In this guide we’ll take a look at the best acoustic guitars for the money.
We’ve compared sound, design, build quality and cost
to give you our top recommendations.
What Is The Best Acoustic Guitar For The Money?
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More Detailed Acoustic Guitar Reviews
Seagull S6 Original Acoustic Guitar
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Seagull S6 Original Acoustic Guitar Review
Looking for an awesome steel-string acoustic guitar? Look no further, you’ve found it. Seagull S6 is a guitar that is much better than the low price suggests.
Sound
This guitar has a nice, country tone that’s warm and organic-sounding. As I mentioned, it’s a steel-string which is best suited for modern music like rock and country and similar genres.
If you want to play classical music or folk music, go for a guitar with nylon strings instead.
Design
This is a gorgeous guitar that’s available in the colors natural, black or Tennessee red. It’s made in Canada and the back and sides are made from wild cherry wood.
The neck is made from silver leaf maple and it has a rosewood fretboard. Rosewood is good for fretboards because it’s a naturally oily wood. This means that your fingers can slide quickly over the fretboard without too much friction.
Who Should Buy It?
This is a great guitar and even though it’s very affordable it’s not only for beginners. Both intermediate and advanced players can play it and it sounds lovely.
What Does It Sound Like?
Martin LX1E Acoustic Guitar
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Martin LX1E Acoustic Guitar Review
Have you ever wondered where Ed Sheeran got his small guitar? It’s a Martin LX1E and you can get one too if you like! I really like this little instrument because it’s compact and easy to bring along on travels, but at the same time, it sounds like it’s much bigger than it is.
Sound
This guitar is an acoustic-electric model, which means that you can plug it in an amplifier if you want to use it on gigs. But you don’t have to, you can just use it as a regular acoustic guitar, playing by a campfire or where ever you like.
In order to make this guitar sound its best, you need to tune it, of course. The built-in chromatic tuner makes this super easy which is perfect especially for beginners (but I mean, who doesn’t cheat and use a tuner when it’s on hand?).
Design
The guitar is very small and is electric-acoustic. It has a Sitka spruce top and mahogany back and sides.
Who Should Buy It?
Guitarists who love Ed Sheeran should check this guitar out, along with anybody who wants a small guitar that’s easy to bring with them.
What Does It Sound Like?
Yamaha FG850 Solid Top Folk Acoustic Guitar
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Yamaha FG850 Solid Top Folk Acoustic Guitar Review
Yamaha is a brand that I’ve always been a fan of because they seem to have a very good understanding of their customers’ needs. The FG850 is no exception, it’s perfect for beginners that dream of playing the guitar.
Sound
This guitar is a steel-string that has a very bright, clear tone. It’s perfect for modern genres and it sounds really good despite the low price.
The back and sides are made from mahogany, which emphasizes the bass and treble and gives the tone more overtones. The result is a tone that seems to be full of life.
Design
The FG850 is available in black, natural, sunburst, autumn burst, and sunset blue. (Never seen a blue sunset, but the guitar looks cool!)
It’s also possible to buy a 12-string model.
The guitar has a traditional western body and looks very nice. It doesn’t look like a cheap guitar and I think I would have a hard time guessing the price if I didn’t already know it.
Who Should Buy It?
This is a great guitar for beginners and intermediate players. It looks cool, sounds great, and is a true bargain!
What Does It Sound Like?
Yamaha FG800 Acoustic Guitar
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Yamaha FG800 Acoustic Guitar Review
If you read the review for Yamaha FG850 and thought to yourself that you wished it was cheaper, then you’re in luck! The FG800 is very similar but is more affordable than its big brother.
Sound
The tone is very balanced and full and gets better and better. It’s like a wine or a cheese that just gets richer with time.
The guitar projects well and has a nice punchy sound.
Design
The top is made from solid spruce. It’s quite unusual to find a guitar with a solid top with such a modest price tag.
Even though this is one of Yamaha’s cheapest acoustic guitars, it still features the same tuning hardware as the more expensive models, so you can be sure that it stays in tune. (Of course, it needs to be tuned often when the strings are new, but that’s because new strings stretch, it doesn’t really have anything to do with the guitar.)
Who Should Buy It?
I think this model is a great choice for both beginners and intermediate players that want to buy a good steel-string guitar that they can have for many years to come. It sounds good, looks nice, and is high-quality.
What Does It Sound Like?
Fender FA-115 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar
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Fender FA-115 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Review
Many people think that Fender only makes super expensive guitars for professionals, but that’s until they see the FA-115 and realize that it’s perfectly possible to make a great bargain, even if the label says ‘Fender’.
Sound
The guitar is a steel-string. The sound isn’t something super special, it just sounds like a regular guitar if you get what I mean. That might sound like a bad thing, but it can be good for beginners that are playing lots of different genres. It just works for most music, with the exception of classical music.
