High-End Best Acoustic Guitar Under $2000 (2024)

When searching for the best acoustic guitar under $2000, there are several factors to remember to ensure you get a great guitar that matches your playing style and musical needs. This guide will help you identify key aspects to look for in a new guitar, whether it’s your first guitar or an upgrade from your current musical instrument.

Tonewoods and Build Quality

The type of solid wood used in a guitar’s construction significantly influences its sound quality and tone. The best acoustic guitars under $2000 feature high-quality solid woods such as solid Sitka spruce, solid mahogany, and solid ovangkol.

• Top Wood: Solid Sitka spruce is the most common configuration due to its balanced sound and dynamic range. A solid mahogany top offers a rich tone with a warm midrange and excellent projection, making it ideal for various musical styles. Mahogany-top guitars have surged to prominence in the market, signaling a notable change in tone preferences among guitarists.
• Back and Sides: In this price range, you can expect high quality solid wood used on the back and sides. This is something that’s hard to find even with the best cheap acoustic guitar. Mahogany, rosewood, and ovangkol are the most common, and they provide different tonal characteristics. Mahogany construction delivers a warm, woody tone. While rosewood and ovangkol offer more balanced tone profiles with clear highs and robust lows. Premium tonewoods like solid indian rosewood are well loved for their exceptional looks, and clarity of sound.

Body Shape and Size

Body shape is crucial in the guitar’s tone, playability, and comfort. Dreadnought, Concert, Auditorium, and Grand Pacific shapes are represented in this guide, each one providing unique tonal qualities.

• Dreadnought: Known for its powerful, bass-heavy sound, it’s perfect for strumming and heavy flatpicking. The downside to this body type is its bulky shape and size.
• Concert and Auditorium: These smaller-bodied six-string guitars emphasize more of the mids while reducing excess lows. This makes room for nuances in technique and dynamic, perfect for more intricate playing styles.
• Hybrid Inbetween Shapes: These are body shapes like the Grand Pacific, which combines the best aspects of the six-string guitar dreadnought and smaller shapes. This results in a more rounded, balanced sound suitable for various playing styles.

Note that there are plenty of other types of acoustic guitars, but this guide only focuses on the best-rated ones for this price range.

Playability and Comfort

Playability can vary between different guitar models and brands. Pay attention to neck shape, scale length, and nut width to find a decent acoustic guitar that feels comfortable.

• Neck Profile and Mahogany Neck: A slim, comfortable neck is ideal for fast playing, while a chunkier profile offers a better grip for chord playing. Different guitar neck shapes offer different playing feels.
• Scale Length and Nut Width: A longer scale provides a tighter feel, while a shorter scale offers softer playability and a warmer guitar tone.
• String Gauge and Type: Generally speaking, the thinner the gauge of the steel strings, the lesser the string tension, which means less effort is needed to get a sound. On the flipside, thicker strings generally sound fuller. Note nylon strings are not considered in this guide.

Sound Quality and Bracing

Bracing patterns affect the guitar’s resonance and overall sound quality:

• X-Bracing: This is the common bracing found in most acoustic guitars. When looking for the best guitar under 2000, expect to find that most options have X-bracings that scalloped. Scalloped X Bracing uses less wood, which allows the top to vibrate better. X bracings offer good structural support while ensuring good tonal balance and projection.
• V-Class Bracing: This is a modern bracing design specific to Taylor Guitars. It is meant to enhance sustain, volume, and intonation.

Aesthetics and Finish

A good-looking guitar generally translates to good build quality and a better feel. Especially in the $2000 price range, you expect nothing less than perfection when it comes to attention to detail and the finish.

The aesthetics of the best guitars under 2000 go beyond mere looks. The finish impacts playability and sound. A satin finish, for example, allows the wood to resonate more freely than a glossy finish, which can slightly dampen the sound. Thinner finishes are desired for their smooth worn-in feel.

Brand Reputation and Craftsmanship

Investing in a guitar from a reputable brand like Martin, Taylor, or Guild ensures high build quality and consistency. Great guitars from these brands are known for their attention to detail, craftsmanship, and commitment to delivering excellent tones. More importantly, their guitars have tons of positive hands-on reviews from actual owners that ensure you’re getting a really high-quality guitar.

To be fair, the better guitar isn’t always the one from a popular brand. But you’re chances of getting a good guitar is higher when you choose from reputable brands.

You’ll definitely notice big jumps in terms of playability, attention to detail, and tone when you’re leveling up from a budget acoustic guitar. This is why the best used acoustic guitars are usually in this price range.

But the big brands aren’t the only ones who churn out high-quality acoustic guitars. Some boutique manufacturers can build you excellent guitars to your specs in this price range. The downside is that you won’t have the same assurance of quality consistency, but musicians who can splurge don’t let this bother them.

Personal Preferences and Playing Styles

Ultimately, the best acoustic guitar for you depends on your specific playing style and musical preferences. And these preferences are often dictated by the guitarists who influence your playing.

Whether you prefer the balanced tone of a concert guitar for fingerstyle playing, the boom and punch of a dreadnought, or something in between, finding a guitar that feels right to you is important.

To be safe, you can start with the same guitar model or body type that your favorite guitarists use. You can then try other shapes and configurations to find what suits you.

The more you understand the sound and playing feel you want, the more confident you can be with your guitar choice.