Buying guide for best acoustic guitars
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My first acoustic guitar was a hand-me-down from an aunt. It was small, light, with a finish that had cracked over time and a bright, almost tinny tone. I had no idea what I was doing or what I was looking for, but I learned my first chords on that guitar, until the day I bumped it against a wall and its dried-out inner bracing came loose.
Then I got a high-quality model. With nylon strings. A classical guitar, not a steelstring. I didn’t know the difference.
The next guitar I got was the cheapest I could find. It was a matte-finish blue model that might have been made of plywood, bought from an electronics store that also sold musical instruments. It jangled and hurt my fingers when I pressed against the frets. Pretty soon I left it outside by the garbage. Someone must have picked it up, and I hope they got something out of it.
This guide is written in the hopes you’ll avoid my mistakes. The best acoustic guitars for newbies and beginners aren’t necessarily a matter of price or features. Rather, it’s about the right shape, the right size and the best quality for the price point. It’s about top wood and tonewood and scale length and action. Most of all, it’s about playability: how easy and comfortable a guitar is to play, and learn on, and grow with.
Our editors at BestReviews have chosen a number of top acoustic guitars aimed at beginners, but which provide great playability and long-lasting quality. Topping our list is the Yamaha FG800J acoustic guitar, a tried-and-true stalwart among beginner acoustic guitars.
Editors’ picks
Yamaha FG800J Solid Top Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar
Editors’ Favorite
Style: Dreadnought | Top: Spruce | Back & sides: Nato/mahogany | Total length: 40.5” | Scale length: 25”
Intended for beginners but built to last, the Yamaha FG800J is an ideal acoustic guitar for players of all skill levels. Its balanced yet powerful tone and high-quality craftsmanship should be a joy to play for years to come.
The Yamaha FG800J is a dreadnought-style acoustic guitar suitable for players of all levels. Its top is made of solid spruce for clarity of tone and wide dynamic range, with a back and sides made of nato and mahogany for focused warmth. Its neck is made of nato, while both its matte-finish fretboard and its bridge are rosewood. It’s a handsome-looking guitar with die-cast chrome tuning machines, black body binding, and a glossy natural finish.
The FG800J has a finger-friendly 25-inch scale length, a comfortable 43-millimeter nut width and middle-of-the-road 10-millimeter string spacing. It’s backed by a one-year warranty and Yamaha’s strict quality control.
Donner DAG-1C Acoustic Guitar Bundle
Great Value
Style: Dreadnought with cutaway | Top: Spruce | Back & sides: Mahogany | Total length: 43.3” | Scale length: 25.5”
If you’ve shopped for any musical instruments online, you’ve come across Donner. This company has established itself as a go-to manufacturer of all kinds of beginner-friendly, budget instruments, including the Donner DAG-1C Acoustic Guitar and its accessory bundle.
The DAG-1C has a dreadnought-style body with a cutaway to help access its highest frets. Its top wood is a spruce laminate with mahogany laminate for its back and sides. Its neck is also mahogany with a purpleheart fretboard. It’s a combination of woods and shape that creates a bright, clear tone with warm midrange and good low-end presence.
Despite its low price, the DAG-1C looks good, with black detailing including on the tuning machines and body binding. Included with the DAG-1C is a comprehensive accessory bundle to get you started playing. You get a padded gig bag, shoulder strap, capo, set of picks and even a clip-on digital tuner.
Fender California Debut Redondo Series Acoustic Guitar
Best Under $200
Style: Dreadnought | Top: Spruce | Back & sides: Basswood | Total length: 20” | Scale length: 25.5”
Fender is one of those top names in electric guitars, but it’s happy to make entry-level acoustic guitars with their share of Fender flair. The Fender California Debut Redondo Acoustic Guitar is perfect for learners who want a great instrument with a legendary name.
The California Debut Redondo has a specific, slim take on the classic dreadnought body, with all-laminate construction to hold up better to temperature and humidity shifts. A spruce laminate top provides clarity and dynamics, while basswood back and sides amplifies and projects the sound. It has a nato wood neck and a walnut fretboard and bridge. A six-in-a-row triangular headstock immediately sets it apart from other acoustic guitars and proclaims its brand heritage.
The complete starter kit includes a folding stand, gig bag, strap, picks and extra strings. It also includes a tuner, but lacks a capo. It comes with free lessons from the Fender Play website and is backed by a two-year warranty.
Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought Acoustic Electric Guitar
Best Beginner Acoustic-Electric
Style: Dreadnought w/ cutaway | Top: Spruce | Back & sides: Mahogany | Total length: 43.8” | Scale length: 25.3”
Acoustic-electric guitars allow you to play unplugged wherever you might be, and still be able to hook up to recording gear or speakers when you need to. The Fender CD-60SCE is a great choice for players who want to go from acoustic practice to amplified performance on the same instrument.
The cutaway dreadnought body shape of the CD-60SCE allows easy finger access to its highest frets. A soundboard of solid spruce brings a clear, crisp sound, while mahogany laminate body wood offers balanced warmth. Some models offer a solid mahogany top as well. Its neck is also mahogany, with a walnut fretboard and matching bridge.
The CD-60SCE’s electronics include a Fender-specific Fishman CD-1 undersaddle pickup and preamp. This setup allows amplification, mixing and recording capture straight out of the instrument rather than via mics. The side controls also include the convenience of a built-in tuner.
Jasmine S35 Acoustic Guitar
Great Beginner Guitar
Style: Dreadnought | Top: Spruce | Back & sides: Agathis | Total length: 48” | Scale length: 25.5”
The Jasmine S35 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar is as simple and straightforward as they come, but its tone and finish make it feel more premium than buyers expect for the price. It’s an appealing full-sized beginner’s guitar to play straight out of the box.
The S35 has the versatile and spacious dreadnought body style, with a laminate spruce top and agathis/nato laminate body. It has a nato wood neck with a rosewood fingerboard and bridge. Its tone can be described as both clear, from the spruce, and warm, from the tonewoods used in the body laminate It has a standard scale length of 25.5 inches and nut width of 43 millimeters, great for beginners.
Despite its price, the Jasmine S35 looks high-quality, with full-body binding, chrome-tuning machines, and a contemporary satin finish. It features off-center strap buttons for better balance, although a strap is not included.
Parts of an acoustic guitar
- Body: The large, hollow section. Amplifies and resonates the sound. Includes the soundboard, pick guard and bridge.
- Neck: The long, narrow, solid section. Includes the frets and fretboard.
- Headstock: The small end section that includes the nut and tuning machines.
- Tuning machines: The gears on the headstock that tighten or loosen the strings.
- Nut: The slotted piece between the neck and headstock that supports and spaces the strings.
- Strings: The thin, taut filaments or wires that vibrate when strummed or plucked. A guitar has six, normally tuned E2-A2-D3-G3-B3-E4 from lowest note to highest.
- Soundboard or top: The front surface of the body with the sound hole. Resonates with the vibrations of the strings, amplifying the sound. Made of top wood.
- Fretboard or fingerboard: The surface of the neck just beneath the strings. Contains the frets and fret markers.
- Total length: Raised ridges on the neck that divide the fretboard.
- Fret markers: Dots that help players locate the right positions on the fretboard.
- Bridge: The connector to the strings on the body that transmits vibrations to the soundboard
- Bridge saddle: The raised section of the bridge that contributes to string action and intonation.
How to choose an acoustic guitar
Classical or steelstring
If you’re new to acoustic guitars, make sure you know the difference between a classical guitar and a steelstring acoustic guitar.
- Classical guitars, or nylon-string guitars, have nylon or gut strings, wider necks and 12 frets beyond the guitar body. They’re used in classical, flamenco and Latin music.
- Steelstring acoustic guitars are what you’re looking for if you want to play rock, pop, country or folk. They have metal strings, narrower necks and more frets.
Body shape and size
The shape and size of an acoustic guitar directly influences its sound and playability. It’s one of the most important aspects to choosing an acoustic guitar.
- Dreadnought guitars are perhaps the most common shape of acoustic guitar. Dreadnoughts have a large, deep body with a wide waist, and are notably versatile in their sound, with enhanced bass.
- Jumbo guitars are even bigger than dreadnoughts, with a tighter waist.
- Auditorium/Orchestra (000 or OM) guitars are smaller than dreadnoughts and have a narrower waist, but still large and deep enough to project loudness and bass to a large room.
- Concert or 00 (double-0) guitars are notably smaller and thinner-bodied than dreadnoughts, with a narrow waist. They have a balanced, focused sound.
- Parlor or single-0 guitars have a body even thinner and slimmer than a concert model and often with a shorter scale length. They have a smaller, less boomy sound than bigger guitars.
Other shapes include super jumbo and grand auditorium sizes, travel guitars that are even smaller or lighter than parlor models, and archtop guitars with f-cutouts rather than a sound hole, popular in jazz.
Tonewoods
The woods that make up the body of an acoustic guitar help shape and color the guitar’s sound. In an acoustic guitar, the wood of the body’s back and sides affect coloration and resonance, while the top wood of the soundboard helps create the character and tone. Acoustic guitars often have different tonewoods for the soundboard, back and sides, not to mention the neck and fretboard.
Common tonewoods
- Spruce is the most commonly used top wood for soundboards. There are several species used, but in general spruce produces a clean, crisp sound with broad dynamic range.
- Maple produces a clear, bright sound with strong note separation. It’s often used in back and side wood.
- Mahogany may be used as a top wood or in the rest of the body. It can be described as warm, focused and restrained.
- Cedar is often a top wood and provides a darker tone with more character than spruce.
- Rosewood is a favorite tonewood with a warm resonance and clear overtones. It’s often found in the fretboard, where its smoothness helps playability.
- Koa is a Hawaiian wood traditionally used for ukuleles. It has a balanced sound with a strong midrange and controlled overtones.
