Finding the best acoustic guitar for beginners isn’t that easy. There are tons of good beginner guitars that will make learning how to play easier, so how are you supposed to pick which one is right for you?
That’s where we come in. In this beginner guitar review, we compare the most popular acoustic guitars for players who are just starting out. We look at the features, build quality, pros, and cons of each guitar, so you can figure out which one is right for you.
Believe me when I say, learning guitar is one of the most satisfying things that you can do. Starting out can be tough though. That’s why you need to get the right guitar. Whether you are young or old, beginning on the right acoustic guitar will help you quickly learn, bypass the frustration, and start jamming in no time.
Let’s look at some of the top-rated beginner acoustic guitars that will speed up the learning process and get your playing.
Click Below to Compare the Top Beginner Acoustic Guitars in 2021
Contents
- 1 Click Below to Compare the Top Beginner Acoustic Guitars in 2021
- 2 What We Recommend and Why
Here is a list of the best acoustic guitars for beginner guitarists that will help you learn how to play faster and make you feel like a rockstar right away.
- Taylor Academy 12e
- Seagull S6
- Yamaha FG830
- Fender CC-60SCE
- Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat
- Yamaha APX600 BL
- Bristol BD-16
- Alvarez Artist Series AD30
- Epiphone DR-100
- Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought
Taylor Academy 12e
Specs, features, and benefits
The Taylor Academy 12e has a grand concert body type made out of Solid Sitka Spruce top and layered Sapele back and sides. It has a sapele neck and ebony fretboard with twenty frets. The hardware on the guitar consists of ebony bridge, compensated bone “Nubone” TusQ nut, Micarta saddle, and standard Chrome tuning machines.
The Taylor Academy 12e guitar is an electro-acoustic one, which means you can plug it in on the fly. It has ES-B electronics. The preamp system has control knobs for Volume and Tone and a built-in tuner. It runs on two lithium batteries, which you can charge with the 6V power supply adaptor that comes with the guitar.
The guitar also comes with a gig bag! It feels very nice and soft on the hand, and sounds incredibly good!
Pros and Highlights
- Great on the hands – The guitar neck feels very nice on the hands – it won’t back you off from the guitar experience!
- Amazing sound – Due to the design of the body, and the wood choices, the Academy 12e by Taylor sounds amazing.
- Good for gigging – Yeah, just plug & play. The ES-B pick-up sounds great!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
It doesn’t matter if you are a complete beginner or a seasoned player, you will absolutely love the Taylor Academy 12e. It is a great-sounding guitar, with awesome sound, beautiful looks, and a great preamp system. Every single owner of this guitar is satisfied with the performance of this beauty!
Seagull S6
Specs, features, and benefits
The Seagull S6 is a very good example of what this little brother of Godin actually produces. The Seagull S6 is a dreadnought style guitar with a body made out of Solid Cedar top, and wild cherry back and sides. The neck of the guitar is made out of Silver Leaf maple and sports a rosewood fingerboard with twenty-one frets. The body of the guitar is finished in a light semi-gloss finish, while the neck is finished in matte, which adds to the smooth feel of the neck.
The hardware on the guitar consists of rosewood bridge, synthetic saddle, Tusq nut, and set of really good tuning machines. Due to the design on the body, and the good tonewoods used on the guitar, the Seagull S6 sounds very powerful and clear, rich, warm, and it has a good amount of sustain.
Pros and Highlights
- Amazing craftsmanship – The guitar is designed and crafted in North America with great attention to detail.
- The sound of the guitar… – It just speaks for itself. The guitar sounds amazing! You are hardly ever going to get this kind of sound with another guitar at this price.
- Great hardware – The tuning heads hold the tune much better than any guitar at this price point. The bridge, the saddle, and the nut are of high-quality too!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
If you are considering buying a dreadnought guitar, you must try out this one too! The chances are you will fall in love with it. The Seagull S6 is a very well constructed guitar, with top-quality woods and great hardware. The sound of this guitar will make any guitarist of any level starting to think about getting this guitar. Great guitar with unbeatable sound at this price-point!
