slightly shallower bodies, satin finishes and some absolutely superb tones.
I’ve had my hands on all three, and whilst my own favourite is the Hummingbird Special (the inlays are there; the pickguard is somewhat simplified), I daresay you’ll have a rewarding time on them all. The prices are very attractive too! I can see these quickly becoming some of the most popular acoustic guitars around: they are that good.
Ibanez FRH10N
- Innovative and highly playable
- Portable, can be taken anywhere and played anywhere
- A nice alternative to the usual steel string acoustic contenders
- Great for electric guitarists who want to try classical and flamenco styles
Ibanez are another brand who are associated more with aggressively styled electric guitars, but their acoustic game is large and varied. Eschewing the usual shapes and styles (mostly, anyway), Ibanez have a whole banquet of original acoustic guitars out there for those who like to express themselves in a more unique way.
It’s a bold move to bring out a signature nylon string thinline guitar, but that’s exactly what Ibanez did with Tim Henson’s Tree of Death guitar. Good as it is, I was surprised at just how well this one sold (thinline nylon string electro acoustics are a relatively niche market, after all), so let me introduce you to the non-artist version: the Ibanez FRH10N.
Why not the Polyphia signature model? Well, I feel like not everybody wants a vine inlay up the centre of their fingerboard (hard as that is to believe), so this one will perhaps appeal to a larger demographic.
The Ibanez FRH10N performs excellently, and has a very moreish quality to it that I can’t quite place: is it because it’s relatively quiet and very satisfying to grab and plonk around on? Maybe - it’s certainly an excellent ‘house guitar’ but it’s a serious bit of kit out in the world too, and sounds ace when paired with a decent amp or preamp. Cast aside your preconceptions!
If you are an electric guitarist and don’t yet own a nylon string guitar, I think this is well worth investigating.
Taylor Studio & Gold Series
- Fresh innovations from this pioneering brand
- Torrefied tones are exceptional from all guitars
- Studio models offer freshness and value
- Gold Series is a new look and a new sound for Taylor
Taylor are a brand who constantly innovate, and who also offer guitars in a wide range of prices. When looking for a new acoustic, it would be a serious error not to consider at least a few from their varied ranks, particularly when 2025 has seen even more new models emerge.
The new Taylor Studio guitars are a very enticing proposition: taking perennial favourites such as the 314ce, Taylor have not only added a torrefied Sitka Spruce top, but have brought the price back a little too! Already a cornerstone of the brand, models like the 314ce Studio are perhaps better than ever, and they’ve even released them in the eyecatching Shaded Edgeburst finish too!
Then there’s the new Taylor Gold Series. Developed to blend Taylor’s trademark aesthetic with a more distinctly ‘golden age’ vibe, the Taylor Gold series is as intriguing as it is inventive.
Basically, we all love the sound and projection of old ‘Pre-war’ acoustics, and since Taylor didn’t exist back in the 1930s, the Gold series aims to somewhat write an alternative history for the brand. Torrefied woods, special bracing, a new body shape, and new decorative elements place the 814e Super Auditorium both at the top end of the Taylor range and also somewhat in a category of its own. There’s a strident voice to be heard here, and one that we’ve not heard from Taylor before.
RUMOUR: Taylor 413ce (The Last of Us Season 2)
- Will Taylor release this as a limited edition model?
- Tie-in with phenomenally popular video game and TV series
As a special inclusion, we have the culturally zeitgeist-tapping Taylor 413ce ‘Ellie’s Guitar’. Now, before you get excited, this one is firmly in the rumour mill at the moment. A tiny amount were built for Season 1, and those are already rarer than the proverbial hen's teeth.
There have been no official statements about the existence or non-existence of a 'Season 2 guitar' outside of the show itself. Naturally therefore, I haven’t played one, nor have I seen such a thing in the flesh (nobody has), but in the interests of current culture, it would be a mistake not to mention it!
For those who don’t immediately recognise the reference, this guitar was actually first played by a character in the video game The Last of Us, and then by his TV alter-ego and his daughter in the TV adaptation. Taylor actually made a custom guitar for this, featuring a special moth inlay on the fingerboard.
Looking at the Season 2 trailer, it seems that this guitar is back! Fans will naturally go nuts for it, but it remains to be seen if any real-life ‘wood and wire’ versions of the pixellated guitar will actually be made for release as a limited-edition model.
With any luck, this won’t be the Last of Them!!!!
Sorry.
Keep an eye out on the guitarguitar website, because if it gets released, we will have them!
So Many Great Guitars
I find myself saying this often, but there really hasn’t been a better time to buy a new acoustic guitar. I’ve rounded up the most interesting guitars that have either been made this year or brought back to my attention this year. That’s a great bunch of guitars, but there’s still all of the other wonderful guitars that already exist to choose from. That’s a lot fo choice, even with this curated list.
What’s that? You want my recommendations? Over and above what I’ve already mentioned?
Oh, go on then…
My Personal Recommendations
As a guitar player and guitar fan - and not because I’m a guitarguitar staff member - these are the guitars I think will excite you. Some are already in today’s blog, and others were born too early for inclusion, as it were. All of them are a personal recommendation from me to you. Choose the one that fits your wallet (or check out finance options) and you’ll be going home with something pretty special:
Fender Acoustasonic Player Jazzmaster: is this a ‘true’ acoustic? Who cares? It’s my blog and I think these are the answer to many players’ prayers (try saying that fast), so make sure you sit down with one, both unplugged and into an amp. What I’ve noticed is how much these guitars get you back into focusing on songs, rather than solos.
Yamaha LS-TA Transacoustic Concert: believe the tech! These guitars have inbuilt digital effects to add spectral ambience to your playing, all straight from the soundhole, without requiring you to plug anything into anything else. Spooky!
The built-in ambience is not a gimmick, folks. Okay, maybe it is but it quickly becomes a very integral part of your playing experience. Half an hour with one will make you miss that delightful shimmering reverb that comes from within the guitar, whenever you play another acoustic.
I should mention how expressive and lovely the guitar itself is (I prefer the concert body over the dreadnought, though you do you), but this is a Yamaha so you already know it’s a good ‘un.
Gibson Special: I spoke about these earlier in the blog, but I’ll tell it to you straight once again: these are awesome sounding and look beautiful. I actually prefer them to their pricier, glossier siblings. You lose nothing, sonically, and maybe even gain some tactility into the bargain. I like Gibson acoustics anyway, and these are very hard to say no to.
Go and Play
This brings us up to speed for the first part of 2025. From an insider perspective, as it were, these are the acoustic guitars that have made an impression on me recently, and that I’m happy to recommend to you.
There are more - there always are - and of course, not all of these choices will equally apply to you. As always, take what’s resonating from this blog and investigate further. Ignore the stuff that doesn’t catch. Go and check these guitars out in person, because that’s when you’ll truly know what’s cooking.
Have fun folks!