Solid vs. laminate
Acoustic guitars may be advertised as being made of solid wood or laminate. Solid wood guitars are generally more expensive, with richer and more complex sounds. Laminate woods are less expensive and can better withstand changes in temperature and humidity. Having a solid top or soundboard and a laminate body is a good compromise.
Setup and specifications
The setup and specifications of an acoustic guitar affect playability, or how easy a guitar is to play. Notable specs include:
- Scale length: the vibrational length of the strings from nut to bridge saddle. The strings of shorter scale lengths can be easier to fret than the high-tension strings of longer scale lengths.
- Neck shape: the shape of the cross-section of the neck, often described in terms like C-shaped, V-shaped or D-shaped. Affects the comfort of the fretting hand, especially the palm and base of the thumb.
- Nut width: the width of the nut between the neck and headstock. Influences the distance between strings. A narrower nut width with narrower string spacing can be easier for smaller hands, while people with thicker fingers may appreciate a wider width.
- Action: the height of the strings above the fretboard. Lower action is usually easier for beginners to play, but can also lead to string buzz, which is less likely than higher action.
- Fret height: the height of each perpendicular fret wire across the fretboard.
- Fret number: the total number of frets on a guitar’s fretboard.
Playing style
How do you play a guitar? By strumming or plucking.
- Strumming refers to running the tip of your thumb, your fingertips, or a guitar pick across the strings in one motion. The frequency and direction of your strumming helps create a rhythm that adds style and character. Strumming is ideal for accompanying vocals and is easy to pick up.
- Plucking consists of individually sounding a guitar’s strings, either with the fingertips, fingernails or a pick. A practiced player can produce a bass line, harmony and melody by plucking. Also known as fingerpicking or fingerstyle.
Strings
The strings of an acoustic guitar create the vibrations which, transmitted through the bridge into the soundboard, becomes sound. Acoustic guitar strings can be classified by the material they’re made of, their thickness or gauge, and if they’re coated or uncoated.
- Material: may be nylon, pure steel or steel cores wrapped in bronze or other metals. Early guitars were strung with animal gut.
- Gauge: the thickness of the strings. Measured in thousands of an inch for the lightest to the heaviest in the set, such as .012-.053 or 12-53.
- Coating: a thin protective layer that can extend the life and improve the playability of metal strings.
For more, check out our buying guide to the best acoustic guitar strings.
Acoustic-electric guitars
Acoustic-electric guitars are guitars that combine the hollow resonating body of an acoustic guitar with the pickups and other electronics of an electric guitar. Acoustic-electrics can be played unplugged like a regular acoustic guitar, but can also be amplified and recorded like an electric.
Tips for buying an acoustic guitar
- Play before you buy, or have a good return policy. You’ll want to know how a guitar feels in your hands, if you can reach the strings and frets comfortably, if there’s any buzzing or flaws, and if it’s a good size and weight for you.
- Pick the right shape for how you play. Dreadnoughts are versatile, but you may find you’re more comfortable with a smaller concert or double-00 guitar, or even a parlor guitar.
- Don’t forget the accessories. Useful extras include a set of picks, an easy-to-use capo, and some kind of hard case or soft-sided gig bag. A strap is also good to have, as is a stand for storage and display at home.
- Expensive doesn’t mean best suited for you. A beginner or occasional player may find that a solid-top and laminate-body Yamaha or Epiphone makes more sense and is more fun to play than a super-premium Martin or Taylor with the finest tonewoods.
FAQ
Q. How much do acoustic guitars cost?
A. Acoustic guitars vary widely in cost. You can find parlor-sized or junior-sized low-end budget models with laminate plywood construction for $40 or less online. Budget dreadnought models range from $100 to $200, including from Fender and Donner with real wood tops. Midrange acoustic guitars cost between $200 and $800, including models from Yamaha and Epiphone. High-end professional guitars from Martin or Taylor go up to well over $10,000.
Q. What are the top acoustic guitar brands?
A. The top guitar manufacturers in the world include Martin, Taylor, Gibson (and its budget brand Epiphone), Fender and Yamaha. Several of these companies pioneered or popularized many of the designs and features used in acoustic guitars, and are known for their build quality and craftsmanship. Other notable brands include Alvarez, Takamine, Furch and Seagull.
Q. What string gauge is best for beginners?
A. An extra-light to light string gauge, such as 9-44 (0.009 to 0.044 inches) or 12-53 (0.012 and 0.053 inches) can be ideal for beginners who need time to build up finger strength and calluses.
How we analyzed
For this buying guide we took a deep dive into the features and specifications of acoustic guitars, familiarizing ourselves with factors such as body shape, tonewood quality, acoustic sound propagation and scale length. We focused on a beginner-friendly audience, explaining terminology and desirable specs while assuming that experienced guitar players already know what they’re looking for. Finally, we picked beginner-friendly guitars both in design and price, but also models that could grow along with a player’s skill over time.
Our expertise
Jmar Gambol has written over a hundred articles for BestReviews, from computers to cleaning tech to kitchen equipment. He has written or updated several buying guides relating to guitars, including those for the best electric guitars and the best electric basses. His current guitar is a spruce-top dreadnought that he’s had for 20 years.
