How to choose your first acoustic or classical guitar
Nylon or metal, the right size for every age and height of the strings: what defines if the first months with the guitar are enjoyed or suffered.
For most beginners, and most of the time for children, best first guitar is a classic nylon string, of the right size and with low string. If you're an adult or teen and your pop, rock or stick folk, a metal string acoustic is also a good choice.
More than brand or color, what defines if you will enjoy or suffer the first few months is that the guitar will be comfortable, fine tuning and do not hurt your fingers. We explain what to look at and what to prove.
To sum up
- Nylon for children and for classical, boulder, Bossa or Andean music and metal with pop, rock and folk cuas.
- Don't put metal strings on a classical guitar: it's not built for that tension.
- The size is confirmed with the sitting child and guitar in place, not just by age.
- Too high ropes are the most common cause of pain and frustration at first.
- The laminated cover is tough and good enough to start with and the solid sounds more rich but more care with moisture.
Classic nylon or metal acoustics?
Both play without amplification and share tuning and chords. They change the ropes, mast, sound and music for which they shine.
| Classic (nylon) | Acustics (metal) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cuerdas | Soft and with less tension | Tensas more tensas, they mark the yolks at first |
| Mast | Wide and flat and their fingers have space | Longer and thinner and comfortable to scrape |
| Sonido | Warm and round | Brilliant with more volume and projection |
| It's been | Especially his fingers | Fingers and fingers |
| Gender | Classic, bolero, Bossa nova, Andean and Latin American music | Fingering, interracial, interracial, interracial, interracial |
| To whom | Children and any beginner who wants a solid base | Teenagers and adults wanting to join with púa songs |
One important warning: do not put metal strings onto a classic one. Most have no soul (the tipstick inside the mast) and its bridge is designed for nylon tension and with metal, the mast will deform or the bridge will be leaked.
If you still doubt between acoustic and electrical, read first acoustic or electrical guitar: which to learn first.
Tires 1 / 2, 3 / 4 and 4 / 4: What service to your son
The classical guitars come in fractional sizes. The fraction isn't an exact ratio: indicates a shorter mast and a smaller body. The key measure is the length of scale, the distance between the bezel and the bridge.
| Size | Approximate age | Approximate scale length |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 | 4-6 years | Between 44 and 48 cm |
| 1/2 | 6 to 8 years | Around 53 cm |
| 3/4 | 8-11 years | about 58 cm |
| 7/8 | Young or adult with small hands | About 62 cm |
| 4/4 | From age 11 to 12 and adults | Around 65 cm |
The test that's worth more than the table
- Just sit him in a chair where his feet are on his ground, or a backpack.
- With his guitar in place, his first foot with his left hand should be reached without stretching his arm and his body.
- The right arm should pass above the guitar's body and fall comfortable in front of his mouth without climbing his shoulder.
- If you doubt between two sizes, choose the minor. A guitar "to last" generates tensions and bad habits.
In guitar for children: guide for parents you will find more about age to start with, fingers and first songs.
The height of the ropes: the most important detail
The action is the distance between the ropes and the scares. If high, we have to tighten up a lot, the yolks hurt, the notes get out of tune while pressuring and the student ends up believing that "it's bad for this." It's the most common defect in economic guitars and often has an arrangement.
- How to measure: with a metal rule, measures at 3: 12 the distance between the top of the cut and the bottom of the sixth string and after the first.
- Classical reference: about 4 mm at the sixth and 3 mm at the first.
- Metal acoustic reference: about 2.5 mm at the sixth and 2 mm at the first, or something less.
- If high: A luthier can lower the bone from the bridge. If the mast's crooked or the bridge's rising, better get another guitar.
Check also the cebula, the white piece at the start of the mast. If there the ropes are high, it's hard to put pressure on the first scattering, just where all the basic chords live.
Solid or laminated cover
The cover is the front face with the mouth. It's the guitar part that best influences the sound.
| Solid cover | Laminated cover | |
|---|---|---|
| What's that? | Solid wood, normally two pieces united at the centre | Several thin layers of pressed wood |
| Sonido | Wealthier and with more nuances and with more nuances, they usually open with the years of use | That's right with less MRI. |
| Resistencia | Sensitive to moisture, sun and sudden climate changes | Hold better blows, travel and climate changes |
| To whom | Adults or students who will care for her for years | Kids, first guitar, cold and hot ground trips |
How to know? Look at the edge of the mouth: on a solid cover, the wood sewer continues with the singing; on a laminated line they are seen layers, or the border sewer doesn't match that of the surface. If the tab says "paddle cover" or "cedar cover" without the words "solid" or "solid," it's probably laminated.
For a first guitar, a well built and well-adjusted laminated is better bought than a solid with high strings.
What to check at the tent or a used guitar
Fold it first with a tuner or with our [guitar tuner]](/herramientas/afinador/guitarra) on his cell phone: a broken guitar cannot be evaluated. He then checks:
- Mast: Put your eye onto your head and look along your diapason at your body. It's to be seen straight, without twisting to a side.
- Stretching: He's been pounding every string and his face and his face's been broken and his face's been broken and his face's been broken.
- Filling at 12: compare the harmonic of the 12 and the note step up at that 12. If they sound very different, they will be put out of tune at the chords above.
- Nipples: have to turn soft and maintain tuning, without skating or matching.
- Bridge: Check that you are not up from behind. If a paper sheet can be found between the bridge and the cover, it's bad sign.
- Fears and pounding: Check cover and strap and stick with good light.
- Stages: He passes his hand by the edge of his mast. If the ends scrape, the wood shrinks and has an arrangement but says a lot about how it's been saved.
- Electroacoustic: If you have a pill, connect it to an amplifier and check the plug and cover of the battery.
Warning signs
- Children's cheesebooks with metal ropes.
- Painted diapason that's already been peeling.
- The pounding cover behind the bridge.
- A salesman who doesn't let them put up and prove them.
The accessories you do need
- Fitted cover, best if you have a strap to get her to school.
- A clip sharpener or an application, and learn how to use them from the first day.
- Supapiés, if you play classical guitar sitting in the traditional posture.
- Flow or medium legs, if you play metal acoustic.
- A spare string set; as soon as the time comes, follow this step by step to change them.
- A attril to read songs or scores to the height of his eyes.
The cebilla, strap or a floor stand can wait. And if you're gonna start [guitar class]](/clases/guitarra-acustica)He's been with his guitar from his first class and his teacher checks his suit and tells you if he needs anything before it becomes a problem.
Frequently asked questions
What guitar's best for a 6-year-old?
At that age a classic nylon of size 1 / 2 usually works, although it depends on height and length of arms. It's best to try with a sitting child: it's to reach first frast without stretching at all.
Is it normal for them to hurt their fingers at first?
A slight discomfort with the yolks during the first few weeks is normal, especially with metal ropes, and happens as the motif forms. If pain is strong or appears in the wrist, check the height of the strings and posture with your teacher.
Is it worth buying an electroacoustic to start with?
Just if you know that you're gonna play amplified, for instance at school events or a group. To learn at home, you don't have to, and with the same budget sometimes you get a better guitar built without electronics.
Can I learn from an acoustic metal and then get to the classic?
The chords and tuning are the same. They change the technique of the right hand, the width of the mast and the repertoire. Many guitarist end up with both.