Before we start, you should know:
Acoustic guitars today are not like they were in the 70s. You don’t have to worry anymore about buying a budget guitar.
The problems you’d typically find in cheap acoustic guitars……..are all in the past.
It’s absolutely amazing what you can get nowadays in the budget range.
Here are the best sounding – extremely cheap acoustic guitars you can currently buy.
Jasmine S-35
Ready for goosebumps?
Everybody knows about Takamine guitars. They have that rich, sweet tone that’s unmistakable.
What people don’t know………..is that they made this line. The Jasmine is an inexpensive version of the Takamine……. that has an unreal value when it comes to tone. There are plenty of more expensive guitars out there that don’t sound nearly as good as this guitar. Listen for yourself.
This guitar sounds like a high-end EXPENSIVE guitar.
This is the prettiest sounding guitar in this budget range I’ve ever heard.
(Check Pricing, Specs, and More info on Amazon)
Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought
This is my personal favorite cheap guitar, because of how durable they are. In fact I love them so much I’ve bought three over the years. One I’ve given to a friend, One I gave to my sister, and another one to keep until I get that one away probably too. These guitars are just absolutely insanely durable which is why I love them so much. That and they feel incredible to play, along with an absurdly good tone for the price.
And the best part? They sound INCREDIBLE.
(Check Pricing, Specs, and More info on Amazon)
Fender CD60
I really am trying HARD to explain the tone on this guitar……..but I’m finding it very hard, even though truly it’s normally very easy for me.
It’s simply…….darker. You hear it and it pulls on the heartstrings. This guitar seems to be made to play sad songs. Listen when he plays minor chords in the video…….it’s really the bass that shines through.
What’s interesting about these models is that they’re built for beginners. They have quite a few qualities that make them easier to play.
(Check Pricing, Specs, and More info on Amazon)
Cort AD810
Honestly, this one is hard to ignore…… because of how ridiculously bright the tone is of this guitar. If you listen to it for all of 10 seconds…… you’ll instantly know what I mean, it’s a very happy and bright tone. What strange about that, is that usually you don’t hear this bright of tone from inexpensive Guitars. It’s lacking a little bit of sweetness to the tone, But a lot of people enjoy that.
So, For a guitar brand that isn’t all that well known… It’s more than a decent guitar. I’m going to guess that in the future, they’ll be asking for a lot more for these models.
Epiphone Pro-1
Epiphone is a very underrated guitar brand. This guitar in particular is super unique.
If you’re looking for an acoustic guitar that is absurdly easy on your hands……this is the one. It’s so so much easier on your hands. If you’re used to playing most normal acoustics, this guitar will literally feel effortless when you play.
The whole guitar is actually designed this way, to improve comfortability. From the neck shape to even the strings they chose, everything is focused on making it easy for you to play.
I got to try one early this year, and was very pleasantly surprised. Very cool instrument.
One of the easiest guitars you’ll ever play.
(Check Pricing, Specs, and More info on Amazon)
Ibanez AEG50 dreadnought
What you’ll notice first is this is a very elegant looking and sounding guitar. Absolutely beautiful. Seriously gorgeous guitar. Ibanez has always put out some of the prettiest guitars out there by far.
I should say this, and I’m SORRY to do this……but if you’re going to want to get one of these low priced…….you’ll have to look used.
I just HAD to add it though, because while you’ll have to buy it used to get it super cheap………
The tone is from heaven itself. It will put you in a trance.
(Check Pricing, Specs, and More info on Amazon)
Mitchell MD100
This is literally the most generic acoustic guitar out there. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, it’s just not very unique in any way. Everything about it is good, from the tone to the build quality. Just an overall good guitar without any special frills to it.
Overall, these are good inexpensive guitars. Listen to one being played below.
Epiphone DR-100
Great guitar. Basically everytime I talk about epiphone guitars I have to say it…….but these are underrated guitars. They sound absolutely fantastic (yes even the budget ones) against more expensive models that many people love. This guitar is no different, sounds absolutely fantastic.
Check out this video where the tone is compared from this guitar to a Martin 28 (few thousand dollar guitar). You’ll notice the tone on the Martin is better…..but Epiphone still does surprisingly well against it.
(Check Pricing, Specs, and More info on Amazon)
Yamaha F325D Dreadnought
What was interesting about this guitar, is that honestly there’s nothing interesting at all about it. It’s literally the most plain Jane guitar there is. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing at all, in fact that’s a very very good thing, because this guitar is insanely well-built for the price. What you’ll notice when handling these guitars is that they’ve used much higher quality parts then are normally used on “starter” models. This is the type of guitar you can really bring anywhere and not have to worry very much about it getting messed up. Which is probably the biggest bonus when it comes to and expensive guitars.
They sound really good as well. Check them out below.
(Check Pricing, Specs, and More info on Amazon)
Dean Flight Series Travel
Nowadays, short scale guitars are finally getting the recognition they deserve. They are simply the best option for someone with hand problems like arthritis…….. or someone with smaller hands who simply can’t reach as far. A lot of people aren’t happy with these when it comes to acoustic guitar models however, because you just don’t get as full of sound with a smaller body guitar. The difference between a dreadnought and this guitar when it comes to town is massive…….
However, I still think these are great guitars and sound very nice. They are ridiculously ridiculously easy to play…… and that’s probably their best feature.
Check out this video of them being played. They come in a variety of styles as well, so that’s nice of course.
Fender FA-125
This guitar sounds absolutely UNREAL. This is without a doubt, the best sounding acoustic guitar out there that’s inexpensive. No doubt at all. Honestly, it’s ridiculous how good this guitar sounds. I would 110% believe it if someone told me this was a thousand dollar guitar if I didn’t already know.
Other than the tone, this guitar is nice for a variety of other reasons. I find the most interesting is that the neck is flat, so it’s easier to move around on the neck……and if you wish it’s easier to shred because of this.
All around, a ridiculously good deal.
Seriously just listen to it being played. The tone is absolutely gorgeous. Bravo fender on this model.
(Check Pricing, Specs, and More info on Amazon)
Epiphone PR-150
Like I said before, Epiphone is really underrated. This guitar in particular sounds absolutely beautiful, and looks great as well with mahogany back and sides and a mahogany neck and a rosewood fingerboard. Absolutely love the roseburst finish.
Listen to one being played below, you’ll be surprised at the quality of the tone. Not something you could find in this price range even ten years ago. Really cool. In the review he also tells some other interesting features about the guitar.
(Check Pricing, Specs, and More info on Amazon)
Jasmine S34C
Absolutely BEAUTIFUL sounding guitar, yes…..I just had to add another one of the Jasmines to this list. They sound absolutely incredible and are a steal.
Like I said before, these guitars are made by Takamine…….they’re just a line made by them. In my opinion they sound just as good as a Takamine if not better for some of them.
This one in particular has an INSANE full bodied tone that’s just really hard to beat when it comes to budget instruments. Really cool (and large) instrument.