Electric, acoustic, classical or bass — which should be your first instrument?

"I want to learn guitar" actually covers four instruments. The electric guitar plugs its steel strings into an amp, and the acoustic rings through its body. The classical guitar has nylon strings, and the bass has four strings.

What to start with is decided first by the music you want to play, then by where you'll play and your budget.

At a glance

Starting budget is the smallest setup: the instrument plus the essentials (amp, cable, tuner, footstool and so on).

Choose by the music you want to play

What to know about each

• Electric guitar — You must have an amp. But a headphone amp works too, so you can practice even at home where you can't play loud.
• Acoustic guitar — The strings are thick and tight, so your fingertips hurt most in the first 3 weeks. In return, you need almost no gear. How much pain is OK is covered in Is it OK to keep playing when your fingers hurt?
• Classical guitar — The wide neck makes strummed chord accompaniment less comfortable than on an acoustic. You play with your fingers instead of a pick.
• Bass — you don't need to learn guitar first. You need a dedicated bass amp (plugging into a guitar amp damages its speaker), and strings cost more ($22–25 a set).

Once you've chosen

• Electric → Beginner electric guitars under $300 — models by shape and the real total budget
• Acoustic → Choosing a beginner acoustic — models by body shape
• Classical → Beginner classical guitars — models by budget, and crossovers
• Bass → Choosing your first bass