Review

Gibson's Jumbo is an acoustic guitar with an incredibly rich history--this guitar has been played by the likes of Gene Autry, Pete Townshend, Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, and even Elvis. Gibson's newly re-released J-185 offers country music players of today the same signature booming tone of the original J-185 of the early 1950s.

This guitar features a solid Sitka spruce top for responsive, balanced sound. The back and sides are made of flamed maple, which is both visually striking and sonically powerful--it projects well and has a crisp, sharp attack.

The slim taper neck is easy to play even with small hands, and the top-notch L.R. Baggs VTC makes the amplified sound just as natural as the acoustic sound. This instrument's great looks make it an ideal guitar for country music, too--its beautiful natural finish and parallelogram inlays give it just the right amount of sparkle.

Our Star Rating

This guitar's top-quality build and jumbo body style make it the best acoustic guitar for strumming country music. We give it five out of five stars.

Review

Yamaha's LJ16 is another jumbo-style acoustic guitar. Its spruce top comes treated with Yamaha's a.R.E. treatment, which effectively ages wood so even a new guitar will play with the same warmth and resonance as a guitar that's been played for years.

This guitar has a hand-selected Engelmann spruce top. Compared to Sitka spruce, Engelmann spruce is lighter in weight and vibrates more freely, giving you fuller tone. The back and sides are made of solid rosewood, which creates overtone-rich acoustic sound with detailed highs and lows.

If you're looking for a guitar for country music that offers more warmth and less decay than one made with maple, the LJ16 is an excellent choice. The traditional profile mahogany/rosewood neck is suitable for most players, and the ebony fingerboard is fast and easy to play. This acoustic guitar also comes equipped with Yamaha's acclaimed SRT electronics, making it easy to plug in and play live.

Our Star Rating

This acoustic guitar's great build quality and relatively low price point make it the best value on the list for players of country music. We give it five out of five stars

Review

Even casual country fans have heard of Sheryl Crow. But whether you're a fan or not, you're sure to love this all-solid, wonderfully built instrument. Its world-class Amulet M pickup system is made of multiple transducers, each of which has its own preamp. Plus, its all-analog circuitry makes its sound as close to unplugged as possible.

This dreadnought is built with Gibson's famous hide glue, a glue that can enhance expression and sustain. And since it has a thermally aged Sitka spruce top, this guitar also has a vintage sound and appeal from the start. The back and sides are made of solid genuine mahogany for a wonderfully warm yet still detailed sound. This is a very expensive guitar, but its impeccable build and incredible electronics make it a performer's dream.

Our Star Rating

We think that this stunning, great-sounding dreadnought has the best electronics on the list, and we give it five out of five stars.

Review

The jumbo body style is inextricably linked with country music. And this high-end jumbo from Guild is a wonderful instrument for serious country musicians. Though Guild guitars have suffered a bit of a hit to their reputation in recent years, the F-55E is a spectacular comeback. This all-solid guitar has Indian rosewood back and sides for highly detailed sound with a deep bass that's perfect for hybrid picking.

The C-shaped neck with ebony fingerboard plays exquisitely, too -- the combination of slick ebony and a thin profile makes even complex runs easy. Plus, the mahogany neck has a walnut center stripe for classy visual interest. If you need a jumbo that projects effortlessly and can keep up with a country or Western swing ensemble, this guitar is a must-have.

Our Star Rating

We think this beautiful all-solid guitar from the Guild is the best high-end instrument on the list. We give it 4.5 out of five stars.

Review

Plenty of players who love Gibson guitars but who are on a budget turn to Epiphone, Gibson's budget brand. However, Epiphone guitars are worthy in their own right, especially if you choose carefully.

This guitar is a more affordable version of Gibson's SJ-200. And like many jumbos, it has a solid spruce top and maple back and sides. If you want to play country music and are looking for a classic acoustic, this is a great guitar to choose.

The EJ-200SCE acoustic guitar comes with a slim-taper neck for ease of playing, and it's made of hard maple, which resists warping and other issues. And if you're hoping to play live music, the Epiphone eSonic II Stereo electronics let you plug in effortlessly.

Our Star Rating

This guitar's quality sound and affordable price point make it the best affordable jumbo for country music. We give it four out of five stars.

Review

The name of the Martin M-36 isn't quite as easily recognizable as the D-18 or D-28. That's because it's a jumbo. Martin is certainly more famous for their dreadnoughts than they are for their jumbos, but that doesn't mean that the M-36 is inferior in any way.

The M-36 is perfect for the country. Jumbo guitars like this one have the bass and projection the genre requires. The forward-shifted scalloped X bracing helps increase the bass response even further, and the responsive spruce top yields crisp and sparkling highs. The result is an instrument that can easily handle solos, flatpicking, fingerpicking, and strumming.

It's important to note that, like many of Martin's high-end instruments, the Martin M-36 does not come with electronics. For those who play unplugged, this is a great feature -- all of the guitar's price goes towards the quality of craftsmanship, with none going to electronics.

Our Star Rating

We think that this is the best acoustic guitar for country music if you prefer instruments without electronics. We give it four out of five stars.

