10 Best Beginner Acoustic Guitars 2022 Updated

  • Post published:August 28, 2022

If you are a fledgling guitar player or a brand new guitar player, you need to settle for the finest beginner acoustic guitar you can find.

You can best learn the basics of playing an acoustic guitar only if you have an instrument that meets your every need as a beginner.

You might be thinking of settling for those high-end electric models, but you don’t need to. Because a well-made acoustic guitar will help nurture your skills without spending too much.

There are so many brands to choose from. Some have been in the industry for decades, while others are still developing.

We have done detailed research on the top acoustic guitar brands and came up with a list of ten products that are well-suited for beginners.

Top 10 Best Acoustic Guitars for Beginner

#1 Taylor 214CE 200 Series Acoustic Guitar

Taylor is one of the well-known guitar brands with some of the finest acoustic guitars for beginners, and their Taylor 214CE doesn’t disappoint.

It has a solid Sitka spruce top, Indian rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, and a great sounding Taylor expression system pickups.

It comes with a grand auditorium design with finish and cutaway along with layered koa sides and back for superior resonance and longer sustain.

For this unique version, the internal bracing has been redesigned and upgraded to allow the top to sing more freely, giving out a much wider dynamic range.

Cosmetically, the body has been bound front and back and has a gloss finish. The neck has a satin finish that offers a tactile, natural feel.

Things We Like:

  • Great sounding Taylor expression system pickups
  • High resonant spruce top and mahogany neck
  • Grand auditorium design allows for superior playability
  • Redesigned internal bracing provides a wider dynamic range

Things We Don’t Like:

  • It may sound louder than usual

#2 Ranch Beginner Acoustic Guitar

There is no better-stringed instrument for beginners than the Ranch Beginner Acoustic Guitar. It comes with an awesome value pack that includes everything you need.

It features a unique resonance box combined with an arched back to give you deeper woody tones and a fuller, longer sustain. The full bodied sound is beautifully rich.

This model combines high-quality Sapele wood and the well-designed B grade spruce. Tonally, the sapele wood offers a darker, warmer tone, while the spruce offers more projection.

The full-size cutaway design comes with wider spaced frets that are remarkably easy to play, making it suitable for beginners, intermediate players, as well as professionals.

Tuning is super easy thanks to the chrome die-cast tuning pegs. The digital tuners provide a distinctive, full tone, whether you’re playing solo with your colleagues.

Things We Like:

  • Resonance box offers deeper woody tones and longer sustain
  • Sapele wood offers darker, warmer tones
  • B grade spruce offers more projection when practicing
  • Wider frets allow for superior playability
  • Die-cast tuners are very easy to tune and they usually stay tuned

Things We Don’t Like:

  • Forty-one-millimeter nut isn’t wide enough for beginners with larger hands

#3 Fender FA-115 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar

This amazing masterpiece comes with everything you need to start your newly found hobby/career. Playing the FA-115 is remarkably easy.

It comes with a spruce top, which has superior dynamic, brightness, and strength. Unlike other standard woods, spruce responds exceptionally well to all acoustic playing styles you may think of.

The back and the sides are made of laminated mahogany, which has a very pleasing sound that is static and very confined.

The dreadnought shape is what you need as a beginner. The deep body shape delivers grander low-end projection as well as a balanced tone.

The dreadnought design is a good choice for rhythm or leads playing. Also, the rounded shoulder provides a comfy feel whenever you are practicing.

Things We Like:

  • Dreadnought shape offers grander low-end projection and well-balanced tone
  • Spruce top responds very well to different acoustic playing styles
  • Laminated mahogany back and sides generate a pleasing sound
  • Laminated hardwood fretboard allows for superior playability
  • An additional set of string and a gig bag come with the package

Things We Don’t Like:

  • The large body may be difficult for young learners to play

#4 Yamaha FS800 Small Body Solid Top Acoustic Guitar

The FS800 from Yamaha is the ultimate beginner acoustic guitar. This standard model is a small bodied with simple looks and outstanding quality.

