Which Guitar to Buy to Start ?

It's decided. You have chosen to learn to play the guitar! This is great news, so you start looking for a guitar to start playing, but you quickly find yourself faced with two existential questions. The first question: what budget should you put into this purchase? The second question: what type of guitar should you buy? You discover that there are guitars with nylon strings, others in metal and also, there are electric guitars! Don’t let these questions deter you. There is only positive things ahead for you if you continue exploring your options.

What Budget for a Good Beginner Guitar

Buying your first guitar is always a passionate, important purchase; you look for the best possible instrument for your budget. In general, the beginner will spend from 100 to 500€ for a first guitar. In this price range it is possible to find very good models, especially in acoustic guitars (classical and folk guitars).

Classical guitars are probably the best placed in terms of quality/price ratio, thanks to the pressure of the competition and the demand for this type of guitar via music school students. Manufacturers are competing to offer good models at low prices. Yamaha, Suzuki, Kremona or Almansa offer exceptional guitars for less than 300€; these are guitars that you can keep for a long time.

Spend More than 500€ for a Nice First Guitar?

Of course you are free to do what you want with your budget, however I don't recommend investing an exorbitant amount of money for your first guitar. Indeed, your ear, your musical sensitivity and also your range will develop with practice. Your ear and your fingers will be able to define the type of sound you are looking for precisely, and this might be absolutely impossible for your first purchase. It is therefore preferable to acquire a study guitar and then evolve towards a guitar that will correspond to your musical universe.

The Classical Guitar

This acoustic guitar uses nylon strings (or sometimes carbon and fluorocarbon materials). It is the type of guitar recommended by music conservatories. It is also a good guitar to play classical styles and bossa nova, but also songs. It is very versatile. It is not very adapted to playing rock (even if it is of course possible). There are also amplified versions (electro-acoustic), but for this you will have to add the price of an amplifier and cables, in addition to the guitar. It really is up to you. While it isn’t recommended to initially spend a fortune on your first guitar, it isn’t the end of the world. Say, for example, that you buy a first guitar and it is expensive. The worst case scenario is that you don’t want to play guitar anymore; you can just sell it. On the plus side, if you love it, you already have a fantastic guitar!

The Folk Guitar

The same idea applies to the folk guitar as it does for the classical guitar. The folk guitar, because it is an acoustic musical instrument, its specificity is in the fact that it uses metal strings, which produces a very different sound than the classical guitar. This guitar can be very painful on the fingers but if you do a little research, you can find guitar strings that are easier to play with minimal pressure on the fingers. The folk guitar has a sound that corresponds to playing more folk, pop, rock and blues styles of songs while remaining in an "unplugged" universe.Some versions have a cutout in the bottom of the body, this allows easy access to high notes.

The Electric Guitar

This type of guitar produces a very recognizable sound and requires the purchase of an amplifier, also known as amp. Accessorily it is sometimes possible to use it directly with headphones with specialized adapters. While this type of guitar is heavily associated with rock music, it isn’t limited to playing only this type of music. There are many funk, heavy metal, all types of jazz (bossa nova, bebop, traditional) guitar players that prefer electric guitars.

Listening to your Heart to Choose your First Guitar

In summary, to choose the right model to start, listen to your heart, let your emotions speak, the beauty of the object and the sound emitted must 'speak' to you. If this is the case, this is the first guitar you need!