Letter from the Editor | Acoustic Guitar, Fall 2026 Issue 359

From the Fall 2026 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine

In the last year or so, I have enjoyed watching Saturday Night Live with my children, just as I did with my father several decades before. It has been joyous to see them in stitches at the antics of their favorite cast members like Kenan Thompson and Sarah Sherman, and the uncomfortable joke swapping between Weekend Update hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che.

An especially poignant moment, one that made the world feel like a better place for a few minutes, happened last May when we saw musical guest Paul McCartney perform one of his latest songs, “Days We Left Behind.” On one hand, it was wonderful to see McCartney still performing with vigor—almost 20 years older than the character he projected forward in the 1967 Beatles song “When I’m Sixty-Four”—and on the other, a little sad to hear that his voice is somewhat diminished.

The song itself, with a memorable melody characteristic of so many McCartney songs, stayed with me for days after the episode, and with one of my kids as well. I wrote it out for her to play on her grandfather’s Martin, and it also occurred to me that it would make an excellent selection for the magazine’s World Premiere department. I hope you’ll work your way through “Days We Left Behind”: the guitar part is both accessible and satisfying to play, and shows how to get maximum mileage from a single idea through subtle variations.

The archtop acoustic guitar—incidentally, McCartney’s first instrument—has long been a personal obsession of mine. I love the sculptural form, the punchy, driving sound, the stories behind the makers, and of course the great music that has been made on the instrument over the years. It’s easy to forget, given how scarce acoustic archtops are among players these days relative to far more common flattops, that these were once the professional choice for musicians from Eddie Lang to Maybelle Carter.

An archtop theme runs throughout the issue. In Makers & Shakers, Russell Mofsky profiles Ty Danco and Doug Baumoel, entrepreneurs who help celebrate the form and its makers through the Archtop Foundation and the Brooklyn Guitar Feast, putting the instruments in the hands of working musicians rather than just the collectors who can afford them. The Acoustic Classic department features a transcription of a two-guitar Bach arrangement that Sean McGowan recorded on a Gibson Super 400 from the foundation for his most recent record, All Blues; in fact, he used pieces from its Blue Guitar collection throughout the album, which I highly recommend.

On the cover, Courtney Hartman is seen with her 16-inch archtop by luthier Lawrence Smart—an instrument that she finds provides a welcome tonal contrast to the flattop guitars in her collection, and certainly an uncommon choice for a modern singer and songwriter coming from the flatpicking tradition. Isa Burke’s conversation with Hartman, though, is centered less on gear than on how parenthood, creativity, and music making are all intertwined in her latest work.

In addition, in “The Art of Apprenticeship,” archtop builders Tom Ribbecke and Maegen Wells join other leading luthiers for a conversation about learning and teaching how to build guitars.

Elsewhere in the issue, you’ll find instructional content spanning different styles and skill levels. Our approach to educating acoustic guitarists is well represented by our Teaching Artist series, currently featuring Janet Noguera, Morgan Harris, Jackson Emmer, Greg Ruby, and Elsie Franklin. All five approach the instrument with great curiosity and imagination, and have plenty to offer that you can apply to your own music. Their lessons are available to Patreon supporters and make a great supplement to the magazine’s print or digital editions.

I hope you enjoy spending time with this issue and find something in it that makes its way into your own music. Thanks so much, as ever, for reading and for supporting Acoustic Guitar. —Adam Perlmutter