Acoustic Guitar Buying Guide
It’s all too easy to save up a bit of cash to buy an acoustic guitar, but are you getting the most value for your buck? Numerous factors play different roles, and not understanding them properly is the sure-fire way to overspend unnecessary cash.
Today we’re here with a comprehensive buying guide for acoustic guitars, so without any further ado, let’s dive straight into it.
TONEWOODS
While electric guitars rely on all sorts of external gadgets and accessories for sound (pedals, amps, magnets, and so on), the main factor that largely defines the tone of an acoustic guitar is the combination of tonewoods used in the construction process.
The main reason why understanding tonewood is so important is that knowing the wood types will also give you a clear picture of how durable your guitar is.
Mahogany is one of the most commonly used tonewoods for acoustic guitars as it boasts warp-resistant qualities. Although it’s not the sturdiest tonewood out there, it’s fairly robust and provides a distinctly warm sound. Mahogany-made guitars are often not too expensive.
Rosewood is the type of tonewood that is generally used for fingerboards; it is lightweight, and also pretty easy to refine and add finishes. A bit more expensive guitars typically have fretboards made of Ebony, which provides a much bigger tone and a drastic boost to playability.
Mid-range guitars are often made from Maple, which is popular for its exceptionally bright sound and tone. Maple is dense and incredibly durable, but it also offers unparalleled tuning stability and excellent sustain.
ACOUSTIC GUITAR TYPE
Not all acoustic guitars are the same, even though they may look similar if they are ‘unfinished’ (uncolored). Some of the most popular acoustic guitar types are dreadnought, jumbo, parlor, classical, travel, auditorium, grand auditorium, and classical.
People who’ve never played an instrument before often go with Dreadnoughts, mainly because these guitars do not pull any significant drawbacks in terms of playability. Dreadnoughts are fairly large, but they offer a big, full-bodied sound to compensate for their bulkiness.
Parlour guitars are among the smallest guitar types, and they’re perfect for younger players, kids, and people with a bit smaller hands.
Grand auditorium variations are excellent for live performers and gigging musicians as they offer the strongest, largest sounds that can reverberate even out in the open.
PLAYABILITY
The guitar’s ‘playability’ defines how easy it is to grip the frets and hop from one note/chord to another. This is completely subjective as some players may find one guitar as playable where another person would find it as hard to play, but there are some points that we can deduce from an unbiased standpoint.
Scale length is typically what defines the ‘bulk’ of a guitar’s playability. In short words, scale length refers to the total distance between the guitar’s nut and its saddle (not to be confused with guitar’s length). The shorter it is, the easier it is to play, but typically you’ll have fewer frets to play on as well.
Another factor that affects the guitar’s playability is the type of tonewood used for its neck and fingerboard. Dense, firm necks and fretboards are obviously more durable, but they are not as playable (and vice versa).
DURABILITY
There are many ways to approach a guitar’s durability and measure its importance. Obviously, beginner guitar players typically switch over to better, more expensive instruments when they learn the basics; professionals require the sturdiest guitars if that’s their go-to instrument, but not as much if it’s a backup.
In that regard, you get to decide how durable your guitar should be, especially knowing that durability is often compromised for the sake of other qualities (sound, playability, price, and so on).
HARDWARE
Hardware relates to the tuning machines, the nut, and the saddle of a guitar. Basically, the tuning pegs affect how easy (or hard) it is to tune your guitar and how long it will remain in tune. The saddle and nut complement the latter, although they also play minor roles regarding the tuning process itself too.
The only reason why you should invest in an acoustic guitar with quality tuning machines is that these are not so easy to replace. Stock machine heads can sometimes be pretty good, and they’re already factored into the price while buying external ones, and replacing your old ones may end up costing you quite a bit.
AESTHETICS
Simply put, the aesthetic component of the guitar relates to how it looks. Although most people think this has nothing to do with the guitar’s performance, a good-looking guitar is more likely to inspire you to pick it up again than a blatantly-looking one.
More importantly, the guitar’s finish often dictates how the tonewoods vibrate; grainy, hard finishes can ‘lock-up’ unwanted overtones whereas light finishes can complement the guitar’s natural tone. If you don’t feel too strongly about this, you can also opt for an ‘unfinished’ guitar.
PRICE
Believe it or not, the difference between the cheapest and the most expensive acoustic guitars are measured in thousands of dollars, and we’re not even including signature models.
Deciding on your budget before you venture browsing for your guitar is typically smarter; you’ll inevitably find better-looking and better sounding guitars, which might end up hurting your wallet.
A good guitar is not necessarily an expensive guitar and vice versa. Numerous entry-level models sound much better than you would expect, just like there are poorly-sounding boutique guitars that fail to meet the expectations.
