Buying your first acoustic guitar is quite exciting! After all, you’re picking up a brand new instrument, and it’s a chance for you to acquire a brand new skill.
But once you walk into the guitar shop, you’ll soon realize you have no idea how to buy acoustic guitars for beginners. With so many options out there, it’s hard to know which the right guitar is for you. Thankfully, we’ve got a few tips to help out:
Don’t shoot too high — A top-quality guitar will run you upwards of $1,000, but you don’t need anywhere near that much! Shoot for a guitar that costs between $300 and $700. The quality will be middling, but that’s all you need to get started playing.
Ignore fancy accessories — There are only two accessories you need: a tuner, and some picks. All the other fancy accessories that come with acoustic guitars for beginners are unnecessary. Just walk out of the shop with the guitar, tuner, and a pack of picks!
Listen for buzz — When acoustic guitars for beginners are poorly designed, the strings tend to “buzz” when you strike chords or notes. This is because the strings aren’t high enough off the fretboard, and they rattle on the frets (the metal pieces that separate the notes). There will be less buzz near the head of the guitar, but try playing chords closer to the body (between the 7th and 14th fret) to see if the guitar buzzes.
Check the tuning — Does the guitar sound the same when you hit the open D note and the D note on the 12th fret? It should, but if it doesn’t, it’s a sign that the guitar has a problem with the intonation.
Check the action — You don’t want to press too hard with your left hand in order to play clear chords, but the strings shouldn’t be so low that they buzz. Test the guitar’s “action”, also known as the ease with which you can press down on the strings to play chords. It should be easy to play, but with no buzz.
Play a simple song — If you want to see how a guitar performs, play a chorus or verse of your favorite simple song. It will help you hear the intonation, feel the action, and check for buzz, and it will give you an idea of how well it plays. Here’s a great song to play:
I also want you to check out this cool GUITAR LESSON FOR BEGINNERS
Follow these tips, and you’ll walk out of the music store with the right acoustic guitars for beginners every single time!
Of course, I also recommend you to check out our beginner course:
