Start here

Just starting out.

A first guitar does not need to be good. It needs to be playable, and it needs to be set up. Those are different problems, and only one of them costs money.

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What actually matters

Playability beats tone at this stage. If the action is too high you will press harder than you need to, your hand will hurt, and you will quit before tone is ever a question. A cheap guitar with a good setup beats an expensive one with a bad one, every time.

• 01Action — string height at the 12th fret. Above about 2.5 mm on the low E is fighting you.
• 02Neck relief — a slight forward bow. Too flat buzzes, too much makes it hard to press.
• 03String gauge — 9s or 10s on electric. Heavier strings are harder to bend, not more serious.
• 04Intonation — the 12th fret should be the same note as the open string, an octave up.

What to ignore at the start

Tonewood, finish, brand history, resale value, and anyone telling you to spend more before you can play. None of it changes whether you practise. Pickup type changes the sound, but a beginner cannot yet hear what it changes, and it does not change the playing.

If you are small, or unsure, consider a ukulele

Four strings instead of six, nylon instead of steel, and a scale short enough that small hands can reach every chord shape. It teaches the same left hand and it costs less. It is the cheapest way to find out whether you actually enjoy this.

Entry instruments in the archive

Not recommendations — this archive does not rate things. These are the instruments catalogued here that sit in the entry tier.

• Artist Series — Alvarez
• Masterworks / MPA — Alvarez
• Yairi (AY) line — Alvarez
• Earth series acoustics — Cort Guitars
• G Series — Cort Guitars
• Little CJ — Cort Guitars
• X Series (X-6/X-11) — Cort Guitars
• DAG-1 acoustics — Donner
• DTC-100 — Donner
• HLX-500 — Donner2026
• HUSH-I EVO2 — Donner2026
• Nexg — Enya
• Nova X1 / X3 — Enya
• Casino — Epiphone1961
• Dot — Epiphone1959 (as ES-335)
• Explorer — Epiphone1980s+
• Fatoumata Diawara Signature SG — Epiphone2026
• Firebird — Epiphone1963+
• Flying V — Epiphone1980s+
• Futura lineup (stainless frets) — Epiphone2026
• Hummingbird / Dove / J-45 EC — Epiphone1960s+
• Inspired by Gibson Custom 1959 Les Paul Standard Reissue — Epiphone2024
• Inspired by Gibson Custom 1962 ES-335 Reissue — Epiphone2024
• Inspired by Gibson Custom line — Epiphone2020
• Inspired by Gibson Futura Explorer Custom — Epiphone2026
• Les Paul Standard 50s/60s — Epiphone2019
• Riviera — Epiphone1962
• SG Standard — Epiphone1963+
• Thunderbird — Epiphone1963+
• FFDC / FFLG / FFTH — Firefly
• Country Gentleman — Gretsch1957
• Duo Jet — Gretsch1953
• Electromatic line — Gretsch1990s
• G6120 Nashville / Chet Atkins — Gretsch1955
• Gretsch basses (White Falcon bass, Electromatic) — Gretsch
• Jet — Gretsch1950s
• Streamliner — Gretsch2016
• White Falcon — Gretsch1954
• White Penguin — Gretsch1955
• CST-24 — Harley Benton

Amps to look at

• Tone Hammer 210 Combo — Aguilar2026
• Rocket Bass RB-115 — Ampeg2021
• Venture V12 — Ampeg2023
• RB-800 (Rex Brown Signature) — Ashdown2025
• SO-1200 (Shavo Odadjian Signature) — Ashdown2025
• Studio-4 — Ashdown2025
• Black Cat 30 — Bad Cat Amplifiers
• Cougar series — Bad Cat Amplifiers
• Hot Cat 30 — Bad Cat Amplifiers2000s
• Artist FR series — Blackstar2026
• Debut 100R 1x12 Combo — Blackstar2025
• HT Club 40 / HT-5 — Blackstar2008

What to learn first

Open chords, in this order: Em, Am, C, G, D, A, E. Then the F barre, which is the wall everyone hits, and which is only finger strength and repetition. There is a practice plan for the first month.

Chords · Practice · Acoustic guitars · Electric guitars