The biggest problem I encounter when playing an acoustic guitar live is feedback and bulk. Some stages are too poky for a full-sized dreadnought. Some PAs are too sensitive for a big-bodied acoustic.
The solution? Thin-bodied acoustic guitars, or thinline acoustics, built for comfort, built for speed, and built to minimize unwanted squealing feedback.
Top 3 - Thin-body Acoustic Guitars
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These days, there’s no shortage of awesome acoustic guitars on the market. Every so often, acoustics even outsell electrics!
I prefer playing thinline acoustics in a band context, especially if I’m switching from electric guitar to acoustic guitar for a couple of songs. Not having to adjust from a Les Paul or Telecaster body to a big, robust acoustic body makes for a seriously comfortable transition.
Regardless of the use case, thinline acoustics are better than ever, and I’ve compiled some of my favorite models in this article.
Why Guitarists Love Thin Bodied Acoustic Guitars
It’s been a truism of guitar building for the better part of a century: bigger body means bigger tone. That’s especially true of acoustic guitars. That’s why so many of the classic American acoustic models from Martin and Gibson are so bulky: they predated amplification technology, and had to fill entire auditoriums.
These days, amplification has come a long way, and although they sound incredible unplugged, a bigger body can be detrimental to plugged-in performance.
Thin-bodied acoustic guitars aren’t as loud when unplugged, but typically are less prone to feedback when plugged in. If most of your gigging is plugged in, that’s a worthwhile trade off.
Similarly, the thinner body can be more comfortable to play if you’re used to an electric guitar. Some electric players struggle to know where to rest their forearm on a full-sized acoustic: the thin-bodied acoustic alleviates this problem.
Similarly, with a thinner body often comes a thinner neck. Because many thinline acoustics are aimed at guitar players accustomed to the sleeker profile of an electric guitar, their necks tend to be more slender than the hand-stretching profile of some big-bodied acoustics.
This, too, aids in player comfort, especially when switching guitars mid-show.
It’s worth noting the entry of hybrid guitars like the Taylor T5 and Fender Acoustasonic into the market of late. While these are thin-bodied acoustic guitars built to plug in, they’re really electric guitars first and foremost that happen to have acoustic “voices.” Their unplugged sound is, to me, negligible. Hybrid guitars exist in their own world, and in my opinion do not really compete with true thinline acoustics.
Read on, and it’s easy to see why.
The Best Thin Body Acoustic Guitars
1. Yamaha APX600
It doesn’t surprise me at all that Yamaha, the Japanese masters of affordable guitar building, have a great entry in the thinline market.
While the APX600 isn’t quite as thin as, say, my 335, it’s somewhere between that and the size of a Byrdland.
Yamaha APX600
Upper-fret access is nice and comfortable, especially with the guitar’s exaggerated single cutaway. I found the overall tone very pleasing acoustically: it reminds me more of a parlor body folk guitar than a dreadnought. I had a great time just fingerpicking through folk songs on my couch! The spruce top is doing most of the lifting here, as I’d expect.
Plugged in, the tone is less inspiring, although still worth exploring. The piezo pickups were a little too present for my taste: lots of zing and hiss. Despite this, the plugged-in sound was definitely good enough to play a live set in a smaller room.
Yamaha APX600 - Onboard EQ
Of course, the key factor for these kinds of guitars is comfort. The slimmer body and neck make for a very easy playing experience. I happily sat on the couch for hours, experiencing no real fatigue.
I will concede that this guitar’s sound doesn’t exactly encourage incendiary bluegrass flatpicking, so it’s not like I was playing highly fatiguing material. Regardless, it’s a comfortable playing experience. Best of all for me, and surprisingly for a guitar at this price point, it features a gorgeous rosewood fretboard with just the right amount of friction for my taste.
Overall, a great playing experience.
2. Ibanez Talman TCY10E
The short-lived Talman is a remarkably cool guitar. I remember seeing them on an off at guitar stores over the years: sometimes Ibanez would have the Talman in its lineup, other times it wouldn’t.
Ibanez Talman TCY10E
The Talman, the first time I tried it, was the acoustic guitar that most closely resembled the playing experience of an electric guitar. It’s light and ergonomic enough that I even unwisely attempted a few string bends!
