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If you’re looking for the easiest acoustic guitar to play, I’ve done the research and I have an answer for you: A Big Baby Taylor.
If you trust me, go buy it.
If you want more details about why I love this guitar… read on…
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This is a little round-up post to help beginner guitar players get started.
It can be pretty overwhelming to start to learn the guitar.
There are thousands of resources available online (some good, some bad).
Here are a few things that will help you get started:
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I used to provide multiple suggestions for guitar-related gear.
I’d write articles like: “Here are the 5 Best Electric Guitars”.
I’m not doing that any more.
If you’re not sure which guitar to buy, go to a music store and try a bunch of different ones out.
But if you just want to get an electric guitar that’s easy to play: buy a Yamaha Pacifica.
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Do guitar apps work? That is… do guitar apps actually teach you how to play the guitar?
It would be awesome if you good just pull out your iPhone or iPad, open an app, and learn guitar.
So will they teach you guitar?
Yes and no….
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When I first learned to play the guitar, I admittedly didn’t know what I was doing. I just sort of plodded a long through song books, taught myself some chords, and used the (very) limited resources available online.
Here is a list of the top things I wish I had known when I was first starting out on the guitar.
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The robot uprising is coming.
Call me crazy.
But it’s going to happen.
I don’t usually talk about stuff like this.
I usually talk about guitar playing tips.
How to practice better.
What kind of guitars to buy.
Fun songs to play.
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So you want to buy a used acoustic guitar? Awesome!
Used instruments are an awesome way to save money on great instruments, or even just start playing guitar on the cheap.
I personally have taken advantage of the used guitar market… Case in point:
If you’re looking for a cheap guitar, you may first want to consider these online options. You can get some pretty decent acoustic guitars for $100 or less. My favorite is probably the Jasmine cutaway.
If you’re willing to do some work – you can probably get an even better deal on a used guitar.
It’s actually not that difficult. Here’s how…
You need to be informed if you’re going to buy a used guitar.
Decide what you want.
Determine your budget and (roughly) what kind of guitar you want purchase. In other words, don’t go in totally blind.
If you’re in the market for a guitar, decide what kind of guitar you want (and how much you’re willing to spend).
Once you have an idea, do some online research (Amazon) or in-person (local music store).
For example: Let’s say you’re looking for a beginner acoustic guitar and you’re not interested in spending more than $150. After a little research you land on something like this Fender FA-100.
Currently, the FA-100 is running about $120. Awesome, it already fits our budget, we could just buy it now.
But we may be able to do a little better.
Time to….
Search Craigslist.
A quick search on my local craigslist for “Fender acoustic” yields a good amount of results. I settle on a Fender GDC 100 SCE.
It looks like this:
They’re listing it as used (with a few nicks/bumps). This guitar also has a pickup installed (so I can plug it in if I want). Their asking price: $150.
Ok… so it’s at the top of my price range (ok).
It has a few nicks/bumps and is used (meh).
It has a pickup installed (nice!).
So should I get it… not yet. First I need to….
Do more research.
I do a google search for “Fender GDC 100 SCE”. I find a few other sellers asking $200 to buy it used online. I find original listing price to be around $299.
If I can get this guitar for $150 or less, I’d be happy.
Next I reach out to the seller and make an offer at $120.
I always ask for a lower price than what is listed (even if they say the price is firm). The worst thing that will happen is that they say no…. what have you got to lose?
It takes a few hours, but I hear back and the seller counters my offer with $140. Find with me.
We’ve settled on a price.
We decide on a time and place to meet.
Since it has a pickup in it I bring a small amp and cable to test out the pickup.
We meet up, I try it out, pickup works, guitar looks ok. The action seems a little high, but I’m pretty sure that this can be easily fixed by taking it to the guitar store and having the tech set it up.
So now I have a new guitar!
Super easy. Low stress.
Heres a recap of what you need to do:
You can walk away any time.
If you have doubts, walk away.
If it’s too expensive, walk away.
There are other guitars out there.
Speaking of other guitars… if you’re in the market for something that is more niche or unique, but if you’re not that knowledgeable, here are somethings you can do:
After you buy a guitar, you probably want to clean it up and change the strings. I usually taken mine to the music store to have a guitar tech set it up.
That’s it. If you have any tips, please share them below!
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Buying a guitar online can be tricky. Unlike a lot of online shopping – guitars are usually something you want to play ahead of time to get a feel for them.
So what do we do?
If you want more details and guidance, keep reading…
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(Note: If you just want the recommendations, scroll to the bottom of the page)
I often get asked: “What is the best way to teach yourself guitar?” or “How can you learn how to play the guitar by yourself?”
They are good questions, but I usually stay away from answering these questions because the answers are so specific depending on each individual’s goals. There are a lot of factors to consider: electric guitar vs. acoustic guitar; what kind of music do you want to learn, how much time can you devote to practice, etc.
Obviously, having a private teacher will give you a leg up on any of the services listed below…. but not everyone has the time or budget for private guitar lessons.
On the other hand, YouTube is an awesome source of free lessons… but there are a lot of gaps, it’s hard to know what is quality, and it can be frustrating and time consuming to search for specific guitar lessons or tutorials (and that’s assuming you actually know what you’re looking for).
To make things harder, even just Googling something like: “beginner guitar lessons” is incredibly overwhelming. You have ads for guitar-related services, random youtube videos, and a few guitar-related websites… it’s hard to tell what’s good and what’s just spammy crap.
So without any kind of teacher, this is how to teach yourself guitar…
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Whenever I give beginner guitar lessons I usually let the student decide what we’re going to learn. It’s usually more fun when they pick their own songs.
However, sometimes they struggle to come up with a song to learn, or they’ll ask me “what’s the best beginner guitar song” or “what is an easy song to learn on the guitar.”
I don’t really like answering these questions because most often: The song you know (and like) is the best song to learn.
But I understand that it can be tough to chose and (in all honesty) some songs just don’t translate that well to guitar… especially for beginners.