It has a solid Sitka top that delivers a well-balanced sound without sacrificing its strength. The bracing on the guitar is scalloped, giving less overall mass to the top. This allows the top to resonate a lot more.

In addition, sonically you get a lot more balance the low and the high end of the strings. You can tell where every note is, and you also get a lot of projection.

In addition to the Sitka spruce, you have NATO (Eastern version of mahogany) sides and back. The neck is also NATO. The body has a glossy finish, while the neck has a matte finish.

Things We Like:

  • The small body is good for young learners
  • Solid Sitka top delivers a well-balanced sound
  • Scalloped bracing improves resonance
  • Ergonomic fretboard design makes learning much easier
  • Die-cast tuners are easy for a beginner to tune

Things We Don’t Like:

  • Strings are not stretched
  • The small-bodied design may not be suitable for some beginners

#5 Yamaha FG820 Solid Top Acoustic Guitar

Ever since the introduction of the Yamaha FG in 1966, the FG model has proven to be a very resourceful instrument for beginners.

The new FG820 guitar focuses on superior playability, outstanding build quality, and excellent musical tone, making it suitable for novice and upcoming guitarists.

It has a solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides and a newly developed scalloped body bracing for an enhanced acoustic response.

The scalloped bracing also maintains structural integrity and durability of the top. This brings out a more natural sound of the guitar.

It has a NATO neck with body binding for a smart and distinctive look, and it has a thick gloss body and matte neck finish.

There are no electronics on board it is just an acoustic guitar with die-cast tuners, which are pretty easy to tune for a beginner.

Things We Like:

  • Solid Sitka spruce top offers superior tones than laminated tops
  • Mahogany sides and back offer more resonance and sustain
  • Rosewood fingerboard is easy for a beginner to play
  • Easy to tune die-cast tuners
  • Adjustable truss rod adds to the unique neck profile

Things We Don’t Like:

  • Strings are vulnerable, they may break

#6 Jasmine S35 Acoustic Guitar

Do you want to express the music in you for the first time? Jasmine S35 Acoustic Guitar is one of the finest in the market.

It has a stunning dreadnought body that produces a bold, big sound and outstanding sound qualities that represent special value.

It comes with a select spruce top, which sounds clearer and brighter. The Agathis back and sides resonate moderately well, but not as good as rosewood or mahogany.

The advanced x bracing on the back and top of the Jasmine S35 does not only protect the integrity of the instrument from string tension but also does a good job of shaping the sound.

The slim neck profile and its full-scale length boost superior playability and comfortable feel when playing longer beginner sessions.

Smooth satin finish on the guitar maximizes resonance, which ensures you get the finest sound quality. Other amazing properties include chrome tuners and full body binding.

Things We Like:

  • Dreadnought body delivers a bold, big sound
  • The spruce top is clearer and brighter
  • Advanced x bracing protects the instrument from the effect of string tension
  • Full body binding protects the instrument from impact
  • Chrome tuners are super easy to tune and stay tuned
  • The unique position of the strap button offers better balance and comfort

Things We Don’t Like:

  • Agathis doesn’t resonate as well as rosewood or mahogany

#7 Epiphone DR-100 Acoustic Guitar

This acoustic guitar has the build quality, sound and looks that beginners need. The dreadnought body is the go-to shape for upcoming country, rock, folk, and bluegrass players.

The dreadnought design of this guitar generates a commanding sound, which is also balanced at any volume when playing. This not only allows you to be heard but also hear yourself.

The Epiphone DR-100 comes in a number of finishes, this one is natural, but you can get it in ebony and vintage sunburst.

The top is made of select spruce, the neck is made of Okoume, while the body is made of mahogany. The spruce top will respond to all your acoustic playing styles.

The SlimTaper neck profile is super easy to play. Another feature that is quite helpful for beginners is the presence of dot inlay on the fingerboard. The dots help to guide your hands to your desired notes.

