We make beginners learn on the worst guitars
Learning guitar is uncomfortable enough as it is. Here’s how to make it better.
Painful fingertips.
Wrist cramp.
Aching forearm.
These are the rites of passage that every new guitar player must go through. It’s not just you and it doesn’t mean you’re “not cut out for the guitar.” Jimi Hendrix and Tommy Emmanuel would have experienced the same thing.
It’s difficult enough being a novice guitar player - without the instrument fighting you back.
Yet, ironically, that’s exactly what happens for most new players!
Let me explain.
To the uninitiated, a guitar is a guitar - aside from the logo on the headstock, they’re all the same.
Experience brings wisdom, and you’ll quickly learn that two guitars from the same factory aren’t necessarily the same! Part of the joy of the guitarist’s journey is learning what you love in a guitar and what you don’t, honing in on the one that feels custom built for your hands.
Until that point, though, most players start out on the cheapest option available.
About a decade ago, my wife decided she wanted to learn to play. Not wanting to spend much money, she bought an £80 combo deal where you got a horrendously ugly guitar, an equally horrendous-sounding amp, and a strap.
That guitar fought back.
The fretboard was uneven, making it difficult to press multiple strings down at once - so that’s chords out the window. Some frets were okay, others were dead. Forget going past the 15th fret, that part of the guitar was apparently just for show - it certainly didn’t make any sound. The action was high enough to make Stevie Ray Vaughan wince, and Elon Musk will colonise Mars before you’d be able to set the intonation on this guitar.
That guitar wasn’t unique. Cheap guitars are cheap for a reason: they use the cheapest, lowest-quality components, are assembled quickly and with minimal quality control.
So the question is, how can beginners play a good guitar without spending a lot of money?
This article will cover:
How to choose a beginner guitar
Brands to consider
What to look for when buying a guitar - new and used
How to choose a beginner guitar
There’s one thing that is as true for beginners as it is for professionals: you can buy new or used.
If you’re on a budget and buying new, you’re probably going to be limited to cheaper models. That’s not the end of the world; if you have to shop at the lowest possible price point, you can. Just try to remember that your experience would be better on a higher quality instrument, so don’t think all guitars would feel the same. That said, the aches and pains will be there even if you learned on a very expensive Gibson - we all have to earn our stripes, so to speak.
If you have some extra flexibility in your budget, here are my recommendations:
Pay for a setup
A professional setup transforms guitars. The extent of what’s included depends on what condition the guitar is in, but generally the frets will be levelled - making the guitar much smoother and more pleasant to play. The action will be adjusted (“action” is the distance between the fretboard and string, so a high action means you have to push harder on the string to make contact with the frets). They’ll also make sure all the electronics are working properly and remove any buzzing.
The cost is the guitar tech’s hourly rate, and you can expect this to take an hour or possibly two. Ballpark total cost is £50-£100 and this is the most cost-effective way to upgrade your guitar.
Upgrade guitar components
A lot of the parts on a guitar can be changed, enhancing the experience. Replacing the tuners, nut, and bridge can improve tuning stability - changing the nut is also a common practice for players who want to try and change the tone from the guitar.
I won’t make recommendations on specific hardware because there are so many options and thousands of forum posts already exist to explain the various pros and cons of different items.
If your budget is higher and you want to make significant changes to the sound of the guitar, look at changing the pickups. Prices vary a lot so you may want to look at the used market. Changing pickups won’t improve how the guitar feels, how well it stays in tune, or how much you enjoy playing it, but it will overhaul the sounds it makes - which, in turn, can motivate you to play it more.
Build your own beginner guitar
Don’t worry, I’ve not forgotten this article is about guitars on a budget. I’m not talking about getting a custom guitar built, nor suggesting you build a guitar workshop in your garage.
You can buy guitar kits, allowing you to build your own guitar on a low budget. I’ll include some links below - none of them are affiliate links, so you don’t have to worry that I’m being incentivised to recommend them.
Thomann is an excellent resource for musicians - its own brand, Harley Benton, punches above its weight for quality and is so cheap that you can pay to upgrade some hardware and still have a budget-friendly guitar. They also sell other brands and often at lower prices than you can buy them in other stores.
