Every passionate music enthusiast wishes to have the best acoustic guitar to start their guitar journey as a beginner. I still remember buying my first acoustic guitar almost 10 years ago. But the only reason that day was highly memorable was that my first acoustic guitar was quite awesome; otherwise, I probably would’ve given up being a guitarist.
I could find the best acoustic guitar for me – a total beginner guitar player because I did my research first by going to several guitar shops before buying mine. And I’ve been to thousands of guitar shops and played about hundreds of types of guitars ever since.
So here is the good news for you if you are looking for the best acoustic guitar for beginners.
You don’t have to go to any guitar store or snoop online to do your research. We know how confusing it can get. Therefore, we have done that for you and picked the 10 best acoustic guitars that will be perfect for beginner musicians.
Why Should You Choose an Acoustic Guitar in the First Place?
A silly question, but an important one. It is obvious that if you wish to be a guitarist then you’d start with an acoustic guitar. But there some might think that it is easier to start with an electric guitar since eventually, you’ll have to upgrade to one when you become an expert.
While a part of this notion is valid, such a practice is not a fruitful one. A beginner who loves the sound of a guitar should always start with the raw and natural guitar sounds that can only be found through acoustic guitars. There are several essential reasons why you should start your musical journey with an acoustic guitar.
Suitable for Learning the Basics
Acoustic guitars teach you the fundamentals. Therefore, without having a strong understanding of the fundamentals of guitar playing, you would not be so efficient in the long run.
Natural Acoustic Tone
Acoustic guitars produce a natural tone that trains your ear to recognize the musical notes. This is essential for an aspiring guitarist. Electric guitar’s sound is a bit modified, hence you won’t get accustomed to the natural tone.
String Quality
Acoustic guitar strings are of higher tension and action than an electric guitar. So, although an acoustic guitar is a bit difficult to play for beginner guitar players than an electric guitar, this helps to strengthen your fingers and improves the finger positioning to grasp the chord shapes.
Easy to Learn
Although an electric guitar seems easier at first, it requires better precision while playing. So, if a beginner guitarist learns with an acoustic guitar well, then they would easily master the precision control.
Even if you are influenced by the guitarists who play electric guitars, you can look into their background and find that they are equally if not more skilled in acoustic guitar.
Indications of The Best Acoustic Guitar for Beginners
First, let’s get acquainted with the parts of a guitar as well as the types that would help you understand which are best suited for guitar beginners. You can easily identify these types of acoustic guitar brands and buy one for yourself or suggest other beginner guitarists.
In brief, an acoustic guitar has 7 basic body parts: body, neck, headstock, bridge, tuning pegs, strings, and fretboard or fingerboard. Some acoustic guitars have electronic components such as embedded EQ and tuner, volume control knob, and pickup.
Body Shape
You might have seen acoustic guitars with different types of bodies but might have not noticed well enough except for the body color. So next time you see two different branded acoustic guitars, try comparing their body shapes and size because they are likely to be different.
That being said, acoustic guitar’s body shapes and size can vary significantly. These body shapes and sizes can be referred to as Mini, Parlor, Grand concert, Auditorium, Dreadnought, and Jumbo, in ascending order. You might need to know the body shapes as they can render different qualities of sound and loudness.
Tonewood
We won’t get into the details of this; it would be enough for you to know that an acoustic guitar’s body, neck, and fretboard are made of different types of tonewoods; the most popular ones are mahogany, spruce, cedar, rosewood, and maple. More about tone-woods coming later on.
Guitar Strings Type
Acoustic guitars can be classified according to their string types – Steel-stringed acoustic guitar and nylon-stringed acoustic guitars. Each of these types of strings produces different sounds and they are can be played in different styles.
Pickups and Electronics
Yes, acoustic guitars might also have electrical components such as pickup, plug-in port, volume and tone control knobs, and in-build digital Tuner and EQ, etc. But the concern should be, do you need such an acoustic guitar with electronic components? You’ll soon find the answer by the end of this post.
10 Best Acoustic Guitars for Beginners
Here it is, the 10 best acoustic guitars hand-picked for you that are of an excellent choice for beginners. Just 5 minutes read, and you’ll already know which acoustic guitar you should be getting. But before that, let’s take a look at the comparison table so you can get a glimpse of the choices presented in front of you.
