What is the ‘best’ guitar for beginners?

This is a common question for people who are thinking about learning guitar. There is no ‘one size fits all‘ answer but here are a few guidelines and things you may want to take into account, or chat to people about. 

 

Types of Guitar

There are a few different types of guitar – ACOUSTIC, CLASSICAL, ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC, SOLID ELECTRIC, HOLLOW BODY ELECTRIC, RESONATOR. 

They are all related at their foundation but are predominantly used for different genres of guitar-playing and played in slightly different ways.

 

Where To Start

People are often recommended to start on acoustic, nylon-string guitars because:

• Nylon strings are easier to press down.
• You can pick up an acoustic guitar at a relatively good price. 
• You won’t need additional gear such as a lead and amp.  This can mean they’re less expensive. 
• Due to the string set-up and spacing they’re versatile so you can fingerpick and strum.
• They’re light.

These qualities can be a bonus IF an acoustic guitar is actually what would be right for you…

 

I can think of a comparable pros list for an electric guitar:

• Electric guitar strings are easier to press down.
• The strings are closer together so you don’t have to stretch as far to play chords etc.
• You can pick up good quality second hand gear. It’s also more expensive to buy an acoustic guitar that you don’t want and then go buy an electric guitar anyway
• You can pick and strum on electric guitars too. They re VERY versatile in regards to tone and effects. 
• There are some really lightweight solid electric guitars or hollow body electric guitars.

 

Why are you drawn to playing guitar?

I have worked with many students who think they are supposed to learn on an acoustic guitar as a beginner, even if all they want to do is play electric guitar.

I would recommend that if your desire to play guitar is based on loving the sound and appearance of an electric guitar then you should buy an electric guitar in the first place.  It is often the joy of the look , feel, sound and sometimes the image of the instrument that keeps people engaged when learning gets tough. In the beginning things move slowly.  It’s important that when you see your guitar at home you feel excited about picking it up to practise / play.  It will greatly affect your experience of learning. Learning guitar can feel slow sometimes so anything that connects you to why you chose to do it in the first place will make it much more enjoyable.

 

So,

What style, artists, sounds, songs, images, experiences or influences inspired you want to pick up the guitar in the first place?

Take note of what type of guitar is represented in the answers to your questions here.  This will point you in the right direction of which type of guitar to start learning on.

 

Whichever style of guitar you decide

You will need to consider:

• Budget – how much you want to spend.
• Size – make sure it ‘fits’ you and isn’t too big. It needs to feel comfortable to hold.
• Playability – a guitar shouldn’t be a battle to play. The strings shouldn’t be too high off the fretboard (action = the distance between the fretboard and the strings). If they are it will be much harder to press them down. 

There are more technical factors to take into acount with an electric guitar such as pick-ups and wiring so make sure you get good advice of where to buy one from. There are many retailers online that sell decent entry-level guitars. Be aware that most people only really get to know what they want once they’ve been playing for a while so you don’t need to think big budget on your first guitar.

Have fun deciding which guitar you want to start learning on!