Buying your First Guitar
I remember my first guitar, the one that started it all. It was 2005, I’d just seen The School of Rock, and had just been introduced to these amazing bands like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, KISS and The Ramones. A switch had flicked, and I knew I’d found something that was really important to me. I headed to eBay and bought my first guitar; it was a black Flying V copy. It had a neck like a telephone pole, a pickup that kept falling in the cavity, and I just couldn’t seem to keep all 6 strings attached.
But it worked - I was hooked for life. 20 years later, it’s my career, whether I’m playing it live, teaching it, or fixing it, the guitar encompasses 100% of my income, thanks to that dreadful Flying V clone.
During my tenure as a guitar teacher I’ve seen no shortage of beginner instruments, and an interesting correlation began to emerge between the students that stuck with it and I’ve been teaching for 5+ years, and the ones that would give in after only a couple of months - their guitar. The students that stuck with it tended to have Strat copies, Tele copies, Les Paul copies, guitars that excited them. The ones that didn’t usually had those awful cheap classical guitars from Facebook Marketplace with a neck so bent that you had to catch a bus to get the string to the fretboard. I put it to you that your choice for a first guitar could just one of the most important ingredients.
I’d like to highlight what I believe to be the most important things to look for and to avoid when buying a first guitar, either for yourself or for a loved one.
ELECTRIC OR ACOUSTIC?
The age-old myth that you have to start on acoustic guitar to build your strength (or whatever) is a myth that continues to plague my life as a guitar teacher. It’s simply not true.
There is, in my opinion, but one reason for your first guitar to be a steel string acoustic guitar: your guitar heroes play acoustic guitar. There is also but only one reason why your first guitar should be a nylon string classical guitar: you specifically want to learn classical guitar. Hear me out!
Steel string acoustic guitars:
are huge! Especially for a young kid! I remember borrowing my stepdad’s acoustic and I could barely get my arm over the body, or my hand around the neck.
use much thicker strings. Most steel string acoustics use 11, 12, even 13 gauge strings - most electrics use 9. Thicker strings may suit the stronger touch, someone who’s spent their life on construction sites, using their hands, building dexterity, or even an experienced guitarist - they’re not going to suit a 10 year old, they’re going to act as another barrier for entry.
may not be what excited you to play guitar - more on this in the electric guitar section.
Nylon string classical guitars:
come in 2 flavours: cheap and god-awful, or eye-wateringly expensive but excellent. If you’re spending less than £200 then you’re probably getting a smaller guitar with an uncomfortable neck.
don’t have a truss rod. Even some of the more pricey ones don’t! A truss rod is an adjustable rod inside the neck to counteract the pull from the strings. On a cheaper, usually shorter scale classical guitar, the neck will soon pull forward, raising the strings as much as an inch from the middle of the fretboard - how is that conducive to learning? On a more expensive, full size model, the wood will be stronger and better re-enforced so this will be less of a problem, but can sometimes be counteracted with pricey fret replacement techniques - that said, common sense dictates not to drop £1000 on buying a first guitar.
will not stay in tune for love nor money. Partly because of the truss rod issue, partly because that’s the nature of nylon strings, and again, much more exacerbated with cheaper, shorter-scaled guitars. This is a one-way ticket to playing all the right notes and every one of them sounding absolutely dreadful.
sound like a nylon string guitar. Unless you’re really into Jose Feliciano, I imagine a nylon string guitar isn’t the sound that inspired you to pick up a guitar.
Electric guitars:
are much comfier! Even full-sized guitars can be suitable for a young budding guitarist! They’re usually designed with contours, cuts in the wood to fit around parts of the human body, such as the stomach or arm. The necks are smaller, the strings are lighter and the bodies are thinner.
can be affordable! When I was growing up we avoided cheaper far-eastern built guitars like the plague, and now we find ourselves in a strange place where far-eastern guitars, especially Indonesian, are ridiculously good value for money. I recently set up a Stagg Strat copy for a customer; this guitar costs around £100 new, and do you know what? It was fine! It sounded perfectly good, it was competently made, and it was comfy.