Looking at the Talman out of the box, the dual cutaway absolutely screams “electric guitar.” Think about it: how many acoustics feature double cutaways like a Strat or an SG? Not many.
The dual cutaway and the shallow, slim body make for an extremely lightweight guitar. It feels as light as some of the Telecasters I’ve played over the years. Likewise, it makes accessing higher frets much easier than on any other acoustic guitar I’ve tried. I tend not to fret notes beyond the twelfth fret at acoustic gigs, but it’s nice to have.
That said, I do enjoy the odd natural or tapped harmonic, and the Talman’s slim neck and upper fret access brings out the clarity in these techniques. I couldn’t resist playing through the harmonic parts of “Spanish Fly” and “Women in Love” on this guitar.
While I generally prefer non-pinned bridges, the bridge pins here are fairly easy to push in and out, so I’ll give Ibanez a pass.
Best of all, the guitar’s plugged-in tone is nice and articulate. It’s not fizzy or boxy: it’s actually quite similar to the Talman’s unplugged tone. It’s not going to compete with a pre-war Martin, but it’s a nice sound.
I feel like the Talman is best suited as the acoustic guitar of choice for a band that primarily plays electric. Take off the Tele or the Les Paul, strap on the Talman for the ballads. Alternatively, take the Talman on the road as the hotel room acoustic for pre-show practice and jams.
3. LR Baggs AEG-1
I’m an avowed fan of LR Baggs pickups and preamps, so it’s no surprise that I’m impressed by their thinline acoustic, the AEG-1.
LR Baggs AEG-1
First things first: the bolt-on neck and near-solid body make this guitar feel, at least at first, like an electric guitar. Once I strummed a few chords, that misconception was easily dispelled: this is, in spirit, and in practice, an awesome acoustic guitar.
Strumming the Baggs without plugging it into an amp, it’s about as loud as my 335 when unplugged. The sound, however, is rich and full. It’s remarkable, really, how dense the sound is: there’s plenty of harmonic layering, and the notes are crisp and full.
I’m led to believe this is because of LR Baggs’ construction methods, with the top and back inset into the sides. It doesn’t lead to unplugged volume, but it generates an authoritative, sustaining acoustic voice.
This voice is what the guitar’s pickup system captures. Predictably for a company whose bread and butter is amplifying acoustic guitars, when played through a PA, the guitar’s voice comes from the speakers more or less unchanged.
The combination of pickup and microphone allowed me to taper the guitar tone somewhat, and, in theory, tame any unwanted feedback by cutting back the microphone feed. I say in theory because there’s little to no unpleasant squealing or humming from this guitar. The guitar’s construction, being so slim, and with so little hollow space, massively reduces the risk of feedback in the first place.
The slim body is very comfortable to play. My arm rests roughly where it would on a similar sized electric, say a 335 or big-bodied Gretsch. The neck is nice and comfortable, and really encourages fast playing as well as full, rich chordal work.
In my opinion, this is one of the best amplified acoustic sounds out there, and the guitar plays like a dream.
4. Ibanez AEWC32
Ibanez’s AEWC32 is an awesome, affordable, Japanese-built instrument.
Ibanez AEWC32
It’s a far more conventional approach to acoustic guitar than, say, the Talman, or their Talman-inspired line of nylons. The flamed maple top is a nice touch, especially at this price point. It really comes to life in direct sunlight, and I could easily see myself sitting on a beach or around a campfire with this guitar.
The AEWC32 is very lightweight, and the thinner body sits comfortably against my torso whether seated or standing. The neck is, as I expect from Ibanez, fairly slender, encouraging fast playing and very accommodating to those with smaller hands. In fact, this would be a great guitar for a smaller-framed individual, like a beginner still in school.
The cutaway is a little bizarre. It’s quite a dramatic curve, but it doesn’t actually offer that much access to the upper frets: getting beyond fret 17 required me to have my hand around 15 and stretch my fingers to the upper reaches of the fretboard. Why have such a dramatic cutaway at all if it doesn’t enable access to those frets?
Of course, I can’t see many use cases for playing beyond the 17th fret on an acoustic guitar. It’s not enough of an annoyance not to play this beautiful instrument.
The sound, if a little more mid-heavy than a larger guitar might be, is very satisfying. I found myself playing a few country and bluegrass rhythms, and enjoyed the crisp, clear sound of chords against the movement of bass notes in the chords, Johnny Cash style.
