What You Need To Know
THE RIVALS
1 Who’s Shawn Mendes?
Lowden’s S02 Ed Sheeran (£713) with its solid Sitka spruce top, five-piece rosewood back and sides, ebony fretboard and LR Baggs EAS VTC pickup system is an obvious artist comparison.
Award-winning Canadian singersongwriter who’s scored multiple Billboard No 1 hits and stands as the youngest male artist to top the Billboard 200 chart with four full-length studio albums. Mendes made it by amassing a huge online following after releasing covers of (among others) Justin Bieber songs.
But if you’re not into either player then Fender’s fantastic-looking PS-220E Parlor (£679) is a superb alternative. With handsome binding, soundhole rosette and ‘firestripe’ pickguard, it also features solid mahogany back and sides, spruce top and mahogany neck, plus Fender/Fishman Sonitone Plus pickup.
2 What’s sapele?
Taylor’s GS Mini-e Rosewood Plus (£1,099) is a cool upgrade to the ‘industry standard’ small-bodied acoustic. With gloss-finished laminated rosewood body, solid spruce top, ebony fingerboard and bridge, plus Taylor’s ES2 pickup system, it’s a grown-up guitar for any size hands.
While not a truly genetic mahogany species, sapele sits within the broader family of trees and is often called ‘sapele mahogany’. Originating in Tropical Africa it can come in highly figured forms, and is currently not listed as endangered.
3 Has Martin finally produced a bolt-on neck guitar?