Yamaha FG830
Specs, features, and benefits
The Yamaha FG series was first introduced in the sixties, and since then they are the top-selling acoustic guitars in the world due to their low cost, sturdily built and great tone. The Yamaha FG830 is a dreadnought body shape guitar with a Solid Sitka Spruce top, and rosewood back and sides. This is why this guitar sounds like it is of a much higher price.
The neck of the guitar is built out of nato mahogany and sports a rosewood fingerboard with twenty frets. The bridge on the guitar is also made out of rosewood, while the saddle and the nut are made out of Urea material. On the headstock, there are six chrome die-cast tuning machines that hold the tune of the strings just fine. Due to the Solid Sitka Spruce top, and the Rosewood back and sides, the Yamaha FG830 has a warm, resonant sound with a solid amount of sustain.
Pros and Highlights
- Great sound! – The Yamaha FG830 is one of the best sounding guitars (if not the best sounding) in this price range.
- Smooth neck – The neck of the guitar is very comfortable and smooth.
- High-quality built – The Yamaha FG830 has a scalloped bracing and high-quality tonewoods, and neck wood. It is built with great attention to detail. In fact, this is why it sounds so good.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- It will need a set-up by a luthier – Of course, most of the newly bought guitars need a set-up right away, and it is best to be done by a professional.
Bottom line
In this price range, the Yamaha FG830 sits high on the list. It has a great, balanced and warm sound due to its design and the tonewoods that are used. It’s a sturdy-built guitar, which will last you decades. If you want to improve your Yamaha FG830 we recommend changing the hardware on the guitar, like the saddle and the nut. However, the guitar plays and sounds nice right out of the factory. Great guitar for the price!
Fender CC-60SCE
Specs, features, and benefits
The Fender CC-60SCE is a concert size guitar with a single cutaway. The body of the guitar is made out of Solid Spruce top, and Mahogany back and sides. The neck of the guitar is made out of mahogany, and it sports a rosewood fingerboard with twenty frets. The neck is finished in gloss urethane finish, which makes moving through the neck – a pleasure.
The CC-60SCE has a standard rosewood bridge, chrome die-cast tuners, compensated bone nut, and pearloid pickguard. Speaking of hardware, the CC-60SCE by Fender has Fishman electronics pick-up and preamp system, which sounds good at its price, and has proven over the years to be extremely durable. The guitar feels very smooth; it plays nice and sounds great. The Fender CC-60SCE is also available in a left-handed guitar version.
Pros and Highlights
- Affordable! – The price always plays a big role when deciding on buying an instrument. Well, Fender decided to make guitar players happy with this one!
- Great design – The smaller size of the body (concert), is great for beginners.
- Awesome sound – Great mid-range! Crystal clear highs!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Some say it lacks lows – However, this is a matter of taste. If this is making you think about whether it would fit your style of playing – just go to your local guitar store and try it before you buy it!
Bottom line
Affordable, great sounding guitar – the Fender CC-60SCE might be the perfect beginner guitar. The body is a concert-type one, which means that it is smaller, and will fit even the youngest ones. The guitar sounds good due to the design and the wood choice, and the fact that it has built-in pick-up and preamp system, it makes the guitar perfect for intermediate players, not only beginners.
Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat
Specs, features, and benefits
If you are into punk rock, you already know who Tim Armstrong is. But if you are not, you should look him up and see his impact on music. Well, you guessed it – the Tim Armstrong Hellcat is an Artist Series Fender guitar. The body of the guitar is made out of Solid Mahogany top, and laminated Mahogany back and sides. It has a scalloped X bracing. The C-shaped neck of the guitar is made out of maple, and it has a fingerboard made out of walnut with nineteen frets.
It has a rosewood bridge, “Nubone” nut and saddle, and vintage-style tuning machines. The Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat guitar has built-in Fishman Isys III pick-up and pre-amp system. The guitar has a warm and rich sound due to the good tonewoods, and when plugged-in that tone stays natural through the Fishman preamp. With a little tweaking on the preamp controls, every ear can be satisfied. The Tim Armstrong Hellcat is available in a left-handed version too!
Pros and Highlights
- Sounds great – Both plugged-in and unplugged!
