GEAR RECOMMENDATIONS
Here’s a list of essential equipment I’d recommend to anyone learning the guitar.
I’ve put links in each section to products I recommend / use.
I’ll be adding more stuff to this as we go along so be sure to head back soon!
GUITARS
Guitar Recommendations for new starters - Primary age
In terms of guitar recommendations I’d almost always suggest a 3/4 sized classical / nylon string guitar for youngsters to start on. I’ve recommended some specific models because you can get some pretty bad guitars that can impede progress and potentially put students off learning.
You’ve got two options; brand new or used:
Used
‘Herald 3/4 guitar’ (around £20)
You can get a perfectly suitable secondhand guitar to start on for around £20. This particular model can be found pretty readily on Facebook, eBay, Gumtee etc. I’ve come into contact with loads of these over the years and all the examples have been decent. In fact, it’s what I’d probably look for if my son was old enough and starting to play!
New
This is one of my favourites and a really solid guitar that will last most children up until they’re around 11 years old.
Valencia 3/4 Guitar (around £75)
Slightly cheaper than the Yamaha model mentioned above but still a nice guitar to start with. A few of my pupils have had these over the years and they seemed good.
Used Yamaha CS40
If you’re lucky you might be able to find a used Yamaha CS40 on eBay or Facebook for around £50 / £60. Most used examples I’ve found are great and a real bargain for the price.
Guitar Recommendations for slightly older pupils (11+)
These recommendations are based on a student’s size rather than age but generally, by the age of 11 most students would be able to cope with the dimensions of a full-size guitar.
These are my go-to recommendation for new starters looking for a full size guitar.
You will likely find these pretty readily secondhand too.
Tuners
There are plenty of decent FREE apps out there. I like the ‘MUSIC MEMOS’ app on iphone.
D’ADDARIO TUNER - My favourite budget tuner
TC ELECTRONIC UNITUNE - The tuner I use!
PICKS
For Acoustic Guitars:
JIM DUNLOP NYLON (0.60MM) - The picks I use all the time!
They come in other thicknesses too so go ahead and try others out. I just really like the weight of the O.60mm ones.
For Electric Guitars:
JIM DUNLOP TORTEX (0.88MM) - The green ones!
*A thing to note about picks* Although you can get some really nice customised ones in different shapes and sizes I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND not using those types - just collect them. I feel bad for saying this but 99% of the time they’re just not as good as the ones listed above.