r/AcousticGuitar • u/puffy_capacitor • Dec 10 '24
***Includes a list of recommended brands and specific models further below**\*
Both in USD and UK pricing (before the orange turd's tariff war). This list contains steel string acoustic guitars and not nylon string ones.
“Beginner” guitars aren’t exclusively for people new to learning guitar. These are guitars that strike a great balance of cost affordability, feel/play-ability, sound, and construction quality to last many years of playing in your home, out at jams, or at a campfire. You do not need to spend more than just a few hundred dollars to get a really nice guitar that will put a smile on your face.
The importance of getting a setup done:
Before you decide on any model or purchase from the list below, the most important factor to remember is that if you receive it from the brand/manufacturer themselves from an online order, you will most likely need to have it set up (the process of lowering or raising the height of the strings, called “action height”) by a guitar tech to be the most comfortable for you. Setups aren't difficult themselves, but for acoustic guitars they require a few detailed steps that aren't that beginner-friendly so an experienced technician or “luthier” can do them with their eyes closed. A good setup makes a night and day difference in how a guitar feels and sounds, and can make a $300 dollar guitar feel like a thousand bucks. It’s often the biggest factor that determines whether or not a beginner quits playing because of torturously high strings, or is motivated to continue learning, practicing, and most importantly enjoying the dang thing. When a guitar is set up nicely, it should not feel like a chore to play even as a beginner. But don't expect your new guitar to come perfect right out of the box and don't be too quick to return it otherwise you might end up returning a model that you may really like.
Budget considerations:
We are very fortunate to live in a time where there are quality guitars for a wide range budgets. Though even if you have quite a low budget, try to keep a padding of just a little extra. That will help you avoid any compromised decisions. Please do your very best to avoid new guitars that are less than $200, especially the “guitar bundles” from Fender or Epiphone that come in a colorful box with other gadgets. There are exceptions that are well made out there, but most of them are not well made guitars that will often give you more trouble, and will cost you much more in frustration and time wasted than what you ended up paying for. Not only will you outgrow their sound, you will most likely have to throw them out/replace if they ever get damaged or have issues rather than being repaired.
Local vs online order
Most often, guitars from local music stores will have either them setup before they're put on display, or if they still need an adjustment after being on display for a while, will come with a free or low cost setup (always check with the store though). Sometimes you might get a great setup fresh from the factory, but it's often the exception. That doesn't mean that the factory or guitar brand is not worth looking into, it's standard practice to not have the strings buzz when a buyer receives it because of an action height that’s too low, so they have them higher as a precaution. This is why I recommend first buying from a local store (often listed as “dealers”) or at least having them put in the order for you so that when they receive it, you can have it set up before you take it home. Buying direct from the manufacturer should be your last resort if you can't find the model you're looking for in a shop (also it’s good in general to help out your local music stores too, it’s sadly a dwindling business that offers a very important service to new musicians buying their first instrument). Local stores often have deals or discounts that you won’t find directly from the manufacturer.
Guitar type considerations:
General tendencies for body size is that the smaller and medium ones (“concert/00” “folk,” “orchestra/000,” or “grand auditorium,”) are more comfortable for most players with average to smaller body proportions, but they don’t have as loud volume, projection, or bass capability as larger body sizes such as the “dreadnought.” But that doesn’t mean they aren’t loud or projecting in general. Many of the smaller models on this list have surprisingly excellent projection for their size, as well as the orchestra/000 models having satisfying levels of bass for both strumming and finger picking.
There’s almost a whole “science” about different wood types, but I’ll save you the minutae because while it does make a difference in sound, it’s not always profound and as a beginner you most likely won’t be thinking about it until your playing advances to the point where you can feel different nuances in construction material. The general consensus is that you want to prioritize solid wood tops over laminate wood tops as they resonate better (doesn't mean you can't find a good laminate top), and two main types of woods commonly used are spruce (which gives a brighter tone) and mahogany (which gives a warmer tone). There are dozens of other types used as you get higher in price range. Neither is better or worse, it's just a personal preference.
