Acoustic Guitars - DH wants one!

[Toothache]

It's DH's birthday in 2 weeks and he wants an Acoustic full-sized guitar. He can't really play very well, but would like to practice.... GOD HELP US!

Where can I buy one that's good quality, but no more than £50? Secondhand perhaps?
I'd normally splash out a bit more, but it's ds's 3rd birthday 2 wks later and I start maternity leave in 4wks time (government minimum SMP. ).... so we're anticipating being VERY skint for a few months.

Much appreciated.

Ebay? There are 3 in the window of my local charity shop atm.

If you want a good one for £50 then you'll need to look at secondhand ones. I'd go for one that you can try before you buy. It's the tone and sound that's most important, and you can't tell that if you buy it from somewhere like E-Bay. Maybe look in the ads of your local paper? Some music shops have notice boards where people sell instruments.

Charity shops! Hadn't thought of that. We were going to go to the local CashConverters shop, but DH says he feels weird buying from there. You could be buying a childs pride and joy that the bailiffs have taken from them! Feels very wrong.

Coppertop - I don't think we'd know what sounded good and what didn't though.

Small music shops are a good start then. They're usually run by people who really know their stuff and will be able to advise you what to look for. They may also know about some secondhand guitars for sale. As a bonus they'll also be able to advise you which are the best strings to buy. Are you looking for a guitar with steel strings or one more like a Spanish guitar?

He definitely wants steel strings. There's a little music store in my town, but I've looked there and its was incredibly expensive. I hadn't thought of asking them if people sold secondhand through their shop though. I'll give that a try too.

Are there any really bad names that I should try to avoid??

They often have a noticeboard inside where people advertise for music lessons, secondhand stuff, accessories etc. The music shop will still get some business even though you're not buying a new guitar from them. After all you'll probably be buying things like strings, plectrums, sheet-music, song-books, and How To Play xyz" books from them at some point in the future. Good luck.

I can't think of any 'bad names' offhand. The ones to avoid are probably the ones that look cheaply made, eg look like they're made of plywood or have globs of glue still showing etc. It's a while since I've played though.

Are there any colleges/universities near you? Students always have guitars - they may want to sell them? But otherwise music shops sell s/h instruments. Or look up music tutors in the Yellow Pages and ask them if they have any/know of any to sell.

Thanks folks - You've given me something to work on now. I'll let you know how if I nab a bargain.

Toothache have you tried the blue paper or is it the yellow paper, not sure? ScotAds I think it's called. DH got his electric guitar there and claims it was a bargain. He also got an acoustic from Cash Generator, he asked who had owned it previously, they said a music teacher had come in with it as she was upgrading, could have been a load of rubbish though, but salved consciences at the time.

Ah ScotAds! Another good idea.

LOL re: Cash Generators!

My DH was the same - got him a really good guitar, second hand but still came in at £250. He hardly touches it. His brother also decided he'd learn to play at the same time - got a guitar for £40 from Argos and it's fine. Needless to say the brother is becoming a vituoso still with same guitar.

You could also try a pawn shop, they always seem to have guitars in the window.

I find music shops are very helpful. Tell them what you are looking for and don't feel obliged to buy an expensive one just for the 'quality tones'