Any ideas? (beginner here…)

Thanks

It’s the same as buying a bike. Go to a local shop that knows their stuff, talk it through with them. Where do you live?

Yamaha. Widely available. Cranes in Cardiff is good 🙂

yamaha seconded – had mine 14 years now and still going strong. cost me 90 quid back then.

Freshman are another good brand for cheap beginners guitar

Another vote for Yamaha, can’t go wrong really. My F310 was £130, bargain-tastic

jhw
make sure you try before you buy – if you can’t play that well, get someone who can to go with you and try out the various guitars. Probably as important as sound is playability – if the shop will throw in a free set-up its woth a lot as most guitars are not set up correctly and that even goes for £1k+ guitars. If you can, go for solid wood including back and sides. Best value guitars IMHO are the Johnson/Recording King copies of US guitars (made in China), although I did have an issue with mine and had to eventually send it back. Otherwise try to stretch to the bottom of the range Taylor or Martin guitars – you’ll pay £400-£500 second hand but will not lose any money on these when you sell. Personally I’ve tried the Freshman guitars and didn’t really rate them. If I can help any further email me,
cheers
Here’s some examples on ebay at the moment. I know people will say that these are too expensive for a beginner but if you buy a cheap guitar it will simply put most people off playing:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Martin-00-15-Acoustic-Guitar-Original-Hard-Case-/280580154626?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item4153e16502
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MARTIN-D-15-ACOUSTIC-GUITAR-ORIGINAL-CASE-/280579140760?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item4153d1ec98

Also have a look at the Vintage V300 – sub £100, won all sorts of awards and widely available. I’ve had loads of acoustics and this one really is amazing value.

A little dinkier than some, so doesn’t have a massive, booming tone but plays beautifully.

I wouldn’t suggest a £500 guitar to a beginner!

I wouldn’t suggest a £500 guitar to a beginner!

Ha 🙂 look at the edit I just made to my post above!!
Oops – just realised it says specifically in the post that a cheap guitar is wanted – sorry !!
Do think though that if you buy a guitar for £130 you’re probably stuck with it. For £500 you get a quality guitar which is great to play and if you want to sell it 2 years down the line you get you’re money back on it…

£500 for a beginners guitar is madness like buying a titanium balance bike for your kid to learn on.
Best bet is take someone who can play. Cheapish guitars have some variability in sound IME. Not all are in tune for the entire fretboard for example. Look for a low action – strings near the fret board as this will make it easier to learn- get an automatic tuner as well.
I played a few under £1000 and bought the favourite sounding one – £350 in my case.

Thanks all – this is really helpful. I’ve found someone to go with. Cheers!

Do think though that if you buy a guitar for £130 you’re probably stuck with it.

don’t understand what you mean?

plus I can’t really afford to spunk £500 on a guitar TBH. Good quality guitars are lovely I’m sure, but for something that is essentially a hobby to keep from slumping on the sofa in front of the sanity assassin at night time, hardly a wise purchase. Some folk’s idea about what’s realistic needs a little fine tuning… (much like my guitar given what it sounded like this morning…) 😉

£500 for a beginners guitar is madness like buying a titanium balance bike for your kid to learn on.

Not really, I just think that most guitars that are cheap, sound awful and are very difficult to play. As in mountain bikes there is a price that you have to pay before you get a decent product that does the job.

Do think though that if you buy a guitar for £130 you’re probably stuck with it.

don’t understand what you mean?

I mean that most guitars for £130 aren’t worth buying (the exception being the Recording Kings/Johnsons). Spend some more £300-£400 for something decent or if you can stretch that far get a second hand US guitar for £500 which will not lose value and will give you lots of pleasure and make you want to play it every day.

Some folk’s idea about what’s realistic needs a little fine tuning…

Realistically, most guitars at the price range you recommend aren’t worth it..

Anyway, this is just my opinion and is based partly on my experience of buying a guitar which cost about £120 when I first started which I hated playing – always wished I’d bought something decent right from the start…

I learned on a £120 Yamaha, it was good. Quite playable.

Some cheap guitars are desperate, the £60 ones, but there is good entry level stuff out there for much less than £300.

“gimme any guitar, I’ll make it sound line me”

Keith Richards

“gimme any guitar, I’ll make it sound line me”

Keith Richards

Illustrates a point of misunderstanding on behalf of most people. Often the old acoustic blues players are highlighted as great musicians who used to play on battered old guitars. However, this wasn’t through choice but necessity. When many of the old blues players were re-discovered late in their career and began to receive some money, the first thing that most if not all of them did was to buy high end guitars. Like wise Richards plays a mix of fender and gibson guitars which are hardly budget models, despite joking that :”give me five minutes and I’ll make ’em all sound the same.”

Review of the recording king guitars:
http://www.performing-musician.com/pm/jan08/articles/recordingking.htm

I got a nice Tanglewood for £90 from route 66 in Stoke

Hitman we’ll have to agree to disagree I’m afraid. The idea that you have to spend £500 to get a decent guitar is laughable especially if you’re a beginer

Hitman we’ll have to agree to disagree I’m afraid. The idea that you have to spend £500 to get a decent guitar is laughable especially if you’re a beginer

no problem 🙂

Ibanez V70 is around £70 and works fine. Had mine for years and it still plays all 3 chords as well I as I need them to be played.
Good enough to learn on, cheap enough to bin a year or two down the line if you decide that you want/need something better.

at the cheap end of the market there is a lot more variability between the different guitars of the same model. so try a few.

I think you used to have to spend a bit (£500-ish) to get something decent but some of the £200-300 guitars these days are not half bad.

You probably will end up replacing a cheap guitar if you really get into playing but who gives a toss – it’s only a few hundred quid. Upgrade to a second-hand Larrivee or something when you’re ready for it.

