How to Choose Your First Guitar: A Beginner's Guide

Choosing your first guitar is not actually that hard. It feels hard because you're looking at hundreds of options in a language you don't speak yet, and everyone online has a confident opinion. The secret is that most of those opinions are arguing about things that won't matter to you for at least a year.

After helping thousands of first-time buyers through our Newcastle store, we've found the same five decisions come up every single time. Get these right and you'll end up with a guitar that keeps you playing - which is the only goal that matters. Get any of them wrong and you'll probably end up one of the people who buys a guitar, plays it for six weeks, and leaves it in a cupboard.

This guide walks through each decision in plain English. It won't take long. By the end you'll know roughly what to buy, roughly what to spend, and what to ignore.

The five decisions, in order

You'll work through these roughly as presented - each decision narrows the next.

1.     What music do you actually want to play?

2.     Electric or acoustic?

3.     What's your realistic budget?

4.     Should you try before you buy?

5.     What else do you need beyond the guitar?

Decision 1: What music do you actually want to play?

This is the decision that unlocks every other one, and the one new buyers most often get talked out of by well-meaning advice.

People will tell you to "start on acoustic because it's easier" or "start on classical because it's cheaper." Both are half-truths that lead to the same outcome: you end up with a guitar that doesn't make the sounds you love, and within three months you stop picking it up.

The single best predictor of whether a first-time player sticks with guitar is whether the guitar they bought makes the kind of music they already listen to. Not what's easiest. Not what's cheapest. What sounds, to their ear, like real music.

The 60-second exercise

Open whatever you listen to music on. Play the three songs you've listened to most in the last month. For each one, ask:

•       Is the main guitar electric or acoustic?

•       Is it clean or distorted?

•       Is it strummed (chords) or plucked (notes)?

If two or three of those songs feature electric guitar, you're buying an electric. If two or three feature acoustic, you're buying an acoustic. That's the decision. You've just skipped about six months of internet arguments.

Decision 2: Electric or acoustic?

Decision 1 usually answers this for you, but here's a direct comparison so you know what you're committing to. Neither is objectively "better." They're different instruments that happen to share a name. Don't let anyone tell you one is the right place to start. The right place to start is the one that plays the music you love.

	Electric	Acoustic
Easier on fingers first month	Yes - lighter strings	Less so - heavier strings
Needs an amp	Yes (or headphone amp)	No - plays on its own
Practical for apartments	Yes - silent with headphones	Harder - always audible
Tune-and-go simplicity	Slightly more setup	Pick it up, play it
All-in starter cost (AUD)	~$500–$700 (guitar + amp + bits)	~$400–$600 (guitar + accessories)
Suits rock, pop, blues, metal	Yes	Possible but limited
Suits folk, singer-songwriter, worship	Possible	Yes

 

Decision 3: What's your realistic budget?

Here's an uncomfortable truth we see every week: the cheapest guitars are the most expensive mistake. A $120 guitar that won't stay in tune, has sharp fret ends, and sounds muddy is the thing that makes you believe you can't learn guitar. You can. The instrument is the problem, not you.

Realistic all-in budgets for a first instrument that won't hold you back:

Acoustic, all-in: $400–$1000

This gets you a properly built guitar, a case or gig bag, a clip-on tuner, a strap if you need one, and spare strings. Anything less than about $300 for the guitar itself is usually a false economy.

Electric, all-in: $500–$1500

Electric costs more because you also need an amp and a cable. Roughly $400–$100 for the guitar, $200–$300 for a modest practice amp, and $80–$100 for the odds and ends. The all-in-one "starter pack" format bundles all of this and is usually the simplest way in.

Children under 10: $200–$500

Kids need smaller guitars (3/4 size for 8–11 year olds, 1/2 size for younger). The budget is lower because the instrument is smaller, but also because you may be upgrading in 2–3 years as they grow.

A note on spending more than necessary: Some first-time buyers go the other way and over-spend -"I don't want to outgrow it." Experienced players will tell you the opposite: the expensive guitar you bought before you knew what you liked is usually the one you sell off two years later. Buy something good enough to not hold you back. Save your serious money for the second guitar, once you know what you want. 

Decision 4: Should you try before you buy?

Short answer: yes, if you can. Even if you don't know what you're doing yet.

A guitar is a physical object. You'll hold it for thousands of hours. The weight, the balance, the thickness of the neck, how far your fingers have to stretch, whether the body digs into your ribs - none of this shows up in reviews. Two guitars of the same model can feel different from each other.

What to notice (even as a complete beginner)

•       Does it feel heavy or light? You're going to hold this for an hour at a time. Preferences are personal.

•       Can you reach comfortably across the neck? Press down on the thickest string at the end furthest from the body. If it's a stretch, the neck might be too thick for your hand.