Design
The FA-115 is a dreadnought acoustic guitar that has a spruce top and mahogany back and sides. The fretboard is made from rosewood, which is a nice, oily kind of wood that allows your fingers to slide effortlessly.
It’s available in natural, black and sunburst. All three colors look really cool with a glossy finish.
Who Should Buy It?
This is a good option for beginners who want to save money but still get a guitar from a famous brand. Advanced players might feel that it’s lacking in character, but if you’re just going to play a few chords, it’s definitely enough!
Taylor BT2 Baby Taylor Acoustic Guitar
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Taylor BT2 Baby Taylor Acoustic Guitar Review
If you are a short adult or are looking for a guitar for a kid, then Taylor BT2 Baby might be the perfect fit. It’s a 3/4 acoustic steel-string guitar. It’s perfect for small hands and lets you develop your technique without any unnecessary pain that often comes from trying to stretch your hand too far.
Apparently, Taylor Swift uses it when she’s on tour and needs to bring a guitar with her.
Sound
The Baby Taylor has a very warm, rich tone and it’s an instrument that’s very expressive and versatile, despite its small size.
Design
The guitar is entirely made from mahogany except for the neck, which is made from African ebony, which is a naturally black wood.
Who Should Buy It?
If you’re an adult, you probably don’t need to buy a 3/4 guitar unless you’re very short. I would recommend this guitar for children that are still growing.
Some people buy a smaller guitar because it’s easier to bring with them when they travel, but I’m not sure what to think about that. You can easily take a full-sized guitar with you on an airplane or a bus or train. And if you’re travelling and you’re not able to bring a full-sized guitar you’re probably not going to be able to bring a 3/4 either, because the size difference isn’t that big.
What Does It Sound Like?
Jasmine S34C NEX Acoustic Guitar
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Jasmine S34C NEX Acoustic Guitar Review
People who buy their very first guitar often want to spend as little as possible. They have no idea if they are going to keep their guitar playing up for longer than a few months and nobody wants to spend lots of money on something that’s just going to end up in the attic, gathering dust.
Jasmine S34C NEX is a good option for anybody who wants to buy a cheap guitar that’s still totally playable. It’s not even $100 and I find it amazing that it’s actually a proper instrument and not just a toy, which I first guessed.
Sound
Sure, if you compare this guitar to more expensive ones, you’ll hear a big difference, but it’s actually not that bad!
This guitar features a dreadnought design which makes it easy to reach even the highest frets. It has a smooth, matte finish and a spruce top and sapele back and sides. The fingerboard is made from rosewood. It has a very traditional look.
Who Should Buy It?
I would recommend this guitar to anybody who wants to spend as little as possible. Perhaps you are a beginner or you play another instrument and want to have a guitar on hand when your musician friends come over for a spontaneous jam session.
I wouldn’t recommend it to somebody who is serious about their guitar playing and are planning to keep their first guitar for many years, because chances are you will very soon feel the need to upgrade to something better.
What Does It Sound Like?
Buying an Acoustic Guitar? Here’s What to Expect…
I will never forget my very first guitar masterclass. It was for the Argentinian guitarist Victor Villadangos and I was 14 years old and super nervous.
I sat in the audience and waited and listened to all the other kids playing classical music and getting advice and complaints from the famous musician. What would he say about my playing?
When it finally was my turn I stepped up on the stage, sat down and played a Milonga. When I had finished, I held my breath. What would he say? Guess what? He wanted to look at my guitar because he liked the sound so much!
Now, that guitar was a Spanish one, an Esteve, and even if it has a nice sound that Villadangos loved, there is a secret about it that I never really revealed to anyone. It was only about $350!
So what can we learn from this little story? That it’s possible to find a great guitar for less than $500!
This is something that many musicians that play other instruments struggle to understand. I myself play the cello as well and let me tell you, it is impossible to find a good cello for that price!
So if you like saving money without compromising on quality, you’ve chosen the right instrument!
Why Are They So Affordable?
You might wonder why guitars can be cheaper than many other instruments and still be really good. My personal guess is that it has to do with the high demand. The guitar is, along with the piano, the most popular instrument in the entire world.
This means that there are lots of brands that make guitars and they all have to compete with each other. They all want to be the one that offers the best guitars for the lowest prices. This is what happens with most popular products and it’s inevitable that it happens in the music world as well.
Investing is a Good Idea
Before you run and buy the cheapest guitar you can find because you read online that cheap guitars are good, I’d just like to point out that you do get what you pay for.
I would recommend that you spend as much as you can afford to make sure that you get a really good instrument. The less you pay, the bigger the risk that the guitar isn’t that great after all.
It can be small things that you don’t really notice at the beginning, such as the guitar not staying in tune.
I would also highly recommend that you try playing a few different guitars before you come to a decision. If you’re ordering online, watch YouTube videos featuring the guitars you’re considering, but remember that all guitars are unique since they’re made of wood.
I hope that you’ll be able to find the perfect guitar for you among the ones I’ve reviewed!