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Epiphone DR-100 Vintage Sunburst
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You might just fall in love with this first acoustic guitar on our list. Epiphone DR-100 is one of the best beginner-friendly guitars in the market.
Highlighted Features
- Body shape: Dreadnought
- Body type: Spruce top, mahogany back and sides
- Neck Material: Mahogany
- Fingerboard Material: Rosewood
- Color: Sunburst
- Dimension: 42 x 18.5 x 5.5 inches
- Weight: 8 pounds
- Scale Length: 25.5 inches
Considering the budget price range, this well-known branded acoustic guitar stands out in the guitar market because of its rich sound, solid tone, and durability. It is almost as if this steel-stringed acoustic guitar has been developed nicely to set up a musical journey of a beginner guitarist!!
So, you’ll find this gorgeous sunburst-colored guitar with a spruce top and mahogany back and sides – rendering a vintage appearance. The fingerboard is the usual rosewood material with a mahogany neck. The headstock is also well aligned at a 14-degree angle with premium acoustic tuners that would optimize the steel strings’ tension and enhance your playability.
With its spruce top, mahogany body, rosewood fingerboard accompanied with the dreadnought body shape emits a well-balanced and full-bodied sound. It looks professional, sounds beautiful and its sound is well suited for a wide range of music genres.
Pros
- Professional and Eye-catching design
- Well-built to enhance playability for beginners
- Durable build which also brightens the sound quality
Cons
- No accessories included
Yamaha FG800
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Yamaha has acquired its fame as one of the finest acoustic guitar manufacturers in the market. Therefore, this Steel-stringed acoustic guitar that I’m about to write about could easily be your first one.
Highlighted Features
- Body shape: Dreadnought
- Body type: Sitka spruce top, Nato back and sides
- Neck Material: Spruce wood
- Fingerboard material: Walnut
- Color: Natural
- Dimension: 43 x 18.5 x 5.5 inches
- Weight: 8 pounds
- Scale Length: 25.5 inches
First of all, this guitar is very budget-friendly considering its brand and the sound quality so that, you don’t have to go broke while buying your first acoustic guitar. Secondly, you’d be glad after buying this guitar because it has every element that a beginner guitarist needs. This is one of the most abundant guitars in the guitar shops.
This model of Yamaha is well known for making bright, loud, and warm sounds with an emphasis on the bass as well as the mid. It has a solid Sitka spruce top which takes most of the credit for fuller and richer sounds. Walnut fingerboard has a smooth touch to ease your playing.
Pros
- Great construction and design
- Superb sound
- Accessories included
- Great value for money
- Best for beginner guitarists
Cons
- None so far
Fender CD-60S Solid
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This is the first Fender on our list, and you’ll see more of them later. Let’s start with this amazing Steel-stringed acoustic guitar that is of a dominant brand in the guitar industry and also one of the very affordable guitars.
Highlighted Features
- Body shape: Dreadnought
- Body type: Spruce top, Mahogany body
- Neck Material: Nato wood
- Fingerboard material: Rosewood (20 frets)
- Color: Natural
- Dimension: 45 x 19 x 7 inches
- Weight: 14.7 pounds
- Scale Length: 25.3 inches
You would be glad to have one of these acoustic guitars because Fender acoustic at this price is a definite win. Its sound quality is rich with warm vibes that are the result of the solid spruce top and mahogany body. The sound is focused on mid-tone which can be distinguishable through its full, loud, and well-rounded sound.
The other features such as the tuner, fretboard, bridge, saddles, etc. are very well constructed considering the budget price range. The string action of this guitar is also optimum so that you can play effortlessly as a beginner without making any fret-buzz.
To make your guitar journey convenient as a beginner, it comes with all the accessories you need such as a fender clip-on tuner, a guitar strap, a hard case.
Pros
- Renowned brand
- Great sound quality
- Beginner-friendly
- Accessories included in this pack
Cons
- Quite heavy; portability could be a hassle, even with the hard case.
Jasmine S34C NEX Acoustic Guitar
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After talking about fender, this guitar might seem not enough to stand out, but it does! You will find Jasmine S34C as a minimalistic fantastic acoustic guitar.
