beginner’s guide to buying the first guitar

By Spardha Learnings | April 15, 2024

1. Factors to Consider

● Size of Guitar

● Kind of Guitar

● Cutout

2. Additional Tips

3. Links to buy

Buying your first guitar is a special and thrilling experience.

Your first guitar will always be special for you because it will be your companion throughout the learning process.

This is why your first guitar should be perfect for you. And the experience of buying your first guitar should be easy.

This is why we have prepared this guitar-buying guide to help you start your beginner guitar classes.

While buying your first guitar, it’s common to have questions like:

what size guitar to buy,
acoustic or electric? Which one is better?
whether to buy a used or pre-loved instrument or to buy a new one?

While multiple variables can affect your buying decision, the most important thing is to find a guitar that sounds good, looks good, and feels good to play - to you.

There are three factors to consider while choosing your first guitar:

1. The size of your guitar:

When choosing a guitar, there are two aspects to consider: age and height. The chart below will help you choose the right guitar for you:

Guitar Size	Overall Length	Age	Child's Height
1/4	~ 30"	4-6 years	~ 3’9"
1/2	~ 34"	5-8 years	~ 4’3"
3/4	~ 36"	8-11 years	~ 4’8"
7/8	~ 39"	from 10 years	~ 5’1"
4/4	~ 40"	from 12 years	from 5’3"

2. Kinds of guitar:

There are three principal kinds of guitar:
a. Acoustic Guitar (with steel strings),
b. Electric guitar (with steel strings),
c. Classical guitar (with nylon strings).

Just for an absolute beginner who is just getting started with the guitar, it is always advisable to get an acoustic guitar with steel strings over any other choice.

3. Cutout:

Some acoustic guitars have a cutout. The cutout of the guitar helps the player reach more areas of the guitar fretboard and hence, the scope of playing more notes. So, as a beginner going for a guitar class, you should prefer a guitar with a cutout.

Additional Tips

Some additional tips to consider:

When starting your guitar classes, buying a costly guitar is never advisable. It is also to be considered that not always a popular brand will provide you with the best guitar choice.
While buying a guitar, getting some additional accessories is recommended. Buying a well-padded guitar carrying bag, a set of plectrums, a set of extra strings, and a capo is advisable.
Any damage or rupture on the bridge and the fretboard of the guitar should be checked. The Fretboard of the guitar should not be bent and the strings of the guitar should not be touching the fretboard.

Links to Buy:

Here are a few recommended guitars and guitar accessories for absolute beginners. You can order it from any e-commerce store or find the guitar in some offline store too.

Vault Junior 30-inch Acoustic Guitar for Kids: Best for kids of age below 8 years.

Link: https://amzn.eu/d/aNPOK1q

Kadence Acoustica 34” Acoustic Guitar: This guitar is the best travel guitar, it is compact and easy to carry. This can be used by adults too.

Link: https://amzn.eu/d/aYli4Zs

Yamaha F280 Acoustic Rosewood Guitar: This guitar is evergreen and brings the best sound on a budget. Considering the size, this is recommended to adults and kids above 12 years

Link: https://amzn.eu/d/eJrTtOF

Cort AF500C Standard Series Open Pore Cutaway Acoustic Guitar: Cort is a famous company that provides consistent sound and service to its audiences.

Link: https://amzn.eu/d/105xb9z

Kadence Guitar Slowhand Series: This guitar has premium specifications. This comes with an inbuilt pick-up and tuner that can be connected to amplifiers.

Link: https://amzn.eu/d/bL2Acxm