If you are just starting your journey into the world of guitar music, it can be hard to choose the right instrument. They can be expensive, so we have tried to find the best beginner guitar for you. The Yamaha C40II passed all our tests without any problems and showed itself to be the best guitar on the market for the beginner. Made out of rosewood with a high-quality gloss finish, it looks as beautiful as it sounds.
Have you ever thought about taking up music as your new hobby or career but have no previous experience? An acoustic guitar is the most affordable and easiest way to begin, whether you want to write music or accompany yourself while you sing.
Choosing your very first guitar is an exhilarating experience. It’s an entirely personal decision, and it’s vitally important to make the right choice. But why? Because the very first guitar you buy will significantly influence your future journey as a musician. Do you want to remember your first instrument as a thing of beauty or as a worthless piece of metal and wood? Even though your first guitar probably won’t be your last, it’s nice to have good memories of it. The most important thing when buying an instrument is not to rush – take your time!
There are many factors which you should take into consideration when choosing a guitar, such as the type of wood, types of strings, tonal properties of the instrument, the design itself and, of course, the price. But, above all, make sure it matches your music preferences. Why buy an electric guitar if you are into flamenco? On the other hand, an acoustic guitar won’t be your first choice if you are an AC/DC fan. So, the guitar you buy should be the one that’s adjusted to your “personal settings” so to speak.
Top Beginner Guitars
Top Beginner Guitars
Yamaha C40II Full Size Classical Guitar – Natural
Gear4music Jumbo Acoustic Guitar , Cedar
Gear4music Parlour Guitar, Natural
Stagg SA20ACE NAT Auditorium Cutaway Electro-Acoustic Guitar – Natural Brown
Stagg SA20D BLK Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar
Lindo Zodiac 12-String Electro-Acoustic Guitar
Types of Beginner Guitars
Here we’ll focus on the acoustic guitar since that’s more or less what people have in mind when they’re looking for a first instrument. The acoustic guitar is a portable and easy-to-use instrument, which is why it is the songwriter’s first choice. The recognisable sound of gentle arpeggios, almost harp-like, rhythmic chordal strumming and its overall universality across genres are the main reasons why the acoustic guitar is an all-time favourite choice.
Acoustic guitars are divided into two main types: classical and steel string. Classical guitars, also known as Spanish guitars, have nylon strings and solo guitarists mostly use them. The steel-string acoustic, also known as the flat-top guitar, has a distinctive metallic sound which is often recognised in a variety of popular music genres. Guitars can be further divided by the shape of their body, which will be described here.
Classical Guitar
This type of guitar can have nylon or steel strings. It can be easily recognised by its open-slotted tuners, using cams instead of standard tuner posts. The tuner knobs are not parallel with the sides of the headstock but recede perpendicularly from the back.
This is a perfect choice for finger-pickers and those who are into the soft sound of traditional European orchestral music. Nylon-stringed guitars are used in flamenco and traditional classic styles, but in the right hands, can also perform as amazing strummers.
Yamaha C40II Full Size Classical Guitar – Natural
For lovers of the classical sound and fine clear tones, this guitar from one of the best-known manufacturers in the music world has everything a beginner needs. It belongs to the cheap price point category and is a good start for those who are just figuring out if music is going to be something they want to do in the future. The guitar is made from high-quality materials such as rosewood, meranti, nato and spruce, and will serve you for a long time. It offers a discreet yet amazing-looking gloss finish that adds to its overall appearance.
Features
The guitar features a fingerboard made of rosewood and its neck width is only 52mm, which is quite helpful for beginners. The biggest problem that a beginner might experience is the width of a guitar’s neck. With this guitar, there’s no need to worry as it is relatively narrow for a classical guitar. Moreover, the neck is contoured and allows for increased comfort while grabbing. The guitar has 18 frets which are more than enough for a beginner. With its popular chrome hardware, this guitar’s durability is assured. All in all, it’s a great beginner’s guitar that can even be used by more advanced guitarists. Its price is more than fair considering the price range of similar guitars especially as this one comes from Yamaha.
Advantages
ConClusion
If we could rate this guitar on a scale of 1 to 10, it would probably be 11. Jokes aside, it’s a great product, not only for beginners but for advanced players as well. Its clear sound, lack of string buzz, the great materials that are used in its construction and its beginner-friendly neck are what make this beginner’s guitar so good.
Jumbo Guitar
From the most basic guitar, we have now jumped to a more exclusive and definitely louder one! More extensive and broader in shape, the jumbo guitar is indeed a challenging instrument. Regardless of whether you are softly finger-picking it or strumming it hard, this guitar has an outstanding sound, even without pick-ups or pre-amps.
