Whilst I’m sure I could find something good when buying second hand, I really don’t know what I’m looking at and wouldn’t even be able to play one to confirm even the basics, so I think I’ll be going new.

Any thoughts on a Yamaha? In particular, the FG700S & FG720S?

I’ll second the Rocksmith recommendation. Bought myself a guitar and Rocksmith last christmas, really helped me stay motivated and its great fun.

I’ve played a few Yamahas. They have all played pretty well. I tried two in a shop recently. One with the new pickup that doesn’t need a battery at about 700e and another at about 350e. They were both on the quiet side and a bit short on bass unplugged but played great.

I never venture beyond fret 12 on an acoustic but if you intend to, a cut away is better. I’m not saying buy this, it’s just an example: Yamaha pan coupé

this has inspired me to dig out my guitar!

Anyone in edinburgh fancy a jam???

when you shove it in a cupboard never to be touched again a fortnight later

This

my advice is always the same

Choose a budget
Choose a guitar you like look of
Ask someone who plays to check out your choice
practice only 10 minutes a day – but do it every day
if you have friends or family don’t even start you wont learn if you have distractions
have a nice corner ready for when you give up, because you will give up.

other than that I wish you good luck

If you can get to a GuitarGuitar store their own Freshman range are excellent VFM (and even cheaper than their internet prices)

http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/acoustic_guitars.asp?brandname=Freshman
I was severly tempted by one then my wonderful wife suggested I could spend a bit more so I got a Breedlove Concert Pursuit.

Lots of good advice above. I’ll add that most acoustics come with medium gauge strings which can be damn hard to play. I’ve recently started playing acoustic after playing electric for years and I use light 10 gauge strings on the acoustic as the 12 gauge it came with were knackering my left hand. I’d suggest trying to get the guitar shop to change the strings to light gauge before setting the guitar up.

Way more important than the type of guitar is your level of commitment. Unless you are prepared to practise just about every day then don’t bother.

I hate to say it, but Cash Convertors often have decent starter acoustics for under £100 – ignore the new ones, look at the Arias, Yamahas etc. that show up.

If you can live with shopping there it’s well worth a look.

If you don’t mind spending a bit, head to your local music shop and let them guide you – or find a friend to help.

Way more important than the type of guitar is your level of commitment. Unless you are prepared to practise just about every day then don’t bother.

It doesn’t have to be a chore. I agree the more you put in the more you get out obviously, but you’ll get plenty out of it without being Gordon Giltrap.

I didn’t say you can’t pick on a Dreadnought, but they aren’t ideal for it ergonomically speaking (and the tone isn’t great for finger picking IMO either as they are designed to be a big, loud strummy thing!). Personally I would be looking for something more versatile and as skill improves and direction starts to take form then looking to buy something as suited as possible to the stuff being played.

Just to complicate matters: think about whether you would want a cut-away for better access to the upper frets. I would suggest that if you have aspirations to play anything rock-ish it would be useful to have one (in practical terms, this probably means you’ll end up with an electro-acoustic).

For me, it was a bigh step forward in comfort to get rid of my dreadnought and get a folk sized guitar instead. I found it much more pleasant to play, and easier to cart around.

I found that there was a huge choice of good guitars in the £150 – £200 price range. I got a Freshman Renegade, but was very impressed by the LAG Tramontane T66A. Also good were the Tanglewood Discovery, a “Richwood” brand guitar and Sigma (if you have big hands) or Seagull (for a bit higher price). The Yamaha APX400 felt good, but sounded a bit dead. Yamaha’s do seem to have very consistent quality control and play well, though.

Pick one you like the look of – it will encourage you to practice 🙂

Oh, and a big +1 for Justin Sandercoe’s Beginner’s Course – it’s completely free, but nevertheless truly excellent.

Just to complicate matters: think about whether you would want a cut-away for better access to the upper frets. I would suggest that if you have aspirations to play anything rock-ish it would be useful to have one (in practical terms, this probably means you’ll end up with an electro-acoustic).

Yes, the cutaway lookslike a good idea. They seem to only come on the electro-acoustics, is that typical?

Yes, the cutaway lookslike a good idea. They seem to only come on the electro-acoustics, is that typical?

Yes, unless you start spending loads of money.