The biggest advantage to buying a used acoustic guitar is the reduced price. Used acoustic guitars, like used cars, depreciate as soon as they leave the showroom. But unlike automobiles, they may actually improve with the aging process because the tonal qualities of the wood often improve with age and lead to a more mature and fuller sound. Additionally, a used acoustic guitar will most likely be properly setup and adjusted by the original owner.

Additionally, don't shy away from used acoustic guitars with cosmetic defects if you are on a tight budget. A blemished guitar with some scuff marks, slight wear areas and scratches will have no effect on the sound or playability of the guitar and will often result in a very substantial discount over a like new acoustic guitar.

The first thing that you will need to do before you go buy a used acoustic guitar is to narrow down the field. Determine whether you will need an acoustic electric guitar with an electronics package. This option will increase the price and is normally more applicable to an experienced guitarist that plays before an audience in a room that requires amplification. If you are a beginner and just learning to play the guitar you will not need this. More importantly, select a body style that you are comfortable holding and playing. The popular body sizes are the Dreadnought and Jumbo styles and the different manufacturers have varying naming conventions. Many of these are also available in cutaway models.

Then, choose a brand or two and a couple of models from each based on your budget. Limit yourself to no more than a couple of choices so that you are not overwhelmed and research the retail selling prices of these when new to form your basis. Now when you finally get to the point of shopping for used acoustic guitars, the best deals will be readily apparent.

The following is an overview to consider when looking at a used acoustic guitar:

Consider the body for its' overall look and defects. Initially you need make certain that there are no apparent issues with the acoustic guitar. As discussed above, a well-used guitar with cosmetic defects is completely different from a guitar with structural problems.

Question the seller about the length of time that they have had ownership of the guitar and try to ascertain its' date of manufacture. Determine whether there are any problems that are not readily apparent from a visual or online inspection. In other words, try to obtain a full disclosure of the guitar. A reputable seller will have no problems with these questions and will answer them honestly.

If at all possible, play the guitar and strike a few chords to make sure that the fretboard is true and there is no buzzing. A fretboard with wear marks is usually not a problem but if the frets themselves are overly worn out a fret dressing or fret replacement may be required. This is not a major problem and a luthier will be able to make these repairs, but factor it into the price of the used acoustic guitar.

Purchasing a guitar can be a large investment and a daunting task, particularly if you are a beginner guitarist. So take your time and look around before buying your guitar. A terrific way to do that is to look locally in music stores and internet-based sites like eBay. And of course, if you know an experienced guitarist or have a music teacher that is available, take them with you and get their feedback.

A used acoustic guitar offers several adavantages over a new guitar and shopping for used acoustic guitars is extremely easy today from the comfort of your home via the interent. Web sites like eBay, craigslist.org and the web pages of traditional music shops make it easy to find bargains and compare the pricing and availablity of these musical instruments.

Overview

Acoustic guitars are wonderful instruments that have played a very significant part in the music revolution and quality used acoustic guitars are available to get you there on a budget. Acoustic guitars are very capable for playing all types of music from classical to hard rock and are a great option when a clean and pure sound is desired. Acoustic and acoustic electric guitars are made by a number of manufacturers including Taylor, Martin, Gibson, Fender, Alvarez, Yamaha, Epiphone, Ovation and Seagull. The sound of an acoustic guitar is universally appropriate to almost all music genres.

Types

Acoustic guitars come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Acoustic guitars come in 3 distinct body styles: classic, dreadnought and jumbo. They are also available in travel size guitars and reduced sized versions, normally called three quarter acoustic guitars.

Acoustic guitars can either have steel or nylon strings. Classical and folk guitars use nylon strings.

Acoustic guitars have a hollow body and large resonating chamber and may or may not have electric pickups. Acoustic guitars that are equipped with an electronics package are known as acoustic electric guitars. In acoustic electric guitars, the pickups can be mounted either under the bridge, in the body via a microphone, or both. The combination of the bridge mounted pickups and the microphone in the body provide the best overall amplified sound and are found in the better guitars. Acoustic electric guitars are mainly built for playing larger venues where the  sound needs to fill the room. Pickups and microphones can be added later to a regular acoustic guitar to amplify it through a sound system.

Construction

The top is known as the soundboard and can be made of either laminated plies or solid hardwood. Laminated tops resist temperature variations and humidity changes better while solid wood tops give you better tone, resonance and projection. Higher quality guitars have tops made from solid wood and spruce and cedar are most commonly used. Lower quality acoustic guitars are typically made from laminated wood, and slightly better guitars are constructed of a combination of laminated wood and solid wood.

Acoustic guitars generally use one type of wood for the soundboard and another type of wood for the back and sides. Maple and mahogany are often used for the back and sides. Maple, ebony and some exotic woods are often times used for the fretboard.

