Best Beginner Acoustic Guitar in All 3 Categories – 2024

The Best Acoustic Guitars for Beginners

Best Beginner Guitars - Acoustic-Electric Guitars

Best Guitars for Beginners - Classical / Nylon String Guitars

Things to Consider When Buying a Beginner Acoustic Guitar

Perfect Fit

Like all musical instruments, acoustic guitars bring out the musician's distinct style. This is the reason why there is no one guitar to fit everyone perfectly. Instead, many different guitar designs cater to personal playing styles and expressions.

People will usually gravitate towards beginner guitars that are similar to what their favorite musicians use. So, the safest choice is to start on an instrument that looks and sounds familiar. But this is not a strict rule because some experts will advise beginners to learn non-familiar instruments like a nylon string guitar to expand their sonic and playing palette right at the start.

Things That Make Beginner Acoustic Guitars Easy (Or Hard) To Play

Playability is a critical factor to consider when getting beginner acoustic guitars. Below are the main factors that make a guitar easy or hard to play.

Action

Action is the distance between the strings and the fretboard. It's adjusted in most acoustic guitars by filing down or shimming the bridge saddle. The nut is sometimes filed down as well. Other factors affecting action include neck relief and fret height. If it's too high (above the fretboard), the strings are hard to press down. If it's too low (close to the fretboard), the strings will buzz when you play them. So, guitar manufacturers aim to set it at an average factory setting.

According to Martin & Co. guitars, the 12th fret action should have a maximum of 0.90" (2.8mm) for the low E string and 0.65″ for the high E string. As long as the string height is somewhere close to the measurements above, you shouldn't have too many issues. If it's significantly higher or low enough to cause buzzing, you will either want to get a set-up or buy a different guitar.

Nut Width

As previously mentioned, a guitar's nut is what the strings pass through before the fretboard starts. It's on the end closest to the tuning pegs and has six grooves for the strings to sit in.

Nuts come in different widths. Guitars with wider nuts have the strings spaced farther apart; the opposite is true for those with thinner nuts. The two most common nut widths are 1.69" and 1.75". Younger musicians, or those of you with smaller hands, may prefer something even thinner (though they won't necessarily need it!). Note that classical guitars usually have a wider nut width of about 2". In addition to nut width, neck shape is another factor to consider.

String Type

There are two main types of acoustic guitars: steel string and nylon string.

Steel strings, which are steel-plated with a bronze alloy, are more challenging to press down. Younger children (generally under 7) often struggle to push these strings down. This is the most familiar configuration widely used in most music styles. Note that how you change the strings of steel-stringed acousticsis slightly different from that of nylon guitars.

Nylon strings are made from a material that gives them a different sound and makes them significantly more straightforward to push down than steel strings. This is the most common choice for students who want to learn classical guitar music but is in no way limited to that, especially popular artists like Jason Mraz using them. Younger players find these strings much easier to press down.

Body Type

Acoustic guitars come in various body shapes and sizes, and the general idea is that bigger-bodied guitars have more volume and bottom end, making them sound fuller. Smaller-bodied guitars lack low end, emphasizing the mid and high frequencies, which works great with fingerstyle playing and other similar styles. Big-bodied guitars like the Dreadnought can be too big for smaller players, so guitars with compact bodies will be ideal. The type of finish on the body and neck also impacts playing feel and comfort. I prefer a satin finish, but it's not very good at protecting the wood. Speaking of protection, your guitar's body style and size will also dictate the gig bag or guitar case you'll need.

Here, we've ordered the most commonly found body styles in order of biggest to smallest:

• Jumbo
• Dreadnought
• Slope-Shoulder Dreadnought
• Grand Orchestra
• 000
• Classical
• 00
• Parlor

What is the Best Guitar for Short Fingers?

Most of the guitars featured here have a 1.69" nut width, which is a standard specification used by many guitar manufacturers. This width is good enough even for young players. Guitars with narrow nut widths and flat fingerboard radius are easier for those with short fingers. 3/4 size guitars and parlor guitars usually fall into this category. Classical guitars (and nylon string guitars in general) typically have wide nut widths at around 2", which may make fretting some chords harder for those with short fingers. But this does not mean that classical guitars are impossible because while it may be hard at first, the wider string spacing opens up the fretting hand better, improving stretching ability and strength. This is why I've taught many young guitarists on classical guitars, and other guitar teachers do the same.

Buying Advice on Acoustic-Electric Guitars

The simple addition of a compact piezo pickup and preamp system can turn your acoustic guitar into a stage-ready instrument. And this added function makes them the best deals to get for serious students of the instrument.

