Picking your first guitar of your life? Having difficulty in making decision on what guitar to buy? Don’t stress, let us break down what you should be looking for your first guitar, but before that this is the first question to ask:
Acoustic or Electric Guitar
Tough question indeed, this is a matter of personal preference or style. We heard that plenty of people keep comparing about is acoustic or electric guitar more beginner friendly. I would say it doesn’t matter, go with the style of guitar that you like, imagine we told you electric guitar is 2 times easier to learn compare to acoustic guitar, but you aren’t passionate about electric guitar after all. Do you still waste time on it? Probably not, my advise for you is the style you like, persist with it and you eventually be there!
Personally, I do bias to start with acoustic guitar, it just less hassle, bring it everywhere and start your training on it. While for electric guitar you do need power source and less portable, image you are playing song at a beach. Ha! So, what’s your choice now for guitar for beginners.
Top 5 criteria for picking up acoustic guitar
1. Price
Price is always the key deciding factor for your buying decision, and this makes no different to your first guitar. Do I recommend you to go with an expensive guitar by breaking your banks? Most probably not, I strongly believe buying only what you need or you can afford at the same time. Why? You could buy a guitar that worth $1000, but you barely practice with it, you do work on it for a few weeks and the rest of the time is sitting at your store room. That’s it! You should get a hands on the guitar and start practicing it, while expensive guitar does provide better sound, but the key is still the player, the musician who has the magical touch on it. Without practice, it won’t be perfect, buying an expensive guitar doesn’t make you a master in one day. Let’s make a wise choice here, picking up an entry guitar and progress on it, you will know when is time for a better guitar. It is all worthwhile.
What is the price range of commercial available acoustic guitar?
It would be ranged from merely $20 to $1000, but a collector’s guitar can reach to $1 million. Wow. That’s an insane amount.
What price range of guitar you suggest to me?
Price near $200 would probably get you an descent guitar, but $100 guitar should give you a good start, we have pretty good recommendations below.
2. Sound quality
The guitar’s sound quality has a lot to do with the tone wood material, the popular tone wood for acoustic guitar includes mahogany, rosewood, maple and koa. Rather than the appearance, each tone wood produce different sound characteristic.
Rosewood
Popular for all genre of guitar, may it be electric or acoustic. Resonate wood that produce better bass.
Mahogany
A very popular tone wood for acoustic guitar, it suited for players that plays with fingers or guitar picks. It produce mid range tones and is rather popular for blues players. Lighter woods and produce better treble.
Maple
Harder wood that produce higher tonal and sustainable sound. It is also popular choice for fingers picker player.
3. Appearance
The colour of the acoustic guitar has a lot to do with the wood material, for example mahogany tone wood guitar generally has lighter brown body, while rosewood has a mid brown body. It is generally a style preference.
Here’s our top pick of guitar for beginners
Below $200
1) Epiphone DR-212 Dreadnought 12-string
2) Yamaha FG800 Solid Top Acoustic Guitar
Below $100
1) Jasmine S35 Acoustic Guitar, Natural