are played by your heroes - my friend Dave Phillips worshipped Mark Knopfler growing up; guess what his first guitar was? A red strat! I worshipped KISS growing up and my first guitar was a flying V, just like Paul Stanley’s. It sounds so silly and arbitrary, but trust me when I say:
IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT REMOVING BARRIERS
It’s about inspiring excitement. We’ve established you get better value out of cheaper made electric guitars, they’re comfier and easier to play, but the truth is the only barrier we can’t remove is learning. Any guitar string is rough on your fingers to begin with, dexterity and calluses take time to form and it may be a while before you’re confidently moving between strings, making chord shapes without missing a beat, and especially learning those iconic solos - how do you combat months and years of setbacks and frustration?
Excitement.
My first guitar on paper was dreadful; it was uncomfortable, poorly made, and far too big for me, so why was it actually my perfect first guitar? Because everytime I picked it up I felt like Paul Stanley. Every time I played the riff to Detroit Rock City it only felt like a matter of time until I could BE Paul Stanley. Every AC/DC chord progression, every Green Day power-chord onslaught, every Slash solo I butchered my way through felt like measurable progress, and more importantly, through my dreadful solid-state amp and my FAB overdrive pedal that I bought for £20, IT SOUNDED LIKE THE RECORD. At least close enough for a then 11 year old. All my heroes played Gibson Guitars, and with this mighty Flying V (copy) I felt like one of them.
My point being, if the reason you decided to dedicate the next lord-knows-how-long learning guitar was Gilmour, buy a Strat. If it was Angus Young, buy an SG (copy). If it was Bob Dylan, then buy an acoustic guitar! You see, my point isn’t that you shouldn’t buy an acoustic guitar for your first guitar, it’s that doing so is a much more difficult undertaking - true, you can replace the strings with a lighter gauge, but if you didn’t want to learn acoustic in the first place, why put yourself through the extra trouble? It’s already an uphill battle, there’s no sense making it unnecessarily difficult. If your idols play acoustic, learn acoustic, if your idols play electric, buy electric, if your idols play classical, buy classical.
WHY SPEND £200 INSTEAD OF £20?
I get the thought process, I really do: if you or your child doesn’t stick with it, oh well, at least you’ve only lost £20 on that second hand dust magnet from Facebook. But you need to understand that you are setting yourself up for failure by doing so.
If you want to learn to drive, you don’t start with the car that’s going for dirt cheap because 2nd gear doesn’t work, and the shock mounts are about to jump through the bonnet, but you also don’t start with the brand new Mercedes S Class. You buy ol’ faithful; functional, with no bells or whistles, because if you drive that into a wall, it was your own fault and not the power-steering, and at least the car cost less than the wall. I think I’ve gone on a tangent.
£150-200 buys you a no-nonsense guitar, electric or steel string acoustic. Usually with some picks, a small amp and some other bits and gizmos. It will do. It may need a bit of a setup (luckily Elite String Works does budget set-ups for low-cost guitars, right?), and it may have some odd foibles that can’t be ironed out, but it will work. It’ll be comfortable enough, sound good enough, and look good enough that the only barrier to entry remaining is learning the infernal thing.
£20 buys you some neglected rust-bucket from the internet, string height like a bow and arrow, impossible to play, doesn’t sound inspiring, smells like 20 Lambert & Butler, with a mild risk of tetanus every time you pick it up. There is no amount of excitement or motivation that will get you through the initial learning stages with that. But they’re wood, they can be fixed right? Yes, but depending on the guitar it’ll probably cost you more to fix than the £200 guitar, with no guarantee of it playing, sounding, or feeling as good as a £200 guitar.
That said, the compromise is the excitement. There’s a reasonable argument for getting better results out of a £150 white Squier Strat for an Arctic Monkeys fan than you would from a £400 Epiphone Les Paul. Despite the Epiphone likely being better made and more reliable, the relationship between a white Strat and Arctic Monkeys is like a cherry red SG and AC/DC; that is THE guitar. The younger generation may be more into acts like Sam Fender, so find a cheap blue Jazzmaster or Jaguar, and I expect you’ll see the same result - It looks like Sam Fender’s guitar, it sounds close enough to Sam Fender’s guitar, now I want to learn play like Sam Fender.
