Acoustic Guitars
Sold2003 Larrivée OMV-09
Looking for a comfortable 14 fret with a cutaway? Look no further! This guitar is similar in size to a Taylor Grand Concert size guitar and has beautiful appointments. In particular the body is bound in stunning curly maple and the sound-hole has a dazzling abalone rosette. Featuring a fine set of Indian Rosewood on the back and sides and spruce top this guitar has a warm, rich and articulate tone. Overall it is in very good condition with light wear here and there as you might expect of a well cared for guitar of this age. Has an installed pickup system and to top it all off it comes with a hard shell case.
SoldLowden S-35 CO/SRW Cocobolo / Sinker Redwood Top
This S-35 model with Cocobolo and Sinker Redwood is for the serious player who can appreciate a whole new world of subtle tone colours and dynamic range with warmth and focused projection. But because of the extra definition of the AAAA grade soundboard wood, there is extra clarity and class in the tone. W/ hard shell case.
Sold2023 Bourgeois Adirondack Spruce Country Boy / HS OM Heirloom Series
This Heirloom Series features an Aged Tone Adirondack Spruce top and Aged Tone Adirondack Bracing attached with Animal Protein Glue that makes this guitar pop!The headstock has a beautiful full gloss Madagascar Rosewood headstock overlay. The tone is balanced and clear, articulate and rich. With the full harmonic response of a Dana Bourgeois guitars. They know how to pick Mahogany at Bourgeois, this set is striking and tonally exceptional! The nut is 1 3/4", the scale is regular long scale and this instrument comes with a deluxe Bourgeois hardshell case.
SoldBourgeois Vintage / HS GA Heirloom Series
A full Bourgeois Aged Tone Package give this GA a real tonal boost! This is the guitar for you if you've been looking for great traditional Rosewood tone! A deluxe hard shell case is included.
SoldBourgeois OM/C Vintage / Heirloom Series
This sweet cutaway Bourgeois OM is everything you'll need to sound great fingerpicking or flat-picking. The Indian Rosewood and Aged Tone Adirondack Spruce combine to give a clear, warm, balanced, present tone. The 1 11/16” width nut and long scale make this neck perfect for playing a wide variety of styles, from Bluegrass and folk to Jazz and Blues and the cutaway gives you great higher fret access. With a hard shell case.
SoldBourgeois OMS Vintage / Heirloom Series
This OMS is a very comfortable guitar to play and has great tone thanks to an Aged Tone Adirondack Spruce Top, Premium East Indian Rosewood Aged Tone bracing attached with Animal Protein glue. With a large upper bout, longer air cavities and optimal bridge placement at the center of the widest part of the lower bout, he OMS combines these throwback features with a slotted headstock and a 25.5” scale neck to recreate a design still coveted by fingerstylists – and not a few flatpickers. It comes with a hard shell case.
SoldSanta Cruz Custom Cutaway OM Model
This custom cutaway OM features the paired tonal excellence of Cocobolo sides and back and an Adirondack Spruce top. The tone is enhanced by Advanced X Adirondack Spruce bracing attached with hot hide glue. This is a beautiful instrument, sensitive and responsive to the most nuanced touch. It comes with a deluxe hard case.
Sold1992 Martin HD 28
Here's a great player with a perfect set-up in very good to excellent condition just waiting to get gigged w/a K&K Pure Mini pick up and pre-amp included. It received a Slotted diamond fretboard inlay conversion by Custom Pearl Inlay of Malone NY and a new bone nut and saddle installed in the early 90s. It has repaired binding, installed vintage nickel Waverly tuners, enlarged and slotted bridge pin holes and plugged and touched up a screw hole where a strap button was installed. With a Calton case!
Sold1920s Weissenborn Style 3
Built by Hermann Weissenborn in Los Angeles in the 1920s and 1930s. It is estimated that fewer than 5,000 original instruments were produced, and it is unknown how many now survive. The signature feature of Weissenborn guitars is the hollow neck, effectively a highly adapted body chamber that runs the entire length of the body. This single-owner Style 3 is the second fanciest Wessenborn offered at that time. It is in excellent condition with no wood cracks. The burned-in brand is on the inside of the back as is the logo of the distributor Henry Stadlmaier. It is light and resonant and has incredible tone that you would expect from a 100 year old all-Koa instrument. No case is included.
SoldTaylor 417e-R
With its warm sonic character and lush, blooming overtones, the rosewood/spruce tonewood combination is the perfect match for the Grand Pacific dreadnought body shape. In the 417e, that pairing serves up a seasoned, blended response with clear low-end power, pristine trebles and a slightly scooped midrange—perfect for everything from songwriting to ensemble play to recording. Taylor's V-Class bracing design adds more volume and longer sustain, and the built-in ES2 electronics ensure clear, authentic tone whenever you need to plug in. Aesthetic details include a sunburst top finish and new Finial inlays. The 417e ships in a deluxe hardshell case.
