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march-april 2025
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Reviews & Demos

Ask the Expert

Martin Keith is a luthier, repair and restoration expert, and working musician based in Woodstock, New York. He’s been answering your questions about guitars and gear for Acoustic Guitar since 2019.

All Gear Reviews and Stories

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How to detect and fix guitar rattles.

Guitar Fingerboard Maintenance

Because an acoustic guitar’s fingerboard generally doesn’t have finish applied to it, it should be cleaned with a method slightly different from the one you use on the body

Demonstration for cleaning acoustic guitar

How to Clean Your Guitar

Learn the differences between commercial polishes and cleaners and get the low-down on how to clean your instrument without scratching the finish.

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Guitar Bracing Basics

Bracing, which refers to the internal reinforcements on a guitar’s top and back, serves two primary functions.

Guitar & Gear Review FAQs

How do you choose which guitars to review?
Our writers are guitar fanatics, just like you. They’re always on the lookout for new or updated offerings to recommend. We’re sometimes asked why we don’t publish negative or one-star reviews – there are so many great guitars being produced today that we’d rather share our balanced opinions on the instruments we do think you should consider.

Do companies pay for you to review their instruments?
No. We are proud of the firm separation between advertising sales and editorial coverage that we’ve held strong since our founding in 1990. We only accept endemic advertising – meaning, you won’t see ads for products or services unrelated to making music with an acoustic guitar; inevitably that means we’ll review products made by companies who advertise with us, but you’ll see just as many reviews by companies who do not. We have never (and will never) take money or gifts in exchange for a favorable review.

What’s up with affiliate links?
There is no billionaire owner or mega-corporation behind Acoustic Guitar – your support keeps us independent and in business. When you shop for gear using one of our affiliate links, a small percentage of your purchase gets shared with us (at no cost to you) for being the one that referred you. This is one way you can support our work (learn about more ways here.) We do not select products to review based on the availability of affiliate links.

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