If you’re like me, you find large body acoustic guitars bulky and uncomfortable to play on. Thin body acoustics are awesome and totally solve this problem perfectly. And…….some of the thin body acoustic options out there are incredible.
So, I made this list of the absolute best thin body guitars out there. Hope you enjoy!!!
Note: I made this list based on the absolute best thin body guitar models I could find. I didn’t pay attention to price, but if you’re looking for a great deal there are some insane deals on this list.
#1 Fender Acoustasonic
I’ve got to start with this one, mainly because it’s become iconic. And before you start with your prejudices (and if you’ve heard anything about them I’ve sure you have some….)
Go ahead and just listen to this guitar. It actually……sounds good. Really good.
What makes it one of the best thin body acoustics however is not how it sounds…….it’s about its playability. Seriously, these play just as good as a regular tele. You have to go and at least try one if you ever can. SO fun to play.
Note: Yes there’s a strat version as well!
(Check Price, Specs, and More Info on Amazon)
#2 Taylor GS Mini
Of course, I had to add this one to the list. As what seems to be almost everyone’s favorite smaller bodied guitar. It IS for good reason. They could probably charge double the price for these guitars and still have absolutely ecstatic and obsessed fans.
Me personally, while I totally agree with the hype…….it is deserved…….I don’t think that Taylor has the best sounding mini guitar…….but it is almost CERTAINLY one of the best.
(Check Price, Specs, and More Info on Amazon)
#3 Martin M-36
There’s not much to say about this if you know anything about Martins. If you don’t know much about Martin guitars, all you need to know is that they’re INSANELY well built, and have an absolutely beautiful tone that’s hard to beat.
I’d assume, for most people this would be their ideal choice for a thin body acoustic…..as long as they’ve got a fat wallet.
It’s not my absolute favorite personally, but it DEFINITELY deserves recognition as an extremely nice – high end thin body acoustic.
#4 Yamaha APX600
STOP. Don’t just scroll past this one because of the brand name. I know a lot of people are biased against these models because you instantly might think of their beginner guitar models…..but seriously this is absolutely hands down one of the best thin bodied acoustics out there. I hate to admit it……but it’s true.
This is an absolutely incredible model in a lot of ways, mainly that it sounds really ridiculously good. For a good price to. (Like practically every Yamaha of course)
Also, it’s surprisingly attractive. I usually don’t like the look of Yamahas……at all, but this is actually a pretty nice looking one.
(Check Price, Specs, and More Info on Amazon)
#5 Alex Lifeson signature guitar
Extremely unique guitar, but not surprisingly. PRS does a lot of unique stuff with their instruments. What’s most interesting to me is the way they did their bracing, which is X bracing combined with fan bracing. I think this is what makes it sound absolutely incredible.
The tone from this guitar is to die for, what blows my mind though is how FULL the tone sounds. Sounds as full as a dreadnought. I can’t believe I’m saying that honestly.
#6 Ibanez AEWC Thinline
THIS GUITAR IS A STEAL. Honestly I don’t know what’s up with Ibanez…….but I’ll admit I am a HUGE fan of the deals they put out there. The stuff you can buy from them is just unreal how good of quality you get for the price nowadays.
This particular model sounds absolutely incredible as well. There are thinline guitars out there that cost so much more that don’t even sound as good. Oh, and they play great to. All around just a ridiculously good deal. Which is hard to find when it comes to thinline guitars.
#7 Kiesel Guitars Zeus Acoustic
Everything about this guitar is so unique. From the body design to of course being a thin body……but what you’ll notice first about it is the tone. It jumps right out at you when you hear it. It’s hard to describe, but not in a bad way…..in fact I haven’t heard many guitars that sound quite like it. Must be something to do with the build, but I’m not sure what.
Kiesel is an awesome guitar brand. If you haven’t checked out their guitars before you’re seriously missing out. They have a very cool and unique collection. Absolutely stunning guitars. I do wish they made more acoustics however.
#8 Kala!
