which guitar for beginner.

mamabuddah

@TALIESIN (whisper) I know what you're saying about truss rods...lol...I have a couple of F310's I use for teaching...but I never mention they have truss rods...lol...its all too easy for someone to REALLY mess up a guitar...most beginner acoustics...just play 'em out of the box if they get good and go for a Takamine or Seagull...or like my friend's an Emerald with carbon fibre neck or his McIlroy...we go to an experienced luthier and avoid the tinkerings that go on in a music shop....you wouldn't get the guy on the corner to service your Ferarri...lol...unfortunately at this time of year, this is when most music shops turn into "box shifters"...so set up as I said is a bit of a pipe dream for most....if they charge £30...thats nearly a third of the price of a cheap Yamaha...and it wont make it sound or play 30% better...

taliesin

Mikey - I didn't intend to imply that nickel/steel strings were necessarily "budget" (although nickel are usually a shade cheaper than phosphor-bronze, and it's unlikely that a guitar at that price-point will be fitted with expensive strings). Just that acoustics are normally fitted with P-B, or sometimes bronze. And that was an aside to my main point that you should expect to change strings on any guitar quite often.

The big mistake is to put steel (strictly, steel-cored) strings, whatever the sheath material, on a "classical" guitar built for nylon strings - the higher tension of steel strings can wreck the lighter guitar.

mama - I see what you mean. For sure, you do not want beginners messing about with truss rod adjustments, and I agree that not all music shops can be trusted to do it right either. That's yet another great thing about joining a band or a regular session - musicians love to chatter, so they are also good places to get advice on where to find the best local luthiers and instrument techs.

scooby088

Classical guitars generally don't come with a truss rod but there are two types of strings you get for them those being high and low tension ones as for steel strung ones i'd got for phospher bronze all the time preferably a heavier gauge something like 13's or 14's and adjust the truss rod a quarter turn to accommodate the higher tension strings. That being said it best to get someone who knows what they are doing to do this for you. As for guitars i find it to pay for the best quality you can get something with a solid and not a composite top.

jhe

thanks to everyone for all advice given.
popped to local music shop and settled for a yamaha FG700s. £199 so not too bad a price comparing to online prices
the takamine was a little pricier,the yamaha i bought is supposedly better than the basic tanglewood( according to advice in the shop, although they did stress its a personal choice) they didnt stock the fender starcaster.
so just need to find some good quality earplugs now lol

maxfuchs

It sounds as though it's for an older person who might not have a smartphone, but I use a program called gStrings Free on my android phone for tuning my acoustic/bass, and it does the job nicely. Could help you save a tenner or so.

jhe

thanks maxfuchs bought a tanglewood tuner seems easy enough to use.

Bernie_Bear

It's been commented that a cheap guitar in tune will sound better than an expensive guitar out of tune...an electronic tuner is well worth the cost.
Also, steel strings can be very hard on fingertips unaccustomed to playing - I started with nylon and they're a lot easier on the fingers, and with a sweeter tone than steel.

Wookey

Just a FYI for anyone else looking on this thread, if someone is looking a tuner and they have a smartphone just download a free tuner app for it, will save £10-20 on any handheld type

mamabuddah

just as an aside...my son has been looking at the Ibanez Exotic wood series EW20 LASENT...any guitar players out there have any experience of them...reasonable price at £319 and looks and sounds quite nice if youtube is anything to go by...can't get my hands on one local to see though....

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

if you go into a decent independent music shop, they should be able to order one for you to look at. No obligation to purchase. After all, if they don't try, they have no chance of making a sale, do they?


PS: they sound nice from my end of the stage.