IS ANY BUDGET ELECTRIC GUITAR OKAY?
I don’t want this post to read as “any electric guitar is better than acoustic for a beginner”, as that simply isn’t the case. Again, you should buy the guitar that excites you, whatever it is.
That said, be wary of overly cheap guitars. Anything less than £100 should be cause for concern, unless you’re buying second hand, and even then you should exercise caution.
Things to avoid:
Any guitar shorter than 3/4 scale. Squier Mini guitars are fine at 3/4 scale, but any smaller and you’re back in the territory of constant tuning and intonation issues, an awful sound, and an uncomfortable experience. Make no mistake, 1/2 scale guitars are toys, not instruments. They benefit people who are too young to consider learning the instrument with any degree of diligence. Ages 9-11, think about 3/4 scale, but you should definitely consider a full-size guitar.
Spares and repairs. Back to the car analogy, in theory anything is fixable but you should be spending this time learning and enjoying, not frustrated and forking out for the 3rd time this month.
Poorly made guitars. This is tricky if you’re inexperienced but some common things to look for are: where the strings meet the body is called the bridge - check this is at a right angle, or it will cause tuning issues. Check if strings buzz when they’re held down at the first fret - this is indicative of a worn down nut, which is repairable but again requires experience and specific tools, or will be slightly more costly than you expect. Check if the knobs and switches all work - some knobs may only work when the switch is in a specific place. You may not yet know what they do but you should hear a difference in the sound. As a general rule you’ll have a pickup switch (which switches between warmer and brighter sounds) volume knobs (which change volume either for the entire guitar or specific pickup selections) and tone knobs (which make the sound duller, again for the whole guitar or specific pickup selections).
No sound coming out of an amp when plugged in: this is repairable, and could be a simple fix, or could be indicative of a much more costly problem. Not something you want to think about for your first guitar.
Things not to be overly concerned about:
String height from the neck. In the case of an electric guitar, this should be fixable with a setup, such as the budget setup offered here at Elite String Works.
Loose screws or nuts. These can be tightened or replaced for fairly cheap and shouldn’t affect the playability.
Old or rusted strings. Strings are consumables; they will degrade over time without being used, even faster with use, and will eventually rust or even snap - this is normal. Repeated snapping may indicate an issue somewhere, but on the whole, you should be changing your strings every few months, as well as wiping them down after playing with a dry cloth (preferably microfibre so not to leave fluff on your strings). As soon as you buy a second hand guitar, the very first thing you should do is replace the strings. Bring it here to Elite String Works, or any other reputable luthier or music shop, and have them recommend some strings and show you how to change them - it’s not difficult and it will need doing a lot, so don’t waste money paying someone else to do it over and over again.
If you have any hesitation before buying a guitar, you can contact me at hello@elitestringworks.com for a no-obligation, honest opinion.
WHAT SHOULD YOU BUY?
So we’ve established a balance between excitement, accessibility, and cost, but what exactly should your first guitar be? That’s partly down to you, but I recommend that you research what guitars your favourite players use and look for something that gives you a similar vibe.
I’ll leave you some suggestions:
ELECTRIC
Squier makes Stratocasters and Telecasters starting at £159. They’re cheap, cheerful, and can sometimes be found in a starter pack with picks, a tuner, an amp, and a strap. Their mini guitars aren’t half bad for the price either, but at around 10 years old I’d suggest looking at a full size guitar.
Eastcoast are also a competitive choice, with Strat-style starter packs from £159. Outstanding value for money for a beginner.
Epiphone can be more costly, but the build quality holds up for the money. For a Les Paul you’re looking around £189-£249, with a starter pack at £239, or for an SG around £249. Anything labelled “standard”, “classic”, or “studio” can start creeping up to around £400, but you’re looking at a much better guitar - perhaps a better second guitar than first.