For kits, they have S shape kits (i.e. Fender Stratocaster shape) for just £69, T shape kits (i.e. Fender Telecaster shape) for £79, and SC shape kits (single-cut shapes i.e. the Gibson Les Paul shape) for £88. Thomann also sells hardware components including pickups, so you can purchase higher quality parts to use during the build.
Partscaster is another company selling individual parts.
Buy a used guitar as a beginner
This is one of my preferred methods: look at the used market. Although most of my guitars are new, I have been fortunate enough to pick up excellent guitars at well below retail price by looking used - including big brands like Gibson, Fender, and PRS.
The great thing about guitars is they’re popular instruments - lots of people have one stored in the attic that never gets played. Start your search by asking friends and family if they know anyone with a spare guitar they’d consider selling.
If that doesn’t produce the goods, look on platforms like Facebook Marketplace and eBay. Physical guitar shops also often sell second-hand guitars - if you’re in the UK, Andertons and GuitarGuitar are both reputable with excellent stock and customer service. I’ve been a customer of both and Andertons is where I buy any guitars or guitar equipment from if possible - it’s also a great experience to visit, so I recommend it if you can get there. (As an aside, the Andertons YouTube channel is exceptionally popular and an excellent resource for gear reviews and comparisons.)
Purchasing used allows your money to go a lot further - instead of being limited to lower quality guitars, you can get into the mid-range market for the same price.
Good brands of beginner guitar
As a general rule, stick to guitars with “real” brand names - Epiphone, yes; RockJam, no.
As I said earlier, if you genuinely have no choice but to buy the cheapest option then, of course, do so. The guitars are still playable so please don’t think it’s not worth trying them.
One very popular brand for guitarists on a budget is Squier. These are part of the Fender family, and you can get entry into it from not much more than £100 - this Squier Bullet Mustang is £135 at Andertons.
Epiphone is Gibson’s cheaper brand - although it’s worth noting that doesn’t necessarily mean “cheap” as some Epiphone lines cost more than £1,000. But at the cheaper end of the scale is this Epiphone Les Paul Special for £149.
Other well-known brands often have lower-end lines, including Gretsch, Ibanez, Music Man, Jackson, BC Rich, and Yamaha.
There are also brands well-known for being budget guitars. Vintage is a good example of this, and they offer a wide range of options including relic’d guitars that look, well, vintage! Here’s their V6 Icon as an example:
What to look for when buying a new guitar
When buying a guitar, there are certain things you should check - this is true for new and used. In no particular order:
Are there dead frets? Play each individual fret to check it produces a clear sound. Also bend the strings at different parts of the fretboard to see if they ‘catch’ on the wood (this usually just means the string height needs adjusting, or a truss rod adjustment is needed)
Does it stay in tune? It’s one thing if the guitar needs some small tweaks after a few songs or it’s been left unplayed for a day, but if it’s losing tune almost immediately then something isn’t right. Sometimes it’s fixed by simply changing the strings, but you may need to replace the tuning pegs and possibly the bridge to resolve it
Is the neck warped? Hold the guitar up to your face with the body closest to you and the head facing away. Look down the length of the fretboard - does it seem straight to you?
Do the electronics work properly? If buying an electric, plug it into an amp and turn the volume and tone knobs all the way in each direction. Also use the toggle switch and play something while you’re doing it - it doesn’t have to be a song, just strum the strings if you like. This is to check that the electrics don’t cut out or make unusual sounds. This is more common on used guitars but I purchased a new Fender, from a store, in 2022 and one of the models I played kept cutting out. When buying new, the shop should take care of this for you - but if buying used, the cost will be your responsibility if you find out after you get it home.
If this seems overwhelming or you’re not confident how to check, try to take a guitar playing friend with you. If you can’t, most shops would be happy to answer questions and demonstrate these points on your behalf. On the used market, it’s important to be more discerning, especially if you don’t have the money to pay for repairs.
I hope you’ve found this useful. Did I miss anything off that you think should have been included?