Adam Perlmutter

2025 was as much about old ideas made new as it was about new ones pointing toward the acoustic guitar’s future. Here we look back at a cross section of the guitars and accessories that defined it.

The acoustic world lost some singular voices in 2025.

This arrangement is based loosely on the version recorded by Ricky Skaggs and Tony Rice (1980), and it works as a study in traditional flatpicking accompaniment.

This light and balanced guitar marries the 16-inch lower-bout girth of a classic dreadnought with the slim waist and narrow body depth of a 000.

White wowed the crowd with the Cole Porter classic at Brooklyn’s Jalopy Theatre during the release party for ‘Fingerpicking the Great American Songbook.’

This guitar arrangement combines bass and chords in one part that can stand alone, and it’s a blast to play.

Apollo Picks are favored by players like Norman Blake, Bill Frisell, Julian Lage, and Mary Halvorson and are made one at a time in Monnin’s Ohio workshop.

In an expansive new multimedia project, the celebrated Paraguayan guitarist collaborates with performers from across the Americas to explore the instrument’s shared roots and regional transformations.

While most acoustic soundhole pickups are one-sound-fits-all generalists, the Fluence series instead targets specific sonic goals.

“Waiting has been a theme in my life. This version of ‘Hesitation Blues’ is my way of making that space feel flirtatious, playful, and full of possibilities.”