- Feels nice – Smaller body with great design, awesome neck – suitable for every player;
- Great for singer-songwriters – Tim Armstrong himself uses this guitar frequently to write music. The rich and warm tone inspires!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
Beginner, or an experienced player – you will love the Tim Armstrong Hellcat by Fender. It sounds very nice, it feels great, it has a built-in pick-up system, and it has beautiful looks. You probably can’t go wrong with this one, folks! This guitar rocks!
Yamaha APX600 BL
Specs, features, and benefits
Yamaha first introduced ABX series in the late eighties, and they instantly became hit with electric guitar players due to the comfortable thinline neck design and great sound.
The Yamaha ABX600BL is an electro-acoustic guitar with a single cutaway body made of spruce top, and mahogany neck, back, and sides. It has a rosewood fingerboard and bridge, and twenty-two easily accessible frets. It has urea saddle and nut, and chrome die-cast tuners.
The body and the neck of the guitar are thinner than the standard dreadnought guitars; this makes the guitar very comfortable for performing. Under the bridge there is a piezo pick-up with System 65A Preamp, so you can plug in. On the control panel of the preamp, there is three-band EQ controls, volume control knob, and a built-in tuner. The preamp runs on two AA batteries.
Pros and Highlights
- This is a “gigging” guitar – Yeah, just plug in and play guitar. Due to the awesome pick-up system, you can plug in the amp/mixer and play venues, stages, etc.
- Great sound – The Yamaha APX600 sounds great both unplugged and plugged-in, due to the great tonewood/great pick-up system;
- Very comfortable – Those guitarists who play electric guitar most of the time will fall in love with this acoustic. The neck is actually very similar to the one the electric guitars have, thin and comfortable.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- It might be small for you – If you have really big hands, this guitar is not a great fit for you. It works for many guitarists, but definitely not for everybody. Those with ultra-big hands should just continue reading the list.
Bottom line
The Yamaha APX600 BL is a great guitar for playing plugged into the amp/sound system. It sounds nice unplugged too, but the real magic with this guitar happens you plug it in. It is a great, comfortable guitar, with balanced sound, and very good hardware. Great value for the money.
Bristol BD-16
Specs, features, and benefits
The Bristol by Blueridge BD-16 is a dreadnought style acoustic guitar with great tone and affordable price. The body of the BD-16 is made out of a laminated Spruce top, and laminated Mahogany back and sides. However, don’t let this fool you.
If I didn’t tell you, you would not notice that the top is not made out of solid wood by looking of the guitar, if you are not expert, of course. The guitar sounds awesome!
The neck of the guitar is made out of mahogany and sports a rosewood fretboard with twenty frets. The bridge on the guitar is made out of rosewood, while the saddle and the nut are made out of compensated bone material. The tuning machines are standard chrome die-cast ones, but they do their job pretty good.
Pros and Highlights
- Affordable! – Still, it will take you some time to outgrow this guitar if you are a beginner.
- Great sound – The BD-16 sounds awesome with every style of playing. It sounds rich, warm, and pretty well balanced.
- Nice neck – The neck is a very important part of a guitar. Especially if you are just starting out, you want to play something like the BD-16 – a guitar with a smooth neck that won’t back you off from the experience of playing guitar.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
The Bristol BD-16 is an awesome entry-level guitar. It sounds very nice, it feels good, and it is an affordable one – a perfect combination for a first guitar. If you want to test the waters and try playing guitar, you can’t go wrong with the Bristol BD-16.
Alvarez Artist Series AD30
Specs, features, and benefits
With a dreadnought body made out of solid Sitka Spruce top and laminated Mahogany back and sides, the Alvarez AD30 sounds way above its price. The neck of the guitar is made out of mahogany, and it features a rosewood fingerboard with twenty frets. The whole guitar is finished in natural semi-gloss finish.
The hardware of the guitar consists of Alvarez rosewood bridge, nut, and saddle made out of a real bone, and six chrome die-cast tuning machines with a vintage look. The sound of the guitar is perfectly balanced, rich, and clear. The Alvarez AD30 guitar is the perfect guitar for beginners, but it will also shine in the hands of an experienced guitar player.
