Cheap guitars you must try – part two
By MNJ
| Posted in Guitar
Yesterday we introduced you to the changing world of cheap guitars, where prices have fallen but quality has gone up and up. Once not so long ago a guitar store salesperson would have reeled away in horror if a customer had walked in and asked for a cheap guitar. Now that question is greeted not with disdain but with a range of high quality instruments, both electric and acoustic.
In yesterday’s blog we talked about some of the best affordable electric guitars on the market. Today we’re focusing on cheap acoustic guitars. And if it’s an acoustic guitar you want for learning the basics, busking, or just hanging out and playing with friends, then what could be better than playing a Fender? The Fender CD-60 features a spruce top, mahogany back and sides and a Nato neck topped with a Sonokeling fingerboard. For the price, which also includes a compensated bridge saddle, it represents true value for money.
Meanwhile, if it’s the cheap acoustic package that’s of interest, look no further than the Epiphone DR-90 Acoustic Player Pack. This includes not only the guitar but an Epiphone gigbag, strap, pitch pipe, picks and a tutorial DVD. It’s based on a traditional dreadnought design with an attractive spruce top and mahogany back and sides. The DR-90S includes the same accessory package but offers the guitar with a select spruce top.
Yamaha has a comprehensive line of guitars at all price points but it’s the Yamaha F310 which is the outstanding instrument at the budget end. This model has been around for some time but its continuing popularity among the folk and guitar tuition communities keep it in production, mainly due to its reduced body depth and intermediate scale length. Its spruce/meranti body gives it a bright, sweet resonance not unlike its renowned cousin, the Yamaha FG, and real rosewood is used for the fingerboard and bridge. This guitar is also available as the F310 Package, which includes an instructional DVD and Yamaha YT-100 Tuner.
Yamaha classical guitars are also renowned as great quality budget instruments and the Yamaha C40B is no exception. Available as a package, which includes an instruction book with CD, the spruce top and traditional looks have proved popular with classical guitar students worldwide.
Also of interest to younger students is the Jose Ferrer Classical, which is likely to be the classical guitar they learn on. Available in three sizes – full, three-quarter and half – it was designed by teachers for students and is ideal for the young player. A total of 52 free online lessons are included in the price of this attractive classical guitar.
finally, an alternative to the Ferrer is the Valencia VG-160. Also available in three sizes, it features a shaded top, basswood back and sides and a mahogany neck. Recent updates to this model include a Graph Tech nut and saddle and black body binding.
The entry level market now offers outstanding quality and value for money. The result is that there has never been a better time to want to play the guitar, be it electric or acoustic. The choice and quality of instruments is unprecedented. Manufacturers in the Far East, which is obviously where most low price instruments originate, now have far higher quality control than a few years ago, as designs and standards that are set in the western world filter through to the Korean and Chinese factories.
The phrase ‘cheap guitars’ – regardless of whether it’s applied to acoustic instruments or electric six strings – can still imply a lower-grade instrument that’s not going to offer a new player the experience they were hoping for. But as that salesperson who would once have been horrified to hear the phrase used will now tell you, the world of affordable instruments has changed. No longer does ‘cheap’ mean bad – it just means that you get more guitar for your money.
Tags: acoustic guitars, affordable guitars, budget guitars, cheap guitars