Highlighted Features
- Body Shape: Grand orchestra
- Body Type: Spruce top, Sapele back and sides
- Neck Material: Mahogany
- Fingerboard material: Rosewood (20 frets)
- Color: Natural
- Dimension: 48 x 18 x 8 inches
- Weight: 5 pounds
- Scale Length: 25.5
The build, design, and sound quality are perfect for a beginner guitarist. Apart from the great value for money, it will catch your attention the very first time you see it. The laminated spruce top with Sapele body doesn’t only enhance the sound, it also makes the guitar durable while enhancing the appearance.
You will love the shape of this Steel-stringed acoustic guitar. It is a Grand Orchestra shaped with stylish Venetian-style cutaway that looks as elegant as the rich sound it produces. The cutaway also enhances the playability of its 25.5 inches neck. It also has a smooth satin finish and the advanced “X bracing” (inner wood structure design) that optimizes the resonance and overall sound quality.
So, you will get a starter bundle with this guitar that includes all the necessary accessories. Such as a set of steel strings, several picks, a tuner, and a guitar bag. Apart from all these, I like this guitar for its lightweight.
Pros
- Great looking as well as value for money
- Convenient shape for a beginner guitarist
- Solid performance, deep and powerful sound
- Lightweight yet durable
Cons
- None so far
YAMAHA FS800 Small Body Solid Top Acoustic
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Another Yamaha acoustic guitar has made it to our list for its convenient size and well-known Yamaha sound quality. Although both body shapes – concert and Dreadnought of these models are available, we will be looking into the Concert shaped one.
Highlighted Features
- Body shape: Concert
- Body type: Spruce top, Nato/okume
- Neck Material: Nato
- Fingerboard material: Rosewood (20 frets)
- Color: Natural
- Dimension: 41.6 x 19.1 x 6 inches
- Weight: 6.21 pounds
- Scale Length: 25
While there are many low-priced guitars in the market, none of them would match its sound at this budget price range. This is an amazing beginner-friendly guitar in terms of sound, shape, and build.
This FS series model of Yamaha is robustly built due to its modern scalloping design (inner wood structure). Not to mention, it also enhances the resonance of the sound, making it louder and stronger. The spruce top is there to bring out a brighter tone.
There is a value pack that contains additional accessories along with this fine acoustic guitar. The accessories include an A-Frame guitar stand, a clip-on tuner with multiple settings, a guitar strap, Guitar picks, Polish cloth & string winder but no extra strings.
Pros
- Great sound
- Very affordable for a beginner guitarist
- Durable
- Amazing accessories included
Cons
- String actions are a bit high for the beginners
Yamaha CGS 102 A Classical
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You didn’t think that we’d make a list of “best acoustic guitars for beginners” without putting a classical guitar, did you? Yes, we’ve put one classical guitar so that you don’t miss out on its charm.
Highlighted Features
- Body shape: Classical
- Body type: Spruce top, Meranti
- Neck Material: Nato wood
- Fingerboard material: Rosewood
- Color: Natural
- Dimension: 36.9 x 16.5 x 4.5 inches
- Weight: 3.84 pounds
- Scale Length: 21 inches
If you didn’t know already, classical guitars are the ones that make amazing Spanish flavored guitar tones which are widely known as Flamenco. This is a nylon string guitar that is played by finger-plucking, unlike the steel-stringed acoustic guitars. It has a classic body style as well.
The spruce body top means: you guessed it right, a bright tone is emitted from the guitar. The meranti body along with the high resonating nylon strings contribute to the rich tones with optimum loudness. And as always, Yamaha made the design so that the slim neck is easy to hold, strings actions are optimum for comfortably playing this elegant musical instrument.
Pros
- Mind-Blowing elegant sound
- Classic looking with nylon strings
- Very lightweight
Cons
- Playing is quite tricky for beginners (but it’s worth it)
- No accessories included
Taylor GS Mini Mahogany GS Mini Acoustic Guitar
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There is no way this list of best guitars for beginners would be complete without a Taylor Acoustic guitar. These are some of those premium-quality acoustic guitars that you’d want for a lifetime. Hence, even though the price is a bit high, at least one of these guitars should be on this list.
