• From: BELGIUM
  • Registered: 2007-01-27
  • Posts: 3,403

Topic: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

I looked around on a lot of sites, searching for what they call the best "beginners guitar".
One Brand, one NAME popped up a lot: Washburn D10S Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar.
Voted Number 1 by Acoustic Guitar magazine as the best guitar under $500.

PRICE: +- 260$

Another, real cheap and very good if you read comments:    Ibanez V50 acoustic for 99,95$

An in between: Washburn D11 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar price 195$

Buying a guitar is one thing, and the longer you play, the more you start to know which is a good guitar for you. I think almost every chordian started with a guitar at LEAST CHEAPER THAN 500$.

30 years ago, acoustic guitars for beginners were not that important, so we had guitars, BEGINNERS guitars for approximately 300$
Here are a few guitars. Of course, it is not because I mention this acoustic guitars that you have to buy them, I don't have a %. But it makes you easier to look for a brand.
Washburn is a good brand, their most expensive is > 850$

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

gitaardocphil's Website

2 Reply by Zurf (edited by Zurf 2007-08-30 13:22:51)

  • Zurf
  • Zurf
  • Blunt but well meaning moderator
  • Offline
  • From: Virginia, USA
  • Registered: 2007-06-27
  • Posts: 7,522

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

I liked the sound of some of the Takamine's, but the necks are so shallow that I think they're much better suited for people with hands smaller than mine.   For under $500, I'd have to recommend for people to also check out the low-end offerings from Taylor, Martin, and Breedlove as well.  The list prices are well above $500, but I have found all of them in guitar shops for REAL walk-out-the-door prices under $500.  (American dollars used)

For some reason, I've always had a thing against Washburn.  Not sure why, really.  Can't say I've even ever played one.  Growing up, I had a good (and very pretty) friend with the last name Washburn, so you'd think I'd have positive associations with the name. 

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude
  • From: Renfrewshire, Scotland
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 1,359

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

Maybe it's just me but I don't think the prices you've mentioned are all that cheap. My first guitar cost £7 from a church sale, my next cost me about £50 and is now onto it's 3rd owner.

Is anything really made up of zeros and ones??

alvee33's Website

4 Reply by gitaardocphil (edited by gitaardocphil 2007-08-30 15:55:00)

  • From: BELGIUM
  • Registered: 2007-01-27
  • Posts: 3,403

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

Dear Alvee, you are 100% right, if you live in England. I live in Belgium and because of the very strong £ and €, it has to be more expensive.
What I did a year ago, was looking on eBay.com, and I received some beauties.
I am afraid these prices are in the US only.
But try to find a website in the UK, and see the prices there.
I found one price: the washburn: £129.00 on line.
Search in google some brands I wrote in my topic, AND ADD: UK

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

gitaardocphil's Website

5 Reply by alvee33 (edited by alvee33 2007-08-30 17:41:34)

  • From: Renfrewshire, Scotland
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 1,359

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

Yeah I was taking the exchange rate into account. I'm just a tight fisted Scotsman. I'll never forget that £7 nylon string classic. It was held together with black adhesive tape. Honestly. But it did me proud for a year or so. I learned a lot on it and it got the bug started.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you are eager to learn then you don't need to splash the cash to get started. However once you do get started and the bug bites that's when you start to look at better instruments. £200 will get you a decent beast.

That's not to say that I don't look longingly at the Gibsons and Simon Patricks on the wall when I'm in the store.

Is anything really made up of zeros and ones??

alvee33's Website

  • Zurf
  • Zurf
  • Blunt but well meaning moderator
  • Offline
  • From: Virginia, USA
  • Registered: 2007-06-27
  • Posts: 7,522

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

Well if you're going down that road Alvee, my current guitar and the guitar I gave my daughter were both free.  I was helping a widowed friend planning to remarry clear out his house in preparation for moving to a new house with his new bride.  Well, in the back of one of his closets there were a bunch of guitars from his late wife's former boyfriend.  Not surprisingly, he didn't want them.  I got three.  Gave one to my daughter, one to my sister, and kept one for myself.  My sister's going to give the one I gave her back to me because she got a banjo and a better guitar and so never plays the one I gave her. 

How's that for a deal considering I'm not a Scot and can't get blood from a turnip no matter how hard I try.

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude
  • From: Renfrewshire, Scotland
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 1,359

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

lol

That's the stuff. The way I see it, most folk start playing because the get gifted a guitar or their mates play so they get a duffer and start messing about for the fun of it. I don't know anyone who says to themselves - right, I'm gonna learn the guitar so I better go and spend a few hundred samolians.

