The 4 Best Thin Neck Acoustic Guitars – Reviews 2023

thin neck acoustic guitar, slim neck acoustic guitar, narrow neck acoustic guitar

Photo by Tim Walker / CC BY

Thin-neck guitars are a godsend for certain people. After all, comes to any guitar being easy to strum and jam on, neck width plays an absolutely crucial role. It is a general rule that slimmer and thinner necks allow more control over the fretboard, easier chord grabbing and positioning, as well as faster soloing, and to a great extent, all of it is true.

So if you are in pursuit of this type of guitars, we took the liberty of sifting through the web in an attempt to bring you the right thin-neck acoustic guitar.

There are a lot of solid products out there, but there’s also quite a bit of things to watch out for. Slimmer necks mean a less durable neck; hence, we placed durability as one of the top priorities of our search. Additionally, we made sure that we offer first and foremost top-quality instruments, with good sound, high builds, and value for money, and only then filtered out the ones with a slim neck.

Here are our recommendations for the 4 best thin neck acoustic guitars on the market:

Thin Neck Acoustic Guitar 1: Yamaha NTX1200R

We’ll kick things off by firing the big guns! This fella goes by the name of Yamaha NTX1200R and it just might be the best six-string of its niche. It’s a classical guitar with an incredibly comfortable neck, which is something not a whole lot of classical models can brag about.

Crafted by one of the most versatile names in the industry, this is an acoustic electric guitar (see full specs) that utilizes a solid sitka spruce top with solid rosewood back and sides. Also included in the mix is a luxurious African mahogany neck that makes all the difference, along with a top-notch ebony fingerboard. In the electronic department, the instrument utilizes the renowned A.R.T. two-Way pickup and preamp system.

Back to that neck – this is one of the most elegant, slim, slick, elegant and sexy necks we have ever seen on a guitar. The wood used on this instrument’s neck is nothing short of best quality, and it’s something that isn’t easy for manufacturers to get their hands on. This is without doubt one of the best narrow-neck acoustic guitars.

Yamaha NTX-1200R at The Fellowship of Acoustics

Thin Neck Acoustic Guitar 2: ESP LTD TL-6


The Thinline series from ESP takes the idea of slim one step further. Not only does it give you a thin neck, the body design is equally slim, resulting in a guitar that has the light-weight comfort and feel of an electric guitar but gives you the sound of an acoustic.

The construction quality of the TL-6 is largely responsible for its incredibly smooth sound. It uses mahogany for the body and neck, with spruce for the top and a rosewood fingerboard. While you might expect a slim-bodied guitar to sound thin or weak, the sound out of this guitar is rich and resonant, especially when hooked into an amp through the Fishman Sonicore pickups.

Comfort is the main consideration for most people drawn to a thin-neck guitar, and ESP has certainly put that at the top of their list when designing this guitar. It uses a set-neck design for easy access to all the frets, with a Thin-U neck contour to enhance its playability for guitarists with smaller hands. This should be on anyone’s list of the best thin neck acoustic guitars for the money.

Pat Heath | LTD TL-6 BLK (Demonstration Video)

Thin Neck Acoustic Guitar 3: Ibanez GA35TCEDVS


Ibanez is a company known for super playable slim necks and that approach has extended into their acoustic department as well. Representing the narrow-neck Ibanez models, we bring you the GA35TCEDVS, a fine mid-priced six-string.

This acoustic electric guitar features a spruce-topped mahogany body with mahogany back and sides. What makes this item suitable for players in need of six-strings that are easy to play is a smaller body. So essentially, this is likely one of the best slim-neck acoustic guitars for small-handed folks on the entire list.

In the electronic department, the instrument features a Fishman Sonicore pickup paired up with Ibanez AEQ210T preamp system with onboard guitar tuner, delivering clear, loud and resonant tone both in unplugged and plugged-in regime.

Black Star, Fate Speaks acoustic guitar intro Michael Bonet

Thin Neck Acoustic Guitar 4: Alvarez Artist Series AD60

Finally, a dreadnought beast from the folks in Alvarez! What we particularly like about this guitar is that it uses some very high quality wood, which of course secures a good sound. And for this price, there aren’t many top-end six-strings you can get really.

But apart from all these nice things, this instrument has a—you guessed it—a slim neck. So if you’re a tonewood-obsessed guy looking for a guitar with a narrow neck, this is your ideal match.

The guitar features a hand selected, grade-A solid sitka spruce top, along with hand-sanded scalloped bracing and top-of-the-line mahogany back and sides. It’s very easy on the eyes thanks to the classy smooth finish, and it just folds into your hands like a perfect fit. It doesn’t matter whether you’re male or female, big or small, have tiny or large hands or slim or chunky fingers because this guitar really fits everyone. Try it and see if you won’t take our word for it.

The Best Thin Neck Acoustic Guitars: What to Know

We’ll wrap this one up with a string of advice and general stuff you should know when it comes to guitars with slimmer necks. So while they make it easier to achieve faster playing in general, these guitars are still not for everyone. As it is pretty much always a case in music, it’s a thing of preference, so don’t buy guitars with narrow necks just because you are told so.

Always go and test things out, and if slimmer stuff really works for you more than chunkier necks, then go for it. But if you like a thicker neck, don’t hesitate to go for those either. If it was all about slim necks, they wouldn’t even be making the chunky models, now would they?

Also, the thickness of the neck does NOT affect the sound in a direct way. It’s your hands that shape the sound, and whether you should use a slim or chunky neck is all up to your personal taste and vibe.

Apart from that, we stand by our stance that these four are the crème de la crème of their respective niche and price range. They’re the best thin-neck acoustic guitars, ones you cannot go wrong with. Good luck!

Written and Reviewed By

  • Micah Johnson started playing music in high school, when he taught himself the bass to join his friend’s band. He added guitar and drums during his twenties playing in local clubs, and along the way, he picked up unique, hands-on experience from hand drums to studio mixers. On Song Simian, he aims to share this knowledge from 20+ years playing and recording music. When not in gearhead mode, he enjoys photography and travel.

  • Marko is the senior editor and writer on Ultimate Guitar, the No. 1 guitar spot on the web, since early 2013. His work was also featured on a variety of other notable gear spots such as Guitar Fella, Consordini, and, of course, Song Simian. His musical journey began at a very young age, and he finally opted to pick up an instrument in his early teenage years. A fan of King Crimson. A travel enthusiast.

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