Saw this as an upcoming Aldi special buy for this Sunday. Cracking price for a beginner surely? 3 types available (see below) Always wanted to learn the guitar - maybe now I will!
Official product description:
These beautifully made Guitars are the real thing, with high quality strings and fretboards. Choose from 3 designs.
Classical Guitar 101cm (39")
Nylon stringsHardwood fretboardHoney or black
Student Guitar 92cm (36")
Nylon stringsHardwood fretboardHoneyComes with a free carry bag
Acoustic Guitar 104cm (41")
Steel stringsRosewood fretboardBlack
Product reference: 67339
Top comments
yubious
11 Dec 155#8
This is a classical guitar, and will more than likely not be set up properly and not be correctable. Isn't worth it for a beginner as they wont know why they sound so bad, will just assume it's them not the guitar!
Just noticed there is a steel string guitar in the list too, but the advice is the same, I don't know much about the Yamaha pacifica but they always get mentioned as good for beginners
FREEZIN WOLF
11 Dec 153#9
I once tried to make a really small guitar.
It was a bit fiddly.
All comments (30)
spasguidedogs
11 Dec 15#1
I love the sound of acoustic guitars. Might treat myself to one. Which is the best one for a beginner?
effingandjeffing to spasguidedogs
11 Dec 15#25
i bet your neighbours do as well
applebyJedi
11 Dec 15#2
There are cheaper ones to be found on Amazon
olioli86 to applebyJedi
11 Dec 15#4
Do you have a link at all?
jonagon
11 Dec 151#3
Why is a £35 acoustic guitar more acceptable than similar electric ones. I'd been looking at £60 second hand Yamaha Pacifica as entry level electric, was told I'd hate the fret board on anything less.
mrew42 to jonagon
11 Dec 151#5
1. You won't need an amp to hear what you're playing
2. £35 is cheap enough for something that may last many years, yet won't blow the bank if you can't get to grips with it. They look very nice and I know lots of people who have them as decorative items in the house.
True enough you've got no guarantee as to how good the fretboard is, but for dipping your toe into the water is it really that bad?
Heat
Flynn_Lives to jonagon
11 Dec 15#6
It's really worth stretching for a Yamaha Pacifica if you're starting out. If you go for a cheaper guitar with a bad / cheap fretboard, it may get so uncomfortable it'll put you off playing.
BenderRodriguez to jonagon
11 Dec 15#12
People usually buy cheap acoustics to strum few chords when they go camping, not practice scales and soloing. Buzzing on 5th fret or poor intonation halfway down the fretboard won't matter that much.
xeroc to jonagon
11 Dec 152#13
£35 isn't acceptable. But saying that, my first guitar was a £30 acoustic from Argos. I was 7 years old and bought it from my own pocket money as my parents didn't want to buy me one! It was a pretty poor guitar really, but it lasted me years until I upgraded. I now have a grade 8.
But having the experience of a poor quality guitar, I would strongly recommend that you don't go near this one. Put your money into something decent. Instruments are not cheap - but they don't have to be tremendously expensive.
First decide whether you want to play electric or acoustic. It seems obvious to say it, but buying an acoustic (esp. a classical one) is entirely different to buying an electric. They are both encompass entirely different playing styles and techniques, not to mention the sound.
Electric:
The Pacifica is a good starter guitar that I would always recommend if you have a <£200 budget (012 or preferably 112). Be wary of 2nd hand ones - they're pretty cheap 1st hand as it is and you need to make sure it has been looked after well, that the intonation is acceptable and that it is generally set up well. These things might be hard to gauge if you don't know much about guitars. If you buy from a shop, insist it be set up.
Acoustic:
The acoustic world is far more varied. But, for <£100 I would get something like a Yamaha F310 which is pretty great for the money. (About £80-100) Though that has steel strings, so if you're looking to play classical it wouldn't be especially appropriate. Yamaha make pretty good starter classical guitars to, though I couldn't give you a model number off the top of my head. It isn't worth your pain and suffering to buy a really cheap guitar: often components will be crap, intonation will be crap, playability will be crap, and the strings will be poor as well. If you want to spend more, wait until you can play well. Then go around music stores and find the one that you like from a decent brand that is made of decent materials. In the end, you might end up with a Martin or a Taylor at the top end of the consumer market (or even a custom Greenfield if you're particularly well off....). When you buy from a music shop whether its a £100 guitar or a £10000 guitar, always insist that they set it up and give it a look over for you. If they explain it is pre-set up, ask them to give it a once over or don't buy it.
Disclaimer: I haven't played these guitars so they could be fantastic. But based on my experience of guitars over the years, I am 99% certain that they won't be.
ashsufc1889 to jonagon
11 Dec 15#19
I would stick with the Yamaha, known quality and brand. I you don't stick with it you'll be able to sell on at a similar price.
gari189
11 Dec 152#7
......and it will hold its resale value if you decide to upgrade or give up :smile:
Don't know what the quality of the Aldi ones are like but if you can stretch to spending a bit more a 2nd hand Yamaha F310 acoustic guitar is a good choice.
