Buying a first guitar is exciting and a little terrifying. There are hundreds of options, the prices swing wildly, and every forum has a strong opinion. So here's the honest version, from someone who's spent a lifetime playing and a long time teaching beginners: the best beginner guitar in NZ is the one that's comfortable to hold, easy to press down, and tempting enough that you actually pick it up. Everything else is detail. Let's sort the detail out.
Acoustic, electric or classical? Start here
This is the first fork in the road, and people overthink it. The right answer depends almost entirely on the music you want to play, so be honest with yourself about that before you spend a cent.
Steel-string acoustic
The default for most beginners, and for good reason. It's self-contained — no amp, no cables, no fuss — so you can pick it up on the couch and just play. It suits folk, pop, singer-songwriter material and strumming along to almost anything. The one downside is that steel strings are firmer under the fingers at first, which I'll come back to.
Electric
Electrics have thinner strings and a slimmer neck, so they can actually be kinder to beginner fingers than an acoustic. If your heart is set on rock, blues, indie or anything with a bit of grit, start here and don't let anyone tell you that you have to "earn it" on an acoustic first. The catch is you'll also need a small amp and a cable, which is why electrics usually come as a pack.
Classical (nylon-string)
Classical guitars have soft nylon strings and a wide neck. They're gentle on the fingertips, which makes them a lovely choice for young children or anyone with sensitive hands. They're built for classical and fingerstyle playing — if you mainly want to strum pop songs, the wide neck and mellow tone aren't ideal, but for sore fingers they're worth knowing about.
The quick rule: want to sing and strum songs? Get a steel-string acoustic. Dreaming of electric tones? Get an electric pack. Worried about sore fingertips or buying for a young child? A nylon-string classical is the gentlest start.
How much should you actually spend?
Spend too little and you'll buy something that's genuinely hard to play, which is the fastest way to quit. Spend too much and you've gambled real money on a hobby you haven't tried yet. There's a sweet spot, and in New Zealand it looks roughly like this. Treat these as typical market ranges, not quotes — prices move, and a sale can change everything.
- A decent starter acoustic: roughly NZD $200–350. Below about $150 you're often into toy territory — playable for a week, frustrating after that. In this range you can get something that holds tune and feels reasonable.
- A starter electric pack (guitar, small amp, cable, strap, picks): roughly NZD $450–550. Buying the pack is usually better value than piecing it together, and it gets you playing the same day.
- A starter classical: broadly similar to a starter acoustic, often around NZD $180–300 for something solid enough to learn on.
My honest take: aim for the middle of those ranges rather than the floor. The jump in playability between the cheapest instrument and one that costs a little more is bigger than almost any beginner expects — and playability is what keeps you practising.
Where do Kiwis shop?
You've got good options without leaving the country. A few worth knowing:
- The Rockshop — big national chain with stores in most main centres and a solid online range. Easy to walk in and try things.
- Music Works — another well-known NZ retailer with a broad beginner selection.
- MusicPlanet — strong online presence and a good spread of beginner instruments and packs.
- Used / Trade Me — there are real bargains here, because plenty of guitars get bought, barely played, and resold. The risk is you can't always tell the condition from a listing, and a cheap guitar that needs work can cost more to fix than it's worth. If you go used, try to take someone who plays, or budget for a setup (more on that next).
Wherever you buy, if there's any way to hold the guitar first, do it. The same model can vary, and the way a particular instrument sits against you matters more than the spec sheet.
What actually matters (and what doesn't)
Here's where I can save you from the mistakes I see most often. Beginners obsess over brand and looks; experienced players quietly check three other things.
Playability and setup beat brand — every time
This is the big one. A guitar's setup — how the strings are adjusted, especially the height of the strings above the fretboard (the "action") — makes the single biggest difference to how easy it is to play. A budget guitar that's been set up well plays beautifully. A pricier one straight out of a box, with the strings sitting too high, can be a finger-killer. Many shops will do a basic setup, sometimes free on purchase or for a modest fee; it is money and effort extremely well spent. If a guitar feels unreasonably hard to press down, that's usually a setup issue, not you.
Body size and comfort
Acoustics come in different body sizes, and a big dreadnought can feel like wrestling a barrel if you're smaller or buying for a child. Smaller-bodied acoustics (often called "concert," "grand auditorium," or travel sizes) are easier to wrap around and just as good to learn on. Comfort isn't a luxury — an instrument that's awkward to hold is one you won't reach for.
Nylon vs steel strings, and sore fingers
Sore fingertips are the number-one complaint in the first few weeks, and they're completely normal — you're building calluses, and it passes in a couple of weeks of regular playing. If you're worried, nylon strings (on a classical) are noticeably softer. On a steel-string acoustic, fitting a set of lighter-gauge strings makes it gentler without changing the instrument. Either way, don't let sore fingers convince you that you've chosen wrong; push through the first fortnight and your hands adapt.
The best guitar for a beginner isn't the most impressive one. It's the one that's easy enough to play that you keep coming back.
What I'd tell a new student
If you walked into your first lesson and asked me what to buy, here's roughly what I'd say. Get a steel-string acoustic in the $200–350 range, or an electric pack around $450–550 if electric is your dream. Don't buy the very cheapest thing on the wall. Ask the shop to set it up properly before you take it home — that single step removes most beginner frustration. Pick a body size and neck that feels comfortable in your actual arms, not in a review. And don't wait until you've found the "perfect" guitar; a good-enough one you own today beats a perfect one you're still researching in three months.
Honestly, the gear matters far less than what you do with it. I've watched students make gorgeous progress on modest instruments and seen expensive guitars gather dust. The thing that turns a purchase into a player is having someone show you what to practise and why.
That's what I'm for. I teach guitar lessons one-to-one — in person on the Kāpiti Coast and online for students in Wellington and right across NZ — and I'm always happy to help a brand-new student make sense of their first guitar in the first lesson. If you're still weighing up whether lessons are worth it, I've written a plain-English guide to what music lessons actually cost in NZ. And when you're ready to start, get in touch — bring whatever guitar you've got, and we'll go from there.