The Best Epiphone Acoustic Guitars for All Budgets and Players in 2023

Are the best Epiphone Guitars as good as Gibson Guitars?

Suppose you’re one of the many guitar players on a budget, and the price tag associated with a Gibson is just out of your reach. However, you can’t shake the desire to own one of those beautiful and classic instruments.

So you might be looking into buying an Epiphone but are unsure if they are quality guitars that could give you that Gibson mojo.

Well, rest assured. Epiphone makes excellent, low-cost copies of Gibson’s vintage acoustic and electric guitars that look wonderful and have good sound quality, especially with their “Inspired by Gibson” line of guitars.

In this article, I’ve used my decades of guitar playing experience to create the list below on the Epiphones that are perfect for certain playing styles and player needs. Whether you just started playing guitar or are an experienced pro, I’m sure there is something that will pique your interest!

Let’s look at some of the best acoustic guitars Epiphone makes, shall we?

The Epiphone J-45 EC Inspired by Gibson is a great pick for anybody looking for a guitar that looks as good as it sounds!

It features a solid Sitka spruce top and mahogany back and sides, giving it a warm vintage tone emphasizing the mid-range.

This cutaway dreadnought has a timeless look and is crafted for a bluesy tone, projection, playability, and aesthetic beauty.

The construction of a 24 3/4″ short-scale body, a mahogany neck, and a laurel fingerboard has proven popular among guitarists. It produces a pleasant deep tone while being comfy to play.

The gorgeous aged gloss finish accentuates its distinct look and perfectly suits the artist who wants to stand out from the crowd.

The J-45 EC includes Fishman Sonicore under-saddle pickups that will bring the great sound of the guitar to your live performances.

This is the best Epiphone acoustic-electric guitar for intermediate players and even pros alike!

The J-45 Studio is the toned-down version of our Editor’s Choice pick. It is one of the best affordable guitars for beginners.

Most inexpensive guitars have all laminate construction, but the Epiphone J-45 Studio features a solid spruce top and mahogany body, providing fantastic sound and balance. Solid wood also ages, improving the guitar’s sound with time.

The neck has a slim and comfortable feel. The classic dreadnought body style provides a timeless acoustic tone and excellent projection.

The J-45 Studio is sure to please any player with its beautiful aesthetic and great playability.

Want to discover more options for the best budget acoustic guitars?

Check out my Best Acoustic Guitar Roundups for the following price ranges:

• Best Under $300
• Best between $300-$500

OK, before you start flaming me in the comments, I’d want to clarify one thing: guitars are meant to be played! However, I know that guitars are sometimes appreciated for their craftsmanship and beauty, and people want to display them for the world to see.

With that out of the way, the Epiphone Hummingbird Pro is an acoustic-electric guitar with gorgeous vintage appointments. It is as much a work of art as it is a musical instrument.

While this guitar will look fantastic on your wall in your home office or recording studio, it should be noted that it features a Solid Spruce top. So please be careful exposing it to humidity or extreme weather conditions to avoid cracking and warping the guitar.

Suppose you’re a collector or a guitar player seeking one of the most beautiful guitars from any guitar brand. In that case, the Epiphone Hummingbird Pro is for you!

The Epiphone J-200 Inspired by Gibson is a fantastic acoustic-electric guitar for flatpicking and strumming. This guitar has a solid Sitka spruce top and maple back and sides. This tonewood combination creates great projection, a wide dynamic range, and a balanced tone ideal for country, rock, and blues performers.

The fantastic vintage pickguard with a flower-and-dot pattern will catch the attention of anyone who sees it. While the maple mustache bridge with curving inlays adds a unique touch to this guitar that you won’t find on any other model.

The Indian laurel fingerboard is easy to play. The classic mother-of-pearl graduated crown inlays add to its timeless elegance.

The J-200 by Epiphone provides a soundhole mounted preamp with easy access to a rotary tone and volume control, designed for performing artists who need to make quick adjustments while playing live.

The Epiphone J-200 easily equips the guitar player who wants their cowboy chords and big lead lines to project and fill a large room!

The Epiphone L-00 is a tiny, sleek acoustic-electric guitar with a focused, punchy voice. If you’re a recording artist, this is the best Epiphone guitar for you.

The small, pinched body shape produces an articulate and balanced sound. This helps a great acoustic guitar microphone pick up every nuance, resulting in an audio track that is easy to manipulate and blend into a mix.

The guitar’s mahogany body also generates a warm, rich sound with plenty of sustain. The 24.75″ scale length makes this guitar simple to play, particularly for lengthy periods. This is crucial when you need to record many passes of the same take in the studio!

While this guitar can produce excellent recordings, it is also fantastic for the guitar player sitting around strumming chords or picking out melodies on the couch at home.

The Epiphone J-200 EC Studio Parlor is a classic acoustic guitar with modern touches.

This smaller-sized jumbo acoustic-electric guitar has the same tone, volume, and playability as the American classic, the J-200.

