Whether youre treating yourself to your first real high end sensory guitar, or youre a seasoned working musician looking for an upgrade, guitar shopping with a upkeep of $2000 leaves you with tons of fantastic options.
We put together this KillerGuitarRigs Review of the best sensory guitars under $2000 to show you some of the fantastic options you have at this this price range. Weve included models starting at $1000 all the way to the top end of the upkeep and focused on appearance, quality, playability, and tone during each review. When tent sensory electric models, we used the sensory voice on our Boss Katana Head and Katana cabinet, with the same settings for every guitar.
If youre looking for inspiration, or youre not plane sure where to start looking for your next acoustic, you wont want to miss this. Keep on reading to learn more.
Our Top Picks for Weightier Sensory Guitars Under $2000
We loved the tousle of performance and value for money we got in the Taylor American Dream AD17, so much so, that it took our top pick award. It was tons of fun to play, and sounded wonderful.
Our Best Value nomination went to the Epiphone Slash J-45. Considering it financing just half of the allotted budget, it delivers big wideness the board, matching much increasingly expensive competition in terms of materials, construction quality, and tone.
Shoppers who arent wrung to go all in with their upkeep to get the very weightier guitar in the price range should be looking at our Editors Choice, the Martin D-16E. It offers some of the sweetest most nuanced tones youll hear at any price, and brings unparalleled playablity.
Best Sensory Guitars Under $2000 – Individual Reviews
An affordable entry point into a US made Taylor.
This is a wonderful guitar for players looking for plenty of bn for their buck. It’s an American made model, synthetic with all solid woods, and it delivers big on the bright, room filing tones that Taylor is so well known for.
The Taylor American dream AD17 had an extremely handsome slope shoulder dreadnought soul style, which Taylor refer to as the Grand Pacific soul design.
It was made with a spruce top and ovangkol when and sides. Interestingly Taylor has placed increasingly accent on tone and dynamics than they have with philosophy on the American Dream series, with the intent of producing a largest sounding guitar at a more affordable price. Honestly, we think they veritably nailed it.
The neck was made from mahogany, and like most Taylor necks, it was very slim, and extremely well-appointed – more like an electric guitars neck than youd typically find on an sensory guitar. Topping the neck was a eucalyptus wood fretboard. This fretboard had the visionless luster of ebony, but with the goody of stuff a much increasingly sustainable material.
We were seriously impressed with the fret work on this model – It was well-nigh as nicely dressed as weve overly seen a non-PLEKd guitar, with trappy rounded edges and smooth, level crowns.
As for tones, the American dream was clean and uncommonly bright. Plane though it was bright, its still had quite a mature tone which we put lanugo to the nomination of wood used in the soul construction. It was punchy and articulate, expressly virtually the mid range, and had a well tamed top end that gave us plenty of shimmer without sounding vitreous or harsh.
The hardware was as good as youd expect for a guitar at this price point. It had Taylor branded tuning machines which performed flawlessly providing waddle solid tuning stability and easy fine-tuning.
Verdict: The Taylor American Dream AD17 was a real joy to play. The set up out of the box was veritably superb, and wed have no issue taking this directly to a gig or to the studio without any adjustments. As an widow bonus, it came with a fantastic Taylor AeroCase gig bag.
Pros:
- Superb fretwork
- Bright tones
- Comfortable body
Cons:
- Ovangkol fretboard
- Less lulu grain
A phenomenally well made and equipped sinature model guitar.
This model sits at the upper end of Epiphone’s range. It has a archetype Gibson style J 45 slope shoulder design, ripened in conjunction with the signature versifier himself, none other than Slash. It benefits from all solid wood construction, and has one of the nicest finishes you’ll see on any sensory guitar.
Being one of the flagship models, the Epiphone Slash J-45 was made with all solid woods. Sitka Spruce on the top and solid mahogany on the when and sides. This is an obvious step up from most Epiphones and everyone who has reservations well-nigh spending $1000 on an imported guitar can rest unpreventable that this is made as well as any domestic model.
It had a mahogany neck with Epiphones spanking-new C profile. It felt fantastic, it was fast playing, extremely forgiving, and very comfortable plane during extended use. As per slushes specifications, it has a 16 inch radius making the Indian Laurel fretboard Florida than stereotype for easy rhythm work and fatigue self-ruling lead playing.
Tones from this guitar were absolutely exceptional, it was punchy and it had an undeniably strong mid range presence. The marrow end was huge giving it superstitious resonance and some beautifully subtle overtones that manage to reach all corners of any room you play this guitar in.
It was equipped with a fantastic LR Baggs VTC pick up system. This is one of our wool favorite sensory electronic sets! It served up some fantastic organic, natural sensory tones, and was very responsive to changes in attack. It was moreover nice to see a discrete sound slum volume control.