Highlighted Features
- Body shape: Grand Symphony Mini
- Body type: Mahogany, Sapele back and sides
- Neck Material: Sapele wood
- Fingerboard material: African Ebony
- Color: Natural
- Dimension: 42 x 18 x 8 inches
- Weight: 4.4 pounds
- Scale Length: 23.5
Taylor GS Mini is one of the guitars you would be proud to have and keep for the rest of your life. Even if you are a beginner, if you have enough budget, you should go for this Taylor Acoustic guitar. It might be the best investment at the beginning of your musical journey.
This guitar’s body shape is called Grand Symphony Mini which is optimal for both finger-plucking and flat-picking. It has a smaller scale length compared to other Steel-stringed acoustic guitars in our list which gives it a warmer tone that is amplified by the mahogany-Sapele combined body. The ebony fingerboard enhances playability most smoothly.
Any beginner would fall in love with the sound of this acoustic guitar. Why? Mostly because of the expert craftsmanship of the Taylor guitar that is well known throughout the guitar industry. And the guitar is optimized in every manner to enhance the playability, comfort, and amazing tone.
Pros
- Great built through exclusive craftsmanship
- Amazing sound quality
- Lightweight and Long-Lasting
Cons
- Price is comparatively higher
- No accessories included
Gretsch Guitars Jim Dandy
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One of the small-bodied guitars (Parlor size) at a very affordable price as well as great quality is Gretsch. You might haven’t heard about this guitar as often as you hear about Fenders or Yamaha, it is out there impressing the audience.
Highlighted Features
- Body shape: Parlor
- Body type: Agathis
- Neck Material: NATO wood
- Fingerboard material: Rosewood
- Color: 2 color sunburst
- Dimension: 14.96 x 3 x 35.43 inches
- Weight: 2.2 pounds
- Scale Length: 24 inches
The sound quality of this small-bodied guitar is outstanding, almost defying its size. And the design is appealing to beginners as well as experienced guitarists alike. Check out the weight, it is amazingly lightweight to carry around and play it wherever you want.
Experts have built this guitar with an emphasis on beginner guitarists, therefore its design is optimized for your comfort in playing. The body Material is Agathis which gives you a soft tone with good sustain.
Pros
- Lightweight
- Budget-friendly
- Perfect size for beginners
Cons
- Some has reported durability issues
Fender 6 String T-Bucket 300-CE
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We are going to introduce you to the 2nd Fender acoustic guitar on our list that is moderately affordable and of mesmerizing quality. One look at Fender T-Bucket 300-CE and you’d want it.
Highlighted Features
- Body shape: Dreadnought (with cutaway design)
- Body type: Maple top, Mahogany back and sides
- Neck Material: Maple
- Fingerboard material: Rosewood
- Color: Moonlight burst
- Dimension: 35 x 15 x 6 inches
- Weight: 10 pounds
- Scale Length: 25.3 inches
In our list, this is the first guitar that is equipped with electronics that enable you to plug in with an amplifier. Fender’s renowned Fishman pickup system along with active preamp, volume & tone control, and tuner altogether does this job super efficiently.
Even after plugging in this Steel-stringed acoustic guitar, the raw flavored sound is barely compromised due to this well-designed electronic system. The raw acoustic sound results from the dreadnought body with a cutaway that allows you to play high-note melodies alongside the rhythms.
The moonlight burst design of this acoustic guitar is mesmerizing, so is the unique abalone around the soundhole. This guitar is very well aligned in neck and strings that you can play with effortlessly right after you buy it. An inbuilt tuner would help you tune the guitar whenever you are out of tune, even if a little.
Pros
- Great design and durable built
- Electronics embedded
- Cutaway design in a dreadnought body
- Bright, loud, and refined sound
- A great choice for beginners
Cons
- A bit heavy
- No accessories included
Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnoughtacoustic Guitar
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We’ve saved the best for the last, and this is another Fender acoustic guitar equipped with high-quality electronics. Fender 60-SCE Dreadnought acoustic guitar is another affordable one with amazing looks and sounds.