Things We Like:

  • The spruce top allows for different acoustic playing styles
  • Dreadnought body is really loud and resonant
  • Dot inlay on the fingerboard help to guide your fingers
  • Offers superior volume and projection when you play full strum
  • Provides clear voice and articulation at any volume

Things We Don’t Like:

  • The high E string may break

#8 Fender FA-100 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar

If you want a good quality beginner acoustic guitar that comes in a variety of colors (natural, natural satin and sunburst), look no further than the Fender FA-100.

The general features of this guitar include a laminate spruce top that offers superior projection, Agathis back and sides for moderate resonance.

It has a synthetic bone compensated saddle that is important for intonation purposes, and a synthetic nut as well.

This instrument comes with a distinctive dreadnought body shape that offers a deeper woody tone compared to standard wood designs.

The package itself comes with a nice padded gig bag, an extra set of strings, a strap, picks, and also the new electronic Fender clip-on tuner.

When you tune the guitar, the clip-on digital tuner lights up and tells you what string you are tuning and whether it is sharp or flat.

Things We Like:

  • Dreadnought body offers a deeper voice
  • Compensated bone saddle gives a pure tone
  • Digital clip-on tuner tells you how sharp or flat a string is when tuning
  • Fender guitar picks give superior grip as well as tone
  • Laminated spruce top with strong x bracing offers more resonance and sustain
  • Dot inlays on the fingerboard allow for superior playability

Things We Don’t Like:

  • You may receive a broken clip-on tuner

#9 Donner DAG-1C Beginner Acoustic Guitar

This model is specifically made for beginners. It offers a vibrant, warm sound when playing with a choice of practical and convenient features that will have you strumming right away.

The top is made of AAA African spruce, while the sides and the back are made of AAA African mahogany. Both the spruce and mahogany boosts high resonance.

It has a slim neck profile that provides excellent playability as well as a comfortable feel. The satin finish on the body maximizes resonance in order to optimize sound quality.

You will certainly love the unique tuning machines on this masterpiece. The machines are made up of sealed tuning pegs that ensure you keep playing in tune.

The bridge construction is quite remarkable. The simple design of the bridge makes it easier for a beginner to change strings. This always guarantees superior playing tones.

Things We Like:

  • AAA African spruce and mahogany boost resonance and sustain
  • Slim neck profile provides superior playability and comfort feel
  • Satin finish maximizes tone quality and optimizes sound quality
  • Sealed tuning pegs ensure the instrument keeps playing in tune
  • Simple bridge design allows for an easy string change

Things We Don’t Like:

  • Fretboard may generate buzzing sound at the thirteenth fret on the E string

#10 Martin LX1E Acoustic Guitar

This little acoustic guitar comes in this natural finish and it is built from solid Sitka spruce top for the best performance.

It has mahogany high-pressure laminate back and sides, modified low oval neck shape (very comfortable to play), and mortise and Tenon neck joint.

This gorgeously engineered model packs lots of power into a compact, perfectly created instrument, making it suitable even for kids who want to learn the skill for the first time.

The HPL back and sides offer all the wonderful resonant tones you would expect from such a dense tone wood. The HPL mahogany can withstand humidity and temperature changes.

Things We Like:

  • HPL back and sides can withstand humidity and temperature changes
  • Low oval neck shape allows for superior playability
  • Solid Sitka spruce top offers more resonance and sustain
  • Comes with beginner friendly tuners that are easy to tune

Things We Don’t Like:

  • May be difficult to calibrate without a truss rod

How to Choose A Beginner Acoustic Guitars

When choosing a high performing acoustic guitar, it is important to keep in mind that stringed instruments are the sum of their parts.

While each choice changes the sound, the overall sound quality of a stringed instrument is a combination of the quality of the materials used, the design, as well as the skill of the manufacturer.

Body Sizes & Styles

First, we’re going to talk about the shape as well as the size of the body. This is a good starting point as it determines the feel of the guitar and plays an important role in how it sounds.

