Affordability is a key element when it comes to choosing an acoustic guitar. The best acoustic guitar deals offer great-sounding, affordable instruments for beginner and intermediate players. Whether for a gig or simply to practice your songs at home, these guitars give you a full sound with added versatility.
Brands like Epiphone bring vintage character and value to their budget acoustics. Others, like PRS, put as much attention to detail into their acoustics as their electric models.
Brands
A few of the most popular acoustic guitar brands include Fender, Epiphone and Taylor. Each offers a wide range of value-focused beginner acoustics and intermediate and professional workhorses.
While some musicians prefer to play on classic acoustics from established brands like Gibson and Martin, these instruments come with a premium price tag. For example, a Gibson J-45 can cost tens of thousands. Fortunately, Epiphone’s meticulous recreation of this iconic sloped shoulder dreadnought provides a similar visual flair and versatile tonal voice for a fraction of the price.
Alternatively, you could opt for Taylor’s acoustic grand auditorium models. This mid-sized guitar is a kind of Swiss army knife of the hearing world, capable of playing everything from bold, punchy chords to finessed fingerpicking with articulate note separation. Likewise, Paul Reed Smith (PRS) pours as much of their electric guitar expertise into their acoustic models as they do with their electrics. This often results in superior acoustic guitars for newer players on a budget.
Body Shapes
The size and shape of a guitar’s body significantly affect its tone. Players that favour fingerpicking will typically lean towards smaller-bodied guitars. At the same time, those who prefer strumming or playing with a full band might enjoy the bass response of a large-bodied dreadnought or jumbo guitar.
The 19th century’s novel X-bracing allowed acoustic guitars to hold up to the strain of steel strings, which opened up many new design options for guitar makers. Body shapes began to take on new dimensions, with the battleship helping to bring guitars into the mainstream of popular music with their powerful voice.
Dreadnoughts are large-bodied acoustic guitars that can handle just about any genre of music and are particularly popular with flat-pickers and singer-songwriters. They’re also an excellent choice for strumming, and their bass-heavy sound is often utilized in country music. Grand concert models are a bit less deep than battleships but are still more significant in their waist and width.
Materials
While plenty of fibreglass, plastic, and carbon-fibre guitars are on the market, most acoustic instruments continue to be made out of wood. This material is affordable, has an ideal balance of strength and weight, feels good in the hand, and provides predictable tonal qualities.
The tone is the quality and character of an acoustic guitar’s sound, often described as warm or bright. The sound of a particular tonewood may change with time and temperature, which is why many acoustic guitar manufacturers use multiple types of wood in their production lines.
The guitar string that you choose can also affect your tone and response. Steel strings provide a crisper, more focused sound, while phosphor bronze strings offer a warmer, more subdued style and a longer lifespan.
Price
A guitar isn’t a cheap investment. That’s why it’s essential to consider what your budget is. Acoustic guitars come in various price points, from beginner to pro-level instruments. A general rule is that anything below $300 would be considered budget and beginner-friendly, while anything over $300 would be considered mid-range/intermediate or professional.
New acoustic guitarists should look for a guitar that is comfortable to play, easy on the fingers and has a good tone for their genre of music. Fortunately, many great beginner acoustic guitars offer quality woods and construction at a very affordable price point, such as the Yamaha FG800.
For a more advanced player, it’s often best to go with an acoustic-electric guitar, which allows the instrument to be plugged in and amplified. Whether for a gig or simply to practice your songs at home, these guitars give you a full sound with added versatility.