Buying guide · updated 2026-08-24
The Best Guitars for Beginners
The specifications that matter to a beginner are not the ones on the front of the box. Here is what to look for, and the four instruments we would recommend.
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Our picks
Best beginner electricSquierAffinity Series Stratocaster3-Color Sunburst, Laurel fingerboard
A slim C neck, a 9.5-inch radius and the most useful pickup layout in guitar. Budget for a setup and it will keep up with you for years.
7.5/10 Fretline4.6 (531)
Best for aspiring rock playersIbanezGIO GRX70QATransparent Black Sunburst
The thinnest neck at this price. Ignore the tremolo, learn on the neck, upgrade the hardware later.
7.2/10 Fretline4.6 (2,567)
Best complete starter packageJacksonJS Series Dinky JS11QTransparent Black, Austin Bazaar starter bundle
Guitar, amplifier, bag, tuner, strap, cable and picks in one box — nothing else to buy before the first lesson.
7.0/10 Fretline
Best beginner acousticFenderCD-60SCE Dreadnought, All-MahoganyNatural
Rolled fingerboard edges and a controlled low end make this far easier to learn on than most dreadnoughts.
8.0/10 Fretline4.4 (888)
Not sure between them?
Add any of these to the comparator and see every specification aligned, with the differences marked and the score profiles overlaid.
Open the comparatorWhat actually makes a guitar easy to learn on
Almost nothing on a marketing page. The things that decide whether a beginner sticks with the instrument are the height of the strings above the fingerboard, whether the nut slots are cut deep enough, and whether the fret ends are smooth. All three are setup, and all three can be fixed on any guitar for the price of a couple of lessons.
That is why our advice is consistent: spend less on the instrument than you were planning to, and spend the difference on a professional setup. A well-set-up $250 guitar is easier to play than a badly-set-up $900 one, every single time.
Neck profile and nut width
A slim C profile is the safe recommendation: comfortable for small and large hands alike. Nut width matters more than most people realise — a 42 mm nut, standard on a Stratocaster, gives smaller hands a fighting chance at barre chords, where a 44 mm nut makes them noticeably harder.
Avoid a double-locking tremolo for now
A Floyd Rose is a superb piece of engineering and the wrong first guitar. Changing a string becomes a twenty-minute operation involving allen keys and fine tuners, and a beginner breaks strings often. Start with a fixed bridge or a standard vibrato and move up when you know you want it.
Should you buy a bundle?
A starter bundle solves a real problem: an electric guitar without an amplifier makes almost no sound, and a beginner who cannot hear themselves gives up. The accessories in a bundle are practice-grade rather than lasting, but that is the correct trade for a first year. If you already own an amplifier, buy the guitar on its own and put the difference towards a setup.
Common questions
- Electric or acoustic first?
- Electric is physically easier — lighter strings, lower action, a slimmer neck. Acoustic is simpler to own, because it makes sound on its own. Pick whichever matches the music you actually want to play; motivation beats ergonomics.
- How much should a first guitar cost?
- Enough to be worth setting up, which in practice means around $200 to $300 for an electric and $300 to $400 for an acoustic with electronics. Below that, build quality starts to make progress genuinely harder.
- What else do I need?
- For an electric: an amplifier, a cable, a strap, a tuner and spare strings. A bundle covers all of them. For an acoustic: a tuner, a strap and spare strings.
Instruments in this guide
Squier · Electric guitar
Affinity Series Stratocaster
3-Color Sunburst, Laurel fingerboard
The default first Stratocaster, and it earns the position
Ibanez · Electric guitar
GIO GRX70QA
Transparent Black Sunburst
The cheapest honest route into a fast neck and a humbucker at each end
Jackson · Electric guitar
JS Series Dinky JS11Q
Transparent Black, Austin Bazaar starter bundle
Everything a first metal player needs, in one box
Fender · Acoustic-electric guitar
CD-60SCE Dreadnought, All-Mahogany
Natural
A solid mahogany top and a Fishman system, well under the price that usually buys either
Keep reading
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The Best Guitars of 2026
Six guitars, from a $200 first instrument to a signature seven-string built for the studio. Every specification here was checked against the manufacturer before it was published.