Why You Should NOT Spend Too Much On Your First Guitar

If you’ve been looking around the web for advice on what guitar you should buy and how much, some articles will tell you to pay more for a better guitar upfront or ‘buy the best you can afford’. Some even suggesting you pay $1000 or $1500+ because it is built better and would always sound better than a cheaper guitar.

As a late beginner myself, I’m here to give you a different opinion along with many reasons why I think it would be risky and perhaps even stupid to spend that much up front.

While I am not at all suggest you get a cheap off-brand guitar, there are many guitars under $500 that I feel you should start with if this is the first time you’re picking up guitar.

My first guitar was a $125 used Behringer guitar that I found on Kijiji. I really loved black and the Stratocaster aesthetic, and I didn’t have a lot to spare. I did learn a lot on that for about 8 months.

When it came to buy my second guitar, I had to order online as we were a couple months into the pandemic. When I tried to find my current guitar online to find stats and compare it, I couldn’t find anything about my guitar besides a beginners kit that it could be found in, so I had to take a shot in the dark.

I stuck with the stratocaster style as I liked it, and got another beginner guitar, the Tropical Squier guitar that I am using now. It came up to about $260 or so after tax. It was sooo much lighter, and it came with lighter strings that were easier to bend, vibrate, and hold down barre chords. Admittedly, it also sounded much clearer on the amp and it didn’t crack up.

So definitely, don’t get a cheap guitar for the sake of a cheap guitar. And if possible, definitely go in person to see the guitars. Stores will usually only carry reputable guitars, and you can even get cheaper used ones that have been checked and fixed. It’s always good to get a feel for a guitar and see how it feels in your arms.

So as a beginner, I would recommend $100-$300 for an acoustic guitar and $200-$500 for an electric guitar, and here is why~

1. You Don’t Know If You’ll Stick With Guitar Yet

No matter how driven you feel now, no matter how long it’s been your dream to play guitar, it doesn’t change the fact that the majority, and I’m talking 85%+ of beginners quit within their first year.

And considering guitar is one of the most popular instruments, that is a whole lot of people who were just like you but who just didn’t stick with it.

So consider your first guitar like a test drive. After you stick with it for some time and you’re sure this is what you want to play long term, then you can definitely invest in something more high end.

2. You’re Less Likely To Play A Pricey Guitar

I’m not speaking for everyone on the planet, but for a lot of people, if you have something pricey or valuable, you would prefer to keep it in pristine condition and will store it or keep it somewhere safe.

You may think spending $1200 on a guitar will motivate you because you made such a big investment, but you’ll also be hesitant to play with it and mess with it.

However, you know yourself best. Perhaps you are someone who could wear a $600 dress to lunch or Teslas don’t intimidate you. You do you. If you can afford it, then go for it. Not sure why you’re reading this haha

But if you are someone who won’t want your clammy hands to ruin the fretboard, or you’re a bit clumsy, then get a cheaper guitar until you feel more confident as a guitarist.

3. You WILL Drop, Ding Or Damage Your First Guitar

Not intentionally of course, but it happens. If you didn’t know, used, damaged and warn guitars are actually a thing that some collectors will pay top dollar for. It’s rare to find a guitar in pristine factory condition because guitars are just prone and destined to get hurt in some way or another.

Your guitar may be slippery or quite big, so it may slip off your lap. Maybe the headstock keeps bumping into your desk when you play. You may be transporting it to another room and it bangs against the wall.

You’re not used to the size of this guitar and how wide it is, so it can happen if you’re not always fully conscious of your guitar and your surroundings. Be sure to get a really comfy case for your guitar if you ever plan to take it anywhere.

Adding on to the story with my second guitar, I really REALLY REALLLLLLLLY wanted to get this pretty Fender American Penny Stratocaster. I just really loved the sparkly pink colour and the black fretboard, and the reviews were amazing.

There were only a couple guitars left in my city since it was limited, and now you can’t buy it anywhere 🙁 The guitar cost about $1700+tax, and that was a lot to risk in the middle of a pandemic when my work was slow.

Luckily, I’m not that stupid with my money, so I settled for the Squire Bullet Tropical Stratocaster that was $240+ Tax.

Thank God I did.

I had this guitar for about 2 weeks before we had our first band rehearsal at a rehearsal studio. One of the amps wasn’t working, so I put my guitar around my back and headed to the desk to find someone. For no reason at all, my guitar strap slipped off and my guitar went straight down onto the very hard floors and a big piece of paint chipped off.

I’m lucky enough that it’s in a place that isn’t very visible, but as someone who likes my things pristine, it really bothered me. This guitar was new from the factory, and just like that, it wasn’t perfect anymore.

(I got a rubber strap block thing right after. Definitely get one if you plan to stand while playing. Just a protip for you).

While it definitely sucked, the guitar only cost me $260. I knew this wasn’t going to be my forever guitar so I didn’t mind it a whole lot, but imagine how I would feel if that was the $1700 guitar that I wanted more than anything. Even if I would have been more careful, you really never know what will happen with your guitar.

4. You Won’t Be Able To Hear The Difference

You can review all the guitars you want and many guitarists will tell you that this guitar sound way better, but as a beginner, you’re really not going to hear a difference. Honestly, the sound difference is very subtle, and even non-existent to non-musicians. In the end, a guitar is simply 6 strings tied down to wood.

Adding on, as a beginner, you won’t even know what you want your guitar to sound like right off the bad. Every guitar, ever model and style, has a certain unique tone to it due to it’s build and the pickups they use.

