Hopefully this is the appropriate thread for my question... My sister in law is interested in learning to play the acoustic guitar. She's never played an instrument and isn't completely sure it will stick. But she wants to try. I'm a bass player and really don't know much about acoustic guitars. She would like to keep the cost right around $100 give or take and as she isn't sure it will stick. Wondering if anyone here can recommend a good starter acoustic that won't be discourage her from playing. I realize $100 isn't going to get her top shelf but if there's a good, solid player that she could get for around that price, that would be great. Thanks
$100? You want to hit the pawn shops then. For $200 there are serviceable new instruments from reputable manufacturers.
Might be tricky to find one at that price that will not be frustrating to use. I have low-end Yamaha acoustic that has been fine for my noodling for a couple of years. Intonation is not great high up on the neck but fine for chords and for developing ideas. No pickup/mic. It was probably around $150 new.
go to garage sales, pawn shops, and classifieds for used guitars. Plenty will do, but if it's got "Yamaha" on the headstock I'd honestly say it'd be hard to go wrong. Also: if you already play bass, a couple licks on guitar wouldn't be hard to hammer out, learn a couple chords if you don't already. If a guitar seems unplayable, it's probably unplayable, or might just need some lighter strings, you can probably tell by eye if it's one or the other.
I was curious about Yamaha. I've never owned Yamaha anything so I literally know nothing about them; bass, guitars, motorcycles...nothing. But looking through Sweetwater's inventory, I see some Yamaha's with good reviews. I told her $100 won't go very far but she wants me to find something as cheap as possible. So I'm doing my best.
I'm sure a pickup won't be necessary for her. May I ask what model Yamaha you have? I see a couple on my local craigslist. I had a classical guitar scholarship in college so I understand nylon string guitars but she wants steel string.
The only bad thing I can say about Yamaha, in all honesty, is that I bought fenders before them. If I didn't already have more than enough, I'd get a yamaha or an ibanez. also, another plus for used - if it's already lasted as long as it did, it's a safe bet that it'll keep lasting.
Mine is the FG800, listed at $200 new these days. You can find them used for $125 to $150 I would guess. The Epiphone DR-100 is $150 new and might not be a bad instrument. I would think it would work to learn the basics.
Perhaps, you should start by utilizing your neighborhood guitar library (Guitar Center). I hear they have a very generous return policy, so this should be very wallet friendly to find out if SIL is serious about learning to play.
I live near a college town; the pawn shops are always loaded this time of year. That's where I'd look for that price range; there's normally a little wiggle room for haggling too.
If a person really wants to learn to play, the instrument won't affect that. I learned on a guitar with high tension but that didn't stop my determination.
Hell, the one I still favor is considered "unplayable" to my friends.. I don't seem to notice though, and I don't have to worry about people asking to play it to boot!
Yamaha, Takamine, and Ibanez have the least bad depreciation. Like everyone else said, $200 is where it starts.
I saw a couple epiphones but am hesitant. The only epiphone I've ever played as a Les Paul that I bought last year. I hated it because it refused to stay in tune, so I finally sold it. The band I was in at the time; the drummer said he had a Epi and had the same issue. But again...she's a beginner and wants cheap. So it may be appropriate for her. Truth be told, I don't think I'm her favorite person (we've butted heads a few time about a few things) so I'm hoping I can score something awesome and can maybe help her in learning a few chords so maybe we can bridge the gap a bit. If I could afford to do so, I would just buy one for her but bills and all.
Yeah that would be great. However, I went to GC just a few weeks ago. They aren't letting people in unless you know what you want, then you can go in, get it, pay, get out. I just wanted to go in and look around but the guy said no dice. However, the guy behind me knew exactly what he wanted so they allowed him to enter.
Check out Alvarez's Regent series guitars. We've had a couple Alvarez acoustics in the family over the years and I've always been impressed by their bang for the buck. You might be able to find a used one in good shape for $150.
there's one pawn shop near me. I've stopped in once or twice. I thin the owners feel 20-30% above retail is a good price for everything. I'm interested in music, scuba, firearms, tools, all sorts of things. But yeah they're a little insane with their prices on everything.
Can't go wrong with an entry-level yamaha. They're usually all over Craigslist, and it's a buyers market. Good luck.
Whatever you choose, remember that acoustic guitar strings are cheap. Switching out to a lighter gauge of a quality brand might make an inexpensive acoustic more comfortable to play for a newbie, and possibly sound better if the strings were really cheesy.
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