Acoustic guitars require a little bit more maintenance than electric guitars due to the nature of their construction. Due to the open pores of the wood, too much or too little humidity can cause severe problems to the guitar's body. However, an inexpensive guitar humidifier that is placed in the guitar case will eliminate potential problems. Guitar shops and guitarists with a large collection will even have their own humidity controlled rooms.

Used Acoustic Guitars

Many beginners that are on a budget are tempted to buy a cheap and low quality acoustic guitar that is new, but would probably be better served by shopping for used acoustic guitars instead. By spending a little more on a quality used acoustic guitar, the materials of construction and the build quality will be far superior. This will lead to both a better sounding and easier playing guitar.

Used acoustic guitars can be discovered in lots of places and finding one that suits your wishes can be as straightforward as a search on the internet.  Purchasing a used acoustic guitar versus a new acoustic guitar could be a good way to get a quality musical instrument without breaking the bank.

If you want to buy used guitars you may even end up getting one of the classic models. But a truly classic guitar can come at a high price since they are valued by vintage guitar collectors with big wallets.

There are usually a lot of used beginner acoustic guitars for sale because some people give up on the guitar while others decide to upgrade their guitar. It's possible to buy high quality used acoustic guitars ranging from several hundreds to several thousands of dollars. New guitarists should budget $500 or more and select a quality used acoustic guitar that meets their needs and preferences.

Songwriters can use the iDea guitar to record and save the songs and riffs that they are developing as they pop into their heads. In a way, it lets you more solely focus on the inspirational aspects of songwriting. They can also use the preloaded rhythm tracks to accompany them in developing their music. The Ovation iDea can record from the guitar itself, from the built in microphone and from the auxiliary input jack.

Beginning guitarist can load their favorite songs to the MP3 player from their computer and play them back as they learn. Even better, the Ovation iDea comes preinstalled with jam tracks and audio lessons to aid in the development of the budding guitarist. Ovation has teamed up with WorkshopLive to fully integrate an online learning experience with the guitar. The training website features both video and audio lessons, jam tracks to load into the guitar's recorder and training and backing tracks specifically geared to the aspiring songwriter.

Files in the Ovation iDea can be deleted, rearranged, renamed and moved the same way that you can manipulate files on your computer. Complete songs, rhythm tracks and mixes from your other recording software can be downloaded and played from the guitar or through the headphones via the headphone jack. Several of the jam tracks and lessons come preinstalled on the guitar and others are available online.

While this guitar is not intended to replace your high-end, quality acoustic guitar, it is meant to be more of a niche product for several markets: a learning tool for the new guitarist and a utility device for the aspiring songwriter.

Ovation iDea Acoustic-Electric Guitar Features:

• Model: CC54i-PL
• Type: 6-string acoustic-electric
• Finish: PL satin platinum
• Top: Laminated spruce
• Bracing: Modified X
• Body: Mid-depth cutaway
• Sound holes: iDea elliptical
• Neck: Nato
• Neck finish: Satin platinum
• Fingerboard: Rosewood with black satin
• Inlays: 12th fret "i"
• Scale length: 25-1/4"
• Bridge: Rosewood with black satin
• Tuners: Black Ovation
• Preamp: Ovation iDea
• Pickup: Ovation slimline

Ovation iDea Acoustic-Electric Guitar Specifications:

• On-board controls:
• USB connection
• headphone jack
• Mic input jack
• Record button
• Repeat button
• Play/stop button
• Backlit menu screen with jog control
• Volume, bass, mid, and treble slider controls

Here are some deals on the Ovation iDea acoustic-electric guitar:

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NEW OVATION CELEBRITY IDEA ACOUSTIC ELECTRIC GUITAR    US $579.00

Ovation iDea Celebrity Acoustic Electric Guitar with Built In MP3 Recorder    US $699.00

Ovation iDea Acustic Electric Guitar With Case    US $415.00

Ovation iDea Celebrity Acoustic Electric Guitar with Built In MP3 Recorder Black    US $619.00

Ovation iDea Celebrity Acoustic Electric Guitar with Built In MP3 Recorder Black    US $619.00

Ovation Celebrity cc54i idea guitar with Hard Ovation Case    US $500.00

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I've saved some money and I'm looking for a good acoustic electric guitar that I will keep. I'm looking for guitars in the $500-1000 range.

I started out looking for Ovation guitars because I'm familiar with them. However, I played some Alvarez guitars in the music store and they have caught my fancy and are well within my price range.

Does anybody play an Alvarez, and if so do you/did you think that it was worth the money. Anything else in this price range that you would recommend?

