Good Beginner Acoustic Guitars

For some strange reason, you want to start playing guitar. You're really looking forward to getting those fingertips callused and jamming out massive riffs of pure guitar delight. Or you've always wanted to be able to play and sing your favorite songs.

If not you, your son or daughter is just begging you to buy them a guitar. Sure, everyone's into Guitar Hero, but they want the real thing. Or maybe their taste in music is a little more mellow and they want to learn how to fingerpick an acoustic guitar.

I got my first guitar when I was 13 or 14. When I was 12 I made a guitar out of a cardboard box that had a wood grain pattern and rubber bands. I actually tried to play the thing. That gave my parents a clue that I was pretty interested in having a guitar.

My first guitar was a $25.00 Sears Silvertone. I'm fairly sure I didn't do a very good job of keeping the thing in tune not only because it probably couldn't keep tuned anyway, but because electronic tuners didn't exist yet. I think the first song I ever learned was Arlo Guthrie's "Comin' Into Los Angeles."

Lucky for all of us, beginner guitars have improved greatly. Read on to get some recommendations for that special first guitar.

This guitar gets rave reviews wherever I've looked. It's a full size 42" guitar, so not recommended for a child under 11, although it's really dependent on the size of your child. Many reviewers write about purchasing for a child or teen and report that they love it.

Jasmine is Takamine's low cost guitar line. For a beginner guitar, the combination of price and quality puts this guitar at the top of my list.

"A remarkable value, the S35 Jasmine by Takamine features a spruce top with nato back and sides. Full body binding, chrome machines, and an adjustable neck are combined in one very playable dreadnought. The satin finish maximizes resonance."

This is a full size 41" guitar by a company named Austin Bazaar. They make a variety of low priced musical instruments, including small guitars, violins, electric guitars, even a clarinet and trumpet. This guitar is also available as a cutaway model for about $20 more. For the price, you almost can't go wrong. Most of the reviews are very positive for this very inexpensive guitar.

"This is a 41" Full Size guitar for the beginner to intermediate user. Suggested Retail for this item is $249.99, without the accessories. The guitar features: - Solid Spruce Top, Mahogany Colored Back and Sides with white trim, Rosewood Fretboard and Bridge, Dot Inlay on Fretboard, Stainless Diecast Tuning Pegs, Traditional Headstock w/ Inlay, Fully Bound with Abalone Trim on Perimeter, Mahogany Neck with Truss RodIt includes the following accessories. A $25 value, absolutely free: Free Nylon Gig Bag and Free Strap. The Steel String Acoustic Guitar is perhaps the most versatile and common guitar type. The Steel String Acoustic Guitar has a loud, bright ringing tone that clearly projects to the listener.

"This type of guitar is the backbone of most country and bluegrass bands. It's perfect for backing a singer and its stylistic palette encompasses everything from New Age and Country Blues, to hot Bluegrass flatpicking, jazz fusion and "unplugged" rock. Sound, beauty and price were all blended together when this guitar was created. From the deep, warm tones of the Mahogany back and sides to the loud, bright projection of the Solid Spruce top you'll never want to play anything else after you've put your hands one one of these guitars."

Washburn has been building high quality acoustic guitars since 1883. This is their least expensive model, going for $199.00 on Amazon. According to one of the reviewers this price also includes a hard shell case coming from Musicians Friend. On the Washburn site, they list this guitar at over $499.00.

This award winning guitar is recommended for beginner and intermediate players who don't want to spend alot of cash on a guitar but are looking for solid quality.

"The World's Best Selling Acoustic Guitar earned the distinction with superior craftsmanship, tone and value. Voted Number 1 by Acoustic Guitar magazine as the best guitar under $500. This beautiful Dreadnought features: solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, 20 frets, Nato neck, Sonokelin fingerboard and bridge and chrome Grover style tuning machines."