Best Beginner Acoustic Guitar

Price

As a beginner, you don't want to spend the sort of money required for a professional grade guitar, but it's important to work out how much you are prepared to spend. If money is tight, then something like Rogue's RA-100 D drednought offers excellent value, but sometimes spending even a little extra brings huge benefits. Guitars like Washburn's D10S offer features like solid tops that will keep them as your favourites for years to come.

Body Size

Guitars come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and that's doubly true of acoustics. The guitar's body size not only affects how comfortable it is to play, but the tone that's produced. If you want a big, powerful tone, you might want something like Fender's C-60 Drednought. Children, or those interested in a smaller, more comfortable guitar might prefer something like Rogue's Starter Acoustic Guitar, which at ¾ size is a much more manageable option.

Tone Woods

You're after the best beginner acoustic guitar you can get, and that means the best wood you can get. Different woods have vastly different tonal properties, from the brightness of maple to the darker tones of spruce or mahogany. While you probably aren't going to want to pay for the very best tonewoods, it's worth at least aiming for a solid top rather than a laminate of different woods. Solid tops are generally said to resonate better, and more importantly to improve over time, so that the Washburn D10S is probably only going to sound better the longer you have it.

Portability

As much as we'd like to think that we'll only be playing in the most comfortable conditions, acoustic guitars get carted around a lot. Whether it's to parties, or friends houses, or simply to your first gigs, it can sometimes help to have a guitar that's easy to move from place to place. That's where travel guitars like Washburn's Rover can sometimes be great for beginners. Designed to be lightweight, durable and playable, they can take anything the journey to the jam session throws at them.

Playability

The main question here is whether you want a cutaway or not. More traditional guitars such as Yamaha's F335 can provide wonderful tone on the lower frets, but sometimes you want to wander up the neck, even on an acoustic. That's where something like the Jasmine by Takamine S34C NEX Cutaway Acoustic Guitar comes in, letting you get into the second octave for those blazing acoustic solos.
The world of buying a beginner acoustic guitar can be a complex one. Hopefully though, armed with a little knowledge about what you want, you'll soon find the guitar that's perfect for you.

John is a writer and guitar expert. Check out his reviews of the best Easy Guitar lessons