Sold2006 Martin OM-35
The Martin OM model is an American classic and this 35 model features a spectacular, contrasting 3-piece Indian Rosewood back matched with a solid Sitka Spruce top. It is in excellent condition with perfect frets and nice low action and only light signs of play that you would expect on a 17 year old guitar...and it sounds warm, mellow and beautifully aged. It is supplied with its original hard shell case.
Sold1980-81 Gurian JM
Made in New Hampshire! This Jumbo Mahogany model is one of the best playing and sounding Gurian guitars to come through the shop in recent years with a broken-in mahogany tone that is very satisfying. After receiving a professional neck-rest the action is nice and low, the neck is super-playable and the sound is really great, rich, detailed and...loud! It is in excellent condition and the wood is in extraordinary shape for a 40 year old guitar and has no cracks and only light signs of play. With its original hard shell case.
Sold1948 Martin 0-18
This beautiful 1940's Martin is all-original, in excellent condition with nice low action and it sounds...incredible! It has been beautifully maintained and it is ready for its next 75 years of playing after having a small side crack repaired, a bridge reglue and an expert neck reset. If you've been looking to own a playable piece of Americana...look no farther, this one's for you! It comes with a 1970's Martin hard case.
Sold2022 Bourgeois OM Generation
Here we have a spectacular example of the Bourgeois Generation OM. This guitar is as excellent as used gets, so good that we would describe this one as practically new old stock. It doesn't appear that the single owner of this 2022 guitar played it much at all. So what is so great about these Generation models? Well first of all, they are the only Bourgeois that comes standard with an LR Baggs pickup system, they also feature beautiful torrified Sitka tops lending a vintage/mature tone and to top it all off, they are simply appointed to deliver maximum bang for the buck. These guitars are top quality despite being at the entry level for Bourgeois guitars and are rather uncommon, considering that most of the Bourgeois guitars tend to be more ornate (and more expensive). So basically, this guitar has all the tone and nuance that one would expect from a fine made in USA Bourgeois but at a wildly attractive price point and with the added practicality of a pickup installed. Amazing. Comes with its original deluxe Bourgeois hard shell case.
Sold2021 Bourgeois OM Generation
Talk about an awesome gig worthy Bourgeois, no frills just a lean mean picking machine. These Generation models pack many practical features into an instrument with a tremendously warm and rich tone. One of the big additions to this guitar that you don't find on many Bourgeois guitars is the LR Baggs pickup system making it an absolutely practical gigger. Sporting a gorgeous torrified Sitka Spruce top, this instrument has a crisp and mature tone often associated with the finest vintage instruments. To round it out, the Mahogany back and sides give a nice, dry and round voice. To tie it all together, the body is bound in an elegant faux tortoise binding, to match the pickguard. This is an awesome guitar! Comes with the original deluxe Bourgeois hard-shell case. This instrument is in excellent condition with only light fret-wear at the typical under the B string first few frets location. There is light pickguard wear where one would expect on a gently used guitar. Simply put, this guitar is great bang for the buck and has tone in spades.
SoldBourgeois D Vintage / Heirloom Series / Panamanian Rosewood
What a wonderful Dreadnought! A Master Grade Lutz Spruce top sets off a gorgeous set of Panamanian Rosewood sides and back to deliver the great tones you expect from an Heirloom Series Bourgeois guitar. It comes with a deluxe hard shell case.
Sold1998 Martin 000-28
This 25 year old Martin has a beautiful, broken in tone but it plays like new with great, low action. The Indian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce have aged beautifully and sound sweet. The guitar is in excellent condition with clean frets and only very light signs of play. One photo shows a very small ding on the headstock below the high e string tuner. This guitar has that quintessential Martin magic! It comes with its original hard shell case.
SoldBourgeois Country Boy GA / Heirloom Series
This is an exceptional Mahogany GA, one size up from an OM, with killer tone thanks to it full Aged Tone Package. The Aged Tone package, including an Aged Tone Adirondack Spruce top with Aged Tone bracing attached with Animal Protein glue and Aged Tone finish really super-charges its tone. The 1 23/32" width nut makes the neck on this guitar feel very comfortable and it's long scale is perfect for both fingerpicking and flatpicking. With deluxe hard shell case.1
SoldBourgeois Vintage OM
The Bourgeois Vintage combines traditional tone-woods with a classic design to deliver you a robust, warm and balanced OM. It's 1 3/4" nut width and long scale are perfect for fingerstylists but also stands up to a pick for strumming and flat-picking. Look no further if you've been searching for a great OM! It comes a deluxe hard shell case.
SoldLowden FRT-ZI-RC Richard Thompson Signature Series With AAAA Ziricote
At Lowden, they only consider a signature model for someone who has played their guitars consistently for a long time and the legendary Richard Thompson has been playing Lowden guitars for many, many years! Richard chose this wood combination and other specifications because of the really full-bodied loud and clear response of Figured Ziricote and AAAA grade Red Cedar. The 5 piece Mahogany, Rosewood and Walnut neck feels solid and is topped off with elegant Gotoh Gold and Ebony 510 tuning gears. It comes with a deluxe hard shell case.