PS – thomthumb has a good point there.

+1 for the Larrivee. I’m a lefty so have got used to having to spend more than most to get a good sound (and looks – they do matter a bit). My D03 is still my favourite. So comfortable to play and the tone just inspires you to play more and more.

If you’re just starting out (are right handed) and are deciding whether you’ll take to it in the long run, there is a huge range of guitars to choose from. A good retailer can make the difference in terms of buying experience, free set up and after sales care (where are you based?). People differ on what they prefer. At the cheaper end of the spectrum I’d suggest looking at Tanglewood, Norman, Simon & Patrick, Art & Lutherie. If you can spend a bit more the options really open up. If you’ve got an experienced friend with you, that’s great – just try not to let their own prejudices steer you too much. Your ears know what they like – trust them!

What I would say though is – if at all possible – go for a solid top as that’s where the majority of the tone is generated. You will get a much more rewarding and open sound. Laminate back and sides are no problem in the £200-300 range. If you can go up a bit higher then you’ll start seeing some all-solid bodies and much more choice. Most of all – enjoy your shopping!

I’d just say pick a budget and spend that. I would have no problem spending £500 on a ‘beginners’ guitar.

As mentioned abve you have to spend an amount of cash before you get to something that just works. Certainly guitars seem a lot better at lower cost these days.

I’m all for Takmine myself, not bad quality generally and I prefer the more middling tone rather than something ‘tingy’ like a taylor

Plum

If you’re looking online, the imuso bunch are really helpful and they do some really good deals on guitars and musical instruments
Acoustic Guitars

Anyway, this is just my opinion and is based partly on my experience of buying a guitar which cost about £120 when I first started which I hated playing – always wished I’d bought something decent right from the start…

Just because you made a mistake and bought the wrong guitar doesn’t mean you should force your opinion on someone else who can’t afford something swanky. There are good guitars out there in the £100-150 range, but you have to go and try them, ‘cos every instrument is different, even from the same maker. Just a change of strings can turn an instrument from a finger cramping nightmare to a light, enjoyable experience. I have a Sigma, which I bought many years ago for £100, which is a Martin designed far-East made Dreadnought. A friend bought his stepdaughter a Seagull some years ago, again for £100. A Canadian make, you can’t get one now for less than £4-500. Look online for music forum reviews, get hold of some guitar mags and look at reviews for instruments in your price bracket and make a note of names and models then find dealers and try them out. I’m no musician, but I have quite a few friends who are, and I’ve played (not very well) some lovely instruments. Taylor guitars I really like, and Martin, but I tried a Gibson Hummingbird and hated it, it was loud, but so damn difficult to fret because of the string weight and the height of the strings. That was a £1500 guitar, and just not nice to play, for me at any rate, which is why you must try as wide a range as possible. Don’t, whatever you do, discount second-hand either, many, many musicians buy and play second-hand guitars.
[edit] just done a very quick google search for ‘quality cheap acoustic guitars’, and found Skylark Guitars, in particular this one:
http://www.skylarkguitars.com/skylark-dreadnought-acoustic-guitar-2158-0.html
Solid Spruce top, £125. That has got to be worth checking out. A solid top matures and mellows as it ages, the tone generally getting a bit deeper and fuller.[/edit]

£125 for a solid top? Certainly not to be ignored. I believe the original question was ‘where’ can such good cheap guitars be found – I live near London so would normally go to Hanks in denmark St. as first port of call – they’ve always been pretty sound with me. Macari’s seem ok too. As for online (and great for Brum, Newcastle and Scotland) guitarguitar.com have a wide selection. For south coust try guitar junction (good website too). They seem to know their stuff an stock good stuff for all budgets – same for cranes in Cardiff by the castle.

As for second hand – always worth a shot but try before you buy, the. Go get a set up.

Got a yamaha something or other for the wife from Rocking Rooster. I like it, she likes it. All gravy baby.

I’ve bought one at Adertons Guitar shop, its quality is not bad and i like prices there.

I got a SH F310 on ebay for £67 posted, it’s mint, sounds good enough for me to learn on and sell on when I give up.

jhw – i recently started learning. I went into a local shop and told the young lad that i had absolutely no clue and what could he recommend. I came out half an hour later with a Walden. So far i absolutely love it.

try justinguitar.com for learning with, the site was recommended to me on here and im loving it.

Good luck fella 🙂

Yamaha as well. Got one for my 40th. Only being trying to play for a little few weeks, but it is blinking sore on the fingers. If you’re like me, you’ll need songs to practice on, rather then chords.

Folsom Prison Blues (look up myguitarsage on youtube) and Secret Agent Man are what I’m trying. I’m loving it.

“As in mountain bikes there is a price that you have to pay before you get a decent product that does the job”

“Realistically, most guitars at the price range you recommend aren’t worth it.. “

Sorry, but that’s complete and utter cobblers, There’s plenty of good(for the money anyway)beginner’s guitars around at that sort of price, just get somebody who plays to go with you and make sure you dont buy a dog. Other than that, if you like it, buy it.play it, smile.

I payed about £130 for a used Morgan (Norwegian, but I am in Scandinavia anyway) guitar. It is a little beaten up, but it sounds really nice and feels right to me, I think that is what matters most, as above, it’s like a bike – you have to get on with each other 🙂

I’m selling a Washburn D10 boxed and immaculate as new (used a couple of times, never ‘played’ as such) together with a Warwick Rockbag and automatic tuner if anyone is interested 🙂

I bought a £120 fender 10 years ago and it sounds superb. Set up the action right, decent strings, wouldn’t want to change it now, though not as wonderful as the Lowden I sold as a student to buy a bloody road bike…….