If you don’t know much about playing guitars and are entirely new to the music world, then this question, “How to buy an acoustic guitar for beginners,” is common. In this article, I would like to reveal the two most important things you must consider when purchasing a guitar for beginners.
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How to buy an acoustic guitar for beginners:
Let’s start with a step-by-step guideline with the basic ideas on guitar, which will help you to decide which guitar, acoustic, electric, or classical, will be the best fit for you and why. Sound good? Let’s dive in.
What is an Acoustic Guitar?
Typically an acoustic guitar is a musical instrument that consists of a hollow body, six strings, and a neck. Acoustic guitars are versatile instruments that you can use in various music genres such as Pop, Country, Blues, Latin, and Christian music.
What is an Electric Guitar?
Electric guitars are another type of guitar. An electric guitar uses an amplifier to provide sound reinforcement. Generally, it has a smaller neck (1.65 inches) than an acoustic guitar (1.73 inches). Electric guitars are the most popular choice for playing rock, metal, and jazz music, and are often used to accompany singers.
What is a Classical Guitar?
The classical guitar, also known as the Nylon String guitar or Spanish guitar, is mainly used in classical music. The main difference between a Classical and an Acoustic guitar is in the strings. Generally, the modern acoustic has steel-made strings, whereas the Spanish guitars are the precursor of the acoustic guitars and have nylon-made lines.
Do you need to start with an acoustic guitar?
Now come to the right question. Do you need to start with an acoustic guitar? Or should you choose an electric or Spanish nylon-stringed guitar? It depends on some essential considerations. What are they? Let’s talk about them.
It depends on the music styles you prefer:
All guitars have advantages and disadvantages—electric guitars are great for hard-hitting rock songs, while acoustic guitars are perfect for softer genres like folk, pop, and country music. So, when looking for a guitar to play, it’s critical to consider your musical preferences. Are you more of a rocker, metalhead, or jazz fan? Then choosing an electric guitar for the first time will be a good decision.
But if you prefer Pop, Country, Blues, or Christian music, and if you love classical music and the sound of nylon strings—then an acoustic or classical guitar can be your best choice.
It depends on your budget:
You might think that acoustic guitars are more expensive than electric guitars. But this is not true! Acoustic guitars are less costly and affordable than electric guitars. Because, Electric guitars need many accessories to get started, but an acoustic guitar doesn’t need any. It’s easier to learn how to play an acoustic guitar than an electric one because you don’t need a noisy amp or stereo system to play the acoustic guitar, and this can save you money.
Is an acoustic guitar easy to learn?
Typically, acoustic guitars have heavier strings, and the strings’ height is higher than that of standard electric guitars. For this reason, acoustic guitars seem to play harder at the beginning of your acoustic guitar learning process. Acoustic guitars also require much practice on the player’s part and proper knowledge of certain chords and notes.
Why should you choose an acoustic guitar as a beginner?
If you’re seeking a guitar that can handle a wide range of styles and sounds from all over the world—an acoustic or classical guitar might be the best option. It is affordable because you do not need to buy additional accessories like the amp, chords Etc. to play an acoustic guitar. So, as a beginner, you can choose an acoustic guitar.
What is a good beginner acoustic guitar?
Acoustic guitars are more versatile and come in various styles and prices, making it easy to find one that fits your budget and playing style. Before I suggest some of the guitar names in this detailed how to buy an acoustic guitar for the beginners’ blog post, I want to explain some essential criteria that make an acoustic guitar perfect for beginners. The requirements that you should take into consideration before buying an acoustic guitar are:
- Price range
- Size and shape
- Neck width
- Top of the instrument
- Back and sides
Price Range: acoustic guitar for beginners price
Hundreds of guitars are available in different price ranges and features. If you want to improve and expand your guitar skills, one of the $149 to $300 starter packs is a good choice. These starter packs consist of a gig bag and all the accessories you need to start with your guitar.
If you want an acoustic-electric guitar, starting from $199 to $400 is perfect, though there are a few starter packs for an acoustic-electric guitar. So you have to buy the guitar and amplifier separately.
So, if you’re on a tight budget, you can choose the cheaper guitars. But if money isn’t an issue, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t go for something better!
Size and Shape:
Acoustic guitars are available in the market in all sizes and shapes. They started at a half-size acoustic, and they can move up to ¾ size, ⅞ size, and finally, the full size. Some of the most popular body shapes are dreadnought shapes and concert body shapes which are a little smaller than the dreadnoughts are, and some of the popular smaller sizes are smaller parlors and travel guitars. So, select sizes and shapes after trying some of these guitars.
Neck width:
The acoustic guitars have different types of necks, like wider and slimmer necks. So choose an acoustic guitar that best fits your fingers and hand, and choose one that is more comfortable with your playing style.
Top of the instrument:
Acoustic guitars are made from woods like mahogany, cedar, and spruce. These wooden tops are known as solid tops. There are also laminate tops that are made of wood layers with glues. The main advantage of a solid top guitar is by the time it will mature and give nice aged sounds, according to the guitar experts. Look at the sound hole to check if the guitar has a solid or laminate top. If it is a solid top, you will not see the layers. If it is a laminate top guitar, you can see some layers glued to each other.
Solid top guitars have slightly high prices, only about $40 to $50 more than a laminated top guitar. If you want to know which will be perfect, I suggest you buy the solid top guitar.
Back and sides:
The back and side of an acoustic guitar are made with NATO, Mahogany, Rosewood, or Maple. A Mahogany can be an excellent choice because it will give you a more focused and rich sound. Rosewood is also very popular and will provide more deep and rich tones than a Mahogany does. If you want to play with bands, Maple wood will be the best choice because it will give you a very defined, punchy sound.
List of some best acoustic guitars for beginners:
If you are searching for the answer to this what acoustic guitar should I buy question, then here in this how to buy an acoustic guitar for beginners blog, I have tried to provide you with a list of some best acoustic guitars available in the market, which I believe will help you pick the right instrument.
- Donner DAG1C (Read Review)
- Yamaha Acoustic Guitar (Storia)
- Squier SA-150 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar
- Orangewood 6 String Acoustic Guitar
- Takamine GN93CE-NAT Acoustic Guitar
- Traveler Guitar (MK3 MHS)
Do you need more information? I think you do, this video tutorial is made on how to buy your first acoustic guitar, and this tutorial will help you.
Well, if you’ve read this article and made it to this point, I hope you now understand what to look for when purchasing an acoustic guitar. In addition, I also hope that you now know how to go about finding the ideal acoustic guitar that will suit your needs as a beginner guitarist—and one that will get the job done right.
Sources:
1. “Acoustic Guitar – Wikipedia.” Acoustic Guitar – Wikipedia, 1 Oct. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_guitar.
2. “Guitar – Wikipedia.” Guitar – Wikipedia, 1 Feb. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar.
Hi. I’m Saif Khan, a music enthusiast. Over the years, I have been passionate about playing musical instruments of different kinds, including guitars, drums, piano, and many more, and writing about them.
I am a professional writer and the founder of bestmusicinstrument.com – where I write about musical instruments, equipment, and other music-related articles. In addition, I’m a full-time blogger who loves to share useful content on playing musical instruments, and I have been writing about musical instruments since early 2019. When I started my site, I never thought it would become this big. I also run a Facebook page for my website.
I love learning new things, solving puzzles, and writing songs. So I created bestmusicinstrument.com to be the place on the internet where musicians of all levels can learn everything they need to know to choose the right instrument at the right price easily.
If you want to buy a piano, guitar, violin, saxophone, drum, or any other musical instrument, I can help you find the right one at affordable prices.
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