•       Does it sit comfortably in your lap or on a strap? Some body shapes just don't suit some bodies.

•       Do the frets feel smooth on the edge of the neck? Run your fingers along the side. If any of the little metal bits feel sharp, walk away.

•       When the staff member plays it, do you like the sound? You don't need to play yourself to answer this.

You don't need to know how to play to try a guitar. Any decent music store will have a staff member happy to hand you one, tune it, and demo it for you. We do this all day in store; nobody cares if you've never held one before. If a shop makes you feel stupid for asking, go to a different shop.

What if you can't get to a store?

Buying online is completely fine, most of our customers outside Newcastle do it that way. Two things make it safer:

Buy a well-documented, popular model. Forum reviews and video demos will tell you what you're getting. Buying an obscure model you've never heard of sight-unseen is the riskier move.

We ship Australia-wide and every guitar we send out gets a professional setup before it leaves the store - so you're opening an instrument that plays as well as it can. That doesn't replace trying before buying, but it comes close.

Decision 5: What else do you need beyond the guitar?

Almost everyone forgets this and then spends more than they planned. Here's the full list.

Must-have

•       A tuner. A clip-on tuner ($20–$40) clips to the headstock and is used by professionals. An out-of-tune guitar is an un-fun guitar.

•       Spare strings. Stock strings are old by the time the guitar reaches you. A fresh set within the first month of playing is transformative. $15–$30 depending on brand.

•       Picks. A few thicknesses to try. Under $10 for a pack.

•       A case or gig bag. Even if the guitar just lives in your house. Most new guitars include one; if yours doesn't, budget $50–$150.

Almost must-have

•       For electric: an amp and a cable. A 10–20 watt practice amp (Boss Katana, Fender Frontman, Positive Grid Spark) is plenty for home. $150–$400.

•       A strap. If you plan to stand up when you play. $30–$60.

•       A capo. A little clamp that changes the key of the guitar. Used in huge amounts of contemporary music. $30–$60.

Genuinely optional

•       A music stand, a metronome app, a practice journal, online lesson subscriptions, a guitar stand for the living room.

•       Don't worry about pedals, effects, boutique cables, or expensive strings for at least six months.

If this feels overwhelming, the easy fix is a complete starter pack. They're designed to include everything above in one purchase, which is why we recommend them for total first-timers. A decent pack saves you about 20% on the all-in cost and removes every decision except which guitar.

A few things you might be wondering

Should I get guitar lessons?

If you can afford them, yes - especially for the first six months. A good teacher will save you a year of bad habits. Most cost $40–$70 per half-hour in Australia. If you can't afford lessons, YouTube has more quality free tuition than has ever existed: Justin Guitar, Marty Music, and Paul Davids are three reliable starting points. A structured free course like Justin Guitar's beginner series is genuinely excellent.

How long until I can play something?

You'll strum a recognisable chord progression within your first week. You'll play a simple song within your first month. You'll sound like a beginner for about a year. You'll sound like a player somewhere between year two and year three. This is true regardless of the guitar you buy; the only thing that speeds it up is practicing.

What if my hands are small?

Short-scale and thin-neck guitars exist and are worth trying. The Fender Jaguar and Mustang (and their Squier versions), most Ibanez electrics, and smaller-body acoustics like Taylor's GS Mini all work well for smaller hands. Kids' 3/4-size guitars are also perfectly legitimate adult instruments if the full-size guitar feels too big. Don't assume you need a full-size guitar just because you're an adult.

What if I'm left-handed?

Buy a left-handed guitar. Don't flip a right-handed one, the bracing, nut, and bridge are wrong. Left-handed range is narrower and prices are slightly higher, but every major brand makes left-handed beginner models. Our left-handed guitar section has current stock.

Should I buy new or second-hand?

For a first guitar, new is usually simpler. You get a warranty, a setup, and no unknown history. Second-hand is fine if you're buying from someone you trust or a music store (which will have checked it and set it up), but the private-sale used market is full of guitars that stopped being played because they were problematic. The saving isn't usually worth the risk for a first purchase.

Putting it all together

Your shopping process, start to finish:

1.     Figure out what music you want to play (the three-songs exercise above).

2.     That decides electric versus acoustic. Stop agonising about it.

3.     Set a realistic budget for all-in.

4.     If possible, get down to our Sydney or Charlestown store and actually hold a few. Focus on how they feel, not the specs.

5.     Buy from a retailer who'll set the guitar up and stands behind it after you've bought it.

6.     Start playing. Don't buy anything else for six months except strings.

If you want to talk it through

Choosing your first guitar is one of the things we help with every single day. If you'd rather have a conversation than keep reading, call us on 1300 687 672, email through the contact page, or drop into our Sydney or Newcastle store. There's no pressure - lots of the people we help end up playing for thirty years, and we remember when they were standing where you are now.