What Guitar Should I Buy as a Beginner?
Don't start with the guitar you think you're supposed to buy.
Start with the one that makes you want to play.
A first guitar doesn't need to be expensive, complicated, or impressive. It needs to feel comfortable, stay in tune, work properly, and suit the kind of music that made you want a guitar in the first place.
Get those things right and the rest can come later.
Acoustic or Electric?
Start with the music.
If you want to play electric guitar, buy an electric. If the music you love is acoustic, start with an acoustic.
You do not need to begin on acoustic to "build finger strength" or somehow earn your way to an electric guitar.
In fact, electrics are often physically easier for a new player. They generally use lighter strings and can be set up with lower action, which means less effort from your fretting hand.
The best place to start is the instrument you're excited to pick up.
How Much Should You Spend?
You don't need an expensive guitar to start well.
For most beginners, roughly $200–$400 is a very useful range. There are plenty of genuinely good guitars available there, especially if you're open to buying used.
You can browse our beginner guitar collection for instruments we think make sense for someone getting started, or see everything currently available in our used guitar collection.
There are good guitars below that range too, but consistency can become more hit-or-miss. Spend more and you may get better hardware, electronics, finishes, or materials, but none of that is required to learn.
What matters is that the guitar works properly and feels good enough that you keep reaching for it.
The obsession over specifications can come later. It usually does.
Used or New?
Both can be great.
Buying used often lets the same budget reach a better instrument. A $300 used guitar may have originally sold for considerably more, which can mean better hardware, electronics, construction, or simply a nicer instrument for the money.
But used doesn't automatically mean better.
Condition matters. Setup matters. The individual guitar matters.
New guitars have their own advantages: warranty coverage, predictable availability, and a clean starting point.
So instead of asking:
Should I buy used or new?
Ask:
Is this particular guitar comfortable, reliable, and something I actually want to play?
That's the question that matters.
Setup Matters More Than Beginners Realize
A good guitar can feel terrible if it isn't adjusted properly.
String height, neck relief, intonation, nut height, and a handful of other small adjustments change how much effort the instrument takes to play.
Factory setups vary. Guitars also move during shipping and as temperature and humidity change.
That matters especially here in Upstate New York, where dry winters and humid summers can noticeably affect wooden instruments.
A professional guitar setup can turn a guitar that feels frustrating into one that feels easy and predictable.
If you're not sure whether yours needs one, read Do I Need a Guitar Setup?
What About Brand?
Don't buy the logo.
There are excellent beginner guitars from plenty of manufacturers. What matters more is the individual instrument, how it feels in your hands, and whether it has been adjusted properly.
A well-set-up Squier that feels right to you is a better first guitar than a more expensive Fender you don't enjoy playing.
Later, you'll probably develop opinions about neck profiles, pickups, scale length, fret size, bridges, woods, wiring, and twenty other things you currently have no reason to care about.
That's part of becoming a guitar player.
You don't need to solve any of that on day one.
Try Some Guitars Before You Decide
If you're near Glens Falls, come in and play a few.
You do not need to know what you're looking for before you walk through the door. That's part of what the shop is for.
Our beginner guitar collection is a good place to start if you want a shorter list of instruments that make sense for a new player. You can also browse the full used guitar collection to see everything currently available.
When you try a guitar, forget the spec sheet for a minute.
Ask yourself:
- Does the neck feel comfortable?
- Can I reach everything without fighting the instrument?
- Is it too large or heavy for me?
- Do I like the way it sounds?
- Do I like the way it looks?
- Do I want to keep playing it?
That last question is probably the most important one.
If You're Buying Online
Buying your first guitar online can work perfectly well.
Buy from somewhere with a reasonable return policy, look the guitar over when it arrives, and pay attention to how it actually feels.
If it seems unusually hard to play, don't immediately assume you're bad at guitar.
The instrument may simply need adjustment.
Have it checked before deciding that guitar, or guitar playing, isn't for you.
The Short Version
A good first guitar should:
- fit your budget
- feel comfortable in your hands
- stay in tune
- be properly adjusted
- suit the music you want to play
- make you want to pick it up again tomorrow
That's enough.
If you're ready to start looking, browse our beginner guitar collection or the full used guitar collection.
If you'd rather talk through it first, come by Paul's Guitar Hideout in Glens Falls and we'll help you narrow it down without turning your first guitar into a research project.
And when you're ready to start playing, private guitar lessons are available here at the shop.
Paul's Guitar Hideout is located at The Shirt Factory in Glens Falls, NY. Use the Cooper Street entrance and take the stairs up. If stairs are difficult or you're bringing in something you don't want to carry up, call or text us and we'll arrange access.
The Shirt Factory
71 Lawrence St., Suite 201B, 2nd Floor
Glens Falls, NY 12801
Wednesday–Sunday, 12–5 PM
(518) 217-8695 · info@paulsguitarhideout.com