Best Guitar For Fingerstyle

The world of fingerstyle guitar playing is a beautiful, intricate, and fun world to explore. If you want to join in your going to need the best guitar for fingerstyle on your journey.

IN THIS REVIEW

The Best Guitar For Fingerstyle
Our Favorite Fingerstyle Guitars
Our Top 6 Picks
Best Fingerstyle Guitar Review
Budget Fingerstyle Guitars
1. Takamine GD20-NS
2. Fender CD-60SCE (BUDGET PICK)
Mid-Range Fingerstyle Guitars
3. Taylor BBT Big Baby Taylor
4. Yamaha L-Series LL6
Premium Fingerstyle Guitars
5. Taylor 214ce Acoustic-Electric Guitar (OUR TOP PICK)
6. Takamine Pro Series 3 P3MC
What Is Fingerstyle?
What Is A Fingerstyle Guitar?
How To Choose Your Fingerstyle Guitar?
Common Questions
Difference Between Fingerstyle Guitar And Other Guitars
Overall Top Choice
Conclusion

The Best Guitar For Fingerstyle

The styles of fingerstyle and flat picking a guitar are vastly different. Each requires their own techniques that can take a lifetime to master.

And just like you want a Les Paul for a blazing solo or a vintage Strat for some heartfelt blues riffs, you are going to want a guitar built for fingerstyle playing.

Here are the top 6 best fingerstyle guitars you can get today!

Our Favorite Fingerstyle Guitars

Overall Best Guitar For Fingerstyle

Our top pick from this list is the Taylor 214ce Acoustic-Electric Guitar. It is everything you want in a fingerstyle guitar. The solid spruce top sounds beautiful and the ES2 pickup system is discreet and delivers a full dynamic range, unlike most piezoelectric pickups

Our Top 6 Picks

Budget Fingerstyle Guitars

1. Takamine GD20-NS

2. Fender CD-60SCE (BUDGET PICK)

Mid-Range Fingerstyle Guitars

3. Taylor BBT Big Baby Taylor

4. Yamaha L-Series LL6

Premium Fingerstyle Guitars

5. Taylor 214ce Acoustic-Electric Guitar (OUR TOP PICK)

6. Takamine Pro Series 3 P3MC

Best Fingerstyle Guitar Review

As you can see, we have broken this list down into three categories; best budget, best mid-range, and best premium Fingerstyle Guitars.

Budget Fingerstyle Guitars

1. Takamine GD20-NS

Solid Cedar

Cedar tends to be a darker, quieter tonewood than some other choices. With fingerstyle this could be a negative, however, the darker tones mixed with the subtle nuance of fingerstyle playing gives this guitar a wonderful sound.

Budget Friendly

You cannot beat a fingerstyle guitar of Takamine quality at this kind of price. It is budget friendly and sounds amazing.

Pinless Bridge

The bridge of the GD20-NS is made of the tonewood ovangkol. It is similar to a rosewood in that it resonates with a wide spectrum of sound. Add to the fact that it is pinless, which means you have fewer holes in the soundboard and no tone sucking pieces of plastic, you can get a wide range of lows and highs.

2. Fender CD-60SCE

Acoustic Electric

One of the "problems" with fingerstyle guitar is that it is sometimes difficult to get a loud enough sound. The guitar must have good resonance and projection. While that may still be true, the Fishman Isys III on-board electronics, including a preamp, give you the option of amplification to mitigate any volume issues.

Single Cutaway

The larger body size of acoustic guitars sometimes makes it difficult to play higher up on the neck. Fortunately, the Fender CD-60SCE body has a single cutaway, allowing you to reach well beyond the 14th fret, unlike a standard body style.

Accessory Bundle

Not only do you get a fantastic sounding guitar but you also get a tuner, strap, extra strings, a couple of picks, an instructional DVD, a polishing cloth, AND a felt-lined hardshell case! The case alone makes this a great bundle but you get a lot more for your money.

Mid-Range Fingerstyle Guitars

3. Taylor BBT Big Baby Taylor

Spruce Top

Sitka Spruce is a fantastic tonewood for fingerstyle playing. You get a pretty broad dynamic range so you can hear a good mix of the highs, lows, and mids while playing.

On-Board Electronics

The on-board electronics are Taylor's own ES-B, featuring volume and tone controls. You also get a built in tuner. All of this is conveniently located so you can access them while playing.

Gig Bag

The included gig bag is perfect for keeping your guitar safe when transporting it.

4. Yamaha L-Series LL6

Acoustic Resonance Enhancement

Yamaha has developed their own system of treating tonewood called Acoustic Resonance Enhancement, or A.R.E. They use a specific controlled technique of "temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure" to actually change the molecular structure of the wood to match that of a guitar that has been played for years.

SRT Zero Impact Pickup

SRT Zero Impact Pickups are a passive pickup system designed to minimize the effect installing a pickup will have on the resonance and overall tone of the guitar. It is a series of piezoelectric style pickups each dedicated to their own string.

Fat Neck

The neck is a 5-ply design of rosewood and mahogany with a nut width of about 1 ¾". This neck is super wide and gives you plenty of room for some articulate fingerstyle playing.

Premium Fingerstyle Guitars

5. Taylor 214ce Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Sitka Spruce Top

As you may know, Spruce lends itself to many different styles of play because it encompasses such a wide range of sound dynamics. The soundboard of the Taylor 214ce is a beautifully crafted solid sitka spruce.

Expression System 2

The Taylor Expression System 2 (ES2) is a re-imagining of the traditional under bridge, piezoelectric pickups. Typically, you will find these under the bridge. However, Taylor's design team has found the movement of the bridge during play is better magnified when the pickup is placed behind the bridge.