While there are many guitar bodies and styles you can choose from, we will focus primarily on two of the most popular: dreadnought and triple o.

The dreadnought body style is known for its big booming sound, emphasizing bass and treble. This lends itself particularly well to strumming playing styles.

If you are playing with your pals unamplified, the dreadnought is an amazing choice because of its loud sound projection and the bass response.

Triple O guitars have an hourglass shape as opposed to the pear-shaped outline of the dreadnought.

Triple O shapes have more mid-range and they have a quieter mellow tone that is more ideal for finger picking playing styles.

Because of their smaller size, they can also be more comfortable to play. The triple o is going to shine mostly well in recording situations or intimate listening environments.

Additionally, there’re other smaller body shapes, such as the Single O and Double OO. Other larger body shapes you can consider include the Quadruple O and the Jumbo.

Soundboard or Top Wood

The soundboard is popularly referred to as the top wood. This is the wood used to make the face of the guitar.

When strumming the instrument, the sound waves produced by the strings are transferred into the soundboard, causing it to vibrate.

It is the vibration that pushes the sound throughout the body of the instrument, and out through the sound hole, producing the tone that you can listen to.

The type of top wood used by the manufacturer usually shapes the tone as well as the volume of the instrument.

The most popular top wood you will find on most soundboards of acoustic instruments is Sitka spruce, which is the commonest variety. Sitka spruce is a well-rounded, versatile wood that has a clear mid-range.

The next popular material for guitar faces is mahogany. Mahogany tops are normally paired with mahogany sides and back.

Mahogany offers a full, warm sound and strong mid-range that is admired by many blues and country musicians.

Tops made of mahogany tend to be well-balanced, without the booming voice from spruce soundboards. This provides deeper tones and it’s resourceful for recording.

Another rarely used top wood is layered koa, which performs fairly the same as mahogany as far as the tone is concerned.

Back and Sides

As we have seen, the top wood shapes the tone, but the woods used on the back and sides of the instrument help color the tone.

The most popular back and side material is mahogany, which generates an even, balanced sounds across the strings with warm low-end and bright high-end.

Another increasingly popular tone wood is sapele, which closely resembles mahogany in tone, but with a marginally different appearance.

Rosewood offers a booming quality with superior bass response. In this case, the tone is characterized by complex overtones as well as dark highs and Mids.

Solid versus Laminate Acoustic Guitars

Another important feature to consider is the type of wood construction. Basically, there are two types of wood construction: solid and laminate.

In this case, solid refers to a single piece block of wood, while laminate refers to glued layers of wood bound together.

These two different kinds of wood make a big difference in the sound of a beginner acoustic guitar.

Laminate wood is usually strong, but that is not necessarily a good thing when you want the whole body of your guitar to resonate along with the strings.

Solid wood; on the other hand, resonates much better given the same thickness, but it is also more difficult to work with, hence the higher price tag.

Other Considerations

In addition to the shape of the body, size, top wood and back, and side wood, some other factors that affect performance and comfort are the neck shape, nut width, and scale length.

The shape of the neck is basically the profile of the back of the neck. The nut width is the spacing between the strings. Scale length is the distance between the bridge and the nut.

Usually, longer scale length places increased tension on the strings, providing more volume. Scale length does also affect the spacing of the frets.

A shorter scale length brings the frets too close to each other, making the instruments more comfortable for smaller hands.

Final Words

The choice of a good beginner acoustic guitar depends on all the parts of the guitar, including the top, back, sides, neck, strings, fretboard, bridge, and tuners.

If even one of the parts is defective or of poor quality, you are more likely to experience the poor performance with your, newly found acoustic guitar.

So, to ensure that you buy a top quality product, you have to choose an instrument with the ideal materials in order to ensure you get the finest sound quality.

The products that are featured in this guide are the best we could find based on materials used, playability, tonality, and overall comfort during playing.

With that said, now you should have a good idea of what to look for when choosing your acoustic guitar.

This Post Has One Comment

Comments are closed.