My journey with guitars spans nearly five decades, and my marriage with my wife has gracefully crossed the 40-year mark. As a minister, music has always been a shared language in our family, yet guitar stores were never my wife’s preferred destination—until a Luna guitar changed that narrative about six years ago.
We were browsing a guitar shop when she stopped, captivated by a Luna Oasis Henna. Its cedar top, adorned with beautiful artwork on both the front and back, immediately caught her eye. Turning to me, she asked a question that was both surprising and heartwarming, “Am I too old to learn to play guitar?” (She was in her mid-50s at the time). My reassuring “No, why?” was met with a simple, “Because that guitar is so pretty, I’m going to learn to play so I can buy it.” Perhaps a bit too pragmatically, I responded, “People don’t usually buy a guitar for how it looks but for how it sounds.”
However, life often teaches us to expect the unexpected. She did learn to play, and she did buy that Luna Oasis Henna. And to my pleasant surprise, it not only looked stunning but also sounded and played exceptionally well.
This wasn’t an isolated incident. Fast forward a few years, our son, a music graduate and worship leader in a church near Boston, faced an issue with his primary guitar’s electronics. In a pinch, he borrowed my wife’s Luna Oasis Henna. For months, this Luna guitar became his main instrument, its sound resonating beautifully in his skilled hands during services. Interestingly, while he played it week after week, no one in his congregation commented on the guitar itself. However, when we visited and joined their worship team, the same Luna guitar in my wife’s hands drew admiration. Several people approached her after the service, remarking, “What a beautiful guitar.”
These experiences highlight a simple truth: if a guitar is visually appealing, sounds great, plays comfortably, and inspires someone to pick it up and learn, isn’t that fundamentally what it’s all about? Luna Acoustic Guitars often embody this very principle.
Now, let’s be clear, Luna guitars aren’t aiming to compete directly with the likes of Martin or Taylor in the high-end market. But a fair comparison requires considering similar categories. To truly assess Luna’s value, we should place them alongside comparable guitars in the same price range, such as Mexican-made Martins and Taylors – entry-level models from these prestigious brands. Within this bracket, Luna’s all-wood offerings, including the Art Deco, Art Recording, and Signature series, hold their own remarkably well in terms of both price and quality.
For those seeking smaller-bodied instruments, the Luna Safari series stands as a compelling alternative to the Little Martin and Baby Taylor. Having owned guitars from all these ranges, both my wife and I can attest from personal experience that the Luna Safari not only competes admirably but often comes in at about half the price.
So, are Luna guitars “okay”? Absolutely. They are more than okay. If a guitar’s aesthetic appeal sparks a passion for music and motivates someone to start playing, then Luna guitars are hitting all the right notes. And in the world of music, inspiring that initial spark is often the most beautiful sound of all.
