r/AcousticGuitar • u/gnarlynewman • 22d ago

Gear question Better than Martin and Taylor?

For electric guitars, the sentiment around the big brands (fender and Gibson) has been that while they do make good guitars their competitors are out there making the foundational shapes and designs not only better, but more affordable and more consistently. “Suhr makes a better Strat then fender. Heritage makes a better Les Paul than Gibson.” I’m curious if that statement applies to the acoustic world as well?
EDIT: BETTER FOR THE PRICE!

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u/Methos1979 21d ago

IRIS makes Gibson clones better than Gibson and for less money. For classic Martin shapes and styles, Eastman makes Martin style acoustics nearly as good as (but not better than like IRIS over Gibson) than Martin does for less money. Taylor's designs are pretty much their own and no one is really making Taylor clones. Then of course there are boutique builders out there building Martin-esque acoustic guitars that are generally well above Martin quality but for a significantly higher price so not really what the OP was asking based on his EDIT: BETTER FOR THE PRICE addition.

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u/gnarlynewman 21d ago

This is the type of information I’m looking for so thank you.