Review

Johnny Cash has inspired countless country players, and this stunning guitar pays tribute to the Man in Black himself. This guitar is also designed to be an affordable choice for country music players--it's made of Martin's high-pressure laminate for durability. Its birch laminate neck has Martin's Performing Artist profile, which is slimmer than most guitar necks for easy playability.

When it comes to looks, this acoustic guitar is a standout--it has an eye-catching black satin finish, and the Richlite fretboard is inlaid with stars and a special "Cash" inlay at the 17th fret. It also comes equipped with Fishman MX electronics for live playability

Our Star Rating

This guitar's truly distinctive look and excellent playability make it the best country tribute model on the list. We give it three and a half out of four stars.

Review

Gretsch is a brand that is intimately connected to country and rockabilly music, and the Rancher acoustic is one of the company's flagship models. If you want to make the Gretsch sound your own, you can do so with this truly unusual edition of the Rancher.

As soon as you see this guitar, you'll notice something is different--it comes equipped with a tremolo system, something almost never seen on the acoustic guitar. It also has an arched top for rich and distinctive acoustic guitar tone.

The G5034TFT also comes equipped with a Fideli'Tron humbucker, which gives you versatile tonal options--when plugged in, you can easily go from sparkling clean acoustic sound to a distinctly dirty tone.

This guitar has a laminated maple top for a crisp sound, and the laminated mahogany neck, back, and sides add a degree of warmth to your sound. This isn't your average dreadnought acoustic, but it might be the right guitar if you want something different.

Our Star Rating

This guitar's truly unique build makes it the best unusual country guitar on the list. We give it four out of five stars.

Review

You might not think of Seagull when you picture a guitar for country music. Seagull is a fairly new company, so its guitars don't enjoy the storied history of some older brands. However, music is about finding your own style, and you can do just that with Seagull's affordable yet well-built S6 guitar.

The S6 is an acoustic guitar for those who want to step away from the mainstream--you've likely noticed that most guitars on the list have a spruce top. Sitka spruce and other species of spruce are often chosen for their sonic versatility, but sometimes, players want a guitar that has a darker, warmer sound than a spruce top can offer.

This guitar has a solid cedar top, which creates a mellow, beautifully warm country tone. It also has a body made of laminated wild cherry, which is similar to maple in terms of tone. The silverleaf maple neck is incredibly durable, and Seagull's signature tapered headstock helps preserve tuning stability.

This limited edition acoustic model comes in a stunning Tennesse Red finish with a white pickguard. It's a unique, vintage-inspired look that makes it a great option for players of country music.

Our Star Rating

This guitar's beautifully unique good looks make it the guitar with the best finish on the list. We give it four out of five stars.

Review

This guitar is another Guild guitar, but Guild instruments tend to be a bit overlooked in the world of country music. The brand is commonly associated with bluegrass, but Guild's jumbos in particular have a sound that will appeal to many country players.

However, the larger jumbo guitar bodies can prove to be a real challenge to handle if you're a smaller player. These large acoustics aren't necessarily very heavy, but they can be very bulky. If you're small in stature but love the sound of a jumbo, the Guild Jumbo Junior may be just right. This scaled-down jumbo has a solid Sitka spruce top and laminated flamed maple back and sides, so it offers the projection you need.

The fairly affordable Jumbo Junior also includes reliable electronics -- the AP1 preamp is a combination of Fishman and Guild engineering, and the included piezo pickup is a Fishman Sonicore. And if you have smaller hands, you'll love the lightning-fast slim C neck profile, too!

Our Star Rating

We think that this instrument is the best one for smaller-sized players on the list, and we give it 3.5 out of five stars.

Review

Gretsch is definitely better known for their hollow and semi-hollow electric guitars than they're for their acoustics. But the brand's Rancher acoustics have a lot of historical significance. This design rose to prominence in the 1950s, and today, the Rancher jumbo cutaway is an excellent choice for country artists who like vintage-inspired sound.

Part of this guitar's powerful and unusual sound is due to the triangle-shaped soundhole. This design feature helped Gretsch acoustics stand out in the 50s, and it certainly helps the Rancher stand out now. A Venetian cutaway grants easy fret access, and a synthetic bone nut and saddle help make the tone incredibly rich.

Our Star Rating

We think that the unusual-looking Rancher is the best historical guitar on the list. We give it 3.5 out of five stars.

Review

Sometimes, platers want an acoustic guitar that's a little different from the rest. This Washburn acoustic is built with comfort in mind. Washburn has been a renowned guitar builder since the 1800s. Some of their guitars, like this one, combine classic design with modern innovations.

This is an auditorium-style acoustic, so the body projects like a jumbo but doesn't have all of the boominess. It has a solid cedar top, making it warmer than most country guitars with a Sitka spruce top. The body is made of beautiful laminated spalted maple.

The mahogany neck adds some warmth to the tone, and this guitar comes with a unique feature--a built-in armrest on the lower bout. It has a Venetian cutaway for easier fret access, and it comes equipped with Fishman Presys+ electronics.

Our Star Rating

This guitar's built-in armrest and cutaway make it the most comfortable guitar to play on the list. We give it four out of five stars.