Moreover, if you are a singer-songwriter who is not afraid of a powerful-sounding instrument, this is the guitar you’ve been looking for. A large cavity gives an open sound, which accentuates the bass frequencies. It has a balanced tonal spectrum, but will sound different with each player. A jumbo guitar is among the pricier guitars, but there are some quite decent and cost-friendly versions out there.
Gear4music Jumbo Acoustic Guitar , Cedar
Now, if you are looking for something that comes within the £77 price range, and will serve you even after you have picked up the basics, this jumbo guitar might be a perfect choice for you. It features a dull cutaway that will enable you to reach even the higher frets with ease, perfect for the more advanced player. It’s made of high-quality materials most often used in the guitar world such as mahogany for the back and sides, and a cedar laminate top. The guitar is pretty comfy to hold, as there is a thin neck and a fingerboard with pearloid inlays which will help you orientate throughout the frets and make grabbing chords a piece of cake.
Features
Coming from a well-known manufacturer, this jumbo guitar will make things a lot easier for the beginner thanks to its thin neck which helps to avoid the pain that beginner musicians often experience. The guitar looks great too, which adds to its overall value. There is a pickguard that will protect the body of your guitar and keep it safe while you are strumming with a pick. This, together with the quality materials that were used in creating such a wonderful instrument, guarantees longevity. It offers a stunning tone for beginners and more advanced players.
Advantages
ConClusion
Overall, this guitar is much more than just a beginner’s guitar. If you intend to reach a more advanced level, then this one is definitely your top choice. It is great value for money and even belongs to an affordable or cheap price point category, considering the fact that you can use it even when you become more proficient. All in all, definitely a worthy instrument to start off your collection or to add to an existing one.
Parlour Guitar
Quite the opposite to the jumbo guitar, this one has a rather small body, which makes it a favourite among players with a smaller body frame. It has an intimate sound and a recognisable throwback vibe. This type of guitar, having a light yet balanced spectrum of tones, is an excellent choice for solo artists.
In the right hands, it is excellent for gentle finger picking and full-on strumming. The parlour guitar is a mass-produced instrument, which means there are lots of affordable models available.
Gear4music Parlour Guitar, Natural
This parlour guitar is a fine example of something that any beginner should consider starting with. It belongs to a cheap price point category and it is great for figuring out whether playing music is for you or not. With spruce laminate and a sapele body, you can rest assured that this guitar will last for ages. It’s small, compact and perfect for kids who are just starting their musical career. With a nato neck and poplar laminate fretboard, gripping will be much easier and that’s very important for a beginner. This guitar’s resonant mid-range tone will guarantee a great sound.
Features
This vintage style acoustic guitar has a resonant linden body, it is a great sing-along instrument and features 19 frets which are more than enough for a beginner. There are also dot inlays to improve your orientation through the frets. In other words, it has everything a beginner could need. In short, the guitar has great durability and excels in performance. On top of this, the guitar is a cheap beginner’s option and is a good investment if you are trying to figure out whether you are into music and the guitar at all. This style of instrument has been in use for over 200 years and still remains popular as a sing-along instrument. With a lovely action and excellent sound, you won’t regret choosing this model.
Advantages
ConClusion
This guitar is one of the best-value solutions on the market. It’s a great, durable instrument, produces an amazing sound and belongs in a cheap price point category. This guitar is ideal, from taking your first baby steps to learning to run!
Auditorium and Grand Auditorium Guitar
With a tighter waist as one of its most notable features, this guitar has even more distinctive and specific tonal characteristics than some other types of guitars. The tight waist will make it possible for the instrument to sit firmly on a player’s leg without sliding around. Also known as the O guitar, it comes in three different sizes and the tonal emphasis and volume increases with the size.
The grand auditorium guitar, as expected from the name, is a larger version of the auditorium guitar. The larger an acoustic guitar’s body shape, the purer volume it gives. The grand auditorium is famous for its quality “plugged-in” sound, but either model will give you the perfect combination of great sound and sleek appearance.
Stagg SA20ACE NAT Auditorium Cutaway Electro-Acoustic Guitar – Natural Brown
For those who want to start playing the guitar and potentially go pro later, this one is just perfect. It’s an electro-acoustic guitar, so whenever you feel like amplifying your guitar and going viral, just do it! It’s made entirely of basswood – top, back and sides – which improves the guitar’s longevity. With a high-quality finish, this guitar is a beauty. If you felt like it, you could even hang it on the wall as a statement piece, but who would choose to do that when it produces such a high-quality sound? Coming from Stagg, a relatively new guitar manufacturer that has taken the market by storm, this one is definitely worth considering.
