Decent beginner acoustic?

[tredders]

My 18 year daughter has decided that she'd like to learn guitar, and I've said that I'd sort one out for her.  Only problem is, I know absolutely nothing about 6 string guitars!  Basses I'm ok with.  Acoustic 6 strings, I haven't a clue.

I went onto Thomann and there appears to be lots of choice under £200.... Yamaha, Fender etc.  Can anyone recommend (or even better, sell me!) a decent quality acoustic suitable for a beginner?  I don't want to spend a fortune, but equally I don't want to get some horror guitar that's terrible to play...

Thanks in advance!

[dieseldalziel]

On 04/04/2019 at 17:08, tredders said:

My 18 year daughter has decided that she'd like to learn guitar, and I've said that I'd sort one out for her.  Only problem is, I know absolutely nothing about 6 string guitars!  Basses I'm ok with.  Acoustic 6 strings, I haven't a clue.

I went onto Thomann and there appears to be lots of choice under £200.... Yamaha, Fender etc.  Can anyone recommend (or even better, sell me!) a decent quality acoustic suitable for a beginner?  I don't want to spend a fortune, but equally I don't want to get some horror guitar that's terrible to play...

Thanks in advance!

Hi! As I'm pretty new to guitars I don't have a huge amount of experience that I can draw on to give advice, but Richards Guitars are doing the LAG brand starting at £199.. Richard has every guitar he sells fully checked & set up so you won't get a lemon, here's a new vid he's done on those. 

 

[tredders]

Thanks - that's really useful

 

[dieseldalziel]

Also he has a live chat on his website & it's him that actually him that interacts..good luck

[tauzero]

Thomann's own Harley Benton brand is very good for the price.

A few years ago, I decided to splash out in a very restrained fashion and bought a Crafter for £175 - can't remember the model. I was very impressed by the playability and tone, it competed with guitars twice its price.

[tredders]

Thanks both.  I checked out Richard's Guitars earlier today, and realised that his shop is only about 20 mins from where we live!  Caught up with Richard on chat on his website, and he offered some great advice, no hard sell at all, and the offer to come in and try some guitars out.  He even told me to let him know in advance which guitar(s) my daughter is interested in, and he'll ensure they've been properly setup, all without any obligation to buy.  Great service, so we'll definitely buy from him when daughter makes her mind up which she's after.

[dieseldalziel]

Brilliant! Wish I lived that close! Let us know how you got on..

[dieseldalziel]

On 09/04/2019 at 20:06, tredders said:

Thanks both.  I checked out Richard's Guitars earlier today, and realised that his shop is only about 20 mins from where we live!  Caught up with Richard on chat on his website, and he offered some great advice, no hard sell at all, and the offer to come in and try some guitars out.  He even told me to let him know in advance which guitar(s) my daughter is interested in, and he'll ensure they've been properly setup, all without any obligation to buy.  Great service, so we'll definitely buy from him when daughter makes her mind up which she's after.

how did you get on at Richards Guitars?

[tredders]

Sorry - I thought I’d replied to this.

We spent a couple of hours at Richard’s.  He set my daughter up in a soundproof room, with dozens of guitars, an amp and a couple of chairs, and told her to try out anything she fancied playing.  She picked out a really lovely Gordon Smith GS1 (Les Paul Jnr copy), and decided on that.  Richard insisted on putting it through his workshop for a full setup, new strings and a polish, and it was ready for collection a day later. 

Really excellent service, no pressure to buy anything, and just nice people.   

[EdwardMarlowe]

Nice guitar to start on! Is your daughter something of a Joan Jett fan by any chancE?