Acoustic Electric, Where Do I Start?

Starting a new thing is always hard, especially when it comes to playing a new instrument. You need to deal with so many obstacles. With the desire comes a lot of stuff that you need to think through very carefully. Well… we are here to help you and guide you through this tough path. We have created a list of best beginner acoustic-electric guitars, so you are going to be just fine now. Creating music should not be stressful and cause anxiety, but on the contrary, give you the best feeling possible. Get ready, sit back, chill and enjoy the article. Here goes the list.

What’s The Best Acoustic Electric Guitar for Beginners

ImageGuitar Model
Rating
Check Price
Epiphone PR-4E Acoustic/Electric Guitar Player Package4.9 out of 5 stars (4.9 / 5)Check on Amazon
Yamaha APX600 BL Thin Body4.9 out of 5 stars (4.9 / 5)Check on Amazon
Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Guitar Bundle 4.8 out of 5 stars (4.8 / 5)Check on Amazon
Dean MAKOGLORY Acoustic-Electric Guitar 4.7 out of 5 stars (4.7 / 5)Check on Amazon
Glen Burton GA204BCO-BK Bundle4.6 out of 5 stars (4.6 / 5)Check on Amazon

Epiphone PR‌-4E

Build Quality:4.9 out of 5 stars
Hardware:4.9 out of 5 stars
Sound:4.9 out of 5 stars
Value:4.9 out of 5 stars
Average:4.9 out of 5 stars

Check on Amazon

Full Review

Epiphone PR-4E Acoustic-Electric Guitar Player Package

Epiphone PR‌-4E Acoustic/Electric Guitar Player Package comes in the all-inclusive kit.  It has a 15-watt amp, Strap, picks and cable, Gigbag, Pitch pipe and Guitar lesson DVD, so once you get it you are ready to rock out. The instrument itself has a mahogany top and genuine spruce soundboard to deliver rich sound and good sustainability. Your hand will easily glide on thin neck and rosewood fretboard.  The amplifier has a big power, to let your instrument scream on performances. This guitar is equipped with Passive Piezo pickups. Overall, you will definitely be satisfied with the performance quality of the Epiphone PR‌-4E Acoustic/Electric Guitar as it is much better than you would expect for this price.

Pros:

  • Rich sound
  • Easy to use electronics
  • Bargain price

Cons:

  • Strings
  • Buzz before you adjust the truss rod

Yamaha APX600 BL Thin Body

Build Quality:4.9 out of 5 stars
Hardware:4.8 out of 5 stars
Sound:4.9 out of 5 stars
Value:4.9 out of 5 stars
Average:4.9 out of 5 stars

Check on Amazon


Yamaha always manages to capture the virtues of guitar types, regardless of their price point. Be it a beginner or a professional model, the chances are you’ll get something that has an expressive sound. Their APX600 BL successfully incorporates all the benefits of an acoustic-electric guitar. Though it’s an entry-level model, it’s really difficult to grow out of it – after all, its specs will surely satisfy even a more advanced player. This bad boy has scalloped bracing, which seems to be better for bass response. As you play this guitar, you can hear clearly how that promise comes to life – the low end is so defined here! But that doesn’t mean that the high-end or mid-range are suffering – this puppy can emit everything with balance and power in mind. Even though APX600 is a powerful beast unplugged, it unveils its hidden potential when you plug it in. Typical for beginner guitars, this one also features a single cutaway – who doesn’t need extra access to the fretboard? Briefly, Yamaha APX600 is a monster you definitely want to play with.

Pros:

  • Great value for money
  • Powerful bass response
  • Easily cuts through a mix

Cons:

  • Requires initial adjustments to sound good

Fender CD‌-60SCE

Build Quality:4.8 out of 5 stars
Hardware:4.8 out of 5 stars
Sound:4.9 out of 5 stars
Value:4.9 out of 5 stars
Average:4.9 out of 5 stars

Check on Amazon

Full Review

Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Guitar Bundle

Fender CD‌-60SCE Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Guitar Bundle comes in a variety of colors, so you have a big choice. The guitar has a solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides and mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard with rolled edges. It features “Easy-to-Play” neck shape to make playing even easier and more pleasant. A Venetian-cutaway body enables easy upper-fret access to scalloped “X”-bracing deliver extra resonance and projection while playing. The bundle of guitar includes a hard-shell case, guitar strap, guitar picks, guitar strings, clip-on digital tuner, polishing cloth, and an instructional DVD. The instrument is equipped with fishman pickups. Overall, Fender CD‌-60SCE Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Guitar Bundle has an excellent sound. The learning experience will definitely be much better with such top-notch instrument.

