Gear is cool. Knowing who in bluegrass, country, and beyond is playing what is fun. Let’s nerd out to these Americana acoustic guitars.
Billy Strings – Preston Thompson D-BA
Preston Thompson Guitars builds handcrafted, pre-war inspired acoustic instruments in Sisters, Oregon. Known for exceptional projection, lightweight construction, and vintage-style tone, the company’s D-BA dreadnought has become one of Billy Strings’ signature guitars, delivering the volume and clarity demanded by modern bluegrass.
The Thompson D-BA is a dreadnought with Adirondack top. Adirondack spruce is generally stiffer than Sitka spruce, allowing builders to use thinner tops that can offer greater headroom and projection when played aggressively. This design choice benefits aggressive flatpickers, like Billy Strings. Other features include one-piece mahogany neck and ebony fretboard.
It’s easy to understand why Billy Strings gravitated toward this style of guitar. Adirondack spruce rewards a hard right hand. The harder you dig in, the more it gives back without compressing, making it an ideal match for his aggressive flatpicking style.
Sierra Ferrell – Blueridge BR-163
Blueridge Guitars has become one of the most respected names in affordable, vintage-inspired acoustics. Built with solid tone woods and modeled after classic pre-war designs, Blueridge guitars deliver impressive volume, clarity, and responsiveness at a fraction of the cost of boutique instruments. Their balance of performance and value has made them a favorite among bluegrass players looking for professional sound without the premium price tag.
The BR-163 is a 000-size (auditorium) acoustic, with Sitka spruce top and East Indian rosewood back and sides. The neck is a slim mahogany and features a rosewood fretboard. The auditorium size paired with a Sitka spruce top results in a more balanced, less boomy tone, which benefits fingerstyle because it takes less effort to drive the top. The shorter scale length (24.9″ vs. 25.4″ for dreadnought) results in a lower string tension and brings the frets closer together, a benefit for anyone with smaller hands.
A smaller-bodied guitar also complements a vocal-forward performer. Rather than competing with the voice, a 000 tends to leave space in the mix while still offering plenty of articulation for fingerpicked passages.
Tyler Childers – Martin HD-28
Martin Guitars has been shaping the sound of acoustic music since 1833. Revered for their craftsmanship and iconic models like the D-18 and D-28, Martin instruments are known for their rich, balanced tone and exceptional projection. Their influence on bluegrass, folk, country, and Americana is difficult to overstate, making Martin the benchmark against which many acoustic guitars are measured.
The HD-28 is an iconic dreadnought and features a sitka spruce top and East Indian rosewood back and sides. The scalloped bracing is shifted forward, which enhances resonance, giving it a warmer, more open tone compared to the non-scalloped D-28. The fretboard is ebony and the neck shape is low-modified oval, which provides a great deal of versatility across play styles.
Molly Tuttle – Martin D-18
The D-18 is similar to the HD-28. It’s a dreadnought with sitka spruce top, but it has mahogany back and sides. This results in a warmer mid-range focus and note clarity. Sound is a bit rounder, more punchy, and less boomy. Fretboard is ebony and similarly appointed to the D-28, albeit simpler styling.
Mahogany emphasizes the fundamental note over lush overtones. The result is a guitar that cuts through a jam without sounding muddy, one reason the D-18 has remained a favorite among flatpickers for decades.
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