Buying an acoustic guitar can be a daunting prospect. There are just so many options out there to choose from, and it is hard to know what is necessary and what is optional. So, what should you look for when buying an acoustic guitar?
When buying an acoustic guitar, you should consider the type of string, the price, the material, the size, the brand, and the sound. Other factors include the shape of the body, the electronics, and the type of pickups. You should also know what style of music you want to play before buying.
There are a lot of things to consider when buying an acoustic guitar. In this article, we’ll be going through these considerations one by one to teach you what really matters in an acoustic guitar and what is an optional extra.
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- Fender Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar Bundle (MY FAVORITE GUITAR)
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Should You Buy An Acoustic Guitar Online or In-Store?
Before we get started, let’s take a look at whether you should buy a guitar online. In our opinion, it is always better to go to the store. That is because trying out a guitar is the best way to know if it is the right one for you (Related: warped guitar neck examples).
Not only will you get a feel for the tone and playability, but you will also be able to tell which size is the most comfortable fit for your body. We would never buy a guitar without playing it first.
Types Of Guitar Strings
This is a big one, so it is important to get it out of the way. Chances are you will want a steel-stringed acoustic, but there are plenty of good reasons to want a nylon-stringed, or classical, guitar.
The truth is you should probably go with your gut. If the sound of a steel string sets your heart on fire, then it is probably the right choice. Many, however, prefer the warm tones of nylon strings. Here are some of the main differences:
Steel Stringed
This is the kind of guitar you hear on 99% of all popular songs with an acoustic guitar. Their bright, twangy sound makes them the only good option for genres like folk, pop, country, and slow rock.
It is worth noting that the sharp steel strings can hurt your fingers if you are a beginner or child. Unless you want to play classical or flamenco music, chances are you will be looking to buy a steel-stringed acoustic.
Nylon Stringed
As you may have gathered from the previous section, nylon-stringed guitars are the only choice for classical and flamenco players.
However, with a wider neck and much softer strings, nylon-stringed guitars can also be perfect for beginners and children. In fact, you will only be able to find a ¼ size guitar in nylon, so if you are looking for a guitar to give to a small child, nylon-stringed is your only man.
Acoustic Guitar Price
How much you will need to spend on a guitar will depend largely on your experience level (Also consider is fret leveling worth it?). There is no point breaking the bank when buying your first guitar because you might not stick with it. It also doesn’t make much sense to buy a cheap guitar if you have been playing for years since, at that point, you are likely to continue playing the guitar for many years to come.
Here is a brief guide to the price you should expect to pay depending on your experience:
Beginner
If this is your first ever guitar, you probably want to spend somewhere between $200-$500. We would recommend not going for the higher end of that range unless you have plenty of money to spare.
This is because many people, while passionate, find that they do not have the patience to learn the guitar, and it ends up gathering dust in a closet somewhere. That said, many people recommend that you never spend less than $300 on a guitar.
There are guitars out there for much less than $200, but they are almost always a bad idea. It will make you more likely to give up the guitar before you even get going if the guitar won’t stay in tune.
Super cheap guitars are hard to tune and lose their tuning very quickly (Question: How hard is it to learn guitar compared to piano?). That can be very aggravating for a beginner. Plus, they don’t sound good. It can be very discouraging if you learn quickly and play well, but your guitar still sounds terrible.
Intermediate
Once you have been playing for 6 months, chances are you will stick with the guitar forever. That is because you will have gotten past that difficult stage where you are memorizing chords and getting blisters on your fingers and will have moved onto the fun stage when you are learning your favorite songs, jamming with friends, or even writing your own tunes. At this stage, it is a good idea to buy a better guitar.
Now that you know you are sticking with the guitar, it is time to invest in one that you will love forever. For a good acoustic that you can use for gigs and recording, you will want to spend at least $500, but it might be a good idea to go as high as $1,000.
Most people don’t have loads of money lying around for acoustic guitars, but this is a great investment if you are serious about playing. Plus, you might even be able to make some of that money back through gigs.
Professional
If you are a professional guitarist, you probably don’t need us to tell you this, but we will do it anyway. A real top-of-the-line professional acoustic will cost you at least $1,500. Unless you will be making a living by playing guitar, buying one this expensive is guaranteed to be a waste of money. These high-end masterpieces are only for professionals who have made their way up through the ranks.
Any major dude will tell you that it’s more important to splash out on a good acoustic than it is to splash out on a good electric. That’s because the tone of an acoustic comes from the guitar’s build quality and not from the various amps and effects that you run it through.
Acoustics are designed to sound great without anything being done to them, but that is not so important if you will get an electric amp with its own tonal characteristics.
Acoustic Guitar Material
It might not be something you would think of straight away, but what material your guitar is made from will end up having a huge effect on the final tone. A bit of research will reveal that there are quite a few materials to choose from, although usually which one you get will be determined more by budget than by preference.
In this section, we’ll go through some of the main contenders to determine the pros and cons of each.
Laminated and Solid Wood
If you don’t have much to spend on your acoustic guitar, you will likely be getting one made of laminated wood since this is the cheapest option available.
The difference between a laminated and solid wood guitar is the same as the difference between a sheet of plywood and an oak tree. One is manufactured by gluing thin sheets of wood together, while the other is in the same form it was when the tree was cut down.
It is important to note that your choice is not simply between an entirely solid or an entirely laminated guitar.
Sometimes, you can find an entry-level guitar that has a ‘solid top.’ That means that the soundboard, which is the front of the guitar with the soundhole in it, is made from a sheet of solid wood, while the rest of the guitar is made from laminated. If you can find a guitar for under $300 with a solid top, that is a great find!
Which type you get really does make quite a difference to the tone. A solid wood guitar, or even one with a solid top, will have a powerful, booming tone that you just don’t get from laminate.
However, because the solid wood models are usually costly, you should not try to buy one for your first guitar. As mentioned above, there is no point spending thousands of dollars on a guitar that is going to gather dust. Plus, laminates can still sound great if they are well-built.
Tonewoods
As trees grow, they develop different densities and imperfections along the way. That is why different species of wood sound so different. With deforestation running rampant and threatening to cause species extinction and acceleration of the climate crisis, the trade of certain rare woods has been regulated, driving up the price.
What are the best woods for building an acoustic with an unbeatable tone? Here are three great choices:
Rosewood
Brazillian rosewood is perhaps the most sought-after of all tonewoods. Thanks in part to its luxurious appearance and angelic sound, Brazillian rosewood has become rarer and rarer both in guitars and in the wild.
East Indian rosewood is now more commonly used, despite being slightly less attractive tonally. Both kinds of wood give a dark and complex tone that is hard to beat. Both Jimmy Page and Neil Young played the same model of rosewood acoustic.
Maple
Maple guitars sound bright and loud, with a short decay. That makes them perfect for live performance since they can cut through the mix and create a space for themselves. They also have quite a tight dynamic range, meaning that they never get too loud or too quiet.
Some would argue that the downside of maple guitars is that they sound a bit ‘dead’ due to the short decay. Still, this is a pretty high-end tonewood that sounds great in the right situations.