Music is life and a sound that soothes the human mind; there are several musical instruments. An acoustic guitar has taken over the mainstream music scene for its unique sound and versatility. The guitar is an instrument you can use for classical music, jazz sound, and a punk rock anthem. An electric guitar seems to suit every music genre but the acoustic guitar that offers the most incredible versatility. The electric guitar tends to have lighter strings than the acoustic guitar. The guitar became popular in the 17th century up to the 19th century and is undoubtedly now widely used in all music genres. Its growing usage over the centuries comes with various differentiation of its body features.
An acoustic guitar is a musical stringed instrument that produces sounds through the vibrating strings placed above a hollow chamber in its body. The vibration from these strings is carried through the air and does not require any other amplification electrically. Most acoustic guitars have Six Strings, while a particular variation of an acoustic guitar has twelve strings. There are Nylon String and Steel String acoustic guitars. The most regular acoustic guitar weighs between 2.5 pounds and 5 pounds.
If you are not used to a guitar or just getting one for the, you might want to get familiar with the parts of a guitar to know the features to look out for.
The major body parts of a guitar
- The Body: The big curvy part of a guitar that rests firmly against your body whenever you play the guitar; and it sits right under the strings where you strum them during play. The body of an acoustic guitar is usually hollow.
- The Neck: Another major body part of the guitar is the neck, it is long enough to grip with your left hand while you are playing your strings.
- The Frets: The frets are a part of the guitar body, partly raised bits of wire that run across the fingerboard’s width. They allow guitar strings to become shortened when you press down the Strings into lengths that rhymes with the exact notes needed.
- The Fingerboard: This is also known as the Fretboard. This area is at the neck region and is directly under the strings. Shaped to make it possible for the Strings to be depressed at specific points to produce detailed notes. Most Fingerboards are made chiefly from woods like maple and Rosewood.
- Headstock: At the end of the neck of a guitar, you will see a headstock right there. It is the bit at the end of a guitar where all the guitar strings end, and it is also where the bits you tune your guitar with are found.
- Tuners: Also referred to as Tuning Pegs or Machine heads are the bits that we twist to tune the guitar. The tightening or losing of the flat essential part attached to a peg changes the tension of the strings and thereby can change the pitch of the guitar.
- Inlays: They are the decorative markers set into the fingerboard or Fretboard marked as the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, or 12th frets and can also be complex and decorative design.
- Strap Buttons: These are the metal studs that the straps are attached to. Some products, however, can be used to provide extended support above an ordinary strap button.
- The Nut and Saddle: The nut mostly can be found at the point where the neck joins the headstock, it is where the strings run through. It states where the playable part of the guitar string starts or ends. The saddle does the opposite of the nut in acoustic guitar. It is a single notched material similar to the nut but defines where the playability of the strings ends.
- The Bridge: This part of the guitar is the bit that supports the guitar strings as they move over the guitar body. In an acoustic guitar, it serves as the part that transfers the vibrations of the Strings into the guitar body and then amplifies the beats.
Buying a guitar is always fun and exciting, either you are buying it for the first time or not. This beauty is a whole package with its unique ability to function in every genre, but premium acoustic guitars cost thousands of dollars. It often requires you to empty your bank accounts to buy them. You can quickly get acoustic guitars at affordable prices as many of these top brands now offer quality models at budget-friendly prices. Even while purchasing budget models of these instruments, it is still necessary to pay attention to their characteristics and significant functions. You would not want to buy a musical instrument and yet not enjoy using it.
It was often difficult to know how to select a cheap guitar that would still offer the key features of sound, durability, and looks of a quality one. We have done the difficult and have chosen the best cheap guitars in the music suit your pockets and offer excellent quality.
Things To Consider Before Buying A Guitar
- To buy a guitar, you need to choose a brand with a price that suits your pocket. You would not want to buy a guitar that would break your bank or ruin your savings.
- While buying an acoustic guitar, deciding a perfect body-type that would work well for you is vital. You might want to buy a shallow body because it is easy to reach while you play. You might not mind a whole body size guitar or a full rounded back ovation. Playing the guitar should come with comfort, so you should try different body types to choose which is best for you.
