Any Tips for Buying A Guitar (The Acoustic Kind)?

There are two kinds of Acoustic guitars One with a narrow neck and set up to use steel strings and another one with a wider neck (2.1" at the Nut) and built to be used with nylon strings. This one is also known as the "classical" guitar but it will play all kind of musical genres just like the steel strings one can also play "classical" music. Both guitars are tuned the same E-B-G-D-A-and low E. Players that concentrate on playing mostly chiords like the closeness of the strings in the steel strings model. Players that prefer to play melody lines and arpeggios prefer the wider separation of the strings in the nylon strings model. If this is going to be your first guitar you should try as many as you have available to test within your budget but give preference to those guitars with a solid wood top - not laminated - It may cost a slight more but is worth the extra cost in the sound projection and sustain. Do make sure that the instrument you buy fits you the player nor anyone else. Check the scale length of the guitar - scale length is the distance of the strings (not the overall size of the guitar) from the Nut to the saddle - the white piece that slides into the bridge of the guitar. A standard size guitar has a scale length of very close to 25.6" and anything under that figure is called a "short-scale" guitar. This is important because many new players just buy a standard size guitar and later find that is very strenuous to handle the fret-board is they have short fingers or small hands.The shorter the scale length the closer the frets are to each other. It is like buying a pair of shoes - not one size fits everyone - If your fretting hand spread from tip of pinky to tip of thumb is under 8.6 " you could benefit from a short scale guitar.The market place is full of guitars listed as 7/8 or 3/4 or 1/2 sizes but that does not tell you the scale length.You must try them out for playability.
Two advertised 3/4 size guitars from different makers would not have the same scale length.Again try as many as you can find at your local guitar store. One good source to try is Guitar Center who carries many sizes and makes for both steels strings and nylon string guitars. Forget about the labels most machine manufactured guitars are very often twins products made to be sold under different "makers" particularly in the lower cost instruments. The proof will be in how it feels when you handle it and how it sounds to You, not the salesman. If you don't have a big selection available look at the Amazon web site that provides a good source of guitars as well as the users reviews of them. Good Luck in your new musical venture.. . .

It would be nice to know your budget and your experience level but I'm going to assume you're a beginner.

Most important tip of all: buy your guitar at a music store and nowhere else. Not from the internet and not from a big box store like Best Buy or Walmart. Only from a guitar store.

Spend enough to get a one with a solid wood top (as opposed to a "laminate" or plywood top). It will make a big difference in the tone quality. You will need to spend around $200 for the cheapest solid wood top acoustic guitar like the Yamaha FS-700S.

The most popular shape for acoustic guitars is called dreadnought. I happen to prefer a slightly smaller body called auditorium, OM, or 000 size.

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