Buying an Acoustic Guitar is an art form not a science. Each guitar is unique, even though they may be the same model and from the same manufacture. The same is true for all acoustic instruments, but the differences are especially pronounced in wooden instruments such as guitars, cellos, pianos, etc. For this reason shopping for an acoustic guitar is more challenging. You can’t just say, “buy a Gibson so and so, it’s the best.” While certain brands will be consistently better than others, there are also some stinkers and some diamonds in the rough amongst all brands. I once had a great $100 guitar that I got for free out of a throw away pile at a music store that sounded better than some guitars being sold for $4,000. All of that to say, you really need to pay attention to the sound more than the label.
Most acoustic guitars look about the same but subtle differences matter to people. While there are some acoustic guitars that are drastically different (color, graphics, scratches, extra holes, etc.), but no matter what your preferences are, select a guitar that you will want to pick up and would be proud to be seen with. Always keep an open mind, but don’t buy something you don’t really like.
If you can, play each guitar and find the one that ‘speaks to you.’ Keeping in mind that the type and condition of the strings does affect the sound a bit. Do a quick visual check to see if the stings are about the same, so you know you’re comparing apples to apples. If you don’t play guitar, take someone with you or have the sales person play so you can listen. (I had to do this when I bought my cello because I didn’t yet know how to play even a single note.)
Once you find a guitar that you like the look of and it has a good sound, the next thing you need to check for is a big word called Intonation. Which simply means, how in tune is the entire guitar? All guitars should be able to be tuned to open strings (meaning not playing on a fret) but only the best guitars will be in tune when you start to play the notes on every fret. If you push down the 12th fret, making sure not to bend the string, it should be as in tune as when you were not pressing anything. If it’s not you’ve got a problem. Ask to use a chromatic tuner and press straight down on each fret to see how in tune or out of tune each note is. Do this up to about the 12th to 14th fret. The reason you must check is that, while on an electric guitar there are ways to adjust the intonation of the guitar to make it more in tune, on an Acoustic it’s permanently set by the construction of the guitar. So if the intonation is not good, the moment you go up the neck of the guitar you will be instantly and consistently out of tune.
The last major hurdle in buying an acoustic guitar all depends on wether or not you plan on plugging into a sound system or not. Since most of you are going to, I will go ahead an cover it. This can get expensive, but there are lot’s of options. Some guitars won’t have a way to plug into a sound system, something called a ‘pick-up’, some will have one that’s not very good, others great, and you can always add one to any guitar in various ways (which is currently pretty popular). Make sure you spend some time evaluating how the guitar sounds plugged-in. You’ll need to have a music store owner set you up with an amp or sound system. Turn it up loud enough so that it overcomes the acoustic sound of the instrument, which will allow you to really hear what it will sound like to others. Do keep in mind that the sound can be drastically altered through eq, effects, and compression but it’s really the best to have a pick-up system that already sounds good, so you don’t have to help it along so much. You will be surprised to find that many guitars sound great acoustically but stink when you plug them in.
There are a few other factors, such as how the shape of the neck feels and, of course, budget, but primarily look to find a great looking guitar that has a pleasant acoustic/plugged-in sound with solid intonation. Then give him or her a good home.
p.s. This article assumes you’ve read our General Shopping Buyers Guide, which I would recommend so you don’t pay too much or not get everything you should.