- In buying an acoustic guitar, you should also consider choosing ones from a brand that you can trust and are capable of making quality designs. With the materials they use in making the top and expensive ones, they have the equipment and capability to make cheap ones that suit your budget. The big-name brands can make mass production of their original expensive designs.
The 8 Best Cheap Acoustic Guitar Are Reviewed Below
Quick Navigation
While buying a cheap acoustic guitar, you should always ensure to choose a model or brand of guitar made by a leading trusted brand. The brands with excellent reputation, consistency, and reliability are better trusted because they have products you can trust. We have compiled a list of products from trusted brands that suit your budget and offer you quality service, sound, and durability.
1
Yamaha FG800 Acoustic Guitar
Yamaha is a name known in the musical instrument industry, and you see its name on several musical instruments all around you, which says a lot about the company. They have built a solid 50-year reputation in providing value and class in their products. The Yamaha FG(Folk Guitar) series is one of the best cheap acoustic guitars you can find with the Yamaha trademark for style, quality, and sound.
The company knew acoustic guitar should not cost too much and developed a budget-friendly design called the FG800 series. With the newly advanced acoustic analysis technology that the company expanded, the FG800, built with a scalloped bracing pattern inside, gives a durable top board and still produces a more natural guitar. It helps the top of the guitar vibrate naturally and transmit higher frequency without dampening the guitar’s natural tone.
The Yamaha FG800 was designed to give you a power of choice; it has two body shapes, a concert shape and a dreadnought shape. The Yamaha company made this design from different tonewood that allows you to choose from a myriad of colours and be acoustic or electric-acoustic. It has a solid spruce top, and its back, neck, and sides are from nato, which gives a traditional tone combination primarily found in the mahogany-made best acoustic guitars. The Yamaha FG800 offers an upscaled, timeless looking, refined, unique, and most especially a quality acoustic guitar for your project.
Key Features:
- Dreadnought and Concert shaped
- Acoustic guitar
- Scalloped bracing pattern
- Solid spruce top
- Folk guitar
- Six strings
Specification:
- Model: Dreadnought, Concert
- Brand: Yamaha
- Material: Spruce, Rosewood, Natowood
- Weight: 6.38 pounds
- Colour: Natural
- Dimension: 42.5 x 20.7 x 6.1 inches
Pros
- Yamaha brand quality in pocket-friendly price
- Affordable price
- It has an adjustable truss rod
- Abalone inlay
- Offers natural sound
- The guitar bridge is in a fixed position
Cons
- It needs a setup to lower its actions
2
Seagull S6 Original Acoustic Guitar
Cheap and versatility do not go in a sentence we might believe; that is a possibility for the Seagull S6 acoustic guitar. It offers you a cheap acoustic guitar that is balanced and provides versatile usage, and it can suit every genre with its balanced nature suitable for both a beginner and a seasoned guitarist. The Seagull S6 has a focused and bright sound that makes playing with fingers or a pick great. The guitar model was thought to be designed to give an excellent sound projection and articulation.
The Seagull S6 is a guitar built with a beautiful cherry back and sides that gives off a domestic and comprehensive look. It blends the warmth found in a mahogany guitar with the crispy feel of a maple neck. The silver leaf maple neck with its length scale of 24.84 inches and a fretboard built from Rosewood helps to maximize overtones and brings harmony. It is built unlike some designs with a Solid Cedar Top, Tusq nut, and a compensated Saddle made from a lacquer semi-gloss finishing.
Key Features:
- Dreadnought body shape
- Cedar top design
- Wild cherry layered back and sides
- Rosewood fretboard
Specification:
- Model: Dreadnought
- Brand: Seagull
- Material: Cedar, Maple, Rosewood,
- Weight: 13.82 pounds
- Colour: LE Blue
- Dimension: 46 x 18.5 x 7.5 inches
Pros
- Has a sustainable tonewood
- Smooth and crispy sound
- Great finger playing or with a pick
- Maximizes overtones
- Affordable price
- Solid cedar top and wild cherry sides and back.