Overall build quality was Excellent. Epiphone have fitted the Slash signature with some high-end hardware including Grover Rotomatic tuners. They delivered reliable tuning performance, and widow to the premium aesthetic. We were moreover very pleased to see that it came with a Slash branded fitted nonflexible case, too.
Verdict: the Epiphone Slash J-45 Delivered an incredibly rewarding playing experience. While many now socialize the Epiphone trademark with upkeep guitars, this is anything but budget. It offers professional level playability and tones, comes in well under the $2000 budget, and looks fantastic in the process.
Pros:
- All solid wood
- Available in 2 superstitious finishes
- Premium feel
Cons:
- Indonesian made
- Slash branding might not appeal
Iconic tones, timeless looks, and stellar performance.
This dreadnought comes from the original inventor of the style, and it really shows. It delivers huge tones that remain well-balanced in any situation, and considering it’s hand crafted by some of the world’s finest luthiers a Martin’s Nazareth, PA plant, it’s an heirloom quality instrument that’s truly built to last.
When it comes to construction materials, this trademark is widely known to select some of the finest woods for use in the premium models such as the Martin D-16E. It came with a fantastic Sitka spruce top, and plane genuine rosewood when and sides. Stuff made with all solid woods gave this guitar such incredible presence, and wonderful character.
The neck was carved into a modified low oval profile. This is similar to a slim D Shape. It was supremely well-appointed and this was no doubt aided by the use of a performing artists taper on the neck that unliable for unrenowned fret wangle up and lanugo the entirety of the neck.
Continuing the theme of premium tone words, the fretboard was made with ebony, which is unchangingly a welcome sight on an sensory guitar. The fretboard was one of the smoothest weve overly played and felt simply phenomenal under the fingers. As for fretwork the frets had been treated to a PLEK dressing right from the factory and were literally perfect in every way.
Because the D-16E has a slightly slimmer soul than a standard Martin dreadnought, the toned was overly so slightly reduced, which made this the perfect recording guitar. Despite the reduced bass, it still retained enormous presence with prominent mids, and a gorgeous shimmery top end. Playing an unshut chord on this guitar and just letting it ring instantly put a smile on the squatter of everyone who heard it – simply incredible.
For those who like to play through an amplifier it was equipped with a Fishman Matrix VT Enhance NT2 pickup system. In wing to the traditional under saddle piezo transducer it moreover included an wide Enhance element that was worldly-wise to be composite into the piezo output, giving a whole new range of organic tones.
One of the things we love most well-nigh high-end Martins is the use of beautiful unshut gear tuning machines. not only did the tuners on this Martin squint fantastic, but they moreover performed brilliantly, and they worked well with the genuine unorthodoxy nut to unhook perfect inonation and incredible tuning stability. As expected of any good guitar at this price point it did come with a nice quality gig bag.
Verdict: The Martin D-16E is simply the best sensory guitar on the market for $2000 or less. The craftsmanship is simply unparalleled, and the tones are instantly recognizable. Dont forget, that this is no show pony either! While it would squint mythological hanging on a wall it would squint plane largest on stage or in the studio with any ventriloquist or plane professional artist.
Pros:
- PLEKd frets
- Beautiful woods
- Excellent electronics
Cons:
- Expensive
- Quieter than full depth dreadnoughts
A Japanese legend reborn for today’s player.
This guitar is a true Japanese icon. This particular guitar is a reboot of the archetype red label models of the 1960s and is a glowing example of the type of quality that Yamaha is renowned for. It’s made with such incredible sustentation to detail you’ll find yourself questioning why it’s not a increasingly popular model.
The construction of the Yamaha Red Label FGX5 is all solid wood, with spruce stuff used for the top, and solid mahogany for the when and sides. One thing that we were not too fond of was the aging tint applied to the top, it detracted from the unexceptionable stimulating of the spruce, making it squint increasingly like a classical model.
On this model, Yamaha has used their A.R.E. wood torrecfaction, which put simply, ways that they have artificially weather-beaten the wood to requite the guitar a mature, wrenched in tone right out of the box.
It had a solid African mahogany neck carved into a medium to slim sized C profile. We found it to be very well-appointed from top to bottom, and quite fast playing too. Continuing the theme of premium woods it featured a stunning ebony fretboard, which looked amazing, and really widow to the once spanking-new playability.
As weve found with scrutinizingly every Yamaha weve overly tested, the fret work was extremely well done. Of course, stuff a flagship model, the frets were a significant step whilom Yamahas regular models. They were incredibly smooth on top, and had perfectly beveled edges remoter increasing the repletion of this guitar.
Tonally, the FGX5 was very nicely balanced. The Sitka spruce top delivered some spanking-new sparkle virtually the mids and top end, and the full size dreadnought style soul and should incredible projection and room filling volume. The A.R.E. Treated wood really did make a lot of difference, and gave it a real vintage tone, right out of the box.