Features
It features an active pre-amp with onboard volume, bass, middle and treble controls, phase switch and a low battery indicator. We know that as a beginner you don’t even need these options, you just want to figure out whether you are able to play or not. But, who knows, maybe someday you will progress to a more advanced level and decide to amplify your guitar for a gig. This guitar has a Florentine cutaway which helps a lot when just starting out, making the grip much easier, and enabling you to reach those high frets. In addition, the fingerboard and bridge are of black stained maple, meaning that the comfort of holding bare chords (the hardest ones for a beginner) is guaranteed.
Advantages
ConClusion
Overall, it’s an instrument that comes in at an affordable price point category. It can be amplified and used for more advanced purposes such as gigs, recording, etc. On the other hand, the guitar is still beginner friendly as has everything that a beginner could dream of: cutaway, comfy thin neck and a great sound!
Dreadnought Guitar and Its Variants
This shape is the most common of all. It has broad, square-shaped shoulders with a large internal cavity. Due to this, a dreadnought guitar has tight and loud sound and the ability to emphasise both mid and bass frequencies allowing it to travel across genres.
Since this is such a popular guitar body shape, it’s no wonder many manufacturers wanted to replicate it. That’s how the dreadnought with round-shaped shoulders came into being. The main attraction of this guitar was that it still had all the features of a regular dreadnought but was considered more affordable. That’s the reason many people call this guitar a “workhorse”.
Stagg SA20D BLK Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar
If you are a complete beginner or some way along your learning journey, you should consider buying the Stagg SA20D. This elegant and affordable instrument is perfect for those who don’t want to spend too much money but still want a good sound quality. Not only is it affordable, but it is also comfortable, which will make your experience even better, considering that you will spend a lot of time practising!
Features
This guitar’s top, back and sides are completely made of basswood, which means that it will produce a beautiful sound. Thanks to the quality nato neck and stained maple fingerboard, you can play it easily, and its steel strings will produce a powerful sound. The instrument is available in a wide range of colours and all of them have the high-gloss finish. It is also smooth to the touch and its white purfling around the body and white fingerboard binding make it seem more expensive. Apart from the elegance, it is also lightweight (only 2.9kg), even though it is a dreadnought guitar, which means it is a full-sized instrument. Keep in mind that it is not recommended for kids under the age of 12 because of its size.
Advantages
ConClusion
The Stagg SA20D BLK Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar is one of the best choices for learners and beginners, bearing in mind its affordable price and high quality. Even though it is a full-sized guitar, it is very comfortable for playing so the hours of practice won’t be a drag! So, if you want a reliable instrument that will allow you to improve your musical skills, you should definitely try the Stagg SA20OD BLK Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar.
Twelve-String Guitar
We wanted to offer you one more type of guitar but based on string number, not shape. This type of guitar has six string courses, each with two strings. The bass strings are tuned an octave apart, whereas the treble ones are in unison.
The result is a fantastic full sound and chorus effect. It is a common choice for folk and blues music. It may not be a typical beginner’s guitar, but those who are into challenges can try it out.
Lindo Zodiac 12-String Electro-Acoustic Guitar
Well, guitar lovers, there is something new for you! The well-known guitar producer, Lindo Zodiac, has produced a new 12-string electro-acoustic guitar. When you find out how well-equipped this guitar is, you will want to keep it to yourself. This guitar comes with a 14-day, money-back guarantee so if you change your mind, you can return it for a refund. However, when you get your hands on it, you won’t regret buying it.
Features
This electro-acoustic guitar has 12 strings and a 12-sided sound aperture. Furthermore, at the 12th key, there is a 12-star configuration inlay. The body and neck of the guitar are made from beautiful open-pore mahogany wood which is the perfect wood for guitars. It also has a binding made of maple. The top of the guitar is made of spruce, and it has a curly maple outcome and trans back ending. So, this acoustic guitar is not only physically beautiful, but it is tonically perfect. The product is well-balanced for an elevated and reduced register over the fretboard. The depth of the body is a bit slimmer (approximately 10cm) and comes with an SV-T740 pre-amp that has settings for bass, treble, middle, presence and master volume. As well as all of this, the body also features a chromatic tuner. One more important feature is the dual quarter-inch jack. Together with XLR turnout, the dual jack permits a connection with the amplifier.
Advantages
ConClusion
Even though this guitar is not cheap, it will surely pay for itself, especially if you plan on going pro one day. When you think about all the features and advantages that this acoustic guitar has, both professionals and amateurs will realise that it is well worth the money. Enjoy the sound that it produces and let others be amazed by your talen
What to Look for in a Good Beginner Guitar
Buying an instrument is an important moment in a musician’s life. It’s not an overnight decision, but the result of careful investigation. It is a good idea to take a more experienced player with you when buying your very first guitar. That way he/she can show you the pros and cons of each instrument and help you find the right one. There are several factors which first-time buyers should look out for:
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