You wouldn’t believe the amount of times I’ve had a parent of a new guitar student pay for a month’s worth of lessons up front, only to find out when the kid turns up for his first lesson that his guitar is a so cheap and nasty that it’s not really playable.
Priorities people! You’re throwing your money away and demoralising your child at the same time. Don’t do it! The most common story I hear is “I just wanted to see if he’s going to commit before I spend any more money.”
Wrong! Your child will not commit if he feels like a loser by not being able to get a sound out of this horrible instrument. He’s going to give up straight away. Is that what you want? No. Your child deserves better than that.
What’s wrong with a cheap guitar?
A cheap guitar is not only painful to the ears. It’s also painful on the fingers. The strings are likely to be too high above the fretboard for the poor kid to push his fingers down and actually make a sound. A cheap guitar is usually impossible to tune up properly. The list goes on.
The same goes for the rest of you buying a first guitar for yourselves. Don’t buy a cheap one. I’ll say it again. DON’T. BUY. A. CHEAP. GUITAR. The most common story I get from adult students who start off with a cheap unplayable guitar is “it’s only for me to learn on”.
Are you kidding? You will give up before you even get started. You will learn NOTHING on this instrument. Please re-read all the above and believe it or just throw your money down the toilet. It’s your choice.
What SHOULD you do?
Learn. Educate yourselves people! There’s enough information on the internet to make a well informed choice. Don’t buy the CHEAPEST one, buy the RIGHT one.
Trust the salesman in the music store! Did I say that? Or at least listen to what he’s saying. Learn. Visit another music store. Are they saying the same thing about their instruments? Yes? Then they must be telling the truth! Salesmen in music stores are musicians. They are a passionate, proud and honest bunch of people who have made all the mistakes so you don’t have to.
You don’t have to buy top of the range either. Just DON’T start at the bottom! Also don’t get bells and whistles. You pay for that and it will eat into your budget. You’ll get a better quality guitar for the same price without all the extra stuff you don’t need. After you’ve been playing for a while you can get one that plugs in. You’ll have a lot more knowledge by then and be able to make a better, more informed choice.
Just because you have a budget doesn’t mean that you should buy the cheapest budget guitar. You need a reasonable quality instrument at the right price – NOT the right priced instrument! Don’t go for the best deal… sort of. Only go for the best deal for the guitar that’s right for YOU ok? Not the cheapest one.
The right guitar for YOU
The three main types of guitar are nylon string (classical) guitar, steel string acoustic guitar and electric guitar. I’m sure you probably already knew that! Any of these are fine to start out on and it largely depends on your preference of sound and taste in music.
Nylon string guitars have a warm, gentle tone, are softer on your fingers and a little more forgiving for the beginning player. They’re great for finger-style playing.
Steel string acoustic guitars have more attack. They’re great for people who want to strum and sing along around the campfire.
Electric guitars are… you know what they are… and yes, you CAN learn on an electric guitar. It’s a myth that you “have to learn on acoustic guitar first”, but you will need a guitar amplifier to hear what you’re playing. Don’t worry – you can turn them down as well as up!
The following are some guitars that I would thoroughly recommend for beginners on a budget. I have personal experience with these particular instruments as I teach guitar professionally every day and see many guitars come and go. They also all have great online reviews from many happy customers. Good luck!
Nylon String Guitars
Steel String Guitars
Electric Guitars
Ibanez GRX70QA Electric Guitar
Guitar Amplifiers