We were big fans of the Yamaha Atmosfeel electronic set up. It came with a pick up and a preamp, with a piezo under saddle transducer and an internal microphone. Having a transducer and a microphone working together in tandem delivered some incredible tones and really captured the essence of the FGX5S character.
It had a blend knob that unliable us to fade between the pickup and the mic, and this was a very welcome feature. Unfortunately, the knobs were quite low profile, which did make them difficult to retread the players with big hands.
Yamaha really did a unconfined job curating the hardware for this guitar. It came with a bone nut and a unorthodoxy saddle, A custom fit nonflexible case, and a set of gorgeous Gotoh Unshut gear tuning machines, which Looked as good as they performed.
Verdict: the Yamaha red label FGX5 really does showcase all that Yamaha are capable of. It was a master matriculation in construction quality, and the tones were simply outstanding. It was let lanugo a little by the controls for the electronics, but this is a fairly insignificant complaint in the context of how good this guitar is as a whole.
Pros:
- Quality components
- Exceptional fit and finish
- Real vintage tones
Cons:
- Tinted top
- EQ knobs nonflexible to manipulate
A stripped lanugo version of an American icon.
With this sensory guitar, you’re getting afantastic US made instrument from one of the most established names in Lutherie. This model takes things when to nuts using simple, yet quality materials to create a guitar that delivers the unmistakable Gibson tone at a price that might surprise you.
Like all Gibson Guitars, the Gibson G-45 is proudly hand made in Bozeman Montana. I intentionally light on embellishments, the prime goal of the G 45 is to unhook Gibson tone at an attainable price
It had Gibsons legendary slope shoulder dreadnought soul shape, which has unchangingly been a favorite of ours at KGR. The top was made with solid Sitka spruce, while the when and sides were crafted from Walnut. It had a very thin satin nitro lacquer, so with time it will trammels and age naturally.
The neck was made from utile, And had Gibsons advanced response profile. The AR profile is a little thicker than the slim taper D, and in truth we did find ourselves thinking that we wish it did have the slim tip of the neck. The thicker profile was still comfortable, but it noticeably slowed Lanugo our playing.
For what is supposed to be a no frills model we were pleased to see a striped ebony fretboard. The visionless wood really looked unconfined and felt good under the fingers.
We found out the tones from the G-45 were punchy, and very responsive to transpiration an attack. It had a very prominent mid range, and a deep, booming marrow end, but not a lot of accent on the troubles, which did lead to it sounding a little muddy when played hard.
One other interesting full-length was the Player Port, which is a secondary sound slum in the upper toned side bout, designed to let the player hear a increasingly well-judged representation of the guitars real sound. We loved the concept, but in reality, we didnt find that it made all that much difference.
For hardware, it was equipped with Grover Rotomatic tuners and a Tusq nut and saddle. Tuning stability was excellent, the guitar was perfectly intonated, and the set up Was good to go right out of the box.
Verdict: The Gibson G-45 is a unconfined entry point into full-size Gibson acoustics. We think that this model is veritably suitable for amateurs and working musicians alike, and we think it would be weightier suited to rhythm players, due to its strong mid and toned performance.
Pros:
- US Made
- Nitro finish
- Grover tuners
Cons:
- Neck was a little thick
- Player port felt gimmicky
This hand crafted guitar is a favorite of Bruce Springsteen, and for good reason.
Any player looking for something a little variegated should requite a lot of consideration to this guitar. Its woebegone finish is simply stunning, it offers fantastic sensory and inferential performance, and to top things off, it’s built to the highest standards, by true artisans.
The Takamine Legacy EF341SC is a highly sought without Japanese made model, that serves up unvigilant looks and plane bolder performance.
It had a dreadnought style soul with a single cut away, providing spanking-new upper fret access. The top was made with solid cedar, and the when and sides were made from solid maple. This combination of tonewoods gave the Takamine Legacy a fantastically unique sound profile.
The gloss soul finish unfurled up onto the Mahogany neck, which was disappointing to say the least. While it honestly looked amazing, a satin finish for the neck wouldve been much preferred for playability.
Thankfully, the rosewood fretboard and the upper quality fret work somewhat made up for the sticky neck. The edges were perfectly finished, and the crowns were as smooth as glass.
Tones were flipside strong point for the Legacy. This was the only cedar topped model in the round up, and it really did sound like nothing else. The top end was warm and delicate, and the maple when and sides gave it plenty of dial to unhook tight, room filling toned that never over powered the rest of the mix.
For those who like to play amplified, it featured proprietary Takamine electronics which performed well, giving an accurate representation of the guitars tone wideness a range of volumes. Sadly, the graphic EQ controls looked very dated and spoiled the otherwise sleek squint of the guitar.
