Buying a Guitar on a Budget

While I would always advocate buying the best quality guitar, for those that are budget conscious I have put together some recommendations that will help stretch your budget whilst allowing your child to grow musically.

No matter what your budget, when buying a new guitar for your son or daughter you need to keep in mind your childs age and experience. What is important, is to learn the basics of guitar playing on a classical guitar, sometimes called nylon or spanish guitar. Steel string acoustics, while sounding fantastic when played, can be bulky and awkward to hold for little hands and not the best to begin lessons on. Don't forget a guitar case, footstool and a music stand as necessary extras!!!
Age

No matter what grade your child has achieved, the guitar must be size appropriate. For children up to 12 years old, in general, a three quarter size classical guitar will be most appropriate. If your son/daughter is particularly tall for his/her age, then it is possible that a full size classical guitar would be more appropriate. This is better gauged when at the local music shop or with a specialised classical guitar importer.

In short you get get what you pay for. The better the quality of the instrument the more likely your son/daughter will musically grow. A low quality guitar will not respond to subtle nuances as well as a better quality instrument, and if it doesn't respond then the student will find it difficult to fully understand certain musical concepts. However, if you are on a budget you may wish to work your way up to the more expensive guitars when you are more sure of your child's commitment. With this in mind here are some minimum recommendations depending on your child's experience:

  • Beginner Guitar. YAMAHA C40, not a great guitar but will do the trick nicely especially if you're not certain if your son/daughter is serious about guitar lessons and you are reluctant to invest. You're looking at about the $AU200 approximately.
 
  • Up to AMEB Grade 4. Best value for money at this level is the ALHAMBRA 1C in my opinion around the $AU600 mark, and can be ordered through the Alhambra representative Allan Spencer at the Cooma School of Music ([email protected] or 0434 876 614). Alternatively, at the local music shop the ADMIRA CAPRICCIO is a good guitar.​
  • Up to AMEB Grade 6. Best value for money at this level is the ALHAMBRA 3C in my opinion around the $AU900 mark, or the ALHAMBRA 4P is very good value for money for a little extra. Both can be ordered through the Alhambra representative Allan Spencer.
 
  • Up to AMEB Grade 8. Best value for money at this level is the ALHAMBRA 7C in my opinion around the $AU1,700 mark, and can be ordered through the Alhambra representative Allan Spencer. Alternatively, at the local music shop the RAMERIZ range offers very good guitars around the $AU1,700 mark​
  • Next Level (Beyond AMEB Grade 8). By now you're looking at some serious guitars where the price can be very high. For hand made Australian guitars, best to look at different luthiers (guitar makers) including Lance Litchfield, Dan Kellaway, Graham Caldersmith, Kim Lissarague and these are just a handful of many. For quality imported Spanish guitars visit www.guitarsonline.com.au. There are quite a few options at this level and they are all into the $thousands, best to talk with me in person about this range as the importance of a Cedar top or a Spruce top becomes relevant.
John Recommends

Quality hand made guitars from Australian based luthier Jens Ploesser
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​http://jensploesserguitars.com.au/