Quality under $100 possible?

[pjroberts]

I would also consider used Yamaha. I’ve had very good experience on Reverb. A number of <$100 guitars here: https://reverb.com/marketplace?produ...&price_max=100.

Also GC will ship from any location to your local store and you can try it there before buying ... obvioiusly any brand.

[stuco]

Watch craiglist for a used guitar with a solid top.

[DM3MD136]

One other possible source... Facebook Marketplace has improved quite a bit in the past year as a craigslist alternative... I've picked up a couple nice Martins at embarrassingly low prices on there, sometimes people just want a quick and easy sale. You can set up a search and get notified when something pops up in your area. Like others said, put $150 as your top end, knowing that most sellers will negotiate for a quick and easy cash deal.

I'd also include Sigma in your search... they are hit or miss depending on year (and who was in charge of manufacturing at the time), but some of the hits are phenomenal values. I still wish I had my solid top 1998 DM-1ST that I bought for $170 shipped, brand new. Good luck!

[Steadfastly]

Originally Posted by pjroberts

I would also consider used Yamaha. I’ve had very good experience on Reverb. A number of <$100 guitars here: https://reverb.com/marketplace?produ...&price_max=100.

Also GC will ship from any location to your local store and you can try it there before buying ... obvioiusly any brand.

Anyone who says you can't get a decent guitar for $100.00 or less has not looked here. There are a number of decent Yamaha's that are great beginner guitars and some better than beginner ones.

[Oldguy64]

I scour Craigslist and the local BST on Facebook pretty regularly.
I managed to buy two Alvarez guitars for $300.
The better of the two is a Professional series (Solid top and back, Laminate sides) PD85S for $200.
I bought a beaten ADA1965 for $100. Added $40 for repairs. It has a now repaired crack in its solid top.
And it sounds pretty amazing for how it looked the first time I laid eyes on it.

For $100 each, keep your eyes open for Yamaha guitars.
They tend to go cheaply and tend to be well made instruments.
I’m not as familiar with Yamaha model numbers, but it is the one “entry level” brand I’ve never heard anything bad about.
Look for solid top Instruments.
That will mean doing your research and asking questions before you drive out to meet someone, only to find out the guitar is unplayable junk.

Alvarez Artist series guitars, particularly the AD60 seems to go for $150-200 on the used market if you are patient.

If you are able to double your budget, and are very lucky, you can sometimes find a Big Baby Taylor in the $200 range.

[Jcamp]

Under a $100 each new will likely be horrid guitars. $100 used could b decent. U might watch facebook, Craigslist or yard sales If u go to church and it’s a bigger church u might ask the worship leader if they know of any for sale. If you know any guitar players then talk to them and see if they have any laying around they’d sale u or give u
I did recently play a Applause guitar that was made by ovation. It was a $100 used and total surprised me. Played good and sounded pretty good too. By far the best $100 guitar I’ve ever played
Most of us won’t recommend a $100 guitar now but a lot of us here I’m sure started on them. I started on a very horrid harmony that’s strings set really high off the fret board. After a few months my dad went and bought me a blue Johnson guitar for my birthday. Now I’m not a Chet Atkins now but I’m a decent enough guitar player that I can hold my own. I guess point being is a good guitar is better to start on but ultimately it’s deffinitlly better to have A guitar (even a cheap one) than no guitar at all

[jricc]

These are on sale now for $129.99 free shipping i think...
https://www.musiciansfriend.com/guit...coustic-guitar

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/guit...coustic-guitar

Good luck with whatever you choose.

[Gaetano]

TripleB,

Consider a baritone uke for starters. The baritone models are tuned like the top 4 strings of a guitar for an easy transition. Good luck on your search.

Gaetano

[TBman]

You might not want to go too low, here's a thread I started on the subject and includes a sound clip of the Jasmine S-35 compared to 2 other guitars....