I've finally saved enough money to get a Taylor acoustic guitar. I'm thinking of buying either Taylor 214e Grand Auditorium acoustic-electric guitar or a Taylor 310ce Dreadnought Cutaway. The 214e is around $999 and the 310ce is around $1,500.

I'm looking to purchase a used acoustic electric guitar. Should I get the Gibson Hummingbird Artist Series or the Taylor 314ce Grand Auditorium?

I own a Taylor acoustic electric guitar and play jazz, blues and praise and worship music. What are some good effects for these music types?

The main difference between the classical acoustic guitar and the contemporary acoustic guitar is that the former is strung with nylon strings and the latter is strung with steel strings. Due to the steel strings in the contemporary guitar, it has a brighter sound and a louder volume which is more appealing to the contempory music of most genres. Today's acoustic guitars also have a larger body size, a reinforced and stronger structure and a more narrow neck than the classical guitar style. It also has a narrower neck that makes playing easier and faster, especially for the less accomplished guitar player. The bracing structure of the acoustic guitar is a major consideration for the contemporary acoustic guitar over its' classical version because it can withstand the increased tension on the neck and body placed on it by the stronger and heavier steel strings.

Acoustic electric guitars have been produced for approximately fifty or sixty years and are an extension of the contemporary acoustic guitar. These guitars are simply acoustic guitars that come supplied from the factory with an electronics package, in the form of pickups and/or a microphone, preinstalled. Many acoustic electric guitars also come equipped with a preamp and a blending system. Although acoustic electric guitars are generally built with the electronic components, most acoustic guitars can be retrofitted to include an electronics package. However, a luthier is required for this conversion in most cases because of the woodworking involved to accomodate the components.

The bodies of inferior and cheaper acoustic guitars are typically made from laminated tonewood, more commonly called plywood. However, the better quality and more expensive acoustics are made from better pieces of solid wood. Most commonly spruce is used in this construction due to its' tonal characteristics, but other woods like cedar are sometimes used. The wood from which the top and body are made is a major factor in the guitar's design do to the sound and expression of the guitar. Spruce top wood is popular due to its' bright and clear tonal qualities.

The neck of an acoustic guitar is usually made from maple, mahogany, or rosewood. However, some guitar necks are fabricated from different woods and the quality of the wood is a an important but secondary consideration to the type of wood itself. On the neck of the acoustic guitar is the fretboard. Most fretboards on the acoustic guitar are made of rosewood or ebony. More expensive acoustic guitars have fretboards made of higher quality woods. Usually the fretboard and the neck are constructed of differet woods.

The vibration of the strings is amplified through the soundhole of the guitar and is amplified inside of the guitar's body. This soundhole is analogous to your mouth and is where all sound that you hear comes from. If you look inside the soundhole of the acoustic guitar, you'll see the interior of the body and be able to observe some of the guitar's construction details. There are braces and linings, all essential to keeping the guitar intact and playable. X-bracing is a relativley newer constructure feature on acoustic guitars and is employed as a bracing system because it is strong and durable. It is typically used on today's acoustic guitars because it is heavy and strong enough to withstand the pressure of steel strings and it has a good strength to weight ratio.

On the body of the guitar below the soundhole is the bridge. This is where the bottom of the strings rest. The strings are inserted into the small holes and the bridge pegs hold them in place via a pressure fit. The nut, usually made of plastic or bone, is at the top of the neck and holds the strings in slots that are cut into it to maintain proper spacing before the strings are routed to the tuners.

The headstock of the Acoustic guitar features the tuners. The six tuners are usually situated three on each side of the headstock but other configurations are not uncommon. A quality Acoustic guitars will have die-cast tuners and Grover tuners are a quality brand that is favored because they will maintain the tuning of the guitar string for a longer period of time.

Like their Electric counterparts, Acoustic guitars are tuned in the standard E A D G B E tuning and most acoustic guitars are configured with six strings, while twelve string acoustic guitars are popular due to their increased harmonics.

The Acoustic guitar remains a very popular musical instrument that is popularized to each new generation by its' prevalence in most music genres. It is used in almost every style of music: rock, pop, country, blues, etc. Acoustic guitars are great instruments for both beginners looking to learn to play guitar and to skilled professionals. Generally speaking, acoustic guitars made from quality and solid woods in the necks such as maple or mahogany and bodies made with solid spruce top will provide a clearer and more pleasant tone. A quality acoustic guitar will cost approximately five hundred dollars or more, but great values can be found by purchasing a used acoustic guitar at significant price reductions over the cost of a new acoustic guitar.

I'm looking to buy an used acoustic electric guitar. How much can I save by buying a used acoustic electric guitar?

What's the difference between an acoustic guitar and an electric-acoustic guitar?