The result is a much fuller sound without the thin sound usually associated with piezoelectric pickups.

Venetian Cutaway

The Venetian cutaway on this Grand Auditorium style guitar is incredibly convenient for fingerstyle playing. The cutaway dips all the way down to the 17th fret making it and the rest of the 20 frets easily accessible.

6. Takamine Pro Series 3 P3MC

CT4B II Preamp System

The Takamine Pro Series 3 P3MC is built for the stage. It comes with an on-board electronics CT4B II Preamp System so you can plug right into an amp or sound board. You also get full control over your sound with a volume knob and full 3-band EQ. On top of that, there's also a built in tuner.

Solid Cedar Top & Solid Sapele Back

The solid tonewoods used in this guitar sound amazing together. The Cedar top gives off a bit darker tones than most acoustics made with spruce. Combine that with the rich tones of the solid Sapele and you have a wonderful tone full of character and warmth.

Gorgeous Tuning Machines

This guitar is certainly eye catching. Everything from the beautiful satin finish all the way to the gold with amber buttons tuning machines. Everything about this instrument says class and sophistication.

What Is Fingerstyle?

Fingerstyle guitar playing is a specific method of playing the guitar. A guitarist will pluck the strings with the fingertips or fingernails, as opposed to using a standard pick.

What Is A Fingerstyle Guitar?

A fingerstyle guitar is one designed to accommodate the size and use of fingers instead of a much thinner guitar pick.

Generally, an easy way to spot a fingerstyle guitar is by the width of the nut and neck. Fingerstyle guitars have wider nuts and necks to give more space between the strings. This allows the player to pluck the strings more easily without unintentionally touching the other strings.

How To Choose Your Fingerstyle Guitar

As with any guitar, you don't want to just pick any instrument out there. You want to make sure you have selected to right instrument for you.

Size and Shape

The size and shape of the guitar is very important. You will want to make sure that you can easily hold your instrument while plucking the strings. You do not want to have to stretch or strain just to play your instrument.

Comfort While Playing

This kind of ties in with the size and shape. You want your guitar to feel like it is an extension of you when you play. Make sure you are absolutely comfortable holding, playing, and just vibing with your guitar.

Tonewood

The tonewood used in a guitar determines how your instrument is going to sound. The density, weight, as well as other factors impact how bright or subdued a sound your guitar has.

Resonance/Projection

Since the pads of your fingers are much softer than a pick, your sound is going to be much more muted than the standard method of playing. Therefore, you are going to want a guitar that resonates well.

You will also want a guitar with the kind of bracing and soundboard materials to give your instrument a lot of projection. The louder your guitar can be on its own, the lighter you can play.

Nut/Neck Width

As we mentioned above, the nut and neck of a fingerstyle guitar is generally wider than a standard acoustic guitar. You want to make sure that the strings are wide enough apart that you can comfortably pluck them without muting or stopping the other strings from ringing.

String Type

Your two main candidates for string type are nylon and steel strings. Nylon strings will give you a warmer tone. However, the are pretty quiet and may be difficult to hear when combined with fingerstyle playing.

Steel strings have a much bright sound than nylon strings. Generally, steel strings are used in fingerstyle playing is for no other reason than volume. In the end, however, it is up to you and what tone you prefer.

Budget

Finally, as with all purchases, you want to make sure the guitar fits into your budget. Fingerstyle guitars can be on the pricey size since they are crafted a bit differently than a standard acoustic.

Make sure the one you pick is the right one, but also isnt going to break the bank.

Common Questions

While researching for the best fingerstyle guitar, we came across several interesting questions. Here are some of the more frequently asked of the bunch.

What Is The Difference Between A Fingerstyle Guitar And Other Guitars?

As we mentioned above, the major difference is the width of the neck and nut.

What Is The Difference Between A Fingerstyle And Fingerpicking?

There isn't really a difference, per se. Fingerpicking is a subsection of Fingerstyle.

Is Fingerstyle The Hardest To Learn?

Just like any form of playing, the key is practice. Some may learn a version of fingerstyle as beginners simply by not using a pick. There are other more complicated and intricate versions of fingerstyle, like Travis picking. But this method is not more difficult than any other form of playing guitar.

Can I Learn Fingerstyle Guitar First?

It's pretty easy to get the basics of fingerstyle when first learning by simply not using a pick. This will get your hands familiar with the feel and placement of each string.

You would then need to learn more of the specific techniques with fingerstyle, like Travis picking, which may be difficult for a beginner. But, yes, it is entirely possible to learn fingerstyle as a beginning student of the instrument.

Are Dreadnought Guitars Good For Fingerstyle?

Yes. The dreadnought body style, as long as it is a comfortable fit for your body type, is a perfectly good guitar type for fingerstyle. You will want to make sure the neck and nut width is wide enough for the style.

Do I Need Long Fingernails?

No, but it helps. Since you are not using a pick, a key component of fingerstyle is the resonance of the guitar and strings. If you have fingernails, it makes things a tad bit louder.

Is Fingerpicking Harder Than Strumming?

Fingerstyle and fingerpicking require a bit more coordination and accuracy while playing than strumming does. So, yes, fingerpicking is much more difficult than the relatively simple nature of strumming.

Our Favorite Guitars For Fingerstyle

Overall Best Guitar For Fingerstyle

Again, our top pick from this list is the Taylor 214ce Acoustic-Electric Guitar. From the beautiful craftsmanship to the superb electronics, this guitar is not just a purchase, it's an investment.

Conclusion

Fingerstyle playing is a wonderful world to explore. You can get some sounds that are not quite possible with standard flat picking. Any of the instruments above would make great additions to your collection.

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