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I've been thinking of getting the Yamaha FG700S Acoustic Guitar. It's $200, and the videos of people playing it have been pretty convincing. What do you guys think?

The Yamaha acoustics do seem to have a pretty good reputation and I had one of their budget electrics when I was starting out - was definitely good for the money

Do you plan on primarily being an acoustic player? I ask, because the play and feel of an acoustic is a bit different than a solid-body electric. If you are just starting out, it is good to have a guitar you enjoy actually playing. It makes picking it up to practice a lot less tedious.

It's a good point, I would definitely say there's a lot of fun to be had with an electric ....hmmm just had a look on musician's friend, which I try not to do cos it makes me mad how cheap everything is on there - should be plenty to chose from with that budget

ppinkham wrote:Do you plan on primarily being an acoustic player?

For some reason it was stuck in my head that to progress to the electric guitar I had to first do well with an acoustic. Would it then just be better if I saved more money so I could buy an electric guitar, amp, and other gear necessary for the guitar?

If you want to primarily play electric, then it would make more sense to invest in that. I know that if I had started on acoustic, I may not have continued to learn. I pick up an acoustic and I get frustrated because I love the way an electric sounds, and playing an acoustic just doesn't do it for me. When I was first staring out, I loved the fact that, even though I couldn't play like Eddie Van Halen, I could almost sound like him. That inspired me to keep picking it up.

There are some decent, inexpensive starter kits out there if you want to go that route. Here's an idea of what kind of stuff is available: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitar-value-packages

Learning an instrument can be frustrating and brutal, so you've got to make it fun as well, IMO. Acoustics are fun for some, but not for me. Definitely give it some serious thought.

There is no real need to learn on an acoustic first. Some say that starting on an acoustic helps you develop better technique, because they are less forgiving instruments. There may be an argument there, but if it ends up frustrating or boring you, then it may turn you off to learning the most amazing instrument ever created.

Joe wrote:

ppinkham wrote:Do you plan on primarily being an acoustic player?

For some reason it was stuck in my head that to progress to the electric guitar I had to first do well with an acoustic. Would it then just be better if I saved more money so I could buy an electric guitar, amp, and other gear necessary for the guitar?

People always say that, but I don't teach my students that way. You don't need to have started on acoustic to learn how to play guitar. Any more than you need to start out learning how to drive stick shift cars to learn how to drive. Driving stick shift and/or learning how to play the acoustic is more difficult to do, and well worth the effort, but needn't be first in the chain.