In this post I’m going to be presenting the best beginner Acoustic Guitars for 2024. Acoustic guitars typically offer a less expensive entry point into playing the guitar. They will, however, tend to require a little more effort to play. This can actually be a good thing for if you want to transition to an electric guitar further down the road. At that point it will feel like playing a stick of butter. I have personally found that with the big name acoustic brands like Martin, Gibson, and Taylor, you tend to pay a premium for the name, rather than quality. Also, in my experience I have never played a Fender acoustic guitar that I didn’t want to throw into a bonfire. There are also some lower priced acoustics out there but they tend to be a waste of money so I would steer clear of those. All prices are current as of this post date.
Best Beginner Acoustic Guitars for 2024 – Overall
Seagull S6 Original Acoustic Guitar
The Seagull S6 Original Acoustic Guitar
Man, I cannot praise these guitars enough. I have been recommending S6’s for years. Seagull Guitars is a sub-company of Godin guitars and they build their line in Quebec, Canada. The S6 Dreadnought features a pressure-tested solid cedar top, laminated cherry back and sides, silverleaf maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, and superb build quality. The modern design, combined tonewoods, and thin finish give this guitar a great tone. At $699 (at the time of this post), the S6 is a good value for the quality you get.
Shop here for the Seagull S6 Original Acoustic Guitar
Best Beginner Acoustic Guitars for 2024 – Small Scale
Taylor GS Mini Mahogany Acoustic Guitar
The Taylor GS Mini Acoustic Guitar
Ok, in the opening paragraph I stated that the big name brand guitars might not offer the best value. That may or may not be true of the GS Mini. Although, $600 is a little pricey for a small scale acoustic, this guitar has a great tone for its size and comes with a durable soft case. The Mexican made GS Mini has a solid mahogany top, layered sapele back and sides, ebony fingerboard, and quality chrome tuners. Although younger students will most likely grow out of the GS Mini, it makes for a good travel guitar for the long haul. If you are looking for a small scale acoustic guitar at a budget, the Yamaha JR1 Mini Folk guitar might be a good bet.
Shop here for the Taylor GS Mini Mahogany Acoustic Guitar
Best Quality Beginner Acoustic Guitar for 2024
The Ibanez AC240 Artwood Grand Concert Acoustic Guitar
The Ibanez AC240 Artwood Grand Concert Acoustic Guitar
The Artwood Grand Concert is made with a wider, 44.5 mm neck and shorter 24.9″ scale length, which makes it ideal for fingerpicking, and with the price being right at the $260 mark, perfect for a beginner. The solid mahogany top and mahogany back, sides, and neck provide for a warm tone and Grover tuners for solid tuning stability.
Shop here for the Ibanez AC240 Artwood Grand Concert Acoustic Guitar
Best Semi-Budget Beginner Acoustic Guitar for 2024
Yamaha FS800 Folk Acoustic Guitar
The Yamaha FS800 Folk Acoustic Guitar
Yamaha is known for making quality instruments at different price points and while I wouldn’t necessarily spend the money on their higher end guitars, I do recommend the lower end Yamaha models for beginners because of the good quality to value. The Chinese made FS800 Folk features a solid spruce top for a crisp, punchy tone, and nato/okume back and sides. Its smaller and thinner body make it more manageable for younger students and beginners and at $230 the FS800 offers some pretty good bang for the buck.
Shop here for the Yamaha FS800 Folk Acoustic Guitar
Best Budget Beginner Acoustic Guitar for 2024
Jasmine S-34C Cutaway Acoustic Guitar
The Jasmine S-34C Cutaway Acoustic Guitar
If $230 is still a little more cheddar than you want to spread then the Jasmine S-34C might be the guitar for you. Featuring a spruce top, sapele back and sides, and rosewood fingerboard and bridge, the slim neck makes this guitar easy to play and the $150 price tag makes it a good budget buy for beginners.
That wraps up the Best Beginner Acoustic Guitars for 2024!
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About the Author
Mark Hamrock has been Orange County’s premier guitar and bass guru since 1995, teaching students how to excel in every genre including rock, blues, classical, metal, funk, and country. After studying rock guitar with Rusty Anderson (Paul McCartney, Elton John, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Willie Nelson, Santana), classical guitar with David Tanenbaum, Scott Tennant, Ricardo Cobo, John Schneiderman, and Jazz with Alan Rowe (Stan Kenton Orchestra, Keith Jarret); Mark has gone on to tour extensively and perform in concerts featuring Jazz Legend Larry Carlton, Tim Reynolds (Dave Matthews Band), and Dave Mason with Traffic. He currently produces, composes, engineers, and teaches, and is working on developing a series of instructional books and videos for guitar and bass. In what little free time he has, Mark enjoys traveling, culinary arts, scuba diving, and entrepreneurial pursuits.
