Guitar buying advice

Hi there,

Any practical advice for choosing a guitar?

My initial goal with GuitarTricks is to pursue the classical sound (just in case I misunderstood what that means, I've found "Malaguena" on Youtube - THAT is fantastic). Don't worry, I know it's probably going to be years before I get to quite that level.

A secondary goal is to be able to pull out the guitar around a campfire with confidence.

I rather strongly suspect this choice of direction influences what kind of guitar I should get. So, good advice (as opposed to random opinions) would be very welcome :)

Hi JohanSA,

There are a number of great classical guitars to choose from when you're just starting out.

Taylor's new Academy series is fantastic for the price. And they have a nylon-stringed version here: https://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/academy-12-n

Taylors are pretty great and are high quality acoustic instruments. The new Academy series has all the essentials, that is, great neck, playability, and durability. Check them out!

You can find others from Yamaha and Takamine as well~

Originally Posted by: JohanSA

Hi there,

Any practical advice for choosing a guitar?

My initial goal with GuitarTricks is to pursue the classical sound (just in case I misunderstood what that means, I've found "Malaguena" on Youtube - THAT is fantastic). Don't worry, I know it's probably going to be years before I get to quite that level.

A secondary goal is to be able to pull out the guitar around a campfire with confidence.

I rather strongly suspect this choice of direction influences what kind of guitar I should get. So, good advice (as opposed to random opinions) would be very welcome :)

Random opinion; I like dark roast coffee ;)

Malaguena - Amazing song and a very good long term goal. Not an easy one but a great mountain to choose to climb.

For guitars, I agree first with Taylor too. This also assumes you are looking at acoustics. So, depends on your budget as to what will work for you. You can an amazing guitar for under a thousand dollar. You can get a great guitar for under $500. You can get a really good guitar for around $300. Under that? Well, you can get a good guitar but you start sacrificing many things.

I do like Taylors. I spent $850 on mine and I love it. I do have a Fendr T-Bucket too. I spent about $300 on that and it is a good guitar as a back-up (actually, a really good one for $300). However, these are steel string guitars. You may want to consider sticking with a steel string acoustic as a beginner. Nylon strings (a staple for classical guitar) is a different animasl to lerarn to play on and I'd suggest not as easy.

That's kinda the key; a comfortable guitar to play when you start and will be useful in multiple genres..and good to pul out at a campfire.

Suggesting a brand for an acoustic is one thing, you should go and play some. You want one that fits compfortable in your lap, is comfortable in your hands and and is easier to play (which you find more consitantly in the upper part of my range above).

Versus electric, which have differing pruposes that drive how it's built (like what kind of body and electronics), with acoustics, it is more about pereference. Steel stringed guitars all really do the same thing. Because of that, it is preference on other factors regarding how it plays in your hands.

I kinda gave a general answer but hopefully stuff that helps as a guide.

Haha! Yes, I like freshly ground coffee :)

Thank you for the responses. For now I've managed to get a guitar to start with, at some point the instrument might start being a limitation and then I'll upgrade.

From experience in other fields though, normally the biggest limitation is the human driving the equipment, not the equipment itself. I.e. a better investment is usually to spend more time / money improving my skills, rather than improving my tools.

Does that hold with the guitar as well?

Originally Posted by: JohanSA

Any practical advice for choosing a guitar?

Seems fairly definitive given your stated parameters..

1. The obvious. Buy a Classical guitar. Also fine for campfire singalongs.

2. My take is that the learning instrument needn't be high end of the range nor necessarily a prestige brand. In fact better it's not unless you're loaded. Why?

When starting out, one doesn't really know much about personal preference or fit 'n feel. And that's something you simply can't research in a book or anywhere online. That takes time and hands on. Just buy something basic but decent. Later when you buy your second with the benefit of experience under your belt, the first can be that campfire hack, because you wouldn't want to tote your pricey Martin or Taylor and hand it around at the campsite would you?

Taylor are a highly accoladed brand, but that comes with a price ticket. Regardless, you have so much choice in the US, it's easy to find something both inexpensive and decent. Save the $$$ for the Martin or Taylor once you've proven committment to yourself and can better spend it knowing precisely what you want.

For most of us, what we save on the first guitar, we can spend on the second et al. And trust me, if you get into guitar, there will be a second, and a third .......well, you get the idea. GAS.

Originally Posted by: JohanSA

limitation is the human.... ...not the equipment itself. Does that hold with the guitar as well?

For learning, as long as you have a tool suited to the job, and it's of decent quality, yes. IME personal application is by far the most important/critical factor.

Thanks everyone!

I got a Tanglewood Discovery. It's cheap - but good enough to learn on, I think and I won't feel too sorry about loading it in the boot (I did get a gig bag, at least), and toting it along to a campsite.