How to Choose a Beginner Acoustic Guitar

When you’re out looking for a beginner acoustic guitar, you have to know what kind of music you’ll be playing on it. Latin and certain kinds of pop and folk melodies sound right on a classical guitar with nylon strings. Rock, bluegrass, and other kinds of pop and folk tunes work better on a guitar with steel strings. The only way you can really determine which of the two is right for you is to actually play both of them.

Many instructors recommend a guitar with nylon strings as a first beginner acoustic guitar. The reason is that those strings are not so hard on the guitarist’s fingertips. However, if your idea of great music is rock and more rock, a guitar with nylon strings will never produce a tone that will satisfy the rock idol in you.

If you want to learn to play music made by steel strings then the obvious choice is a steel-string guitar. Yes, your fingers are going to hurt for some time, but you’ll develop calluses after a couple of months of regular practice. The same is true if you wish to play classical guitar music. Don’t be persuaded to get a steel-string is all you want to play is classical music.

If you are shopping for a more classical nylon-string guitar, you should remember that these guitars are called classic for a reason - they all have the same relative dimensions. Their bodies are smaller and their fingerboads wider, which produces a distinctive classical sound. It is the feel and the tone to these classical guitars that varies.

As is true when buying any guitar, you need to try out several of them before choosing the beginner acoustic guitar that you are going to buy. The steel-string model of beginner acoustic guitar that people usually start out with is the six-string dreadnought guitar. There is only a slight variation between dreadnought guitars and they provide a sound that novices are often seeking.

The kind of wood your beginner acoustic guitar is crafted from affects the tone of the guitar. Many beginner acoustic guitars come with a spruce top. Make sure you select a model made from solid spruce and not one with a two-piece top. A solid top is long-lasting. When it comes to the back and sides, your options will generally be mahogany, rosewood or spruce. If you want a lighter tone, look for guitars that have back and sides of mahogany. You will get a heavier tone from a guitar that features rosewood back and sides.

Looking for a beginner acoustic guitar with relatively low action is something else to think about when you are a new guitarist. The space between the string and the neck is called the action. An action that is too high it can be a distraction and a hindrance to learning.

While you’re out purchasing a beginner acoustic guitar, you’ll want to pick up a decent electronic tuner at the same time. You haven’t had enough experience yet to develop the ear of an expert. If you can spend less time in tuning your new guitar, you’ll have that much more time for practicing on it and actually playing.