These days, many beginner acoustics come with pickups right out of the box. This is why we added a section featuring the best beginner acoustic-electric guitars so you can take your starter guitar with you on stage. Acoustic-electric guitars are highly recommended for fast learners and serious guitar students, so they won't have to buy another guitar for their performances when amplification is needed.

Big-name brands know this and have been offering student-friendly guitars like the Martin LX1E with built-in pickups.

What To Expect During Your First Few Weeks of Playing the Guitar

The first month of guitar playing is going to be the hardest. This is because when you start playing, you don't have any calluses, so playing your guitar for more than 15 or 20 minutes at a stretch will hurt the tips of your fingers. However, if you stick with it, you'll have a few good calluses built up when you've been playing for three or four months.

Your main concern should be overplaying. We know playing for long periods is tempting, especially when you first get your guitar. However, if you do this before you've built up the proper musculature, you can cause permanent damage to your body. So when you're just starting, take a 15-minute break for every 30 minutes you play. You can extend these times when you've been playing longer, though make an effort to stay within two hours in one sitting.

Which is better for beginners, Acoustic or Electric Guitar?

Both have their merits. The electric guitar has thinner strings that make it easier on the fretting hand. It is ideal for learning bending, slides, hammer-on, and other intermediate to advanced-level techniques. On the other hand, an acoustic guitar is perfect for learning basics like strumming and plucking.

The main reason I typically recommend acoustic is its accessible price. Acoustic guitars are usually cheaper and do not require extra amp expenses. This also makes it easier to grab and play.

Sometimes, I recommend an electric guitar, like when a student has already learned the basics of a borrowed instrument or strongly prefers an electric guitar.

Tips on Practicing

Everyone learns differently, so it's hard to suggest a one-size-fits-all approach to practicing the guitar. The most important thing to remember is that learning the guitar is a process. No one is awesome at playing an instrument when they first start. Most musicians struggle for a while before they start learning. So, even though it may be difficult, keep working on it.

Also, if you're not going to invest in guitar lessons, most musicians have a good experience with Hal Leonard's books. The company also publishes books on different styles for more advanced musicians. There are also a ton of great YouTubers creating lessons. All you have to do to find them is type "Beginner Guitar Lessons" in YouTube's search bar, and you'll find what you need to get started.

Advanced Topics

We wanted to include only a little additional information, as too much could confuse beginners and is optional for anyone just starting. However, if you'd like to read more advanced details on Tonewoods, Scale Lengths, or Acoustic-Electric Guitars, please read what to look for when buying an acoustic guitar. Another important consideration is dominant hand orientation. Look into the Left Handed vs Right Handed Guitar discussion.

Beginner Acoustic Guitar Selection Methodology

The first edition was published in 2017. The current edition was published on May 9, 2024

All the Gearank.com staff and this guide's author play acoustic guitar, so the primary criterion for our selection of the best beginner acoustic guitars is that they should be relatively more straightforward to play. With that in mind, we created a list of good beginner guitars. It features guitar candidates with suitable nut widths, scale lengths, body types, and string types, which we know from experience will make learning to play as painless and enjoyable as possible. A good beginner guitar can help beginners get through the first few weeks of learning and practice.

For this edition, three main sections feature regular acoustic guitars, classical guitars, and acoustic-electric guitars. We've also increased the price range to $500 to account for market price changes. This still limits the list to budget-friendly options, but if you have extra dough, you can go for beginner acoustic guitars from premium brands like the Taylor Academy 10, Martin D Jr-10, and the like.

Only those available from major online music gear retailers in the USA are included. If you'd like to know how the Gearank scores out of 100 were calculated, please read How Gearank Works.

Further Advice

If after reading this guide you still have some questions about buying your first guitar, please feel free to post questions in the comments section below and we'll help you out.

About the Author and Contributors

Here are the key people and sources involved in this guide's production - click on linked names for information about their music industry backgrounds.

Lead Author & Researcher

My first acoustic guitar was an Ovation knock-off that had ridiculously high unplayable action. It was not until a few years later when I was given a Yamaha C40 that I actually started enjoying playing. After having gone through this frustration, I've made it my personal mission to prevent other students from suffering the same fate.

Contributors

Jerome Arcon: Product research.
Mason Hoberg: Supplemental writing.
Jason Horton: Editing and Illustrating.

Media

Main/Top Image: based on a stock photograph in the public domain.

The videos have been embedded in accordance with YouTube's Terms of Service.

Image Credit: The individual product images were sourced from their respective manufacturers' websites, promotional materials or supporting documentation.