SoldLowden F35-IR-SS
This F35 model with Indian Rosewood and Sitka Spruce is for the serious player who can appreciate a whole new world of subtle tone colours and dynamic range with warmth and focused projection. But because of the extra definition of the AAAA grade soundboard wood, there is extra clarity and class in the tone. This plays like butter F has superior focus and projection. It comes with a deluxe hard shell case.
SoldBourgeois The Championship D / Aged Tone Series
The Championship is one killer Mahogany Dread! It features an Aged Tone Adi top, Sinker Mahogany back and sides and a 1 23/32” nut for easy playing. Bourgeois' hand-voicing technique makes this guitar sound robust and balanced. It comes with its hard shell case.
Sold2014 Taylor 818e Grand Orchestra
Big, booming jumbo tone with Taylor clarity and articulation. This 2014 Taylor 818e not only has a beautiful tone but is wonderfully appointed with gorgeous maple binding and rosewood pick-guard along with lovely abalone fretboard inlay and rosette. It just just enough bling in just the right places without being over the top to deliver an overall handsome package. The Indian Rosewood back and sides are stunning on this guitar, beautifully straight grained with excellent variegation This guitar is in overall excellent condition with little fret-wear and some buffing on the pick-guard. Also comes with original Taylor hard shell case making this instrument the complete package.
SoldCollings 001-14 Fret Traditional
Our new 00 14-Fret series finds the sweet spot between small and mid-sized instruments while bringing to the table a distinctive voice and character all its own. This Traditional Series variation represents our vintage-inspired approach to voicing and construction, which brings out a strong fundamental tonality and dry articulation with warmer high-end response. The ultra-thin nitrocellulose lacquer and lightweight build provide added nuance and responsiveness, making for an exceptionally dynamic and versatile instrument that shines in a variety of playing styles. With deluxe hard shell case.
Acoustic Guitars for Sale at Northern Lights Music - Best Quality Brands
Discover top-notch boutique acoustic guitars at Northern Lights Music, featuring sought-after brands such as Santa Cruz Guitars, Bourgeois Guitars, and Collings Guitars. Whether you're searching for a brilliant Brazilian OM or a warm mahogany dreadnought, we have the perfect guitar for you. Can't find what you're looking for in our inventory? Our featured brands are custom shops that can build a guitar to match your imagination and budget. Looking for an affordable option or just starting out? We also offer high-quality, budget-friendly acoustic and electric guitars from Taylor Guitars, Seagull Guitars, and Yamaha Acoustic Guitars.
What is an Acoustic Guitar and its Characteristics
An acoustic guitar is a type of stringed instrument that uses a hollow body and a soundboard to produce sound, instead of relying on electronic amplification. The soundboard is usually made of wood, and the body can be crafted from wood or synthetic materials. Steel strings are typically used, but acoustic guitars can also be strung with nylon or other types of strings. Acoustic guitars can be played with a pick or fingers and are popular in various music genres, including folk, country, blues, and classical.
Reasons to Choose an Acoustic Guitar
Acoustic guitars have a lot to offer, attracting players for different reasons. The rich and warm sound that an acoustic guitar produces is often described as "full" or "rounded," and is appreciated by many players. The versatility of the instrument allows it to be played in a variety of styles and genres, such as folk, country, blues, and classical. The simplicity of an acoustic guitar is also appealing, as it does not require electronic amplification or other equipment. Furthermore, the portability of acoustic guitars makes them convenient for playing at home, with friends, or on the go.
History of the Acoustic Guitar
The acoustic guitar has a rich and diverse history that stretches back centuries. The modern acoustic guitar is derived from various stringed instruments developed in different parts of the world. The lute, one of the earliest known stringed instruments, was developed in ancient Egypt and was popular in Europe during the Middle Ages. The lute was a pear-shaped instrument with a long neck and a hollow body and was used to play melodies and accompaniments.
The guitar as we know it today is believed to have evolved from the lute, and it was first developed in Spain in the 15th century. Early guitars had four courses (pairs) of strings, which were tuned in fourths and were played with the fingers. They were used to play a wide range of music, including folk, popular, and classical. Over time, the guitar has undergone many changes and has been adapted to meet the needs of different musicians and musical styles. Today, the acoustic guitar is a popular instrument used in various music genres, including folk, country, blues, and classical.
Best Guitars for Beginners
There are many great options for beginner acoustic guitars, and the best one for you will depend on your budget, playing style, and preferences. A budget-friendly option for beginners is the Yamaha FG800, known for its excellent sound quality and playability. The Yamaha FG800 has a solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides, which give it a warm and full sound. For those who prefer a North American-made guitar, Taylor is a great step-up option. Try out a few different guitars to find the one that works best for you and your playing style.