Beginners' Primer

Starter Guitars

Starter Acoustics

I see a lot of beginner students, especially youngsters, coming to lessons with Spanish style acoustics. There is a good reason why this type of guitar is often recommended for beginners but it also has its drawbacks. While the nylon strings are easier on tender fingers that have yet to develop callouses, the student (especially the smaller one) may find fretting chords more challenging on the Spanish guitar's wider fretboard. Unless specifically learning classical style I recommend that a student learns on a decent steel-string acoustic or if possible, an electric guitar. Electric guitars typically have narrower necks and a lower playing action and these days an electric starter guitar can be purchased for around the same price as an acoustic of similar quality. (Please see below for more on electric guitars.)

Below are summaries of two models of steel acoustic I recently recommended to students which I hope others find useful:

Aria A GPS-001 N Price: £130

This dreadnought style acoustic had a nice action right off the shelf with minimal buzzing on the lower strings. Good intonation and a tone which was full and clear. Developed some fretbuzz when fitted with lighter strings which I corrected with some adjustment to the trussrod and dressing the 12th fret with a fretfile.

Washburn D10SK Price: £170

Beautiful dreadnought acoustic with comfortable action and crisp tone equivalent to or better than guitars many times the price. Intonation seemed perfect. An excellent starter guitar.

Starter Electrics

For a first electric guitar I suggest avoiding the 'Strat' (Fender Stratocaster) type as its floating tremolo system requires proper setting up and can cause tuning problems, especially on the budget brands. It is safer for the student to stick with a hardtail guitar such as a Fender Telecaster, Gibson Les Paul or SG type until he/she has learned fundamental playing skills.

The following are models I have recently recommended to students:

Ibanez GAX30 Price: £139

Hardtail, twin humbucker pickup guitar with a bold, bright tone and good tuning stability. Best feature was its smooth satin-finished neck. Pickup selector felt a bit stiff and cheap, and guitar could have done with a setup to bring the action down but all in all this should be a dependable beginners guitar.

Ibanez GSZ120 Price: £189

Similar guitar to the GAX30 but switches and pots seemed to be better quality with a smoother feel. Tone was a little more forward and 'natural' sounding.

Vintage VS6 (SG Copy) Price: £199 with gold hardware

Nice Gibson SG copy which was perfect for thrashing out some ACDC riffs, and really looked the biz with the gold hardware (although cheaper versions are also available with black or nickel finishes). Action and intonation seemed reliable. The only downside... Can you stand to play a guitar like this without seeing 'Gibson' on the headstock? ;)