Dead serious, this is a real thing! I can’t believe I had never heard of Kala making guitars before (for those who don’t now they make incredible ukuleles)
They are nylon string, so for most people this is a dealbreaker………. but you might change your mind when you hear just how Beautiful the tone on this Guitar is.
They’re also really really ridiculously affordable, so if you can find anyway of getting over the fact that this guitar is a nylon string….you should. They’re seriously so cool, and I don’t think they’ll be around forever because they’re not insanely popular like Kalas ukulele models.
Great option, (probably the best) option if you’re looking for a thin body acoustic with nylon strings. Definitely worth checking out at the least however, even if you’re not interested in nylon strings.
#9 Yamaha APXT2
YES. Another Yamaha. I was shocked I added one at all to this list. Adding two…..I never thought would happen……but here we are.
Honestly, it’s well deserved. It’s a really really nice guitar. The question you might be asking though, is what makes it so great?
What makes it so great…..and sets it so far apart from other models out there, is how TINY it is but still maintaining VERY high quality. First time I heard this guitar I audibly said “no way” I was so shocked at the tone that came out of it. You expect when a guitar is this small that the tone HAS to sound tinny, but somehow…..Yamaha has made this guitar so the tinny-ness (is that a word lol) is not heard in this model at all.
I’ll say, the only times I heard the guitar sound a little odd to me was in the higher frets, but still that’s a common problem and to be expected from thinner bodied acoustics.
Again, it’s definitely worth the listen and to check out a little bit. If you do get one, they’d be a great travel guitar as well. Plus, it’s fun to shock your friends with a guitar that sounds ridiculously nice and it’s unexpected.
#10 Takamine tsp138c
BEST SOUNDING THIN BODY BY FAR. Of course, I’m not surprised…..i’ve been in love with Takamine ever since I first heard one. They’ve always been my favorite acoustic when it comes to tone. I even like them over Taylor believe it or not.
Definitely worth a listen regardless, and if you think I’m crazy and that there’s a better sounding thin body out there…….well I’d love to hear about it. Please leave a comment!
Now when it comes to everything else other than the tone, everything is very impressive. There’s not really much to say bad about it. Now, the guy in the review below does talk about how it has some neck dive……but honestly, it’s hard not to have neck dive when you have a thin bodied guitar. Naturally, the neck will weigh more. It’s unfortunate, but Takamine gets a free pass on there because I have no idea how they could combat the neck dive really, other than maybe adding more weight to the body……and having a heavy guitar isn’t great either. (Unless you’re one of those guys that’s cool with that, I don’t know how you gig…..but props to you)
(Check Price, Specs, and More Info on Amazon)
#11 Dean Exhibition
I’m surprised to be adding Dean to this list, nothing against Dean I like their guitars……they’re just not a company I would’ve expected to make a thin body acoustic. Turns out not only do they make them, but this one isn’t the only one they make.
This is however, the only one I could find with Aphex. Which is an addition built into the preamp that makes this guitar sound incredibly full. It really adds a bass end to this guitar that makes it stand out among thin bodied guitars.
What’s interesting, is in the video below they don’t even show the quilted top version…….they show their guitar in black, which still looks nice…..but the quilted maple top version of this guitar is GORGEOUS. It’s honestly one of the prettiest thin body’s there is.
(Check Price, Specs, and More Info on Amazon)
Conclusion:
There is an absolute insane amount of options to choose from when it comes to thin bodied guitars surprisingly, so much more than you’d think. There’s literally companies popping up everywhere that want a small bit (or big) of the action.
While these aren’t the most popular instruments because the more depth you have in your guitar the better the tone……id still say that plenty of the guitars on this list are leagues and leagues beyond many other full size guitars. For instance the Taylor, Martin and the Takamine sound better than TONS of other standard guitars out there.
Thankfully, since there are so many options….you’ll have a variety of guitars to choose from. If you’re interested in more options than these simply browse around a little bit on the internet. I highly suggest you do some serious digging though, there are plenty of gems out there that you wouldn’t expect. Don’t just look at the normal brands everybody talks about…..get something nice that you can love for a long time and that can be truly yours. To do that, you need to look at everything.
I really hope you enjoyed this article. Thanks for reading!!!!