A "good" and "cheap" guitar is hard to come by. It’s the same old scenario. You either lose the "good" part of a guitar by buying a cheap one. Or you lose the "cheap" part by buying a good guitar.

Most people would like a good sounding guitar within their means. For a beginner it gets pretty complicated. So with that in mind, I going to give you some tips to finding a good guitar within your means.


Know Your Budget

Before you even think about going to the store, you need to know how much money you can spend. If your budget can only handle a $200 guitar. You should only be willing to spend $200 dollars.

It’s also a good idea not to play a guitar that costs over your budget. This way you won’t be lured into buying a guitar that costs more than you need to pay.


Bring A Guitar Player With You To The Music Store

If you have a friend that plays guitar, it never hurts to bring him/her with you. A good guitar player could tell you things that could save you time and money.

They could tell you if the guitar you’re looking at is really worth the price. They could also tell you the quality name brands of instruments to look for. The list goes on and on. If they know the person that runs the store, they might could even get you a discount.

I’ve gotten many discounts for myself as well as my students. But don’t depend on your guitar friend to get you a discount on a guitar that priced over your budget. It’s better to be willing to pay the price and be pleasantly suppressed if you do get one.


Pick As Many Guitars That Fit Your Budget

If your budget is $200, find all the guitars in the $200 price range. Then simply play every one of them. What you want to do is find the guitar that’s comfortable to play while sounding well. You could get your guitar friend to help you with this.

You can play while he/she listens. It’s very important that YOU do the picking though. You’re the one who’s going to be playing it, not them. It’s going to be your guitar after all. After you play a few guitars, you’ll start to hear the differences in sound between them.


Pick The Best One

Having played all the guitars that fit your budget, pick the one that sounds best while still being comfortable for you to play. Now, some of them will sound really good but may not comfortable to play. And others will be comfortable to play while not sounding very well.

This is where you have to find a middle ground between the sound and the ease of playing. Take as long as you need to come up with a decision. You’ll be playing this guitar for a long time. So you want to pick a guitar that you won’t regret buying later on.


With these tips, you’ll be prepared to buy a guitar that won’t be a strain on your budget. You won’t have to worry about paying too much for the guitar you pick. And you’ll be able to find a guitar that sounds good while still being
About the author:

Larry Ford runs a weblog giving beginner guitarist's quick and easy tips to help them build their skills. His weblog can be found at http://www.larrysjournal.com