Ibanez are for the more metal-inclined, and their Gio series with a flatter, shred-oriented neck starts at £169, with a starter pack at £309 - however, this starter pack has a much nicer sounding amp!
STEEL STRING ACOUSTIC
Eastcoast sells a G1 at £89, or £119 for a starter pack. Make sure it’s a G1, not a C1 as this is a classical guitar - see above why could be an issue.
Fender aren’t known for instruments at such a competitive price but at £119, the FA-125 is a perfectly good starting acoustic, as is the CD-60 at £139.
Vintage (yes that’s the brand name) are renowned for their budget instruments, and their Statesboro series starts at £139, a great starting point.
CLASSICAL
Valencia VC203H for £89 is a perfectly decent 3/4 classical guitar, but take into account all that I’ve said above about the caveats with classical guitars.
Eastcoast makes a starter pack exclusively with GuitarGuitar for £99. Again, it’s a 3/4 size and a classical guitar, so a much more limited lifespan than either electric or steel string acoustic.
I’ve researched all these prices from http://guitarguitar.co.uk. They have shops all over the country and would be more than happy for you to drop in and try before you buy - I’d suggest ringing them first to check they have what you’re looking for in-stock at your closest shop. I can’t think of any guitar shops that won’t let you try before you buy, and if you find one that won’t, even by appointment, avoid. Buying anything blind is risky; guitars are no exception as there’s just so much variation.
SHOULD I SPEND MORE?
If you’re already locked in and committed, does it make sense to start with a higher budget? YES. ABSOLUTELY. If you spend £400 on a guitar and take good care of it, then it will last you through years! Through countless bands, jams and whatever else.
My prize guitar is a Mexican Fender Strat from 2015. It cost me £500, and through all the mods and upgrades, 10 years later it is still my workhorse. My second-in-line is a 2013 Gibson LPJ that cost £600, and again, through all the mods and upgrades, it’s so rare for me to not take it out for a gig. If you’d rather start higher and get more value for money, here are some further recommendations:
ELECTRIC
Fender Player or Standard guitars start at £549 and they are lifelong guitars if you look after them, with a myriad of options and configurations.
PRS SE series guitars such as the Standard 24 are dangerously good value for money. Made cheaper by offering limited colours and options, but amazing guitars for the money.
G&L came around after Leo Fender sold Fender to CBS. Continuations on his designs for Fender guitars, and further innovations lead to these powerhouse instruments starting at £499.
Sterling by Music Man are another company Mr Fender had a hand in, and for £500 you can do much worse than a Cutlass or Axis.
STEEL STRING ACOUSTIC
Alvarez offer a lot of bang for your buck in the acoustic department, with the Artist series starting at £419.
Faith continue to surprise me. A Naked Venus will set you back £549, slightly more than I paid 8 years ago for mine and it’s still my main acoustic guitar.
Yamaha offer a range of guitars over a range of prices - their entry level guitars are perfectly fine, but the £399 mark for the FG830 is where they really start to shine.
CLASSICAL
Cordoba make great guitars, some of which even have a truss rod! The C5-CE does not, but for £399 you’re still getting a lot of guitar for the money.
Ibanez have an unusual offering with the FRH10N, with the sound of a nylon string guitar but the playability of an electric guitar. Not for everyone, but definitely for someone, and at £389 is somewhat of a bargain if it’s up your street.
Yamaha comes in strong again with their NTX1 range of guitars, featuring a comfortable neck profile and costing only £399.
CONCLUSION
Your first guitar is a very personal thing. It’s the guitar you’ll grow with, grow out of, and grow to maybe never pick up again after you upgrade, but it’ll always be the guitar that brought you into a lifelong passion. It could be the first guitar you gig on, the first guitar you write a song on; there’s no telling how many memories it could hold for you. After reading this article I hope you feel equipped with the knowledge to help you pick your first guitar.
I’ll conclude by promoting myself one more time, after you’ve bought your first guitar I’d recommend getting it set up so it’s as comfy as possible, so of course I have to recommend myself at Elite String Works.
So go forth, retrieve your Excalibur and prepare yourself. It’s a long road, but you’ll have a lot of fun doing it!