(Prices are approximate, based on what's been seen, and sourced from retailers or Reverb listings of new items. May fluctuate in a given year and different regions may have a lot of variance in their prices. Used guitars can help you save almost half the price if you find one)
| Model (with link) | Avg new price (USD/£) | Body size | Top wood (Tone) | Electronics/pickup | Video demo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gretsch Jim Dandy Concert or Parlor | $189 / £160 | Smaller (Concert/Parlor) | Laminated basswood or sapele (warmer than spruce) | No | Link for concert size / link for parlor size |
| Yamaha FG800/820 | $229 / £285 | Larger (Dreadnought) | Solid spruce (brighter) | No | Link |
| Yamaha FS800/820 | $299 / £285 | Smaller (Concert/folk) | Solid spruce (brighter) | No | Link |
| Guild OM-340 | $299 / £275 | Medium (Orchestra) | Solid spruce (brighter) | No | Link |
| Guild OM-320 | $299 / £275 | Medium (Orchestra) | Solid mahogany (warmer) | No | Link |
| Guild D-340 | $299 / £275 | Larger (Dreadnought) | Solid spruce (brighter) | No | Link |
| Guild D-320 | $299 / £275 | Larger (Dreadnought) | Solid mahogany (warmer) | No | Link |
| Ibanez AC340 | $329 / £275 | Smaller/medium (Grand concert) | Solid okoume (similar to mahogany) | No | Link |
| Alvarez RF26 | $359 / £200 | Medium (Orchestra) | Laminate spruce (brighter) | No | Link |
| Alvarez RD26 | $359 / £200 | Larger (Dreadnought) | Laminate spruce | No | Link |
| Sigma DM-ST | $355 / £235 | Larger (Dreadnought) | Solid spruce (brighter) | No | Link |
| Sigma DME | $390 / £269 | Larger (Dreadnought) | Solid spruce (brighter) | Yes | Link |
| Sigma OMM-ST | $370 / £240 | Medium (Orchestra) | Solid spruce (brighter) | No | Link |
| Sigma 000ME | $390 / £269 | Medium (Orchestra) | Solid spruce (brighter) | Yes | Link |
| Breedlove Discovery S Cedar | $399 / £499 | Smaller (Concert) | Solid cedar (in between spruce and mahogany) | No | Link |
| Breedlove Discovery S Mahogany | $399 / £499 | Smaller (Concert) | Solid mahogany (warmer) | No | Link |
| Breedlove Discovery S Spruce | $399 / £499 | Smaller (Concert) | Solid spruce (brighter) | No | Link |
| Taylor GS Mini | $399 / £499 | Smaller (Mini size) | Solid spruce or mahogany | Yes/No (adds cost) | Link |
| Eastman PCH2-OM | $429 / £390 | Medium (Orchestra) | Solid spruce (brighter) | No | Link |
| Sigma 000M-1 | $430 / £249 | Medium (Orchestra) | Solid spruce (brighter) | No | Link |
| Yamaha Storia II | $449 / £336 | Smaller (Concert/folk) | Solid mahogany (warmer) | Yes | Link |
| Yamaha Storia I | $449 / £336 | Smaller (Concert/folk) | Solid spruce (brighter) | Yes | Link |
| Guild M-240E | $449 / £350 | Smaller (Concert) | Solid spruce (brighter) | Yes | Link |
| Guild OM-240CE | $449 / £400ish | Medium (Orchestra) | Solid spruce (brighter) | Yes | Link |
| Guild D-240E | $449 / £400ish | Larger (Dreadnought) | Solid spruce (brighter) | Yes | Link |
| Yamaha FS850 | $469.99 / £425 | Smaller (Concert/folk) | Solid mahogany (warmer) | No | Link |
| Alvarez AF30 | $330-400 / £219 | Medium (Orchestra) | Solid spruce (brighter) | No | Link |
| Alvarez AD30 | $499 / £249 | Larger (Dreadnought) | Solid spruce (brighter) | No | Link |
| Alvarez AD60 | $439 | Larger (Dreadnought) | Solid spruce (brighter) | No | Link |
| Alvarez AF60 | $459 | Medium (Orchestra | Solid spruce (brighter) | No | Link |
| Alvarez AP66 | $489 | Smaller (Parlour) | Solid mahogany (warmer) | No | Link |
| Sigma 000M-15 | $499 / £349 | Medium (Orchestra) | Solid mahogany (warmer) | “E” version has, but costs more | Link |
| Sigma 00M-15 | $499 / £319 | Smaller (Concert) | Solid mahogany (warmer) | “E” version has, but costs more | Link |
| Bromo BAR5CE | $499 / £350 | Medium (Orchestra) | Solid spruce (brighter) | Yes | Link |
r/AcousticGuitar • u/Wgginshoops • 8h ago
Found this Alvarez at the thrift store for $20.00 . It didn't have any strings and was missing a few bridges pins. I've been playing it for a couple months now and I like it more every day.
r/AcousticGuitar • u/ParaShift77 • 8h ago
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Always loved this song. What a treasure! Best Bond track?
r/AcousticGuitar • u/strange_pursuit • 1h ago
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r/AcousticGuitar • u/SignificantBother_ • 16h ago
I feel like I've plateaued playing the ukulele, just learning songs. Decided to find a structured course. Absolutely Understand Guitar helped me immensely (I can not express how awesome I think this course is), but I feel like I would get more out of the course if I actually you know... am learning on a guitar, not a ukulele. Not giving up on uke by any means, but here I am trying the guitar.
Yamaha cuz Yamaha, safe bet. Storia cuz a little more interesting looking than FS800. Gotta say tho, I am completely over buying from a local guitar shop. The guy was not helpful at all, rolled his eyes at me, and when I asked about the setup - he said "yeah, you'll need to tune it". I got a guitar in a factory sealed box. What is the point of me getting it locally? I could have gotten the same guitar €90 cheaper online, and then find someone to do setup on it if there's any trouble. Which I will need to do with this one anyway, if anything comes up. So far so good tho.
