Acoustic Guitar Buyer Guide: What Should You Check?
You could feel overwhelmed while shopping for an acoustic guitar. There are many things, features, and specs to think about since guitar makers use different woods, tools, and design elements.
Before shopping for your next acoustic guitar, be sure you're well-versed in the four main things we will discuss here.
While renowned brands like Martin or Taylor are expensive, we'll share advice on buying the best acoustic-electric guitars that you will love (both budget and comfort-wise).
Return to All Guitar LessonsQuick Checklist Before Buying An Acoustic Guitar
- Evaluate your budget and the intended purpose of the instrument.
- Check out the tonewoods, like spruce and mahogany.
- Figure out the subtle differences of the acoustic guitars construction and design
- Check the guitar's build quality, playability, and sound.
Why Acoustic Guitars?
Why opt for an acoustic guitar when electric guitars and basses are available? The acoustic guitar has a natural tone that sets it apart. Even playing the same chords or notes as an electric guitar produces a unique sound with depth and richness.
- An acoustic guitar is a fantastic choice if you're a band or single performer.
- As a foundational rhythmic instrument, you may have an acoustic guitar.
- You can experiment and come up with song ideas naturally
- Acoustic guitars are excellent options for adding extra layers to a song.
Acoustic Guitar Buyer's Guide
Despite their quite similar appearance, acoustic guitars are different in structure, materials, and design, which can greatly impact their sound and feel.
Also, purpose and skill level are some of the most important factors. These points should help you make the right decisions when looking for an acoustic guitar.
Purpose, Skill Level And Budget
Most beginners can not afford an expensive acoustic guitar. However, many low—to medium-priced, high-quality acoustic guitars are now available due to improvements in production techniques.
You get the best of both worlds with the ZAD20 from Zager. Its natural spruce soundboard and complete mahogany body make it the most reasonably priced guitar of its kind, and its tone is lovely—bright, concentrated, and not at all thin.
You may have played for a while and are now ready to invest in a better guitar. If that's the case, you should be familiar with the soundboard's effect on resonance and the differences in tonewoods.
Are you planning to join a band or bring your guitar to random places like open mic nights? If that's the case, you could like playing an acoustic-electric guitar, such as the Zager Guitars ZAD900CE.
Tonewood
The performance of your acoustic guitar largely depends on the tonewood used by the manufacturer. Have a glance over the most common tonewoods enhancing acoustic sound-
- Spruce: Spruce has been the standard top wood for many makers for many years. Its lightweight but robust construction strikes a nice mix of resonance and durability. The ZAD900 Zager Guitars is the perfect example of using a spruce top and delivering a powerful tone.
- Rosewood: This type of wood is often used on fretboards because of its thickness. While many manufacturers avoid using it on acoustic guitar bodies due to overpricing, you can find it on the back and sides of some high-end models, usually with a solid spruce top.
- Mahogany: This intense, thick wood is usually used for the sides and back. Today, many of the best acoustic guitars have cases made entirely of mahogany, which shows how popular the wood is. People who want a darker sound that brings out the bass and mids should choose a mahogany top.
Shape And Size
The weight, look, and comfort of playing an acoustic guitar are directly related to its shape and size. Differences in guitar size and form also affect the sound and volume.
The Dreadnought is broadly seen as the standard acoustic guitar shape and size. Enrich your collection with this ZAD80CE Solid Rosewood Acoustic Electric "AURA" Pro Series.
Medium-sized acoustics, like the Concert and Orchestra (OM) types, are just a few choices for people who want something smaller. Some of these are easier to play than dreadnoughts because their bodies are smaller and thinner. However, they sound less powerful and bassier, like the Zager Guitar ZAD900 OM Acoustic Natural.
Then, there are parlor sizes, such as the 38-inch Parlor Size Solid African Mahogany Acoustic. These small-body acoustics have a rough, mid-focused tone that works well for blues and similar styles. They are also available for younger players.
Structure of the Neck and Playability
The neck's setting dramatically affects how easy it is to play, which can, in turn, make or break your experience. This is why you should carefully consider the neck's specs and settings, especially if you are starting.
- Nut and saddle: The nuts and saddle play an important role in getting sounds from the strings to the neck and body. You would notice, that maximum cheap acoustic guitars come up with them, but subpar quality. These are usually the first parts that guitarists who have been playing for a while improve.
- Nut width: Although it varies by model and manufacturer, the standard range for acoustic guitar nut width is 1.6785′′ to 1.875′′. Choose the smaller nut when you want to play more casually, whether I'm practicing or on stage. On the contrary, the wider nut allows you to use methods like slide, hammer-on, bends, vibrato, and more without hitting other strings by chance.
- Scale length: Although 25.5 and 24.75 inches are the most popular scale lengths for acoustic guitars, smaller-bodied acoustics, such as parlor guitars, have lower scales.
- Action / String Height: A lower action shouldn't cause fret buzz. If you have previously smoothed your nut slots and adjusted your neck relief, as well as if you want to increase the playability of your guitar, then reducing the action of your twelfth fret by a tiny amount can be helpful.
Like the reduced string tensions and shorter string heights of the ZAD50CE by Zager Guitars.
You can come across the strings more perpendicularly, which improves accuracy, and you can construct chords with far less finger pressure, which speeds up your movement on the fretboard.
Ready To Get Your First Acoustic Guitar?
So, follow this acoustic guitar buying guide to choose the right one. Consider the four main things: purpose, budget, construction, and playability.
However, if you want a protective case, verify with the brand and store you're buying it from.