Cons
- It has few visual upgrades
- The price might be too high for some players
3
Fender CD-60S Guitar
The Fender’s CD-60S acoustic guitar is one of the best cheapest acoustic guitars, and it made it to our list because of its unique features. The dreadnought-shaped acoustic guitar provides a sturdy spruce top design and also comes with laminated mahogany for its sides and back. It features a string separation that provides a punchy, bright, and smooth sound projection, with its ability to sustain ringing, produces more upfront voicings, and makes a single-note lines sound that is clear and airy.
Its fingerboard is made from 20-fret Rosewood and has rolled edges to smoothen sharp frets and other rough woods, so you do not have to worry about poking your hands. The spruce top design is the standard for the modern tonewood for the tops of acoustic guitars with its level strength, dynamic sound range, and good brightness.
The Fender CD-60S responds powerfully to any acoustic style of playing you have chosen; either you want to play a fast Flatpicking, strum the strings hard, and a slow fingerpicking style. If you buy a pack version of the Fender CD-60S, you get picks, a pack of Strings, and straps, and you would also get a 30-day free trial of online playing class through the Fender Play.
Key Features:
- Mahogany laminated back and sides
- Rolled fretboard edges
- Strong Spruce Top Design
- Good sound clarity
Specification:
- Model: Dreadnought
- Brand: Fender
- Material: Mahogany, Rosewood, Spruce
- Weight: 0.16 ounces
- Colour: Natural
- Dimensions: 43.3 x 18.8 x 7 inches
Pros
- Mahogany sides and back to offer a smooth usage
- Spruce top offers much headroom
- Comfortable neck style during play
- Durable and smooth finish body
- Its rolled fretboard edges prevent pokes during play.
Cons
- The gig bag has no padding to protect the guitar.
4
Epiphone DR-100 Acoustic Guitar
Like most acoustic guitars, The Epiphone DR-100 Acoustic guitar also features that classic dreadnought body shape. It has plenty of headroom that allows you to strum hard, and so do the smooth and well-articulated fingerpicking. The Epiphone DR-100 is an acoustic guitar suitable for both new players and skilled guitarists. The DR-100 is known as the Epiphone best cheap acoustic guitar model.
This brand also has the modern spruce top and a mahogany body design, making the guitar a rigid body and an excellent sound projection with a balanced tone for any play situation. It also has a layered mahogany neck with the customized Epiphone branding SlimTaper “C” profile. The neck design of The Epiphone is shallower and thinner than most of the regular cheap acoustic guitar, which makes it unique and sets it apart from them.
It comes with a narrow 1.69 inches wide nut and premium guitar machine heads, and it provides a great deal of comfort while you play and offers you a full-sized sound like no other.
Key Features:
- SlimTaper Neck Design
- Solid Spruce Top
- Dreadnought Body Shape
- Mahogany body design
Specification:
- Model: Dreadnought
- Brand: Epiphone
- Material: Mahogany, Spruce
- Weight: 8 Pounds
- Colour: Vintage Sunburst
- Dimensions: 42 x 18.5 x 5.5 inches
Pros
- Narrow neck design
- Narrower 1.69 inches width nut
- Plenty of headroom for hard strumming or fingerpicking
- Great sound projection and balanced tone
- Offers excellent comfort while playing
Cons
- The neck might be too cramped for others
5
Gretsch Guitars Jim Dandy Flat Top Acoustic Guitar
If a modern-looking guitar does not do it for you, The Gretsch Guitar is a cheap acoustic guitar that offers you vintage and history. It has managed to keep the Gretsch “Rex” parlour guitar design way back to the early 1900s. This model reserved everything excellent about a first guitar. The Parlour design has a top, back, and sides made from basswood and its neck from nato wood. Its body is crafted with carefully selected guitar woods.
It can function as a guitar for your blues or just for a random play-around house, and it is fully lined to give a pleasing and warm tone when you play any of your choices. The model is built with a 24 inches scale that allows you to play for hours comfortably with soulful bends and swift passages. You can practice with this model on a couch or any other comfortable place you would love to practice in.
The Jim Dandy is a smaller size than the other cheap acoustic guitars, and with its unique size comes distinct tones. The vintage design of the Gretsch Acoustic guitar makes the creation one of the most appealing musical instruments. And this model is perfect if you intend to go on a musical trip. The walnut design of the fingerboard makes it sound great with the unique palette of tones, which works from smooth slide to glassy and to raw blues music choices.
