Best Cheap Acoustic Guitars 2021 Reviews and Buying Guide

We know that guitar playing, like all types of instrument playing, is often thought of as being an overly expensive thing to get into. However, we aim to show you why that is the wrong idea to have.
Believe it or not, you can actually get some pretty cheap acoustic guitars out there, especially if you know where to look. They aren’t pieces of junk either, many offer shockingly good performance to go along with their low price.

As you might be able to guess, we are going to be reviewing the best cheap acoustic guitars in this article. If you want a very quick guitar suggestion, we say to get the ARTALL 39 Inch Solid Wood Acoustic Guitar.

A Spotlight on The Best Cheap Acoustic Guitars 2021:

Pyle Beginner 36” Classical Acoustic Guitar

Given the theme of this article, we figured that the best way to start off our list would be by looking at an acoustic guitar that is basically the poster child for affordability.

At under $55, the Beginner 36” Classical Acoustic Guitar – 3/4 Junior Size 6 String Linden Wood Guitar w/Gig Bag, Tuner, Nylon Strings, Picks, Strap, for Beginners, Adults – Pyle PGACLS82SUN (Sun Burst) is probably one of the most affordable acoustic guitars that you will find that still provides at least decent quality and musical output. While it is quite a basic guitar overall, as you will see in our review, it is hard to find a better acoustic option that fits the definition of the word “cheap.”

Despite being around $50, this is a shockingly well-made guitar. Don’t get us wrong, it isn’t winning any beauty contests, but you would expect a guitar at this price point to be extremely flimsy and poorly made, but it just isn’t.

In fact, the solid wood design holds up quite well and it doesn’t hinder your playing experience at all. So, if you have any concerns because of the extremely low price of the Pyle Beginner, you can safely put those concerns to bed.

As the name probably indicates, one of the best uses for this particular guitar is when it comes to getting beginners into playing. This is an absolutely fantastic option to get started with if you have never really played an acoustic guitar before (or any guitar or instrument for that matter) and you want something very simple to get started with.

Best Cheap Acoustic Guitars : ARTALL Acoustic Guitar

To follow-up the review of the very cheap and basic Pyle guitar, we are going to review an acoustic guitar that is surprisingly high-end for such a cheap option. We don’t want to overstate the case, but the ARTALL 39 Inch Handmade Solid Wood Acoustic Dreadnought Guitar Beginner Kit with Gig Bag, Strings, Picks, Strap, Glossy Red, is an extremely impressive guitar for around $75, which is why it absolutely has to be featured on this list, it is just that impressive.

Probably the best aspect of this particular guitar is the sound quality that it brings to the table, we said it before and we will emphasize it again, the sound quality that this guitar offers is far above what you would expect for an instrument that can be had for well under $100; it is truly impressive. We imagine that this guitar will end up appealing to both veteran and amateur players alike.

Best Choice Products 38″ Beginner Acoustic Guitar

Next up on our best cheap acoustic guitars review list, we want to review another great beginners option that is much like the first guitar that we reviewed on our article. In other words, if you happen to be in the market for a great beginner’s guitar that is also easy on your wallet, then look no further than the Best Choice Products 38in Beginner All Wood Acoustic Guitar Starter Kit w/Gig Bag, Digital Tuner, 6 Celluloid Picks, Nylon Strings, Capo, Cloth, Strap w/Pick Holder – Natural.

It is hard to overstate just how good this option is for beginners. Alongside the Pyle guitar that we reviewed at the start of this article, the Best Choice Products guitar is one of the best options for getting younger or newer players into some more complex guitar sets.

Oddly enough, this guitar actually comes with metal (steel) strings, although the text description on Amazon states nylong, if you read the product description, they are metal strings, which are typically favored by advanced guitar players. It isn’t a huge deal or anything like that, but it does add to the hassle and price a bit, since beginners will have to restring the guitar with more beginner friendly nylon strings. At the same time, it ends up working out very well for advanced players looking for a cheap practice guitar.

G.great Acoustic Electric Cutaway Guitar

The next entry on our review list is the first acoustic-electric model that we are reviewing as part of our best cheap acoustic guitars list is the Gosila 39“ Acoustic Electric Cutaway Guitar, Thin Body, Built-In Tuner,ashwood gloss natural finish body (more on this type of guitar can be found in our buying guide).

If you are unfamiliar with this type of guitar, what it does is combine 2 styles of guitar, electric and acoustic, into one product. This obviously has some major benefits, such as allowing you to experiment with both styles of music without buying another guitar. It also amplifies the value of this guitar, since it gives you essentially 2 different instruments for a very good price.

Another unique aspect of this particular guitar is its really thin design, which is impressive because it makes carrying around the guitar easier. It also makes storage a lot easier as well, so it is a very good, if unique, choice.

While the thin body of this guitar has some good advantages to it, we also have to admit that the thin design of the guitar can take some getting used to, especially if you are a veteran guitar player who is used to playing more traditionally shaped guitar options. However, if you are a completely new player, then the benefits are amplified because you aren’t going to have that adjustment period, so it works both ways.

Master Play Left Handed Natural Wood Guitar

For the final review on this list, we are going to be taking a look at a very unique acoustic guitar. As you can see for yourself from what’s written above, this is the first and only left handed guitar option to appear on our review list.

