Anyone who wishes to buy an acoustic guitar these days can do it with any sized budget, thanks to the production methods of the Far East. However, you have to keep in mind that you get what you pay for and if you buy quality it will pay off in the long run.
Another decision to make is “what am I going to use it for?”. To have it around at home or to play in a band?
Also, “Am I going to give preference to finger picking or strumming?”.
There are two kinds of guitars, the steel ones and the woods ones.
The wood ones have a better sound and these days you can find one from $300 USD, but if you’re looking for a serious instrument to cherish in your life you might need to spend at least $1300 USD.
If you go for a wood one then you really need to pay attention to the type of wood used on the top, back and sides. You may not believe it but this affects the tone that the instrument produces greatly and certain playing styles require certain woods.
If your style is strumming then perhaps you should go with a guitar that has a spruce top and rosewood on the side and back. Spruice is a very light yellow colour wood. Rosewood is brown with dark veins throughout the length of the wood.
Now what difference does this make besides having a nicely colored guitar? Well the rosewood gives a depth and volume to the sound and the spruce gives a brighter tone.
The dreadnought acoustic guitar is a classic example of this type of guitar and if you are looking for a brighter sound then consider the maple bodied guitar.
If you’re a fingerpicker then a cedar top is your best choice. It has a reddish colour and this wood adds more “middle” to the sound.
As for the back and sides for these guitars, it is advised that mahogany is the correct wood type.
Of course these are only the basics of choosing a guitar. Nowadays manufacturers such as Martin Guitars mix and match these wood combinations for some different effects so it is strongly advised that you experiment with as many different models as you can.
The best known types of different wood combinations are ebony, koa and ovangkol – they give some distinctlty different sounds.