Highlighted Features
- Body shape: Dreadnought (with cutaway)
- Body type: Mahogany
- Neck Material: Mahogany
- Fingerboard material: Mahogany
- Color: Natural
- Dimension: 45 x 19 x 7 inches
- Weight: 15.22 pounds
- Scale Length: 25.3 inches
This is another amazing-looking steel-stringed acoustic guitar to fall in love with at your first glance. The eye-catching body, neck, and fretboard of the guitar that will captivate you is made of full mahogany. Its mahogany finish on a cutaway designed dreadnought body, black and white body-neck binder, chrome tuning knobs, acrylic design around the soundhole; what’s not to love?
Let’s talk about its sound and find out how marvelous it is. The all-mahogany built of this guitar already provides you with warm, full, and resonant natural sound. That sound is accentuated by the Scalloped “X” bracing (inner build of the guitar’s body) that makes it more resonant and powerful.
Moreover, the cutaway allows you to play the higher notes with ease. You can also plug it in and play it through an amplifier; the high-quality Fishman Isys III Electronics with onboard pre-amp would make your guitar sound as natural as possible, even throughout the amplifier. Even without plugging it in, this guitar would provide loud enough sounds due to its dreadnought body.
The bundle package of this guitar comes with all the accessories you need as a beginner such as a clip-on tuner, a guitar strap, a hard casing, some guitar picks, a set of extra strings, strings winder, polishing cloth, and an instructional DVD.
Pros
- Both acoustically and electrically playable
- High-quality electronics embedded
- Loud, warm, and bright sound
- Mesmerizing finishing
- All the accessories included
- An ideal choice for beginners as well as intermediate guitarists
Cons
- Quite heavy
Top 8 Best Acoustic Guitar Brands of All Time
It can be challenging to choose your first guitar, on the one hand, you want a guitar that isn’t too expensive, and on the other hand, you want a quality guitar that will make you fall in love during the learning process. That’s why you’ve got to look for the best acoustic guitar brands to get all those key factors.
Since this phase can be daunting, we’ve put together some of 2019’s best acoustic guitar brands with a helpful guide.
Which One is Considered as the Best Acoustic Guitar Brands?
It’s often a crucial question that is needed to be answered precisely, for those who are comparatively new to the instrument and want to limit their quest to purchase one.
We set out to find if we can use a large amount of information that we have collected on hundreds of different acoustic and electric guitar models to generate an unbiased study on the general market sentiment regarding companies wanting to sell acoustic steel-string guitars. Luckily, we found these are the most popular brands according to their ratings.
Ovation
In creating a composite material similar to fiberglass, Ovation Guitars broke from centuries of guitar manufacturing tradition. They invented it under the title Lyrachord and used it to build the structures of their guitars instead of wood.
Charles Kaman, who was the company’s founder, designed the first Ovation guitar models in 1965–1966. From an early age, he was an amateur guitarist, and soon he diverted to making guitars. They succeeded in breaching the most ancient laws of guitar product and development.
Their bowl shape can feel challenging to hold, but it creates the same sound as the tonewood construction of other brands. The Celebrity Elite CE44 and Applause ballader AB24 are great examples of this.
Rogue Guitars
Sunbo is the manufacturer company of Rogue guitars, in South Korea. It is the “house brand” for Musician’s Friend. (Musician’s Friend offers enhanced music gears which is situated near the Rogue River in Oregon, inspiring these guitars ‘ names).
In a new factory, Rogues were made using the latest technology in guitar production and with some heed, at least, to the basic principles of guitar luthier. One explanation of how Sunbo cuts costs: their top acoustic guitar brand, typically an expensive spruce variety, is made from the ash tree — not actually known as a top wood fist category.
Rogue offers acoustic, electric, and electric bass guitars that are priced at the market’s low end, and are also considered good value for money. That’s why they’re classified as one of the best electric guitar brands.
Fender Guitars
The story of Fender begins more than 70 years ago in a remote workshop in Fullerton, California. Through design, Leo Fender, a radio repairman through profession, transitioned to musical instruments, tinkering with the defective amps of his family.
He introduced a new guitar as the Telecaster in 1951. The Telecaster would change the way music was made perpetually, the very first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar. In the same year, together with the 1st bass amp – the Bassman ®, Fender launched another innovation, the Precision Bass ®.
