Finding the best acoustic guitar can be a difficult task, especially with how timeless this instrument is and how many gems there are in the world today. If you are new to guitars, we understand exactly how important it is for you to choose the best guitar that not only suits all your needs but can also be the perfect match for your wallet. That is why we have this list to show you the best 10 beginner acoustic guitars that are affordable.
Yamaha FG800 Solid Top Acoustic Guitar
Starting off our list, this one is a six-string model that will perfectly suit the needs of a broad range of guitarists to cover many bases as the guide begins. The reviews out there are tremendous with this one, and the reputation it has helps back up our decision.
It is quality built, made of Sitka spruce that creates smooth tones with a slightly slow reply. It feels great in the player’s hands thanks to its fine shape and light weight. The bridge, overlay headstock and fingerboard are made of solid rosewood with a glossy finish, while the body binding is designed in an interesting black and white combination.
Taylor GS Mini Acoustic Guitar
You could call the new GS Mini a travel guitar, but that would be selling it way, um, short. A scaled-down version of Taylor’s GS (Grand Symphony)-shaped acoustic, the GS Mini loses 51mm off the scale length and just 86mm off the overall length of its big brother.
Furthermore, there’s approximately 48mm less width and just 5mm less depth. The build quality, meanwhile, is exceptional. There’s a solid Sitka top along with Sapele back and sides, a Sapele neck (affixed to the body via Taylor’s NT system) and a West African ebony fingerboard. There’s also some nice aesthetic touches, such as a three-ring rosette and three-layer purfling, which give the Mini the appearance of a more expensive, full-size instrument.
Fender FA-100 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar
Choosing a guitar when you’re a beginner is always tricky, but Fender has created the best option yet. A smooth and attractive design paired with a protective glossy finish that comes at an amazingly affordable price?
Is that all that Fender has to offer? Nope! It just keeps getting better and better! The Fender FA-100 comes packed with outstanding features like a quarter Swan X-bracing, laminated spruce top, and a perfectly compensated saddle to top it all off. The FA 100 is a full-size dreadnought guitar specifically designed for beginners. The strings are close to the fret which means it’s easier to play.
Seagull S6 Original Acoustic Guitar
This guitar is equally as good for experienced players as it is beginners who are learning the guitar for the first time – the Seagull S6. It’s a good-looking steel-string acoustic that’s popular with guitarists of all abilities, due to its comfort, playability and sound quality.
There’s a hand-finished, fat silver leaf maple neck, with a good rosewood fretboard and 21 frets, as well as a distinctive tapered headstock. The sound is lovely – excellent projection and very dynamic with a good mid-range. It’s certainly not a budget option, but it’s still very affordable and will accompany you for decades of playing.
Takamine GD93-NAT Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar
Takamine’s GD93 is a dreadnaught style steel string acoustic. It has a solid spruce top with rosewood sides. The back is really special with a three piece rosewood-quilted maple-rosewood design. The looks are helped further along with abalone fret markers, rosewood headcap, maple purfling, gold hardware, and a dark wood rosette.
The neck is mahogany with a rosewood fingerboard. Takamine’s split saddle design is also incorporated into this guitar helping it to maintain its intonation. The tone is bright with plenty of string definition. The slim neck profile is comfortable and fast. This is a great guitar for playing country style licks or strumming lush chords along with the rest of the band.
Fender Newporter Player
The Newporter Player features a medium-size, rounded cutaway body with a solid spruce top and back, sides and neck crafted from mahogany and a walnut fingerboard and bridge. Scalloped x-bracing offers lively, dynamic tone and impressive volume output, and the built-in Fishman classic pickup /preamp system provides bass, treble and volume controls plus a tuner.
A generous cutaway makes it easy to play all the way up the neck, making the Newporter ideal for guitarists who like to play acoustic lead lines. What’s more, it looks extremely cool in all four of its gloss poly finish options—Candy Apple Red, Champagne, Jetty Black and Rustic Copper.
Washburn WLO12SE Guitar – Natural
The Washburn Woodline WLO12SE is an affordably-priced acoustic-electric based on the Martin OM body style. The model boasts a mahogany top and laminate mahogany back and sides, and its deep, rich color is augmented by rosewood binding, light pinstriping and a gloss finish.
But the WLO12SE is more than just a looker: There’s a slim C profile neck (also mahogany) with a sleek satin feel, a 20-fret rosewood fingerboard and a NuBone string nut and saddle. Both plugged in and natural, the guitar sounds punchy and powerful, with the reduced Sitka spruce bracing allowing the top to vibrate more freely, and adding clarity and cut to the more mellow mahogany tones. A unique twist on the standard acoustic, and worth every penny.
Epiphone AJ-210CE Acoustic/Electric Outfit
The Epiphone AJ-210CE boasts exceptional playability and performance. The spruce top is bold and bright, while the big body offers rich bass and bell-like treble tone with a clear midrange. The traditional western cutaway, meanwhile, allows easy access to the uppermost frets.
The guitar has great construction, including a SlimTaper D-profile mahogany neck, back and sides, and a rosewood fretboard with pearloid dots. It also sounds great plugged-in, courtesy of the onboard Shadow Performer tuner/preamp, which sports a two-band EQ, built-in tuner, volume and phase controls and a low-battery indicator light. A NanoFlex under-saddle pickup ensures the woody tones translate faithfully through your amp or PA. All-in-all, jumbo tone and appointments for a tiny price.
Jasmine S35 Acoustic Guitar, Natural
This is a dreadnought guitar with a great look and a resounding, bold sound. Its one of the best guitars for its price because it has more features than a lot of popular guitars. This is a well-built guitar that is easy to play. It comes with a spruce top and agathis back and sides which add to its beauty. It is a versatile, convenient, and durable musical tool that can be used for extended periods of time.
It has a satin neck finish which not only looks great but maximizes resonance for optimal sound quality and easy playability. Its bridge and fingerboards are made of rosewood and so are its chrome tuners and body binding. It has a rosewood fretboard, laminated nato back and sides and a satin finish. The satin finish gives more natural acoustic sounds than most other glossy finished guitars.
Yamaha NTX700C Acoustic Electric Classical Guitar
The NTX700C might be a classical guitar, but with its narrower neck, radius’d fingerboard and 14 frets to the body, the instrument handles like a steel-string. Complementing its modern, hybridized design is a single cutaway and an oval soundhole which, in place of a traditional rosette, sports an artsy, red-triangle pattern design.
The overall construction is sleek and spotless, with the guitar’s solid cedar top and nato back and sides outlined in black and white binding. There’s also a nato neck and rosewood fingerboard with side dot markers. Additionally, the NTX is outfitted with an A.R.T. 2-way pickup/preamplifier system, with a three-band EQ, tuner and master volume.