But as a beginner, you’re probably just focused on what style of guitar you like, so just focus on that. Don’t let someone pressure you into this guitar because it ‘sounds better’ or has a nicer tone. No matter the guitar, you can always upgrade it by changing parts or using effect pedals or just changing setting son your amp. You could even try different strings and picks if you prefer a different sound.

As a whole though, a $300 guitar and a $3000 guitar really isn’t going to sound that different as a newbie and even a couple years in, so just focus more on finding a style you like and something that feels comfortable in your arms.

5. An Expensive Guitar Won’t Make You Play Better

A beginner will always sound like a beginner. That’s a fact. There are so many memes about it!

Some people may get the impresison that if they get a certain guitar or spend a certain amount of money, they will sound better sooner, but that is not the case at all.

You won’t be able to get notes to ring clearly at first. It’s going to take you months to get used to putting your hands in these weird chord shapes. Your picking and strumming is going to need a lot of work to coordinate with your life hand, etc.

It doesn’t matter if you’re playing a $200 or $2000 guitar, you’re going to suck as a beginner for quite some time. A pricey guitar isn’t going to change that and it will sound cheap. The opposite is true as well as there are advance players who can make a $80 guitar sound like $1500. Here’s an example of just that by Ichika Nito.

The only way a cheap guitar can limit you is if it doesn’t work, if it’s broken, or if the strings can’t stay in tune for more than a couple minutes. Making a guitar sound good is a determiner of a player more than the guitar.

6. You May End Up Hating Your First Guitar

We all tend to buy our first guitar based on aesthetics…I mean, what else can you judge a guitar on?

However your style and preference is bound to change over your journey as a guitarist. You may have thought you wanted to play metal so you got an Ibanez, but now you’re more into indie so you’re considering a Telecaster.

You may have really loved the look of a Les Paul, but it’s quite big, heavy and bulky, so you would rather play a Stratocaster that is lighter and fits the natural curves of the body.

Maybe you liked simpler one-tone colour guitars, but the unique crazy designed guitars are now very appealing to you and you can’t wait to get your hands on one.

I haven’t done a whole lot of research to see how many guitarists actually stick with their first guitar life long, but I’m pretty sure that number is near zero. There’s actually a lot of memes regarding guitarists falling in love with a new guitar and abandoning their old ones. Or rather, a guitarist having too many guitars.

I will say, I think the cool and fun part about playing guitar is that you have the option to explore various types of guitars, use different amps, and then you get to accessorize with your straps, picks, bags and cables. Other instruments only have a need for one of everything, but we get to look around and figure out what truly suits us and our tastes.

7. You Can Use The Money On Long Term Gear Instead

If you’re playing electric guitar, you can choose to spend $1800 on a single guitar OR you can spend $400 on your guitar, and also buy a decent amp, a couple pedals, an amazing Soundbrennar watch that works as your tuner and metronome, and ALL the maintenance gear and spare strings you need at the sae price. you need at the same price.

You will need all those things anyways, so if you have the money, you should definitely spend it on the things required to even play guitar, and you’ll have some fun toys to make your sound a lot cooler.

As mentioned earlier, the sound and tone of your guitar can be altered through different pickups, strings, pedals and amps, so it may be more fun to play around and see what you can do if you already have these at home to try. Well worth it if you have money to spare in my opinion.

8. You May Never NEED A Pricey Guitar

After my above points, you may be wondering if you even need an expensive or high end guitar, and the answer is no. Depending on your goals for guitar, if you only want to play at home or jam with some friends, then a budget guitar can definitely do that for you.

With my $260 Squire Strat, I do plan to play on stage with it next year, no hesitation. I’m sure if I see a style I really love and I could afford it, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it, but I definitely see a lot of great guitars for under $800 even that would suit my needs and plans as a guitarist.

I get that some influencers may push it because of ‘the quality’ or for commission, and I’m sure there are a few additional benefits to a pricier guitar, such as getting to tune less often, but it’s still not going to make a huge difference.

I would even compare it to paying $1 for Sprite at McDonalds vs $3 for Sprite in a bottle. In the end, Sprite is Sprite and it’s going to quench your thirst. The one in the cup may get flat a little faster and sure, the bottle is more convinient, but everyone has their preferences. Some, like me, prefer soda/pop from a fountain but others will fight and defend the $3 bottle to the end.

Do you NEED that $3 sprite? Not really. And heck, why not get 3-$1 Sprites instead? But if you do NEED a bottle, or you just really prefer the pricier pop, then knock your self out…if you can afford you. Go for quality if you can.

If you’re certain you want the pricier option, then don’t let anyone stop you. But if you’re not sure what you want right now, it may be worth it to buy more budget guitars and have those options to play around with then to be stuck with one guitar because you can’t afford another one.

Conclusion

All in all, if you truly want to buy an expensive guitar or you just can’t take your eyes off a certain model, go for it! I’m not here to rain on anyone’s parade or make you regret your decision later on.

But if you’re a beginner and you’re just trying to find something to play and you don’t know anything about guitars, brands, or models at this moment, then test the waters our first. As you practice and get better, than you can decide which pricey guitar you would prefer as you have more insight into the genre and style you would like to play.

As I said in the beginning, definitely buy at a store or get a newer used guitar from a reputable budget brand like Fender/Squire, Epiphone, Yamaha, Ibanez or Jackson. Do your research, ask questions, and be sure to try it in person before buying.

If have a budget guitar in mind but have more money to spare, use it on a good amp, pedals, and maintenance gear.

Hope this has been helpful in helping you decide how much to spend. Feel free to share what guitar you went with or share other tips for purchasing your first guitar below!