While not widely considered to be a high-end acoustic guitar manufacturer, they are well known for mid and first-stage acoustics.
Epiphone
You might be fooled into thinking it’s the company that mostly makes cheaper alternatives to Gibson guitars, as Gibson has owned Epiphone since 1957. They have a richer history than making only some of their own instruments.
They started in 1873 as an independent organization of musical instruments. Epaminondas Stathopoulos, the eldest son of the owner, took over the business after his father passed away and, in 1928, renamed the company Epiphone Banjo Business. After that, the company began to make stringed instruments, which made them even more popular. In the same year, they decided to start building guitars.
The guitars from this brand are often praised for their durability and well-made body, but for younger musicians and smaller people, the body of those instruments can be too heavy.
Currently, they’re producing inexpensive models of Gibson classics like their famous take on the Gibson Hummingbird called the Epiphone Dove PRO and even their own prototypes that include the Epiphone DR-100’s trendy entrance stage guitar. As a result, they became one of the best acoustic guitar brands in the market.
Yamaha
Yamaha has long been considered one of the best student guitar producers. The musical instruments from Yamaha are great for young musicians wanting to learn. Consequently, it became a widely considered brand for all kinds of guitars throughout the past decade or thereabouts.
Besides their numerous student-friendly nylon as well as steel-string acoustics, they also make some highly acclaimed acoustic guitars such as the Yamaha AC3R.
Yamaha’s top acoustic guitars are Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, Collective Soul’s Ed Roland, and also Joe Bonamassa. These guitars are lovable items to most musicians, and Yamaha is considered to be the best acoustic guitar brand by them.
Few people are not too pleased with the Yamaha Fs800’s weight, but it is still recommended for the most part because of its value for money.
Martin
C.F. Martin & Company was established in 1833 as an American guitar maker. Christian Frederick Martin founded it in New York City. He is considered to have designed the very first acoustic guitar in the United States.
Martin guitars have been played throughout their long history by musicians as varied as Mark Twain, David Crosby, Chris Cornell, Ed Sheeran, and John Mayer.
The Martin D-200 Deluxe will be available at 119,999 dollars. You can also switch to your old guitar for the Martin D-15 M because it will offer you a better sound than ordinary guitars. It was revealed in October 2016 as the highest-rated acoustic guitar between 1000 and 2000 dollars.
There was something unique about the 12-fret parlor guitars in this brand, but we all want them available at a slightly lesser cost.
Gibson
The Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co., Ltd. was originally established in 1902 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, by Orville Gibson.
Shortly before 1910, Gibson‘s first flat-top acoustic guitar was produced. But in terms of popularity, Martin was still a fair distance ahead from their flat-tops. With their signature Nick Lucas Special model, they started to break into the flat-top acoustic guitar market seriously and started giving Martin a run for their money in 1923.
By the late 1930s, if not out in front of them, Gibson came over and took their place among the leading acoustic guitar manufacturers alongside Martin.
One of the pre-war guitars of Gibson, the J-35, was later resurrected as an acoustic-electric guitar in 2013.
Seagull
Seagull comes from La Patrie, Quebec, Canada. It is said that over 200 of the 750 people are engaged in guitar production there. LaPatrie is also owned by Godin Guitars, Seagull’s parent company.
Seagull hold themselves over by manufacturing all their instruments with strong tops except making them by hand, and they do this all the way up to their top-of-the-line guitars from their budget models.
One of the leading guitars of this brand is the Seagull S6 Original Cedar Slim, and in October 2016, it was named the Seagull Maritime SWS SG. It is in the second position of highest-rated acoustic guitar at a very reasonable price.
Choosing the Best Acoustic Guitar for Beginners: Things to Keep in Mind
Why need a buying guide after all these amazing guitars on the list? It is because, among these different types of guitars, some of these would suit you more perfectly than the others. And you would decide that yourself by following this buying guide.
Price of the Guitar / Bundle
Price is a major issue for guitar beginners. So, a lot of them might be tempted to choose some non-branded cheap guitars and avoid guitars like Taylor GS Mini. But that results in the cheaper guitar tone, poor build quality, difficult playability, and in the end – loss of interest in guitar.
