Guitars come in countless shapes and sizes. When picking up a guitar for the first time, size and comfort should trump overall quality. You're no Paul McCartney or Carlos Santana yet. On the other hand, you don't want an instrument that's unplayable. I recommend buying a midrange piece of equipment that won't drop you in a financial hole, but leaves some room for musical maturity.
I also recommend an acoustic guitar, allowing you unrestricted access to your instrument anywhere, anytime.
#1: Seagull The Original S6 Acoustic Guitar
The Seagull S6 won silver in the 2008 Players Choice Awards. Its shorter neck makes it easy on fresh fingers, and stable tuning pegs will keep the guitar in tune longer. The guitar also has an unrivaled tone in its own price range and higher priced guitars. Seagull is a company known for providing value. Guitar Center customers rate the S6 with five stars and it can be yours for around $450, as of August 2009.
Below is a review from "Dave" on Aug. 20, 2009 (provided by Guitar Center):
"This was my first guitar after years of playing the piano. I did a lot of research before deciding which guitar to get and everything pointed toward the Seagull S6 as the best starter instrument. As I have quickly learned, there is a reason that this guitar has gotten such high acclaim."
#2: Squier by Fender Fat Strat Electric Guitar
The Fat Strat is another five-star instrument, this time from the electric end of our musical spectrum. However, the Squier hardware is suspect and quality will vary from instrument to instrument, which means you should play each Fat Strat the store has, finding one that suits your personal sound. This guitar is an almost carbon copy of its much more expensive brother, the Fender Stratocaster.
If the Squier Fat Strat becomes your instrument of choice, you should swap out the stock tuning pegs with Fender locking tuners.
#3: Yamaha FG700S Folk Acoustic Guitar
While admittedly not in the same league as the Seagul S6, the Yamaha's significant price drop adds it to our list. This is the best acoustic guitar you can get for the price, earning it a five-star customer rating. For $20, I suggest lowering the action to make this a truly superb instrument.
#4: Epiphone G-310 SG Electric Guitar
The younger brother of the Gibson SG series, an Epiphone G-310 is a great starter electric guitar. As with the Squier Fat Strat, the 310's hardware and pickups are of lower quality.
As far as guitar for you buck is considered, however, the Epiphone G-310 is a top contender: "I was so pleased with the performance of this guitar that I wound up getting a second one two weeks later. I've used this guitar with half stacks and the sound is wicked ... I definitely recommend getting this guitar if your a beginner, intermediate or even an expert." -GSage on Feb. 12, 2009 at GuitarCenter.com.
Final Note
There is no one size fits all when it comes to your first guitar. The best thing to do is to take these recommendations to your local guitar store, try out all the guitars and pick the one that suits you best.
Tags: Epiphone G-310, Electric Guitar, first guitar, Guitar Center, guitar with