Turnips are best cooked rare, with the blood still oozing! lol

Is anything really made up of zeros and ones??

alvee33's Website

  • Zurf
  • Zurf
  • Blunt but well meaning moderator
  • Offline
  • From: Virginia, USA
  • Registered: 2007-06-27
  • Posts: 7,522

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

Now that I think of it, the new guitar I ordered just yesterday is as good as free.  I did my turn in the barrel at work and pushed through some pretty shoddy work to make it not as shoddy any more.  Still not good, but not as bad.  Well, a couple of the big shots at work appreciated it and are buying the guitar for me out of their pocket.  They're doing the right thing and notifying payroll as a work bonus, so I'll have to pay some income taxes on it, but that shouldn't be more than $40.  Then I'll have four guitars in my basement with a fifth coming, and have paid for only one of them (the electric I never play- go figure).   I'll probably be selling the electric to help pay for a better acoustic.  I'm just not made for electric guitar.  Maybe I should change my name to Guitar George like the Dire Straights song. 

A friend of mine is a Scot transplanted to West Virginia.  He agreed to teach me to cast with a flyrod.  We stopped for some drinks on the way to the water and he was pinching his coin so hard as he was turning it over to the clerk that I swear I heard it crying. 

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude

9 Reply by trippy (edited by trippy 2007-08-30 19:10:10)

  • Registered: 2007-03-21
  • Posts: 43

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

alvee33 wrote:

lol

I don't know anyone who says to themselves - right, I'm gonna learn the guitar so I better go and spend a few hundred samolians.

Well, i know its not the point of the topic,

but thats the way i started about 7 months back, i went to the toy shop to buy a birthday gift and saw a small guitar, not a good one, but a real one...
and i thought by my self: i want to learn guitar....  smile  what i dident do whas spend a few hunderd samolians....

  • From: Belfast, Northern Ireland
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 338

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

If you really want to hit cheap then there is a £19 , 3/4 size classical style guitar at Argos which will let you start to finger the frets.

Farther up the scale - I recently got a "Freshman" semi-acoustic ( sitka top, mahogany b&s - with m.o.p. inlay and purfling !) for £ 175. The sound fairly bounces out when played acousticly and I am very pleased with the instrument..

"What's so funny 'bout peace, love and understandin' ."    Elvis Costello

alansheeran's Website

  • BigRig
  • Junior Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2007-08-21
  • Posts: 2

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

I just started recently myself, I spent around 200.00 for a used, but looks  Brand New Johnson JD16 with case, and I am so glad I did.
I will spend more in the future, but I will always keep this one, as it sounds great and it's my first.


Big Rig,
____________________________

Trust No Living Soul,
And walk softly around the dead.

  • Registered: 2007-09-05
  • Posts: 9

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

As someone who has played for a lot of years ithink the range of acoustics and electrics for that matter that are great value and very playable is quite amazing. I suppose we have the chinese to thank for that. I used to own a guitar shop some years ago and the beginer level guitars are now much better quality than they were say 10 years ago and 1000% better than 30years ago. My best advice if you are buying from a shop is take someone with you that can play reasonably well and forget what it says on the headstock and open your ears.

  • From: south africa
  • Registered: 2007-07-20
  • Posts: 135

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

alvee33 wrote:

Maybe it's just me but I don't think the prices you've mentioned are all that cheap. My first guitar cost £7 from a church sale, my next cost me about £50 and is now onto it's 3rd owner.

I agree alvee, The 500 mentioned  would set you back r7000 here in sa. The washburn and ibanez are considered good guitars here by us. But still I love my yamaha. It's 20 years old and sounds as good as ever.

  • Registered: 2007-09-01
  • Posts: 15

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

Per the advice of several folks, I nabbed a Taylor Big Baby. List $500ish but payed $375 on Ebay ($325 + $50 insured shipping). It was brand new, and I got the case (soft) a stand and an electric tuner with the deal as well. I am very please. Incredible sound for such a lightweight box! And real nice action which makes it easy on new/tender fingers! ;-)

H

  • From: BELGIUM
  • Registered: 2007-01-27
  • Posts: 3,403

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

Yes, I tried the baby taylor. AMAZING. What a sound. I believe, even small, it is worth his price.
I have a Martin Backpacker, producing a very strange sound, you can compare it to a mix of guitar-banjo-mandolin, and I tried it using a mic: amazing sound, but IMPOSSIBLE to play sitting.
BIG MISTAKE MARTIN MAKERS.
About the prices I wrote down: they are all in US dollar.
My currency is ALSO NOT A DOLLAR, but EURO. Try the XE currency converter.

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

gitaardocphil's Website

  • Registered: 2007-05-31
  • Posts: 3

Re: Question: The best beginners guitar, I help to give an ANSWER...

Try the Yamaha pacifica series for good cheap electric guitars. Personally I agree with Alvee. For acoustic beginners, getting a decent guitar that can hold tune is more than enuf to start with.