Pros and Highlights
- Great sound – The sound of the Alvarez AD30 is rich and very well balanced;
- Awesome neck – The profile of the neck is wide enough for every hand size – great both for your little nephew and for your grandpa. Very playable neck!
- Great price – Not the cheapest one, but a fairly affordable guitar. It fits perfectly a budget for a beginner guitar.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
Great beginner guitar. It has a balanced, warm, and rich sound. Feels smooth on the hands. The hardware is very nice. It will probably last you a lifetime if you don’t jump on it and break it. Looks beautiful. It will sound great in the hands of an experienced guitar player too! This guitar is definitely a bang for the buck!
Epiphone DR-100
Specs, features, and benefits
The Epiphone DR-100 is the best-seller Epiphone acoustic guitar. It is very affordable, it comes for less than a hundred and fifty dollars, which makes this guitar very beginner-friendly. It is a dreadnought guitar with a Select Spruce body top, mahogany back and sides, and SlimTaper profile glued-on neck, made out of Okoume sporting a rosewood fingerboard.
The hardware on the guitar features a set of chrome die-cast tuning machines, rosewood bridge, and synthetic saddle and nut. The Epiphone DR-100 has an enhanced mid and high frequencies sound, and less low end, which results in bright and punchy sound.
Pros and Highlights
- Cheap – The Epiphone DR-100 is a cheap guitar. It comes for less than 150$!
- Beginner-friendly – The SlimTaper neck is perfect for those players with small hands and just starting out. It is easy to get a decent grip of the neck and progress fast with it.
- Nice sound – This guitar can be frequently seen played by performers at small venues. Just mic it up and go!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Sharp end frets – This doesn’t happen with every DR-100 guitar, but there are cases where the owners are not happy with the fretwork on the guitar. This is an opportunity to meet your local guitar repair guy; he might also do a proper setup for your Epiphone.
The best thing to do when buying a new guitar, of course, is the trying-before-buying method applied.
Bottom line
Try it before you buy it. The chances are you are going to get a really nice beginner guitar, for a very low price. It sounds good, it plays nicely, and it is very playable. If you are not an experienced guitar-guy maybe you should try bringing a guitarist friend on your shopping at the guitar store, to eliminate the chances of getting a dud. The Epiphone DR-100 is cheap, yet decent dreadnought guitar.
Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought
Specs, features, and benefits
The Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought is the cheapest guitar in this list. Still, it is a great beginner guitar. It has a body completely made out of laminated Whitewood, and neck made out of solid Nato wood. The neck is joined to the body at the fourteenth fret. The fingerboard sports twenty frets and it is made out of painted maple. The bridge is made out of painted maple too, while the saddle and the nut are made out of plastic.
It has six nickel sealed tuning machines. The sound of the guitar is not even close to a Martin, but hey, you can’t expect that kind of a sound at this price, right? However, for somebody that wants to try learning the guitar for the first time, the sound is pretty acceptable.
Pros and Highlights
- Cheap – The price of this guitar is extremely low. For the price, you can get a pretty decent pizza or a guitar… Imagine that!
- Nice looks – The guitar looks beautiful!
- Acceptable sound – If you were laying your hands on a guitar for the first time, the sound of the Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought would be fairly good to your ears.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Cheap made – Well, you can’t expect a guitar that sounds and plays beautifully for this price.
- It will probably need a setup right out of the box, and you can get sharp fret ends and stuff like that. If you can afford something better, you should stay away from this guitar. If you can’t afford something a bit pricier, and you want to learn the guitar so bad, go for it.
Bottom line
The Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought guitar is one of the cheapest guitars on the market. There are owners of this guitar who absolutely love it, but there are also ones who think that this guitar is absolute garbage. Well, you can’t expect a high-quality guitar for the price of the RA-090. But if you can’t afford something better, or you just want to test the waters of guitar playing without breaking the bank, the Rogue RA-090 might be a good idea.
What We Recommend and Why
We recommend the Fender CC-60SCE as a beginner guitar. It has an awesome sound, it is built with great attention to detail, it is fairly affordable, it feels nice on the hands, and it has a built-in pick-up/preamp system. It will be a great companion for many years. It is a great choice for a first guitar, but seasoned players will love it too. Great guitar with great sound!