So, we’ve designed this list in a way that, even the less expensive guitars in our list would sidestep the upper-mentioned problems. So, if you have a limited budget, feel free to get the cheapest one on our list. But remember, the higher the price of these acoustic guitars, the better it gets.
Size & Weight
Bigger-sized guitars such as dreadnoughts or jumbo may sound louder and brighter, but they are less portable. Smaller sizes such as Mini or Parlor guitars sound mellow and soft. They are easy to play with and much more portable due to their weight. So, you have to choose between tone quality and playability. You can also compromise a little from both sides and choose a medium-sized guitar such as Concert or Auditorium.
Tonewood
The sound quality of your newly bought guitar would largely depend on the tonewood. So, depending on the type of wood(s) used in a guitar, you can easily anticipate the type of sound that guitar is going to make. Let me give you a brief overview of the most common types of tonewoods.
Mahogany
The most commonly used tonewood for acoustic guitars especially for its body. Mahogany renders a deep and warm sound with an emphasis on the bass tone which you will find very fulfilling. It is also lightweight, so bigger-bodied guitars won’t much of a problem for beginners.
Point to note, Nato and Meranti: these types of tonewood are similar to mahogany. These cost-effective tonewoods produce a well-balanced and acceptable tone.
Maple
Maple wood is popular for its super-bright tone. Since it is a bit heavy, It is mostly used for the neck and fretboard of the acoustic guitar. A maple fretboard can give you the smoothest fret-hand experience.
Spruce
Most of the high-quality acoustic guitars have spruce top finishing. This enables the guitar to sound sweet and smooth with adequate volume that gives clarity to its tone.
Sapele
While this is similar to mahogany, you can get a brighter tone from this tonewood. It is becoming increasingly popular because of its high sustaining and resonant tone.
Rosewood
Mostly used in fretboard and bridge of the guitar. Because of its tight timber, it can offer you a smoother fretboard. This tonewood contributes to a warm and fuller tone with great resonance.
Walnut
Bright tone but on the warmer side, this tonewood renders a highly resonant and sustaining tone. This is also used mostly for guitar necks and fretboards because of a bit of heaviness.
Ebony
This tonewood is also used in fingerboards mostly. And it renders a bright tone almost like the maple, but with a crispy vibe. The tone sustaining characteristic of this tonewood is desirable.
Neck Profile
The size of the guitar’s neck is crucial when you just start learning your guitars. The size of the neck varies from guitar to guitar. The thickness and the width should be of concern when buying an acoustic guitar for a beginner.
If you have a smaller hand, then a thicker or wider guitar neck would increase the time required for you to get adjusted to the guitar and master the chord shapes. Moreover, it could cause pain to your fret hand initially, which might result in muscle cramps or sort.
Therefore, it is advisable for beginner guitar players with smaller hands or fingers to choose their guitar accordingly. Conversely, beginners with moderate or bigger.
Tuning Pegs and Gears
You would need to tune your guitar as precisely as possible. For that, acoustic guitars with good tuning pegs and tuning gears are essential. Lucky for you, all the guitars on our list have high-quality tuning mechanisms.
A smarter choice would be to choose a good-quality guitar that also has an enclosed tuning mechanism (tuning gears are in an enclosed shell) rather than an open one. This will keep your tuning gears dust-free, alleviating the need for maintenance and increasing their longevity.
Playing Style
You might have guessed that you can play either with a guitar pick or with your fingers. Considering your preference, you can choose a steel-stringed acoustic guitar or a nylon-stringed acoustic guitar (classical guitar). Point to note that, you can practice both fingerstyle picking and flat-picking (playing with a guitar pick) on a steel-stringed guitar whereas the classical guitar is only good for fingerstyle playing.
Mode of Playing
Two-mode of playing you might have already seen in a different type of guitars – unplugged (raw playing) and plugged in (playing through an amplifier). You can either go for a full acoustic guitar or an acoustic-electric guitar.
While acoustic-electric guitars provide more options, they would cost a bit more. So, if you have enough budget, you can opt for this option. Or you can invest your full budget on a premium acoustic guitar like the Taylor GS Mini on our list.