Key Features:
- Vintage design and sound
- 24 inches Scale for long plays
- Versatility in-play choices
- Two-colour sunburst
Specification:
- Model: Parlor
- Brand: Gretsch
- Material: Agathis, Nato wood, Rosewood
- Weight: 2.2 pounds
- Colour: Vintage Sunburst
- Dimension: 14.96 x 3 35.43 inches
Pros
- Has a “C” shaped neck
- The guitar bridge is made from Rosewood
- Screened white purfling
Cons
- Size might not be loud enough for group playing
- The neck might be too small for some players
6
Fender FA-115 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar
Fender is known to set a standard in its products to rival any other cheap acoustic guitar. They are best known for their standard electric guitars, and their acoustic collection is efficiently known for quality and easily used by both new players and experienced guitarists. It has the classic dreadnought body style of acoustic guitars and an “X” bracing for its spruce top, and a mahogany body with a gloss finish.
The Fretboard is made from Rosewood and its bridge from hardwood, which has a compensated saddle. Its back and sides are also built from basswood. The rosewood fretboard offers you mellowed tones and a smooth surface for fretting chords and notes. Due to its body design, The Fender FA-115 gives classic techniques with a presence for loud strumming.
Like its colleague Fender CD-60S, The Fender FA-115 also comes in a pack that includes a gig bag, a strap and extra strings, indirectly saving your money of purchasing additional accessories.
Key Features:
- Regular Dreadnought acoustic body style
- “X” bracing spruce top
- Basswood layered sides and back
Specification:
- Model: Dreadnought
- Brand: Fender
- Material: Spruce, Basswood, Natowood
- Weight: 10 pounds
- Colour: Black
- Dimension: 43 x 7 x 20 inches
Pros
- Spruce top and mahogany body laminated
- Affordable acoustic guitar
- Extra accessories
- Durable
- Offers comfort while playing
Cons
- Lamination does not give resonance
- Dreadnought design may be too big for others
7
Ibanez AW54OPN Artwood Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar
The Ibanez AW540PN Acoustic Guitar is also built like our regular dreadnought acoustic guitar. Its own dreadnought body has a broad shoulder that is square-shaped, and it has an excellent projection with a lot of booming basses. It gives off a sharp treble result. The Rosewood-made Fretboard and bridge help to smooth out the tone of the guitar.
The AW540PN brings together a solid mahogany top, back, sides and neck that gives a cohesive and dynamic playing experience. It also allows a light open-pore finishing that is not similar to the thick glossy finishing mostly found on most cheap acoustic guitars.
Due to its less lacquer filling in the wood pores, it gives you an extra resonance. The Ibanez AW540PN Acoustic Guitar has an excellent tonal property, a punchy okume body sound and a superior finishing unique in most cheap acoustic guitars. The Artwood series was designed with a traditional touch and yet modern in its features.
Key Features:
- Mahogany body design
- Dreadnought body shape
- Rosewood bridge and Fretboard
- Traditional and modern designed
Specification:
- Model: Dreadnought
- Brand: Ibanez
- Material: Mahogany, Rosewood
- Weight: 4.5 pounds
- Colour: natural
- Dimension: 4x 15 x 41 inches
Pros
- Mahogany top design
- Punchy sound
- Smooth light finishing
- Open-pore finishing on both back and sides
- Affordable price
Cons
- Lack of a spruce top
- It might need a setup
8
Oscar Schmidt Acoustic Guitar
Oscar Schmidt is another guitar brand that is known for the affordable price range of its products. The Oscar Schmidt OG1 is a ¾ length guitar perfect for students, children and people with smaller hands. It is the best size of guitar that can be taken out with you because it is not heavy like the regular-sized guitar.
This design is made from a technical wood used as an alternative engineered wood; its Fretboard features twenty frets and is made from a tech wood, and its bridge is made from tech wood as well. The fingerboard has about fourteen of it free from the body. The truss rod is also adjustable, which can be used at other handy times. The neck of this Oscar design is thinner and shorter than the regular full-sized acoustic guitar.
