So you want to learn to play guitar and you open up your browser to start looking for a new guitar and instantly get overwhelmed with all the options. There are a few things to consider when purchasing a new guitar.

First, do you want an acoustic or electric guitar? If you want acoustic, do you want the option of plugging it into the sound system someday because you’re hoping to play on the worship team? If so, you’ll need and acoustic-electric. We recommend starting with an acoustic or acoustic-electric guitar if you are a beginner. 

Second, Quality. You want a guitar that sounds good, is fun to play, stays in tune, and doesn’t break your bank account.

Third, the price, how much are you willing to spend? Obviously, and as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars either. Which is good news!

There are plenty of other things to consider when picking out your first guitar but these three are the main checks when picking out your guitar. There are four guitars that we think would be great for a beginner. These first two are just acoustic, meaning you cannot plug them into your church sound system. This is great if you just want to learn to play guitar so you can sing your favorite worship in your home or around a campfire. These are also good options if you just want to start slow into the hobby of playing guitar. You can always upgrade to a nicer guitar in the future!

 

Donner DAG 1C Beginner Acoustic Guitar

This is a great deal on a decent acoustic guitar. This package deal comes with everything you’ll need to get started, even a clip-on tuner! Awesome! Again, there are no electronics on this guitar so keep that in mind. For $135 though, it’s hard to beat this beginner guitar pack.

Yamaha FG830 Solid Top Folk Guitar

If you’re wanting to have a boost in quality, Yamaha makes really nice guitars for not a lot of money. This model comes in at $299, it’s good quality, and sounds great! There are no electronics in this one, this is just a nice acoustic-only guitar.  This guitar does not come with anything, not even a case or gig bag, so there will be an extra expense to keep it protected in a case. They offer a bundle that comes with a case and everything you need to start playing for $413. They also have an acoustic-electric version of this guitar available for $469.

The next two guitars are acoustic-electric guitars. This means they will be able to plug into a sound system and be played over loudspeakers. 

Takamine GD51CE 

Takamine makes a great guitar. This budget model sounds amazing and also has a built-in tuner. This model is sold for $479, and you get just the guitar. You will need to purchase a case to protect it. Takamine guitars last a long time and are built really well!

Taylor 12e 

If you’re interested in playing acoustic guitar and you want a guitar that sounds amazing plugged in or acoustic, the Taylor 12e is a great option!  This model is the most expensive option in this post but this guitar is fun to play and you won’t ever need to upgrade (unless you want to, of course!). It costs $649 and comes with a built-in tuner and a soft gig bag.

Hopefully, this helps as you start to shop around for your new guitar. At the end of the day, you want to make sure you have a quality guitar that is fun to play, stays in tune, and doesn’t make your bank account drop to $0. So, grab an acoustic and we’ll see you in lesson 1!