There are lots of youtube channels to help you learn the guitar eg justinguitar.com , there is even an xbox/ps4 game (Rocksmith) which can help
I have the F310 and the Pacifica and even Rocksmith but I still can't play :smile: Never seems to be enough time to practice....
yubious
11 Dec 155#8
This is a classical guitar, and will more than likely not be set up properly and not be correctable. Isn't worth it for a beginner as they wont know why they sound so bad, will just assume it's them not the guitar!
Just noticed there is a steel string guitar in the list too, but the advice is the same, I don't know much about the Yamaha pacifica but they always get mentioned as good for beginners
FREEZIN WOLF
11 Dec 153#9
I once tried to make a really small guitar.
It was a bit fiddly.
jumperclown
11 Dec 151#10
Agree with this poster (and the two above this post)
This will probably give you a similar feeling to arthritis after playing it for 30 minutes, and will likely play only 1 or 2 strings when holding a barred chord as the action will probably be appalling. Guitars like this unfortunately act as a detterent to people who are initially interested in learning, but the experience will be so bad on this they will lose enthusiasm. As the poster mentions, you can get some second hand acoustics for around this price (yamaha, fender\squire), whilst still not brilliant, they will give you a much better idea how a guitar should feel and sound.
Good Luck everyone!
6moe66
11 Dec 15#11
Make sure and check the guitar before you leave as I checked 2 of the ukuleles last week in lidl and both wouldn't hold the sting right as the machine head had broken.
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Opening post
Official product description:
These beautifully made Guitars are the real thing, with high quality strings and fretboards. Choose from 3 designs.
Classical Guitar 101cm (39")
Nylon stringsHardwood fretboardHoney or black
Student Guitar 92cm (36")
Nylon stringsHardwood fretboardHoneyComes with a free carry bag
Acoustic Guitar 104cm (41")
Steel stringsRosewood fretboardBlack
Product reference: 67339
Top comments
Just noticed there is a steel string guitar in the list too, but the advice is the same, I don't know much about the Yamaha pacifica but they always get mentioned as good for beginners
It was a bit fiddly.
All comments (30)
2. £35 is cheap enough for something that may last many years, yet won't blow the bank if you can't get to grips with it. They look very nice and I know lots of people who have them as decorative items in the house.
True enough you've got no guarantee as to how good the fretboard is, but for dipping your toe into the water is it really that bad?
Heat
But having the experience of a poor quality guitar, I would strongly recommend that you don't go near this one. Put your money into something decent. Instruments are not cheap - but they don't have to be tremendously expensive.
First decide whether you want to play electric or acoustic. It seems obvious to say it, but buying an acoustic (esp. a classical one) is entirely different to buying an electric. They are both encompass entirely different playing styles and techniques, not to mention the sound.
Electric:
The Pacifica is a good starter guitar that I would always recommend if you have a <£200 budget (012 or preferably 112). Be wary of 2nd hand ones - they're pretty cheap 1st hand as it is and you need to make sure it has been looked after well, that the intonation is acceptable and that it is generally set up well. These things might be hard to gauge if you don't know much about guitars. If you buy from a shop, insist it be set up.
Acoustic:
The acoustic world is far more varied. But, for <£100 I would get something like a Yamaha F310 which is pretty great for the money. (About £80-100) Though that has steel strings, so if you're looking to play classical it wouldn't be especially appropriate. Yamaha make pretty good starter classical guitars to, though I couldn't give you a model number off the top of my head. It isn't worth your pain and suffering to buy a really cheap guitar: often components will be crap, intonation will be crap, playability will be crap, and the strings will be poor as well. If you want to spend more, wait until you can play well. Then go around music stores and find the one that you like from a decent brand that is made of decent materials. In the end, you might end up with a Martin or a Taylor at the top end of the consumer market (or even a custom Greenfield if you're particularly well off....). When you buy from a music shop whether its a £100 guitar or a £10000 guitar, always insist that they set it up and give it a look over for you. If they explain it is pre-set up, ask them to give it a once over or don't buy it.
Disclaimer: I haven't played these guitars so they could be fantastic. But based on my experience of guitars over the years, I am 99% certain that they won't be.
Don't know what the quality of the Aldi ones are like but if you can stretch to spending a bit more a 2nd hand Yamaha F310 acoustic guitar is a good choice.
There are lots of youtube channels to help you learn the guitar eg justinguitar.com , there is even an xbox/ps4 game (Rocksmith) which can help
I have the F310 and the Pacifica and even Rocksmith but I still can't play :smile: Never seems to be enough time to practice....
Just noticed there is a steel string guitar in the list too, but the advice is the same, I don't know much about the Yamaha pacifica but they always get mentioned as good for beginners
It was a bit fiddly.
This will probably give you a similar feeling to arthritis after playing it for 30 minutes, and will likely play only 1 or 2 strings when holding a barred chord as the action will probably be appalling. Guitars like this unfortunately act as a detterent to people who are initially interested in learning, but the experience will be so bad on this they will lose enthusiasm. As the poster mentions, you can get some second hand acoustics for around this price (yamaha, fender\squire), whilst still not brilliant, they will give you a much better idea how a guitar should feel and sound.
Good Luck everyone!