January 2016 – Beginner Guitar Tips

Good Acoustic Guitars for Beginners

If you have landed here it means you have made the decision to buy an acoustic guitar rather than an electric so I want to help you out by suggesting some good acoustic guitars for beginners. I am going to shy away from using terms like “the best” acoustic guitar for beginners simply because the word best is so subjective. Everyone is different and what may be the best beginner acoustic guitar for someone else may not be the best one for you. But I am going to try to give you a good starting point. If you continue playing for any length of time you will start to develop your own sense of what you like and don’t like when it comes to the instruments you buy and why.

First, you really should avoid buying a guitar from a big box store. While they are great for tons of things, they will usually have guitars made by a no name company that are pretty low in quality. The great thing is that most of the reputable guitar companies have low end guitars to help get you started and many of them are very affordable. You will get a better product from a company that usually makes only musical instruments (Yamaha is the one exception I can think of but they have a reputation for quality in everything they build).

The best way to choose a guitar is to actually go into a shop and strum a few. Guitars can be made out of different types of wood which affect how they sound. Different guitars are shaped differently and come in different colors. Some have smaller necks and may just “feel” better when you hold it. These are all things that will weigh into your decision. And don’t underestimate how important it is to find a guitar you think looks good. We all know personality is important but that doesn’t mean looks aren’t…haha. You definitely want a guitar that you enjoy picking up and playing since that is what will make you a better player and that includes having the sound, look, and feel that you like.

That being said, I am going to suggest some good beginner acoustic guitars by some well known brands that will be a good starting point since not everyone has a shop close by. I am including a traditional acoustic look and a cutaway design whenever available. If you aren’t sure about what each of those is, click here. Please note, several of the cutaways are acoustic-electric, meaning they can be plugged into an amp or run through a sound system. Be aware of that. They cost a little extra for that versatility, so if you aren’t needing that then you may want to choose a different one. I had trouble finding too many cutaways that were not acoustic-electric.

If you click on the name of the brand itself it will take you to a page full of all their guitars rather than a specific one. One may catch your eye that I didn’t mention. I am trying to keep the price range low, but feel free to look through some a little up in price as quality does go up. Hope this helps. Click the picture of any guitar you want to find more information on.

Good Beginner Acoustic Guitars (in alphabetical order by company):

Alvarez:

ss Alvarez Artist Series AD30 Dreadnought Guitar, Natural/Gloss Finish Alvarez Acoustic Electric Guitar AD30CE (Dreadnought) Alvarez Regent RD26SB Acoustic Guitar Spruce top Dreadnought Free Gig Bag Alvarez RD26CE Cutaway Acoustic Guitar with Deluxe Gig Bag

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Applause: These guitars are made by Ovation and are unique in that they have a rounded back made out of a composite synthetic material instead of wood. Some people love them. I have owned a couple before and didn’t like how they wanted to slide off my lap as I played sitting down because of being rounded. They are no problem when playing standing up. You may love them but I just wanted to give a little FYI on these particular guitars. They are definitely unique.

Ovation AB24A-4 Acoustic Guitar, Applause Balladeer Cutaway Dreadnought Ovation AB24A-5 Acoustic Guitar, Applause Balladeer Cutaway Dreadnought Ovation AB24-RR Acoustic-Electric Guitar, Applause Balladeer Cutaway Dreadnought Ovation AB24-4 Acoustic-Electric Guitar, Applause Balladeer Cutaway Dreadnought

Daisy Rock: Daisy Rock is a company formed by the president of another famous guitar company, Schecter. His wife came to him with the idea when their daughter was very young. If you have wondered if there is an acoustic guitar for girls then Daisy Rock acoustic guitars are probably what you are looking for. The neck of the guitar is thinner to allow for smaller hands and, well, they come in colors like pink and silver sparkle…haha. Most importantly they have a reputation for good quality.

Daisy Rock Pixie Acoustic Guitar, Silver Sparkle Daisy Rock Pixie Acoustic-Electric Guitar, Blueberry Burst Daisy Rock 14-7501 Sophomore Acoustic Guitar, Pep Rally Purple Daisy Rock Sophomore Butterfly Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Epiphone: ***Astericks on this one. The first one below is close to $100 and had great customer reviews. This color is a bit more expensive but when you get to the page look near the middle of the page and you will see some color options. The natural looking one is $107.00. Nice!!

Epiphone DR-100 Acoustic Guitar, Vintage Sunburst Epiphone PR-150 Acoustic Guitar Vintage Sunburst Epiphone AJ-100CE Jumbo Acoustic-Electric Guitar, Passive, Natural

Fender: Fender is famous for some very iconic electric guitars they make (the Stratocaster is super famous…think Eric Clapton and countless other guitarists) but they make some great acoustic guitars. In fact, the first quality acoustic I got for myself after learning a bit was a Fender acoustic with a beautiful sound and gorgeous flame maple body. After having it over 10 years it got stolen, but I digress. Great guitars.

Fender DG-60 Acoustic Guitar Sunburst Fender FA-100 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar with Gig Bag – Natural Fender Hot Rod Design T-Bucket 100CE Acoustic-Electric Guitar, 3-Color Sunburst Fender FA135CE Concert Acoustic-Electric Guitar Natural

Gretsch: Gretsch guitars have a great reputation. The only style I could find that were not approaching $400 were these throwback guitars to the parlor playing days of the 1940s and 1950s. They are a much smaller body with a very distinctive shape.

Gretsch G9500 Jim Dandy Flat Top – Vintage Sunburst Gretsch G9500 Jim Dandy Flat Top Delta Sky Burst 12-Fret 6-String Acoustic Parlor Guitar Gretsch G9500 Jim Dandy Flat Top – Roundup Burst Gretsch Guitars G9520 Jim Dandy Flat Top Acoustic Guitar Black

Ibanez: Ibanez makes some good guitars. In fact, I own one right now. The picture in the “About Me” page on this blog is a picture of me holding it and I’ve had it for some 7 years now. FYI…the last 4 below are the same guitar, just in different colors.

Ibanez Gd10 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Natural Ibanez PF15NT Performance Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Natural Ibanez V70CE Acoustic-Electric Guitar Black Ibanez V70CE Acoustic-Electric Guitar Transparent Blue Ibanez V70CE Acoustic-Electric Cutaway Guitar Violin Sunburst Ibanez V70CE Acoustic-Electric Cutaway Guitar Antique Natural

Mitchell: I don’t know much about these guitars except I noticed they were highly rated by customers at a reputable online guitar store and very affordable. Comments like, “The sound blew my more expensive guitars away” kept popping up so I thought I would put these two out there for you. The first one below is just over $100.

Mitchell MD100 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Natural Mitchell MD100SCE Dreadnought Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar Natural