How To Choose A Guitar For Beginners

Congratulations, you are about to buy your first guitar! But what should your first steps be?

Choosing a new guitar can be a very exciting process, but it may also feel a bit stressful if you don’t know exactly what to look out for.

As a beginner, you don’t need to splurge on a fender jaguar as your first guitar. While nothing is stopping you from doing so, it’s probably best to leave the fancy big-name guitars until after you’ve learned how to play.

Provided you can choose an instrument that best matches the type of music you want to play, the brand of a beginner guitar really doesn’t matter.         

If you do not know how to choose a guitar, this article will be a helpful guide.  

Step 1: Electric or Acoustic?

To choose an acoustic or electric guitar, now that is the question! Picking the right tool for the job is an essential step that you must carry out correctly.

Deciding between the two types of guitar may seem like a simple thing but that’s not always the case. As a beginner, we would recommend thinking about the type of music you enjoy listening to and hope to play in the future as this will be a great starting point.

Acoustic

Choosing the best acoustic guitars provides a more delicate and sparkly sound and can be used in different musical styles.

With acoustics, you can choose between a nylon string guitar which is much quieter and a little less demanding, and a steel string acoustic which is louder but much less beginner friendly. 

Electric

Electric guitars are generally considered easier instruments to play early on in your progression. Do not allow this to dictate your overall purchasing decision.

When it comes to electric guitars, there’s a huge market for you to explore in terms of the sound which ranges from a pure amplification of the strings to a more distorted sound. 

Step 2: Decide the Shape and Style

Now it’s time to decide the shape and style of your guitar.

You should consider choosing a guitar that offers the best aesthetic value while also being extremely practical (that is: matching your beginner-level skills). If you don’t know where to start with this, feel free to take a look at some guitars online to get inspired.

Something important to keep in mind is that there is much less visual variation with acoustic guitars. Instead, these come in various body sizes with soundholes that each produce different sounds. 

If you’re looking at buying an Electric guitar, on the other hand, you may want to start by looking at the three most iconic styles: the Single Cut, the S-Style, and the T-Style.

Step 3: Pick Your Size!

To put it simply, guitars are not a one-size-fits-all instrument! 

Choosing the correct guitar size that best matches you is a super important decision that you need to make. After all, if you’re uncomfortable playing or holding a larger guitar then you will likely be less motivated to pick it up. 

Acoustic or electric, there are different-sized guitars for different people. Adults may be best with full-size guitars whereas young children may be better suited to the ½ or ¾ size guitar.

Step 4: Set A Budget

Now it’s time for you to set a budget. You may already have one in mind, but don’t be tempted to splurge that extra bit for a specific color or shape that captures your interest!

If you shop around, you may easily be able to find a high-quality beginner-friendly guitar for under $200. This is a brilliant budget for the first guitar because it means you aren’t losing a lot of money if you end up not getting along with playing the guitar.

Step 5: Try Before You Buy (If You Can)

If you can, we’d encourage you to try your chosen guitar before you buy it. This will give you a feel for your guitar and will show you whether it’s a good match.

If you manage to buy a guitar in person, you can then purchase necessary accessories including a guitar case, cables, amps, tuners, strings, and picks.

Summary

We hope you now have a better idea of what things you need to look out for when choosing a guitar for beginners. Fortunately, it doesn’t need to be an impossible task. The key is having an idea about what you want and then using that information to shape all of your decisions.