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Beginners acoustic guitar?
I feel I’m ready to embark on my midlife crisis, and am thinking of buying an acoustic guitar. I’ve seen some on Amazon for like 60 or 70 euros, are they total shit? I mean I imagine they are, but would they be enough for me to piss off my kids by thrashing out James’ “sometimes” whilst screeching at top volume? Last time I “played” guitar I was like 18, and it was something that I bought from a school friend for a tenner, to play grebo music.
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On Amazon likely to be complete shit. Maybe on a dedicated musical instrument retailer’s website you would pay slightly more, but more likely to get something playable.
Used is the best way to get a decent guitar for a lower price, and quite possibly you can haggle the price down a little, particularly if you can find the same guitar new for not much more than the asking price. A good tactic is to get someone who plays to look at the guitar and even go check it out before buying.
Seeing you say “grebo” I’m assuming you’re in the UK? Check out Harley Benton guitars from Thomann too. They’ll be more expensive than Amazon, but you get some pretty good guitars for the money.
I’m not very up to date on the guitar scene lately, but usually you don’t want to cheap out on a first guitar. No reason to buy a top of the line $1700 Gibson, but the Target brand guitars are more likely to frustrate and deter progression. You’ll spend more time trying to get it in tune than playing.
My first acoustic was a Takemine acoustic and was a good beginner guitar.
Seconding Harley Benton. Had one myself and only sold it because dreadnoughts are too large and uncomfortable for me.
I paid about 85€ for it on sale, and it felt better than most models I tested up to 250€.
I'd second this advice Dan, a cheap guitar that constantly goes out of tune is a real nightmare. Buying second hand is good, then u can resell at the same price if you decide to quit or upgrade. Two or three hundred quid will get you something enjoyable to play and which will potentially sound great already, if you pick wisely.
Definitely bring someone with you to the shop, someone who plays guitar to a decent level. Make sure you're clear on whether you want nylon strings or steel. And do you want to play with a plectrum, or finger pick? Try to get a guitar with easy action, it'll probably suit you much better as a beginner. Buy good strings, they'll last longer anyway. For steel strings, I like the Elixir brand, for example. Get lighter gauge strings initially. Get a few different thickness of pick, if you're planning to use a pick. Especially if you're planning to learn songs and sing, a capo will be a really good investment, again, don't skimp, get a good one. I love the G7th capo. Good luck!
Thanks everyone, yeah I got the impression the Amazon guitars were total trash. I see some cheap Harley Benton guitars on Thomann for like 90 euros, I think that’s the way to go…
@michael_m i was based in the UK but now I’m living in Italy, I checked Facebook marketplace but there’s literally nothing in my area, I guess no one plays guitar here anymore, everyone wants to be a rap star!
Thanks for this advive Gav!! Especially about capos and strings, i think i just want to strum frenetically
I guess a light pick is best
If you just want to annoy people it doesn't matter what you buy. If you want something halfway decent for little money second hand is the best option, unless you can't tell what you are looking at. Personally, and this is just based on where I am from, the cheapest acoustic I would buy is a Tanglewood. Buying in Italy? Cort is an ok brand. A friend has a Walden which is not bad.
My only hesitation recommending used for a first guitar is if you end up with a lemon you’re sol. Once you know what you’re doing you can play around faults in the instrument but you might not know if it’s you or the guitar.
If you’re just learning, any guitar will do. Playing the guitar is more about learning chord shapes and where the notes are on the fretboard than the quality of the instrument. I’d get a cheapie first, then look into something more serious later.
Don’t just get any cheap guitar. If you get a terrible guitar that is difficult to play and with the string a inch away from the neck, you will quit very fast. You need a decent enough guitar without breaking the bank. As somebody said get lighter string at first until your finger build callus.
Totally don’t agree with this as I have seen too many people give up because the only guitar they have is a poor quality instrument. If a guitar won’t stay in tune, has an action that is too high or too low, strings get caught in the nut, badly positioned bridge, etc. it will make learning more difficult and frustrating.
It’s definitely good to get the best guitar that’s in your price range. If it feels like a bad experience the first time you play it then you’re giving yourself an additional hurdle to overcome before you really start learning.
Yes, totally
100% . Unless, as I said above, the soul purpose is to annoy people.
I’d recommend starting with nylon strings rather than steel strings. My first one was a Crafter with steel strings, nice guitar but as a beginner I could play half a song before it felt like my fingertips were going to come off. I then bought a cheap nylon string guitar from a friend which made all the difference.
I was going to say I started on a nylon, not really out or choice but it trained me good despite the insane action on it… plate that for a while before getting an electric and then rarely looked back, though I still prefer nylon to steel string acoustics… defo try a few out if you have the chance, get what makes you want to play more…
@sevenape mentioned he was probably gonna use a pick and play chords, so I think he should definitely go for steel over nylon.
I did both those on the nylons, even barre chords😅 though I still prefer my fingers for most stuff even on electric…
Took me a long time to train out the pressing too hard thing though, but I think all guitarists go through that…
Perhaps a word of warning that it’s addictive is also in order. For me it started out as ‘playing some guitar should be fun, let’s get something cheap’, and now I sit here with six guitars (not to mention the bass guitar, ukulele and mandolin), with a seventh one on the way.
Haha, that depends on the person I guess. I've played acoustic guitar for over 30 years, in that time I never had more than one guitar at a time. I did upgrade my guitar over the years, but I never had a collector mentality at all, never really suffered from gas much, never needed more than 1 Amp and a DI box, no pedals, no fx. Very different from the whole app thing, which I do find more addictive. Guitar for me was a cheaper hobby than iOS music, apart from the cost of strings there were no real expenses.
Yamaha have great entry level guitars that are cheap
So, my brother in law is going to lend me his guitar, he apparently never uses!! That’s free!! My favourite price!!
That’s the best guitar to start with for sure 😅 ^^^^
Has there been any mention of musical interest or style. That to me is the ONLY think that would cement the choice over nylon v steel. Spacing, neck shape and string pressure being mostly very different. I don't think you can go too wrong with a Walden or a Cort and they are readily available in Italy.
Like indie/ folk/ punk but more like chords, like rhythm guitar, no fiddly bits
Hahahaha!!! It’s a result!!!
Sorry, but that’s just wrong.
Steel string. Nylon string is the wrong place to start IMO. String spacing will be different to what you end up wanting to play and the sound will be less aligned with those genres.