There isn’t a ton that we have to say about the Left Handed Natural Wood Guitar with Case and Accessories for Boys Girls Teens Beginner 38″ (Natural). It is a very competently made acoustic guitar that also happens to not be too hard on your wallet. You definitely won’t have any reason to complain about the performance of this guitar. However, the main reason why we are including it on this list is so that left handed players can get in on the cheap acoustic action.

Your Guide To Buying The Best Cheap Acoustic Guitar

In this second part of our article, we are going to help you out by talking about what you need to know in order to pick out a good acoustic guitar on the cheap. We are aware of the fact that a lot of you reading this article will probably know exactly what you want and what to look for in a good acoustic guitar, but we also imagine that a lot of newcomers will be coming to this article.

Cheap acoustic guitars are good options for those who are just dipping their feet into music playing for the first time (among other things), so we wanted to make sure that their was a buying guide to help explain some concepts and ideas. In this buying guide, we are confident that newcomers will find all the information that they need to make a really informed purchasing decision.

What Are Cheap Guitars Good For

In this first section of our buying guide, we are going to focus on something very important, which is the benefits and potential uses of cheap guitars. The reason why we want to start off with this is because we acknowledge that a lot of you are going to be reading this and wondering why you would ever go for a cheap option.

You may ask yourself “why not just bite the bullet and get a $500+ guitar that I know will last.” This is a good question and our response is that cheap guitars have a lot of value, which we are going to mention.

First off, as we mentioned earlier, cheap acoustic guitars are one of the best options out there if you have never played an instrument before or if you are new to guitars. There are a few reasons for this.

First off, there is a low risk; since most of the guitars are fairly cheap, you don’t have to worry about losing too much if you end up deciding that the guitar isn’t for you. If you don’t like it, you have only wasted $50 and not $500. Think of how many times parents complain about spending a lot of money on their kids’ unused instruments and you will understand why this is good.

The second reason why cheap acoustic guitars can be useful is because they make great “backup guitars.” What we mean by that is that there is a good chance that you are ultra careful with your top of the line instruments; after all, you don’t want to damage your top of the line instruments. However, that can be problematic if you want to do something like go to a friend’s house to practice or go somewhere that isn’t outside your house since you put your top of the line guitar at risk of being stolen or damaged.

So, in situations where you do need to play somewhere on the road or travel with your guitar, being able to have a less valuable guitar that you don’t mind getting damaged or stolen takes a lot off your mind.

Finally, cheap acoustic guitars can just be a good option for those who don’t have a lot of money. Playing music is always thought of as being a hobby for people with a decent amount of cash to spare since it is thought to be expensive.

While that is definitely true to some extent, you can do music on a budget. One such way to do so is by investing in either used second-hand instruments that aren’t expensive as new models. Another way is by investing in cheap acoustic guitars, such as the kind that you saw on our best cheap acoustic guitars review list.

What To Look For In An Acoustic Guitar

Now for this second part of our review list, we are going to be going over some of the important things to look for when buying an acoustic guitar. You may think that just because we are focusing exclusively on cheap acoustic guitars that they would all be the same quality wise, but that isn’t the case.

Even among “cheap” models, there is a lot of variation among the guitars that can determine how well or how poorly they end up performing. We are going to cover some of what influences that in this second part of our buying guide.

Type Of Wood

As any veteran acoustic guitar player can tell you, the type of wood used to make the guitar can have a huge impact on the actual quality and types of sounds that the guitar can make. Let’s quickly go over some of the more popular types and what you can expect from them.

First off, there is mahogany. This tough wood not only helps to make your guitar tougher, but it produces exceptionally lower response rates. It is best suited for country music or for playing the Blues.

Maple is another tough wood that is often used to make acoustic guitars and it is also unique because of how it produces a very clear sound that makes it good for a wide variety of playing styles and sounds.

Next up, there is our personal favorite material, which is cedar. Cedar is sort of the vanilla ice cream of guitar woods. This is because it acts as a jack of all trades wood that works well with basically any type of playing and any type of music. It is also a common fixture on more affordable acoustic guitars as well, which is a nice bonus.

Last but not least there is Rosewood. This is probably one of the best materials to make an acoustic guitar out of because of how it works to really amplify noise, which is why you are unlikely to see it on an affordable acoustic guitar.

Don’t Discount Hybrids

A lot of musicians tend to be purists, so you will see a lot of them recommend going for either a pure acoustic or pure electric model. However, if you can foresee yourself playing multiple styles, then it is definitely worth the money to look for a hybrid option like an acoustic-electric guitar, as opposed to just a pure model. It is also surprising that despite offering more value, you are often able to find acoustic-electric guitars that are cheaper than their “pure” counterparts.

What Size You Need

We are sure that you are all familiar with the classic guitar shape, but that isn’t the only size of guitar out there. Acoustic guitars, like every other type of guitar, can come in a pretty wide variety of shapes and sizes.

Some are fatter and shorter, while others are thinner and longer. Basically every type of combination exists when it comes to size, so if you have an idea for what sort of acoustic guitar would work best for you, don’t settle, there is a size for you out there somewhere.

String Material

Finally, we want to note that the string material on your guitar can also impact whether it is a good option for beginners or not. Generally, beginners will want nylon strings, as those are easier on your fingers, while advanced users will want to opt for metal strings instead. It isn’t too big of a deal, since one can always just restring their guitar, but it is definitely something that we would recommend keeping in mind when shopping.

What Do You Think?

If you have your own tips for finding the best cheap acoustic guitars, we are sure that the would-be musicians reading this article would love to hear them, so please leave them in our comment section down below.