The guitar design also comes with a D’Addario acoustic string primarily known for delivering a crisp and gorgeous tone with a powerful resonance.
Key Features:
- Small sized for children and people with smaller hands
- Engineered techwood
- D’Addario acoustic strings
Specification:
- Model: Engineered wood
- Brand: Oscar Schmidt
- Material: Technical wood, Spruce
- Weight: 5 pounds
- Colour: Natural
- Dimension: 41 x 7.75 x 15.5 inches
Pros
- Full scale and sized ¾
- Techwood for its fingerboard and bridge
- A great choice for children
- Offers great sound
Cons
- Too small for older people
Buying Guide Questions
With all our listed products reviewed, we are ready to answer all of your buying guide questions to help you make informed decisions on the type of acoustic guitar to buy that you would not regret later.
Are cheap acoustic guitars worth buying?
Acoustic guitars of high brands are naturally expensive and can cost thousands of dollars. We all would not be able to buy it due to its high price, but this price should not restrict us from getting a musical instrument. For beginners, it is always best to get a cheap acoustic guitar for ease of learning and affordability. Buying a cheap acoustic guitar can be tricky, but with our listed guide, you would be able to get a cheap acoustic guitar worth buying.
What brand of an acoustic guitar is good?
Many budget acoustic guitar features outstanding build quality. The best acoustic brand is mainly established brands like Seagull, Yamaha and Epiphone. They have a significant dominance in the industry and are open to buying the best materials to make their products. You should also look at their specific features, including a solid top primarily from the spruce top; this resonates better than those with laminated tops. They also provide extra volume and excellent sound clarity. The best brands also have rolled fretboard edges that prevent you from poking your hands while playing your guitar.
Do acoustic guitars sound better with age?
Most guitarists believe that acoustic guitars sound better with age. Compared with aged wine, most guitars, as they get older, tend to show more complex tonal flavour and show more excellent responsiveness as the years go by. The use of tonewoods to build these guitars also contributes to their ability to withstand time; as these wood age, it becomes more substantial, making the guitar more responsive. To maintain your acoustic guitar, you would need to give it enough care and maintenance.
What is the best high-end acoustic guitar?
To buy a high-end acoustic guitar, you must be able to spend on it, as they are mostly pricey. The high-end acoustic guitars often exhibit a high tone quality, volume, vibration, playability, feel, and longevity—brands such as Martin D-28, D-42, Fender Acoustasonic Telecaster and Taylor 414ce.
What is the best inexpensive acoustic guitar?
Getting an acoustic guitar is generally expensive; however, we have many other brands that make designs whose costs are affordable. They are quite a lot, and not all of them are very good or give the best results, thinking about which to pick can be extremely strenuous, and we have saved you the stress of that and compiled the lists of the best inexpensive acoustic guitar. In our buying guide, we have put together the best cheap acoustic guitar.
What cheap acoustic guitar is best for beginners?
Beginners need to get a guitar with the right-hand combination for easy learning, and they also need ones with great sound and value. The products in our review have a lot of these qualities. A beginner should also not get a guitar that is too big, especially for young children. It is better to get a smaller-sized guitar like the Gretch Jim Dandy and others on the list for comfort while playing. Acoustic guitar with steel-strings is also best for beginners because it projects sounds quickly. A beginner would also need a lot of equipment, so it might be best for them to get a guitar with packs of other accessories like the Fender models.
Conclusion
The acoustic guitar will always be a top-string instrument in the music industry for its versatile use to blend with the different musical genres. However, buying an acoustic guitar can cause a fortune, but we have compiled a list of cheap acoustic guitars that would not break your bank.
Cheap as these guitars, maybe, they can serve the purpose of your regular acoustic guitar. There is a long list of affordable acoustic guitars that you can buy, but some of them might not deliver the kind of sounds that you would love. But after our research, we have compiled a list of affordable guitars that would not only save you from too much cost but will deliver quality and durability.
We have carefully outlined the features of each guitar to help you choose the best of them to suit your taste and comfort, relieving you of the stress of buying a guitar that would not work well for you.