Choosing a Guitar for Beginners, Part 2.

Welcome back. In part 1, we covered some basic considerations when buying a guitar for a beginning player. In part 2, we'll cover some of the options we stock at Central Ohio Music, and who they might be good for.

Best for Young Children: Cordoba Protege C1M

Cordoba C1M, available in fractional sizes.

Cordoba makes great classical guitars at every price point, and the entry level C1M is an excellent choice for young beginners. Here's why:

• Low cost. As of this writing, the C1M has a retail price of $229.99.

• Fractional sizes. The C1M is available in 3/4, 1/2, and 1/4 sizes. These undersized guitars are perfect for smaller players.

• Easy playability. The C1M, like all classical guitars features nylon strings, which are much easier on the fingers than steel strings.

• Durable construction. The C1M is made with a laminate wood top. While not as loud or toneful as Cordoba's solid wood guitars, the laminate top is much more resistant to cracking and swelling, costs less, and can take more abuse than a solid top. This makes them an excellent choice for younger players who may not be ready to take care of a nicer guitar.

Best Budget Acoustic: Guild OM-320 and OM-340

The Guild OM-320 features a mahogany top.

The 320 and 340 guitars are Guild's entry level full-size acoustics. They are available in Orchestra (OM) and Dreadnought (D) shapes and are available with solid mahogany or spruce tops. We stock the OM shape, as it is better suited to a wider range of players. Here's what makes the OM 320 and 340 a great choice:

• Affordability. The 320 and 340 both retail for $299.99.

• Solid wood top. The Guild 300 series guitars are available with either a solid mahogany (320) or solid spruce (340) top. Both look and sound great, and because they are solid wood, offer a sophisticated tone, especially for this price point.

• OM body style. The OM body style offers a size and shape that is comfortable for most players. It is a full-sized acoustic with plenty of volume and low end, but a little thinner front to back than a dreadnought or a jumbo. Not only are they comfortable to play, but are well suited to a wide range of musical styles.

• Well appointed. These guitars have the features to give you the absolute best guitar at the lowest cost without sacrificing quality where it really counts. The tuning machines are accurate with no slop, the action and intonation are great, and the solid top gives a big step up in sound.

Best Budget Electric: Stagg SES-30

Stagg SES-30 in black.

Stagg is making very good quality guitars at a very low price point. This leaves plenty of money left in the budget to buy a good amplifier, keeping electric guitar options in reach for students on a budget.

• Very low cost. We sell the Stagg SES-30 for just $189.99 new.

• Full feature set. This guitar features all the same basic appointments and features as a pro-level Fender Stratocaster, including a two-way truss rod and a tremolo bridge that is fully adjustable for action and intonation.

• Light weight. The solid paulownia wood bodies are extremely light and well balanced, making these guitars comfortable to play seated or standing.

• Available in left-handed and fractional-sized models to suit a variety of players.

• Upgradeable. All the parts on the Stagg SES-30 are compatible with industry-standard aftermarket parts. Tuning machines, bridges, and pickups can be swapped out for premium components whenever the player wishes. This lets the guitar grow with the player's needs.

• Rugged. Solid-body guitars with bolted on necks, like the Stagg SES-30 can stand up to a lot of abuse without breaking - as long as you don't mind the occasional scratch and dent. Not that you want to use it for a sledgehammer, but you don't have to be particularly careful when handling these instruments.

Best Overall Acoustic: Guild M-120

Guild M-120 Concert Guitar.

The Guild M-120 is an all solid mahogany guitar with a comfortable and versatile concert-sized body, professional-level appointments, and premium gig-bag included. This guitar will serve any player for a long time.

• Great value. The $799.99 price gets you a guitar that can grow with you over a lifetime of music making, and includes a premium Guild gig bag to protect it on your way to lessons and jam sessions.

• All solid wood construction. The M-120 is made with solid mahogany top, back, and sides. This gives the guitar a detailed, expressive tone that will be appreciated by beginning and advanced players.

• Concert-sized body. Concert guitars are a traditional size of guitar dating back hundreds of years. While somewhat small by today's standards, they are seeing a resurgence in popularity, and for good reason: the smaller body size is very comfortable to play and offers excellent balance in tone and volume across the entire range of the instrument. Concert guitars are built for tone more than volume, but are still plenty loud for most acoustic settings. They also feature a shorter neck - 24 3/4" rather than the standard 25 1/2". The shorter neck imparts a warmer tone to the guitar as well as offering easier playability, especially for string bending or wide left-hand stretches.

• Gloss finish. A gloss finish is more expensive and labor-intensive to apply than a satin finish, but it adds to the visual appeal of the instrument, as well as making it easier to clean and maintain.

• Premium gig bag included. The Guild Premium gig bag features thick padding, a neck support, and heavy-duty fabric and zippers - $139 value included in the price of the guitar.

Best Overall Electric: Guild Polara

Guild Polara Deluxe in Vintage Sunburst

Guild developed the Polara in the 1970's, and it remains a well designed, quality guitar today. While sharing a basic body shape with the Gibson SG, the Polara features an elongated body and offset waist for better balance and an improved neck joint for better durability and tuning stability.

• Affordable. Guild's entry-level Polara guitars are just $549.99. These are a lot of guitar for the money.

• Versatile. Electronically, the Polara has enough tonal options to fit in with any genre of music, from jazz to country to rock. The humbucking pickups also handle distorted tones better than single coil pickups, making this well suited for rock and metal. The Deluxe Polara models feature volume and tone controls for each pickup as well as push-pull knobs for extra tonal options. The Polara shape also has timeless looks that will fit in with any band.

• Quality components and workmanship. The hardware on the Polara is well made and robust, with a fully adjustable tune-o-matic bridge. The pickups sound great and are low-noise. The fit and finish from the factory is excellent and reflects that this is a quality instrument.

• Variety of colors and options. The Polara is available in several different trim levels, each in several colors.

Best Overall Classical: Cordoba C5

Cordoba C5 with cedar top.

The Cordoba C5 is a traditionally made classical guitar with a solid top and gloss finish. This has all the features an advancing student requires and is an excellent choice for beginning guitarists in any genre of acoustic music - not just classical.

• Great price. These are very affordable at just $449.99.

• Available in 7/8, 3/4, and 1/2 sizes to suit players of any size and stature.

• Solid cedar top on all models. Cedar is a popular choice for modern classical guitars and gives a warm, nuanced tone with great looks. The full size C5 model is also available with a solid spruce top. Spruce is the traditional top wood for classical guitars and offers a brighter tone with more projection. Both are excellent choices.

• Two way adjustable truss rod. The truss rod helps to stiffen and reinforce the guitar neck. While common on steel string guitars, they are not always included on classical guitars, but are a nice feature to have, helping to adjust the guitar to the user's preferences and ensure longevity of the instrument.

• Excellent cosmetics. The hand inlaid rosette, wood binding, gold plated hardware and gloss finish give the Cordoba C5 the look of a professional instrument.

I hope this makes your shopping a little easier and gives you some useful suggestions for getting a first guitar. There are many more options available - you can peruse our website and see what we have. Don't forget we do a 10% discount to students, so you can save big on an instrument if you are signing up for lessons.

-Matt