The J-200 by Gibson was designed and appreciated for its loud and cutting sound. This was essential for guitar players to be heard over drums and other musical instruments. However, as amplification became more prevalent, the J-200 EC Studio Parlor was created to commemorate the power of the original J-200 but with modern conveniences like portability and pickups.

This guitar’s 24.75″ scale length makes it simple to play for lengthy periods, making it ideal for your next tour.

If there’s one thing to remember, the J-200 EC Studio Parlor will never let you down in any genre or style you play—from rock to country to

and pop; this guitar has your back!

The Epiphone Lil’ Tex is a great travel acoustic guitar that captures the spirit and tone of a vintage full-size Epiphone Texan.

This guitar features a solid spruce soundboard and an all-mahogany body for robust, full tone and impressive projection.

The Mahogany neck has an excellent feel and playability. At the same time, the passive under-saddle piezo pickups produce incredible amplified acoustic sound.

The small Epiphone Lil’ Tex Acoustic Guitar makes it perfect for taking on any journey!

If you’re in the market for a great travel guitar or kids’ guitar, then you should check out my articles:

• The Best 1/4 Size Guitars for Toddlers (3-6) in 2023
• The Best 1/2 Size Guitar for Your Musical Kiddo (6-8) in 2023
• The 9 Best 3/4 Acoustic Guitars (8-12) in 2023

Have you ever wondered what the best guitar brands on the market are today? Well, I created an ultimate acoustic guitar brand guide and buyer’s guide to help you choose your perfect guitar. Check it out today!

The Epiphone Acoustic Guitar Buying Guide

Suppose non of the Epiphone acoustic guitar reviews mentioned above was an exact match for you. In that case, the following buying guide will show how to choose the best Epiphone acoustic guitar for your style and vibe.

Body Shape

The perfect guitar is one that you don’t want to put down. The first thing you want to consider when purchasing any guitar should always center around the body shape, no matter what type or brand it may be from.

Body shape has a massive impact on tone and playability. Some bodies have more projection and overtones, which are great for big cowboy chords. In comparison, some have more articulation between notes with less projection, great for fingerstyle.

Also, certain body types are going to be more comfortable than others. A parlor guitar sits closer to the body and feels more intimate. At the same time, a Super Jumbo might be uncomfortable for smaller-framed players.

Small Body

Traveling musicians and kids will love this guitar style because of the small body design. It’s a shrunken version of Epiphone’s full-size guitars, meaning it has all the classic features that fans know and love but in a portable package!

If you’re looking for something beautiful, practical, and has a small footprint, a small-sized Epiphone is designed for you. 

Popular Epiphone Small Body Acoustic Guitars:

El Nino Travel Acoustic

Lil’ Tex Travel Acoustic

Parlor

Epiphone parlor guitars are well-known for their woody sound. Blues musicians favor this body shape because it gives them a more aged and worn-in tone.

These guitars are great for guitar players with small hands, kids, and fingerstyle because the short-scale of parlors makes them easy on the fretting hand.

Popular Epiphone Parlor Style Guitars:

L-00

Round Shoulder

Round shoulder dreadnought Epiphone guitars are the body shape of flagship Gibson models, which Epiphone replicates.

Martin Guitars created the classic dreadnought shape in 1916. It is the most well-known acoustic guitar body design in history. However, Martin designs their guitars with a square shoulder.

Gibson, the cool, rebellious brand, wanted their unique take on the traditional dreadnought shape. So they built theirs with a round shoulder they used on other Gibson acoustics and brought a new identity to the dreadnought guitar.

Suppose you’re searching for a vintage, pre-war Gibson dreadnought at an affordable price. In that case, the round shoulder Epiphone will be the model to choose.

Popular Round Shoulder Epiphone Acoustic Guitars:

J-45

Epiphone Masterbilt Texan

Square Shoulder

As previously stated, Martin produced squared shoulder acoustic guitars, whereas Gibson produced round shoulder acoustics.

However, in the 1960s, Gibson released square shoulder acoustic guitars like the Hummingbird and Dove. There is a lot of debate if there are any fundamental tonal distinctions between round and square shoulder dreadnought guitars.

When it comes to the best Epiphone acoustic guitar for you, it will come down to what aesthetic style you prefer for your dreadnought.

I think the two most beautiful-looking guitars are in the square shoulder family. These would be the Epiphone Hummingbird Pro and the Epiphone Dove.

So use your eyes and your ears with your decision 🙂

Popular Square Shoulder Epiphone Acoustics:

Epiphone Dove

Epiphone Hummingbird

Super Jumbo

The Super Jumbo is undoubtedly one of the most well-known acoustic guitar body shapes available, crediting its design to the Gibson/Epiphone brand.

Hailed as the “King of Flat-Tops,” this body style produces giant projection and a bold tone. It’s also got a beautiful look that will turn heads at your next gig.

If you’re searching for a performance guitar perfect for strumming and flatpicking, the Super Jumbo is the one to choose.

Popular Super Jumbo Epiphone Acoustic Guitars:

J-200

Tonewoods

It’s crucial to consider the woods from which your guitar is constructed. Tonewoods all sound distinct, and knowing what they are could help you choose the best Epiphone acoustic guitar for your style and needs.