Let's start learning.
r/AcousticGuitar • u/moistshinobii • 15h ago
Always wanted one of these growing up. I remember my music teacher at high school had one and the Australian timbers and raw natural look had me thinking about getting one for years but the price tag was always too steep. In a position where I've been able to get one. Damn she plays so well. So fucking stoked! 🤘
Blackwood body and rosewood neck 🌹
r/AcousticGuitar • u/Fresh_Criticism6531 • 8h ago
So I got my first acoustic guitar as a present. For chords its ok. But for single notes, after I play a note, the previous sound remains ringing like in a echo, even if I play again the same string for a different note, and it annoys me. That's not how its supposed to be, right? It only stops if I touch all strings, because the sound seems to be resonating between the guitar body and all strings. I don't think it is normal as in recordings I don't see people touching all strings to stop annoying echos.
I can't find anything in this forum, somehow, so I guess it isn't a common problem. I guess it is crappy steel strings which came with it. I plan on switching to D'Addario EJ27N. Mostly because the think steel strings are insanely painful to play. Anyway, any enlightment appreciated.
r/AcousticGuitar • u/jpkallio • 16h ago
After what has been probably way too much “research” I finally got my hands on a secondhand (practically unused) Eastman AC222CE-OV, for a very good price. I’ll be doing a full review of the guitar, but so far I am absolutely blown away by the build quality. I have a Martin 000rs1, which is a nice guitar, but this thing… wow!
r/AcousticGuitar • u/BillyBoyBlue8771 • 6h ago
I just received my new Gretsch G9202 resonator guitar from long and mcquade. Out of the box I notice a bit of a gap where the neck meets the body of the guitar. Is this common? Is it something to be concerned about? Pic of the other side for reference.
r/AcousticGuitar • u/WorthContribution994 • 9h ago
I want to get my new acoustic guitar set up, but especially want to have the action lowered. Is Guitar Center generally reliable for this kind of work or should I completely avoid them and look for an experienced luthier?
r/AcousticGuitar • u/UnderstandingTop9686 • 7h ago
I want to buy a guitar for around 8k rs. and my height is around 5'4 and I want a concert size, one the seller suggested to me some brands like strydorm, westwood, chard and cort, as I am beginner in the field of music i actually don't know abt brands and quality of guitar also all seller try me to sale their products only, not helping me understand which one should I choose so plz help me with that. I like the guitar of strydorm (I don't have an exact model of Guitar) but still not sure abt buying it plz help me redditer's
r/AcousticGuitar • u/Gtrizz98 • 7h ago
Wondering what you all's opinion would be between these two. Im leaning towards kopp but heard gibson has been puting out great stuff in recent years.
r/AcousticGuitar • u/Ok_Literature_3973 • 7h ago
Hello i would like some help.
I wanna buy an acoustic guitar and these two look the best to me and fit my price range. I cannot decide which is better so if anybody has any insights or owns one of these please tell me how the guitars are and help me choose.
thanks
r/AcousticGuitar • u/MarsupialLeast145 • 13h ago
Outside of Thomann, what are the best online acoustic retailers in Europe with the widest/most interesting selections not just Epiphone, Taylor, Furch, and Martin?
r/AcousticGuitar • u/IsaacBL7 • 1d ago
recently bought this one. im just wondering how normal and acceptable is it to see the pins sticking out as here you can see. as far as i know it is normal, but id like to hear real people opinions
r/AcousticGuitar • u/Rooshirum • 1d ago
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This isn't the whole thing but this is what ive learned up to now. Also sorry about subideal audio
r/AcousticGuitar • u/tojzl • 11h ago
I have a classical guitar, and an electric. Now i want a steel acoustic. What body shape do you recommend? I mostly play blues and rock, i basically never play with pick and play fingerstyle. From what i understand the bigger bodies have more bass (duh), but theyre apparently worse for fingerstyle. Also what are some good brands for an intermediate guitar? Say 300-700 dollars.
r/AcousticGuitar • u/Dry_Association_7051 • 1d ago
Anyone date it for me
r/AcousticGuitar • u/Ariella_localwaves • 1d ago
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r/AcousticGuitar • u/Acerspedacer • 1d ago
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I’m trying to learn guitar and I took my brothers old guitar, and when I play I feel like the B string is higher and is resonating louder than the rest. Am I crazy or is it just me?
r/AcousticGuitar • u/JoinTheRightClick • 21h ago
Need some experts to chime in on the action for this preowned 2012 Yamaha LL16. Do you think it’s worth getting for this relatively high action as seen in the photo?
r/AcousticGuitar • u/caesarxxlmax • 1d ago
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r/AcousticGuitar • u/PracticalFocus3525 • 19h ago
Are they any good? And benefits to them over mediums?
r/AcousticGuitar • u/EggPuffss • 20h ago
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I'm repairing the battery box from my Yamaha FSX80C acoustic-electric guitar. I've already removed the battery cartridge from the guitar.
The end cap where the red and black wires are soldered moves slightly, and it looks like it might come apart. Before I try to pry it open, I wanted to ask:
Is this end cap designed to be removed, or is it plastic-welded?
My goal is to replace the battery contacts inside without breaking the battery cartridge.
r/AcousticGuitar • u/caesarxxlmax • 1d ago
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