Buying a good basic guitar?

Question

I'm going to start guitar lessons but my current guitar is equivalent to a 'Fisher Price My First Guitar' and so don't want to take it to lessons with me – thus, I want a new guitar that is not too expensive.

I think an electro-acoustic would be best at the moment, but I don't know what to look for in a 'good' [basic] guitar – can anyone give any suggestions?

Note : I play left-handed, so I'd either need a left-handed guitar which tend to be expensive and hard to get a hold of, or of course better still would be a guitar I can re-string to play left-handed.

Answer 1

Really at your stage the most important thing is that it plays nicely. Make sure the size is right for you, and that when you sit with it in the playing position your strummin arm isn't stuck up at an uncomfortable angle (as if youre trying to strum a double bass!) nest look at the gap between the fretboard and the strings, commonly known as the 'action' If the gap is very high, then it means there is more space between the strings and the frets, and therefore when you come to press a string down, you have to fight at it. The actual distance is different for different styles of guitar, so compare it to other similar guitars, and best of all try it to see how it feels.
I would say that you cant really string an acoustic upsidedown without at least some modification, namely the grooves in the nut ( the white plastic bar between the neck and the head) the grooves are wider for the thicker strings, so unless you change that, the strings wont sit right. the same applies to the nuts on all guitars really, but you could ask a guitar tech to change it for you. It might be better to just bite the bullet and buy a leftie though. Unless you intend to perform fairly soon, and electro acoustic is a waste of money, when all you need is an acoustic. I might suggest buying a classical ('spanish') guitar, because the strings are wide and soft, and the tension low, so they are kind on beginners fingers.

By the way, what country are you in, and what sort of music do you think you'd like to learn. I might be able to recommend some guitars for you. Buying a terrible guitar is one of the quickest ways to put you off playing, in my experience. Any help needed let us know. good luck

Answer 2

Most of the time, the guitars in the store will be tuned when they are first put on display, eventually with weather change and temperature change, the strings will go out of tune, you can buy a guitar tuner from $8-$35. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

You could try a Fender Strat pack. They aren't that expensive and come with all the basic stuff you need for guitar. Not sure if they have left handed but there's a good chance they just might. Good luck

Answer 4

Like the others have said try something along the lines of a fender squire, or even anything that's made by stagg. Stagg are a relatively new make so they are affordable and sound good for their price.

As far as you playing left handed, the price does vary but only expect to pay around £20 more for a beginners guitar.

Answer 5

If you want a "basic" guitar, stick to something like FirstAct.

Answer 6

Squire Jr's are good guitars (despite the name, they are for adults)

very good beginner guitars and very affordable.

Acoustic guitars are for the serious players, electric are for wusses who cant handle the real acoustic sound...

A screw up on an acoustic does sound 100 times worse than an electric, so its much much tougher.

My acoustic is made by Brunswick, nice sound, nice price.

Answer 7

As Dave said, if you're not planning on performing in the near future don't bother getting an electro-acoustic, especially if you're on a budget. If you buy an electro acoustic a sizeable chunk of the money you spend will be on the pik-up/mic and electonics. You're better of spending that extra cash getting a comfortable, well set up, acoustic....

Answer 8

If you are a beginner who is aware of quite little if any Spanish but you will like to learn more then you have to get a program https://tr.im/6MKRE the on the web program of Spanish