Overall build quality was exceptional, as evidenced by the stunning paint work, and the inclusion of high-end components like Gotoh tuners, and unorthodoxy for the saddle and nut.
Verdict: The Takamine Legacy EF341SC was a glowing example of why Takamine guitars have been favorites among professional musicians at the hghest level for decades. It was unmistakably built by extremely skilled luthiers, and this showed in all areas including the build quality and the gorgeous tones.
Pros:
- Exceptional hand built quality
- Unique tones
- Excellent upper fret access
Cons:
- Gloss neck finish
- Unattractive EQ controls
A simple strummer that takes things when to Martin’s roots.
This Martin is a Blues players Dream. It’s a real performer that doesn’t rely on fancy trim or embellishments, it simply lets the tones do the talking. It’s an all solid wood, US made Martin, and it could be yours with transpiration to spare.
The Martin 0015M Was the smallest guitar in this roundup by quite some margin. But what it locked in size, it did make up for in character. As you can probably guess bites name it had 00 soul style, which is similar in size to a concert guitar.
Mahogany was the primary construction material in this case, with solid mahogany stuff used for the top when and sides, as well as the neck. While we appreciated the simplicity of the guitar, the thin top stratify did make the surface look and finger somewhat unfinished, which may not be to everyones taste.
We found the neck to be comfortable, and this was no surprise given that it had the same modified low oval profile as our Editors choice, the Martin D-16E. Rosewood was in use for the fretboard, and while it didnt have tightness or any stimulating flourishes to speak of, the edges were uncommonly well-appointed with good economics, and it moreover helped that the fretwork was immaculate.
Blues players will absolutely love the tones from this Martin. We found that they were perfect for Delta blues fingerpicking. It had strong presence virtually the trebles and upper middle, which made it really pop in a mix. It had unconfined voice and note separation, too.
This guitar was unmistakably built to a high standard using quality components. It was perfectly set up from the factory with wondrous playability, and waddle solid tuning stability.
Verdict: The Martin 00-15M might not be the prettiest guitar, but its reliable, and will age wonderfully with time. It served up some fantastic tones that really helped us to find the joy in simplicity, getting when to nuts without the distractions that many expensive guitars offer.
Pros:
- Wonderful tone
- Reliable performance
- Tons of character
Cons:
- Unfinished feel
- Small toned response
How To Segregate The Weightier Sensory Guitar Under $2000
While shopping for guitars at this price point ways youre unlikely to end up with a lemon, it isnt without its own pitfalls. In order to make sure you get a great guitar that suits your needs, weve put together this buyers guide with the aim of helping you navigate through your options.
Materials
The first thing you need to consider is what the soul of the guitar is made from. This has the biggest impact on tone by quite some margin, and not only that, but it will likely have the biggest impact on the price, too.
Solid Wood vs. Laminate
Laminates have come a long way, and still have their place in guitar construction, but when looking at models that forfeit up to $2000, you will want to make sure youre looking at guitars that make use of all solid woods(including the back, sides, and neck). Solid woods tend to produce largest resonance and sustain than laminates, and theyll often squint better, too.
Body Style
There are a number of variegated sensory soul styles that all offer variegated tones and playing experiences:
Dreadnought
Dreadnoughts are amongst the largest of the sensory soul styles, and are known for their big, booming voices. They arent unchangingly the most well-appointed to play, but those who segregate this style are rewarded with rich, room filling tone.
Dreadnoughts are remoter wrenched lanugo into sub categories including slope shoulder dreadnoughts, and cutaway dreadnoughts. Within the subcategories there is very little difference in tone, but aesthetically they can be quite different.
Concert
The concert soul style is a very popular sensory guitar shape, and is heralded for its comfort and easy playability. You will sometimes see it referred to as OO or 00 shape, depending on the brand. Concert guitars have a increasingly nuanced, sweet tone thats favored by fingerstyle players.
Jumbo
Jumbo guitars are often plane larger than dreadnoughts, but have a much increasingly pronounced waist. They have less toned response than a dreadnought, but similar volume, making them very popular with country players looking for increasingly twang in their tone.
Final Thoughts on the Weightier Sensory Guitars nder $2000
This roundup saw us test some of the finest sensory guitars weve overly had the pleasure of tent at KGR. We learned that with a upkeep of $2000, you can find some incredible guitars, and that there are options to suit a multitude of players.
To summarize our favorites from this review; we loved the Taylor American Dream AD17 (our top pick) for its spanking-new tousle of tone, presence and style, all at a pearly price. We thought that the Epiphone Slash J-45 delivered unrenowned value for money considering its premium construction. Finally, we thought that our Editors choice, the Martin D-18E was a simply outstanding guitar in every aspect, and well worthy of your consideration if youre looking for the weightier sensory guitar under $2000.
The post 7 Weightier Sensory Guitars Under $2000 (2022) appeared first on Killer Guitar Rigs.