Type of Music that Interests You
What type of music do you want to play? This is a difficult question; rather, try answering: what type of music influenced you to pick up the guitar and play? The answer can be rock music, blues, pop music, flamenco, jazz, heavy metal – anything.
Depending on that, you might be able to identify the best acoustic guitar for you at the beginning level. Let me help you out a bit here.
For rock, blues, jazz types of music, playing the melody is as important as playing rhythm, if not more. Therefore, you need a guitar that is of a smooth fretboard and has a cutaway – so that you can play the high-end notes with ease.
And if you are influenced by Pop or RnB type music, rhythm is more focused here. So, go for a bigger-bodied acoustic guitar which is loud and produces bright sounds while playing the rhythm.
For Flamenco, there is no alternative to a nylon string guitar. There is only one nylon string guitar is on our list and you can choose it without hesitation.
You can also go for a bigger-bodied acoustic guitar with a cutaway as well as embedded electronics like the Fender CD 60-SCE – get all in one acoustic guitar (except for the nylon string of course).
Loudness or Projection
If you are like me, you might choose mild-toned guitars like Taylor GS Mini rather than louder ones. These sorts of guitars have a comparatively smaller body such as Parlour or Auditorium sized ones. I prefer a softer melody guitar which I’d be able to carry around, not necessarily to play in front of a large audience.
Yes, most of the guitars are loud enough for an audience around a small campfire. However, louder guitars are preferred by a lot of people – it’s just livelier. So, if the Parlour or Mini-sized guitars are not loud enough for you, go for the Jumbo or Dreadnought size. You’ll be able to control the loudness once you have learned to strum that way.
Guitar Packs with Accessories Included
Accessories are important for beginner guitarists. A lot of the guitars in our list contain accessories and you can easily choose one of these. But you are encouraged to choose a superb quality guitar without accessories over a mediocre guitar with accessories within a similar budget range.
Because, as important as the accessories are, they wouldn’t be able to improve your guitar’s quality. Some accessories like extra strings, polishing cloths, etc are even redundant.
Verdict
Drawing from my years of experience, discerning evaluation, and yet putting myself into a beginner guitarist’s position – I would go for the Fender CD 60-SCE without a second thought. I’ve already mentioned that it is an “All in one” acoustic guitar pack.
First and most important of all: you’ll get a Fender acoustic guitar. You’ll get the loudness through its dreadnought body and enhanced playability of high notes through its cutaway. You’ll get the premium quality embedded electronics for “plugin and play”. And you’ll get it with all the lucrative accessories at a very affordable price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is dreadnought guitar good for beginners?
Yes, it is obviously good for beginners. Don’t be intimidated by its size. Because of its size, it produces a loud, bright, and high resonant tone which is good for your amateur ear. Listening to the clean tones while practicing will increase your musical sense quickly.
How to play acoustic guitar for beginners, finger-plucking or flat-picking?
Both a good, it is all about your choice. It is better to learn the basics of both the techniques so that you can further decide what you prefer more.
Is an acoustic-electric guitar good for beginners?
Also, yes; at least the acoustic-electric guitars mentioned in our list are really good for beginners. It is because we’ve carefully chosen the ones that maintained both its acoustic build and electronic components.
However, some guitar model hampers the overall quality of the acoustic-electric guitar trying to embed low-quality electronic components. But you don’t have anything to worry about if you buy one of the acoustic-electric guitars from our list.
When should I switch to an Electric guitar?
Some guitarists don’t even switch, they stick with the acoustic guitar and master it. If you plan on getting an electric guitar, as a rule of thumb you must spend at least 1-2 years practicing with your acoustic guitar. Obviously, the practice should be well maintained throughout this time.
Final Thoughts
Everyone wishes to have the best acoustic guitar to start their guitar journey as a beginner. But it is not an easy task to accomplish. In fact, it gets really confusing seeing hundreds and thousands of options in front of you. Luckily, you only have to choose among 10. If you’re still confused, our recommendation has never fallen flat. Just go for it and make sure to thank us later.
We hope you are already excited and ready to get the best acoustic guitar for your beginner self and start a wonderful journey. Once you start, you’ll understand why so many people consider their acoustic guitar as their greatest companion.
Last update on 2024-04-21 at 20:30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