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=511820

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by TripleB

I have no idea what I'm looking for that would give an indication of a decent guitar in that price range, but some that have received better than average reviews are:

Rogue Starter Guitar $50 (7/8 size) https://www.guitarcenter.com/Rogue/S...stic-Guitar.gc

Rogue RA-100D $70 https://www.guitarcenter.com/Rogue/R...stic-Guitar.gc

Jasmine S-34 Cutaway $94 https://www.guitarcenter.com/Jasmine...stic-Guitar.gc

Jasmine S-35 $93 https://www.guitarcenter.com/Jasmine...stic-Guitar.gc

The problem with the reviews you're reading is that nearly all of them have been written by beginners who bought these guitars and have no idea what constitutes "quality" or even what constitutes "decent" in a guitar. I don't say this to be mean, but to put it very bluntly the guitars you're looking at are junk. They are not "quality" instruments and they don't even rise to the low bar of being "decent." If you buy any of them, you will be wasting good money. I know that's not what you wanted to hear but that's the plain truth of it.

I understand the desire to buy the same guitar for both yourself and your son, and with twice your budget you could pull that off and have a couple of guitars that would serve you well for a number of years. I have no doubt some salesperson in a Guitar Center will expound on how great your listed guitars are for beginners. They're not. A beginner needs a guitar that has good playability above anything else. A guitar that is difficult to play is going to discourage someone from playing.

At $94, there was no money in the build budget of those guitars for a good setup. Nothing is more crucial to the beginner than a well setup guitar. Whether a new player is still playing after a year is going to depend very much on the setup. If the action is too low and the guitar is buzzing, it sounds awful and discourages play. If the action is too high, fretting becomes difficult and painful, and it discourages play. With no experience as a player, you won't be able to judge the action on a cheap guitar for yourself. No doubt the salesperson will tell you it's fine no matter which guitar you pick up but remember... the salesperson's job is to sell you a guitar that day. He's not concerned with whether he sold you a good guitar or a bad guitar and he's going to say what he has to say to make the sale.

If $200 really is the top of your budget, do yourself a favor and buy just one guitar. You can get one of the Yamaha 800 guitars for that and it would be leaps and bounds better than any of the guitars you've listed or any other $100 dollar guitar. Either share that with your son for a while, or gift it to him and get your own later. But to buy any of those $100 guitars would be a waste of money.

[pagedr]

I'll chip in with my two cents, which will echo many others here.

I started playing guitar a little over 4 years ago, and when I was buying my first I was completely clueless and a bit cash strapped (recent college grad at the time). But the biggest piece of advice I received was to make sure I didn't buy something so terrible that I'd never want to play it - both in terms of sound but mainly playability. I took that to heart, and while it meant I needed to save a little bit, I ended up spending about $300 on a nice little Martin LX1. It ended up being an outstanding starter guitar and is what I played on exclusively for about two years. If I'd bought some junker, I probably would've quit - I can't imagine working through the rough patches with a bad guitar. My LX1 was set up great and sounded nice, and I still had really frustrating times (like everyone else does). A bad guitar would've just exacerbated it.

Now that said, you definitely don't need to spend $300+ or buy from a brand like Martin. Others in here are spot on about Yamaha, especially if you can find a used one for ~$100 in good condition. I bought my dad a Yamaha FS800 for Father's Day a couple years ago and am amazed by how good it sounds whenever I travel back home. If I had extra room in my little apartment, I'd probably have one laying around just to noodle on.

Long story short, like everyone else has said, just make sure whatever you're purchasing will set you and your son up to succeed. I'd recommend waiting an extra month or whatever it would be to save up for a better instrument as opposed to rushing into something with a guitar you'll hate.

[CaptRedbeard]

I agree that it is a challenge to find a decent guitar in the $100 price range, but it will be fun. All the brands and site suggestions are great and exactly what I use. I might add Facebooks "marketplace", which is tailored to stuff close to you and moving sales. I might also add the Washburn brand. They are becoming more popular so it might be harder now to find one in your price range.

[bluesfreek]

The Yamaha SCF08 in my signature I picked up used from our local buy and sell site for $90 CDN (approx $63 USD). It included a flimsy gigbag, hex key, extra strings, a cheap electronic tuner, a stand and a DVD for beginners. I just wanted the guitar but the tuner and stand are cool. The guitar is in perfect condition but after doing a setup and installing a better Tusq saddle it's now a pretty awesome guitar. Deals are out there.

This is the original owner's photo.

[redir]

Wait.. In who's name is the loan?

[vindibona1]

I've seen several used guitars for under $200 that would compete with $1000+ instruments, but never under $150. However if you can find a used Yamaha FG800 you might get near your $100 benchmark. A good guitar, but there are others better if you're patient and know what to look for and actively look.