The Soundboard (Topwood)

The soundboard (or top wood) of an acoustic guitar is the most essential tonewood. It will have the most significant impact on the projection, playability, and dynamics of your guitar.

Spruce is the most popular tonewood for acoustic guitar soundboards, and the characteristics of spruce are:

• High Dynamic Range
• Warm Overtones
• Scooped Mid-Range

It won’t be difficult for you to choose an Epiphone based on top wood. All of their guitars are constructed of spruce. So the only choice is between solid spruce or laminated spruce guitar.

Laminated Spruce vs. Solid Spruce

Acoustic purists will insist that you only buy a guitar with a solid spruce top. Anything else is a waste of money.

Solid wood guitars have a superior tone, appearance, and sound quality. The wood ages; thus, the guitar’s sound improves with time.

However, due to weather changes, solid wood is more fragile and susceptible to cracking and warping.

If you travel a lot, a laminated guitar might be an excellent fit for you.

Suppose you’re searching for a tone that complements the beauty of the best Epiphone acoustic guitars. In that case, I recommend choosing a solid wood top.

Body Wood

The guitar’s body adds “seasoning” to the sound. It must be considered when selecting the best Epiphone acoustic to suit your needs.

Because Epiphone uses only spruce as their top wood, the body wood choice will be the biggest differentiator for the tone and style of guitar you’re purchasing.

Mahogany Wood Body

Mahogany’s resonant tones are typically deep and mellow. Its combination with the other tonewoods typically results in a warm tone and helps even out the sound of the top wood.

A solid Mahogany body is easy to maintain because it is durable and resistant to changes in weather and moisture.

Maple Wood Body

Maple wood generally has a big, bright tone with a flat eq response. This means that maple doesn’t color the guitar’s sound as much as mahogany.

Maple is a hardwood commonly used as the back and sides of Epiphone guitars with a more oversized body style. Maple has an excellent projection, making it an ideal tonewood to use if you want your acoustic guitar to cut through a busy mix of drums and electric guitars.

Ovangkol Wood Body

Ovangkol was introduced by Taylor Guitars, which is known for its focus on sustainability. Ovangkol has been used as a substitute for Rosewood because it is a far more environmentally friendly tonewood.

The Ovangkol tone is characterized by full, rich lows and highs and a somewhat more emphasized mid-range than Rosewood.

However, there is still a little “scoop” in the mid-range, making this body wood ideal for singer/songwriters since the vocals can occupy that frequency range without clashing with the guitar.

Laminate Body

Some less expensive Epiphone guitars will have a laminated wood back and sides. As stated earlier, laminate isn’t always a negative thing. It can be considerably more durable than solid woods.

Laminate, on the other hand, has a less resonant sound. Because laminate materials produce fewer overtones, laminate guitars are sometimes described as sounding flat and two-dimensional.

Consider an Epiphone guitar constructed of laminated wood if you’re searching for a durable instrument that won’t break the bank.

Neck Profile

Gibson guitars introduced a slim-taper neck shape in the 1960s, and it has since been used on most Epiphone guitars.

This neck design starts rounder at the neck nut for more comfortable cowboy chords and gets more flat as you move up the neck to be more comfortable for faster lead playing.

However, not everyone is a fan of the slim-taper neck style, so keep it in mind while shopping for the best Epiphone acoustic guitar for you.

Scale Length

You can find the scale length by taking the distance between the nut and the 12th fret and doubling it.

A full-scale guitar is approximately 25.4 inches. On the other hand, a shorter-scale instrument has a scale length of around 24.7 inches.

Shorter-scale guitars have a more “slinky” playing style and are generally easier to play, especially for beginning guitarists.

However, full-scale guitars tend to stay in tune better if you want to play in alternative open tunings.

Electronics and Pickups

When purchasing a new acoustic, you must consider whether you want electronics and pickups.

When performing, an acoustic-electric guitar allows you to connect to an amplifier or PA system, reducing feedback caused by using an external microphone.

Most Epiphone models feature Fishman Sonicore under-saddle pickups. However, suppose you don’t require this function. In that case, you may be able to purchase a higher quality guitar for less when it doesn’t include the electronics or pickups.

FAQ

Commonly asked questions when looking for the best Epiphone acoustic guitars.

Why aren’t there any acoustic bass guitars on this list?

You may have noticed that I didn’t include acoustic short-scale bass guitars on this list. Acoustic bass guitars are a breed all their own, so I created an article that goes over the best bass acoustic guitars that you can check out here.

To Wrap Up

If you want a guitar with a vintage rock n’ roll sound but don’t want to spend a fortune on it, an Epiphone acoustic is a great option. There are lots of guitars for every budget and playing style.

The best Epiphone guitars have a rich sound, good playability, and a beautiful appearance that will turn heads no matter what setting you play your guitar in.

If you’re searching for the most versatile guitar in their lineup that will serve you well for years to come, our Editor’s Choice J-45 EC is the one to choose!