Pros:

  • Full, Rich Sound
  • Good Electronics
  • Easy to play

Cons:

  • Not the best quality nut
  • Some customers have had issue with bundles not including all accessories

Dean MAKOGLORY

Build Quality:4.7 out of 5 stars
Hardware:4.6 out of 5 stars
Sound:4.7 out of 5 stars
Value:4.8 out of 5 stars
Average:4.7 out of 5 stars

Check on Amazon

Full Review

Dean MAKOGLORY Acoustic-Electric Guitar

This beast instrument is named “Mako” by Dean Mustaine himself, due to its shark gill-shaped sound hole, dorsal fin-shaped bridge and shark’s teeth pearl inlays. This guitar has a Solid Spruce Top and Mahogany Body, so you get the idea about its quality. The set mahogany slim D neck has ebony fingerboard to make playing smooth and simple. The sound is amazing and it resonates very well. Once you connect this champ to your amplifier, you will be amazed and surely rock all night long. It sounds great unplugged as well. This guitar never goes out of tune. Dean MAKOGLORY Acoustic-Electric Guitar surely is hard to put down. It is a great value for the money, so undoubtedly worth buying.

Pros:

  • Affordable
  • Good tonewood
  • Comfortable

Cons:

  • Sound might be “tiny”
  • Strings

Glen Burton GA204BCO-BK

Build Quality:4.6 out of 5 stars
Hardware:4.6 out of 5 stars
Sound:4.6 out of 5 stars
Value:4.8 out of 5 stars
Average:4.7 out of 5 stars

Check on Amazon

Full Review

Glen Burton GA204BCO-BK Bundle

Glen Burton GA204BCO-BK Bundle is very budget-friendly guitar. It combines nice tone, an excellent look and affordability. The instrument has Flame top and Basswood back and sides. The Neck material is Catalpa, with Rosewood Fingerboard. The bundle includes Strings, Picks, Gig Bag, Strap, Digital Clip-On Tuner, Truss Rod And 10-Watt Amplifier. It is available in black color. The amp works and sounds perfect but it is still considered as bedroom amp. This guitar is equipped with Sealed Gear Tuners EQ: Active 4 Band 7545. The sound is pretty decent, definitely good for this price. It rarely goes out of tune. The guitar is comfortable to play on. It will deliver a perfect performance quality for beginners.

Pros:

  • Good quality build
  • Bargain price
  • Comfortable for beginners

Cons:

  • Low-quality nut material
  • Not the best amplifier  

Hope you liked some of the models we provided above because they really are top picks among best acoustic electric guitars for beginners. If you still have not made up your mind that is perfectly fine.  No need to panic. We are here to give you some insides of electric acoustic guitar construction and some general info that will help you in finding your “perfect match”.

Acoustic + Electric… What?

Yep, that’s right. This instrument is half electric, half acoustic. I guess you want to know how is it possible, because you have listened to acoustic guitar as well as electric and they seem completely different. So how can those two opposites be combined in such a beautiful way?

The best way to describe electric acoustic guitar is I guess to showcase it as an acoustic guitar that can be connected to amp. Simply said, the sound that it produces is of an acoustic guitar but much louder. They are generally used for musical genres where you need more powerful and louder sound of the acoustic.

If we go into more depth, usually, electric acoustic guitars are equipped with piezoelectric pickups; incorporated into the guitar body preamplifier is needed to amplify the signal before it reaches the main guitar amplifier. These preamps may also come with tone controls of varying types, but usually equalizers with up to six frequency bands are used. So, a lot of stuff going on until we hear that beautiful sound.

Why buy an electric acoustic guitar?

The reason is pretty simple. In order to enjoy electric acoustic guitar, you need to like acoustic in the first place. As you can see it has the same shape as acoustic, so you need to enjoy how it feels in your hands and its playability. Go for it if you like the sound of the acoustic but feel that it is not enough. Electric acoustic will satisfy the feeling of lack of power and volume completely. If you have thought like this, then this instrument is perfect for you.

What should I look for in the instrument in the first place?

Well… being a beginner is tough, so you should try to make this difficult journey as simple as possible. First of all, search for comfort. If you ask me it is as important as the specs of the instrument. Sometimes we can be so concentrated on specs, sound, the look, accessories and so on, we forget that without a comfortable shape, it is all worthless. You will not be able to play for hours, and make the most use out of rehearsals unless your instrument fits you in the best way possible. It should have very comfortable neck especially when you are a beginner and completely not used to picking. Also find an instrument that is very light. It should feel comfortable both standing and sitting. In the end, you are the one that will use it so try to feel good.

Conclusion

Overall, the most important thing when you are a beginner is motivation. You will need it a lot, because the path that you chose is not that easy. Trust me there will be a lot of moments and temptations to give up, but if you work hard you will see the improvement day by day. We have all been there. Do not forget to be dedicated and patient. Excellence comes with a lot of sweat. No one has ever become a great guitarist instantly, it takes time, so give yourself some. We hope that this article was helpful and you already made up your mind for the best beginner electric acoustic guitar.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.