The plugged in sound is also remarkably good for the price point: the built in Fishman system nicely amplifies the guitar’s tone. I did find that it compressed when I played too hard, with this guitar really responding to a more nuanced touch.
The real star of the show, however, is the comfort factor. This is a seriously easy guitar to play: I could see myself happily running through scales and chords for hours on this beautiful instrument. The built in tuner makes it easy as well: no need to chase down a clip on tuner when the strings slip out after a few hours of happy jamming on the couch.
Overall, a comfortable, quality instrument from an awesome builder.
5. ESP LTD TL-6
ESP LTD’s TL-6 might be one of the coolest looking guitars I’ve ever seen. The sharper shape of its hole reminds me of the eucalyptus leaves of my childhood, and the sleek, black body screams rock and roll to me.
ESP LTD TL-6
If thinline acoustic guitars are best suited to electric players dabbling in acoustic guitar, this one might be the best suited guitar of the lot. This is the guitar that a rock band in black jeans and eyeliner grabs for the mid-show acoustic number.
Overall, the playing experience feels a lot like a Les Paul. The shallow mahogany body, thin neck, and string-through bridge are very Gibson-inspired. The neck really reminds me of the shred-ready guitars of my youth! It’s hard not to speed up and see how fast I can go.
Even the frets lean more to the ergonomic playing experience of a shredder’s electric: jumbo frets, for a lighter touch, make this guitar very fun to play.
Unlike a Les Paul, the top is spruce, giving the guitar a much richer acoustic voicing. There’s enough snap and clarity in the tone that I didn’t feel the need to use the EQ in the onboard preamp much.
Plugged in, this guitar really shines. The sound is nicely balanced, perhaps a little brighter than full-bodied acoustics, but certainly warm enough that it doesn’t feel empty. It’s nicely balanced, and much lighter around the shoulders than most acoustic guitars I’ve played - and definitely lighter than my Les Paul!
Replacing the preamp battery necessitates the use of a screwdriver, but most serious players I know carry a small multitool to gigs anyway.
The unplugged playing experience isn’t too bad, but it’s not what this guitar is for. It’s about as loud as a hollowbody electric, which checks out, given that this guitar is, but for its lack of a humbucker, a hollowbody electric.
It’s a light, comfortable instrument absolutely ideal for electric players who want a consistent playing experience.
6. Breedlove Oregon Concert Thinline
The guitar closest to full size in this list is Breedlove’s Oregon Concert Thinline.
While this isn’t a full sized instrument, with a body shallower than my parlor acoustic, it’s definitely bulkier than the electric-style thinlines I’ve tried.
That’s not to say that this doesn’t make for a comfortable playing experience. It’s surprisingly lightweight, given its relative size compared to other guitars on this list. The neck profile isn’t overly thin, nor is it club-like and chunky. It’s a little heftier than Fender’s C profile, but that’s about it.
The ebony fretboard - a nice touch - does feel nice and hard underneath my fingers. I enjoyed running through a few rapidfire bluegrass licks on this one, trying out my best Molly Tuttle impression.
This guitar sounds great unplugged. Breedlove claims that they’re running all sorts of wood-optimizing voodoo with mallets, microphones, and measuring tape to get the very best out of their wood. Whether this really works or not, the guitar sounds awesome. Crisp midrange, warm low end, not too much unpleasant fizz or crackle in the high end.
When plugged in, the sound is very close to the unplugged tone, thanks to its built in LR Baggs system. Tone wise, I’d compare this guitar to small bodied Gibson or Martin instruments: it’s just that good.
It looks beautiful, too, with the wood’s natural grain allowed to flourish. It’s a gorgeous looking and sounding guitar.
I found it well suited to fingerpicking as well as chords. It’s not necessarily the go-to guitar for playing right after a shredder electric, but as a comfortable, lightweight acoustic, it’s hard to argue against this awesome Breedlove.
Thin Body Acoustics: More Comfort, Less Feedback
Whether you’re on the couch practicing for hours, switching to acoustic from a Les Paul, or just looking for an easy-playing lightweight guitar, there’s plenty to love about thinline acoustic guitars.
Their smaller, lighter bodies often bely the deep, rich tone on offer, especially when combined with a good pickup and preamp system.