My 22 yo son asked for an acoustic guitar for xmas. He is learning to play on one that he bought at a pawn shop. He has a tendency to start things and not follow through, so I don’t want to go over board. He is into punk/indie music that is mostly be people I have not heard of.
What should I be looking for? I saw this at Guitar Center that looks like a screaming deal. They have this as well. Costco has some inexpensive ones too.
Both of those look like they might be good beginner guitars, but I’d be really leary of buying a guitar that I hadn’t actually had in my hands.
Nothing is more frustrating than a sucky guitar, especially when you’re first learning… can you go to the stores and get your hands on one of those guitars? If so, maybe you have a friend who plays who could go with you.
A couple of things you want to look for:
-is the neck straight? You can sight down the neck from the top and see if all the fret bars are perfectly perpendicular… if they are not, then the neck is twisted, which is bad.
-is the action too high? Use your index finger to hold down the strings at the 12th fret and strum… is it really hard to get clear notes there? If so, the action may be too high there (this can be corrected sometimes, by having a pro file down the bridge or adjust the neck a bit).
-are the tuning pegs holding well? A guitar that won’t stay tuned is a major drag…
-how does it sound?
I’ve been less than impressed with the guitars I’ve seen at CostCo…
Is the 12th fret from the top or bottom? So you’d suggest I not just look at the model, but at the specific guitar (i.e., not order from a website).
In this photo, the 12th fret is the one with two dots.
I guess that’s the 12th from the bottom, but I’m not sure how you are visualizing it. The first fret is the one farthest away from the sound hole. The 12th fret is clearly marked on most guitars, because the notes you get on that fret are one octave higher than the open (unfretted) string.
There are better and worse models for learning, I’m sure, but you do want to physically hold and try out the guitar before buying it. Assuming you’re not a player yourself, maybe you can bring a friend who is.
I agree with Astroboy14 especially about the action. Nothing bugs a new player more than bad sounding chords because they have to mash the strings down onto the fretboard. It can literally make your fret hand ache after a few minutes of practice, and make you want to quit altogether. You might have to pay a bit more, but it’s worth it for the enjoyment of the new player.
Also, be wary of a really wide neck. IME, this and high action are the two things that will really frustrate a new player, especially when they are learning barre chords.
However, if you learn to play well on a crappy guitar, when you pick up and play a nice one, you will freak out and play better immediately. 
Good advice so far.
I strongly recommend that you find someone who is a friend or acquaintance who is a long-time guitar player and can help you out. Especially when buying a cheaper guitar, playing a few of the exact same model is key - some are dogs and some are decent - and you need someone who knows a little about playing to try to tell the difference.
Remember - the most important thing is to buy a guitar that will motivate your son to keep playing. While there are some factors that matter to your son right now - does it look cool? are cool musicians playing that brand? etc. - one of the key ones is “is the guitar set up to play easily and in tune?” Without question, checking the 1) neck relief, 2) action and 3) intonation can be the key difference between wanting to play the guitar and putting it down. The overall tone of the guitar -i.e., does it sound good - is really secondary to set up. By the time your son is decent enough to play pretty well, he will want to move on to a different guitar. Trust me - I know how this works…
I could explain each of these to you - and have in previous posts to others asking this question - but you wouldn’t know what to look for or how to assess if they are good. You need to find someone who know what each of these three things are and can evaluate them on a guitar…
Best of luck!
I’d suggest getting a nice low end electric and amp and skipping the acoustic for the time being. My first guitar was an acoustic and they’re harder to play in terms of string action and being less forgiving to poor technique.
Thanks all. You have convinced me to go and pick one out in person rather than just have Guitar Center ship one. I’ll take a friend of mine with me who is a “guitar god”. I was too embarrassed to ask him for advice on a $100 guitar (he leans to vintage electric) but I’ll suck it up.
As usual, I agree with WordMan. He hit all the big points. If possible have someone knowlegable about guitars help you pick one out from a music store.
I would be leery about getting a guitar from Costco. They aren’t in the guitar business. If you buy from a music store they have a vested interest in making sure the guitar is playable. Costco doesn’t. Check for local music stores. If you do not know any guitar players who can help you might try going to a music store and speaking with a guitar teacher. They will usually help especially if you suggest that your son might be taking lessons.
You might also think about buying your son some lessons if he is not taking any. Even a couple lessons can help a great deal for a new guitarist. Learning how to hold and fret the guitar correctly helps a great deal*. A student can learn the basic chords in a couple lessons.
Slee
*I think I there is a post around here somewhere on how to hold/fret a guitar. New guitarists want to pull their left elbow (assuming a right handed guitarist) in, which twists the wrist and makes playing very hard. There are a bunch of other bad things that newbies do. A good teacher can correct these things before they become a problem. Fixing these things at the start makes learning way easier.
Well, even a cheap hardware store guitar can get a boy slightly intrested in music.
http://www.rockabillyhall.com/tupelohardware.html
The store he got it at, still sells guitars.
ATTENTION MODS: I am not affiliated with anybody.
I went down to the local Guitar Center today and played the Fender® DG-8S Acoustic Guitar Value Pack ($200). The guitar is OK. I also tried the Yamaha GigMaker Deluxe Guitar Pack ($180) which had a better sounding guitar but the neck/bridge adjustment was poor–I was getting quite a bit of fret buzz on the high frets. The sales droid promised to set it up properly if my friend came in to buy it.
So, I’d recommend the Yamaha, and I’d recommend buying it from the nearest store so they can offer to set it up properly for you.
I have no particular relationship with Yamaha–in fact, among the dozen or so instruments I own, I believe none of them are made by the Yamaha folk.
My first guitar was a Washburn D10. It was given to me by my mother (it had been hers. I don’t know how old it was, probably mid-80s.) It is really a great instrument. Excellent tone and good tuning machines, and really classy looking too. I would still have it if my sister hadn’t stolen it from me and never given it back. You can get one at Musician’s Friend for a little over 200 but why buy new? Used instruments have more character.
Sorry if I missed this, but is the pawn-shop guitar a piece of crap? If not, it might be better to spend $20-40 getting it set-up and new strings. You could use the rest of the money for a tuner, etc. My experience with the low-end, $100, guitars is that it is hard to find a good one. A lot of them buzz and are hard to get tuned right. These things can be really frustrating to someone just starting out.
Now if the pawn-shop guitar is junk, then it makes sense to get a new low-end guitar. But if it was a nicer guitar when it was new, then it might be worth fixing it up.
You might be surprised at how willing your friend is to this. He probably knows how bad a bad guitar is. No it doesn’t HAVE to be expensive, but it does have to be playable. Lots of people get turned off by cheaply made musical instruments, telescopes, cameras, that kind of thing, I’ll bet he’d be glad to help, assuming he has the time.