Where can I get a cheap guitar in London?

August 12, 2008 5:34 AM

Where can I get a cheap acoustic guitar in London?

I am looking for a cheap acoustic guitar for beginners. Where in London can I get one? I can't play yet and I would like to keep the cost to a minimum because I'm not sure how involved I will get into guitar playing.

I know pretty much nothing about guitars so I don't know what I should be looking for and where.

I am not against buying online, although I would rather not to. I found this website that sells cheap guitars: http://www.swiftmusiclondon.co.uk/, but how can I make sure that they are reliable?

Any tips on how to get a cheap acoustic guitar in London would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.

posted by celine to media & arts (10 comments total)

I recently bought my daughter a Yamaha F310 and think it's a great first guitar. I bought mine used on loot.com for about £25 but got lucky that someone was selling one so cheap in my neighbourhood. However, there are a few now on ebay UK and lots of shops sell them.

GAK is a very reputable place and you can buy it from there and have it shipped.
posted by gfrobe at 5:52 AM on August 12, 2008

Argos do dirt cheap guitars
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:05 AM on August 12, 2008

I would recommend you go to Denmark Street in London, where there are a variety of guitar and music shops, explain that you have never played before (leave the shop if anyone is rude to you at this point!!) and try and get them to advise you on a good-sounding but good value guitar.

I would be very cautious about buying from Argos. The problem is that the cheaper the guitar you buy, the more nasty it will sound, and the more likely that the action is hard to play - in other words, some cheap guitars are actually more difficult to play than more expensive guitars. This will give you the impression that you are less able than you are.

The advantage of investing in a guitar is that the investment will encourage you to play, and the sound will be more rewarding.
posted by skylar at 6:27 AM on August 12, 2008

I know pretty much nothing about guitars so I don't know what I should be looking for

Sit down and strum a bunch of guitars, even if you don't know how to play anything yet. The sound should be full bodied, with plenty of highs and lows. There should be no buzzing or other non-musical sounds.
The neck should look and feel straight and rigid. Put it up to your eye and sight down it, it shouldn't have any curve. It should feel solid, like it's part of the guitar, not just attached to it.
The distance from the strings to the fretboard is called the Action. Higher action is harder to play when starting out, but lower action might cause accidental noises while you work on your fingering technique. Make the sure the action is fairly constant all the way down the fretboard, as too high string tension might have bent the neck towards the body, causing the strings to get higher as they near the body.
The body itself should be clean, with no cracks or major dings.

Take your time. One of them will sound and feel right to you. Buy it!
posted by signal at 7:27 AM on August 12, 2008

I would recommend you go to Denmark Street in London, where there are a variety of guitar and music shops

Seconded. You can hang out at the 12 Bar while you're there. Nice place.

some cheap guitars are actually more difficult to play than more expensive guitars.

I'd go further and say that most cheap guitars are harder to play. My somewhat-fancy Taylor is one of the easiest-playing acoustic I've picked up. Taylors tend to be that way generally.
posted by ludwig_van at 8:43 AM on August 12, 2008

Cheap guitars are one of the biggest reasons people give up on learning to play.
posted by jjb at 9:15 AM on August 12, 2008

Seconding that cheap instruments are most often harder to play. And if they're not harder to play, they're frequently going out-of-tune.

The aforementioned GAK have a retail shop in Brighton and if you have a rail card of some sort you can probably go there for a day to try a few guitars & speak to someone there in person for only a little more than shipping on a guitar. And have a day out in Brighton!

Plan on purchasing an electronic tuner as well.
posted by K.P. at 12:04 PM on August 12, 2008

Do they have Craigslist in London? Or something similar, where you will actually be able to find a guitar online but then see/play it before deciding to buy it?

I ask because my husband is selling a bunch of his instruments over Craigslist here after realizing he can only play one of them at a time and several have been bought by people who are just learning to play and not ready to make a new investment.
posted by Brittanie at 12:32 PM on August 12, 2008

I too looked at those swift music £30'ers, but I instead ended buying the Stagg SW201 from Rose Morris -- much more reputable dealer. Basic steel-string (dreadnought) -- laminated, so not the greatest sound, but certainly passable, and playable -- yes! The action isn't too high -- if you're new a steel string is still going to hurt you fingers for a while but it's worth it in the end. I hadn't played for 3 years, and my calluses came back within a week! The store is close to Tottenham Court Rd tube. Good luck, and if you already bought a guitar, what did you get, and how did it go?
posted by linus587 at 5:44 PM on August 25, 2008

Oh, and the SW201 was £59. Twice as much as the swifts, but still very much a budget instrument. Or if you're after a classical (nylon string) which is easier to learn on, try Dot's music store in Camden http://www.dotsonline.co.uk/ -- I called them and they had a classical starting at about the same price.
posted by linus587 at 5:47 PM on August 25, 2008