How much will a good beginner guitar cost? Well, that depends.
When I first started learning, my parents didn’t spend a dime! My uncle had an old Yamaha guitar (when I say old…I’m talking from the 1960’s old!), and he let me borrow if for a couple of months. It was awful! The strings were so far away from the frets that my fingers almost bled from the effort to push the strings down. But, MAN! What an amazing tone that old thing had!
When my parents knew that I was serious, they bought me my first guitar — a Fame acoustic/electric guitar. It wasn’t amazing, but IT WAS MINE! That guitar ran them about $150. Now, back in 1990, that was some change!
But what about now? How much will it cost? What is the best kind of guitar for me or for my child? Well, first off, if you haven’t checked out the article on Picking Out Your First Guitar, then I’d encourage you to check that out! Otherwise, hang on! I’ll talk about the costs and about the benefits of different guitars.
So, let’s start with the real question: how much will a beginner guitar cost? Basically, you need to be prepared to pay between $150 – $250 for a beginner’s guitar. Sometimes, in the used market, you can get away with less, but, even then, I’d err on the side of getting MORE for your money – not less for…less.
Let me give you a real life example. When my wife decided that she wanted to learn how to play the guitar, I was happy to let her borrow one of my many guitars. But it wasn’t HER guitar. After I could tell that she was going to stick with it, I found a great sale online. (Now, I don’t recommend buying guitars online for a beginner, but for an old head it’s fine!)
I bought a guitar that usually sells for $500 at the low, low price of $250! I bought it and got MORE guitar for the money than I was hoping. Yes, I could have bought a $150 guitar for $99, but I wanted to get her a guitar that would last through the beginner stage and on into the intermediate stage. (By the way, I have gigged with this guitar in several live settings. It’s MORE than a beginner’s guitar!) So, if you ever see THIS GUITAR on sale, pick one up! (P.S. That’s NOT an affiliate link.)
So, that’s enough with the story of my life stuff…I’m sure you want to know about actual guitars out there.
So, here are a few examples. (I’ll try to keep this section updated! And, again, no affiliate links here.)
[…] ready to buy your first guitar? I don’t blame you. It’s a BIG decision. A good beginner guitar can cost $200 – $300! (BTW, if you’re wondering about whether or not you need to start […]