Blues music is a culturally rich and expressive form of music that grew in popularity throughout the 20th century and influenced many genres of music, including jazz, rock, country, and rhythm and blues. If you’re a fan of blues, it’s essential to invest in a good quality guitar well-suited for playing a variety of blues music so that you can enjoy an enhanced, full sound and rich tones.
When you’re shopping for an acoustic guitar for blues music, there are essential factors to keep in mind, so you can find the make and model that’s ideal for your budget, skill level, and preference.
- The size and style of the guitar are essential. Blues acoustic guitars are available in various designs, including concert, auditorium, grand concert, and grand auditorium. Dreadnought and jumbo sizes are standard blues guitar sizes.
- Tonewoods contribute to the sound of your guitar, with the most popular options rosewood, mahogany, ebony, maple, and walnut.
- If you’re shopping within a budget, you’ll want to find a good quality guitar that’s cost-effective
- You’ll find many colors, finishes, wood materials, and blends, in addition to size and design, all of which are essential to consider for preference.
- Durability is a crucial factor, resulting in spending a little more on your blues guitar to ensure that you have a great quality instrument that’s long-lasting.
Characteristics of Acoustic Blues Guitars
There’s no specific design for acoustic blues guitars. However, you’ll find that most guitars designed to offer a full, robust sound for blues songs are typically asymmetrical, and the lower section of the guitar body is designed to appear as though it’s “cut off.” This style allows you to reach the highest frets on the fretboards without too much effort so that you can play an extensive range of notes and chords easily.
If you plan to travel with your guitar, you’ll want to choose an instrument that includes a carrying case that’s padded for protection. You’ll also find great kits with equipment and supplies you’ll need to get started, and there is mini-sized acoustics ideal for compact storage and portability. Our top picks are based on price, design, materials, features, and durability.
Best Solid Wood Acoustic Blues Guitar
The Yahama FG800 Solid Top Acoustic Guitar is an excellent option for blues music and musicians who want to access a wide range of notes and chords within a smaller reach across the fretboard. We found this solid wood guitar offers a rich, full sound that’s perfect for blues and folk music, with a reasonable price tag and outstanding durability.
Since this instrument doesn’t include equipment and accessories, it’s an excellent buy for top-notch quality, and you’ll find the overall cost worthwhile as a blues guitarist.
The Yahama FG800 Solid Top Acoustic Guitar is an excellent, traditional-style instrument featuring a dreadnought body and a blend of high-quality wood for superb sound.
Pros
- The solid spruce top offers a robust sound and vibration
- Wood materials, including Nato, spruce, rosewood, and Okume, to enhance the tones of the guitar
- The custom design of this guitar, including the scalloped section, further strengthens the sound, which creates deeper tones, ideal for blues music.
- Yamaha is a well-established and reputable brand that offers a wide range of quality instruments
- Ranked as a best seller in the top 120 categories of steel-string acoustic guitars
- It’s a comfortable guitar that offers a design that’s easy to handle and play, including a fretboard that’s accessible and doesn’t require too much reaching
- It’s a right-handed guitar, though some left-handed musicians may find this guitar easy to use
Cons
- This guitar doesn’t include extra accessories or equipment
Best Blues Acoustic Guitar for Kids and Beginners
The ADM Acoustic Guitar offers a great buy for beginners, with a unique guitar color and design that’s ideal for showing off when you play at home with friends or take on the road. It’s a great instrument to start lessons, with access to introductory professional lessons and high-quality materials to enhance the sound and durability of this guitar.
Pros
- Ranked as a top seller in the best 100 acoustic guitar beginner kits
- Available in a unique color blue, which is hand-polished and crafted with quality materials
- It’s a comfortable instrument to handle, with precise string tension that feels great to play, including an easy-to-access fretboard
- Includes a kit that provides everything you need to start playing right away, including a waterproof gig bag, strap, cap, extra strings, picks, a storage bag, and guitar hanger.
- It’s an excellent gift idea for beginner and novice-level musicians
- Ideal for teens and adults
- There are a few free lessons included in the package, so you can enjoy playing with the uniquely crafted guitar with professional instructions
Cons
- There’s no tuner or guitar stand available with the guitar kit, which needs to be purchased separately
- Not recommended for children under six years of age
Best Acoustic Blues Guitar Bundle
Fender’s FA-115 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar is one of the best quality guitars for blues enthusiasts and beginner to novice playing levels. You’ll find the blend of wood and materials in this guitar create a powerful sound and excellent resonation to amplify anything you play. Fender consistently provides high-quality instruments, and this bundle offers an affordable way to get started with all the basics.
Pros
- Fender is a reputable, well-established brand
- This model is a solid wood guitar, which provides excellent resonation and tone
- This bundle includes picks, an extra set of strings, a strap, and a clip-on tuner that uses vibrations to tune your guitar
- It features a spruce top that’s ideal for accommodating various playing styles, including flat-picking, strumming, and delicate fingerpicking
- It’s an excellent gift for beginners and novice-level players
Cons
- This guitar may be challenging for younger children to play
- It doesn’t include a guitar stand
Best Scaled-Down Option − Taylor GS Mini Acoustic Guitar
The Taylor Mini mahogany acoustic guitar has a Taylor Grand Symphony mini cutaway body type. There is no top wood. It has solid mahogany on the back and sides of the acoustic guitar. It also features a layered Sapele bracing pattern.
Even with its scaled-down size, the Taylor GS Mini still reveals the impressive voice any guitar player would expect from a full-sized guitar. The scaled-down version offers more in the way of portability and can fit into various scenarios, from the campfire to a concert hall.
This mahogany acoustic guitar style offers broad-based accessibility for musicians looking for an acoustic guitar that is smaller, easier to transport, and affordable while still providing them with the resounding appeal you expect from an acoustic guitar for jazz.
Pros
- Affordable and more accessible option for musicians who may be working on a limited budget or limited space
- Has a right-handed neck shape and is great for a guitar player who loves to practice
- It is portable and playable and doesn’t compromise on sound, which is important for jazz and blues players
- This Taylor guitar produces a rich and beautiful sound
Cons
- The shorter scale of this guitar style makes for increased string tension
Martin Guitar StreetMaster
The StreetMaster Martin Guitar we have here comes with a gig bag. It allows a loud and bright sound, ideal when playing the blues. It is a beautifully made mahogany constructed acoustic guitar with a distressed satin finish, giving it a professional sound and appearance. The auditorium-style body adds volume and is made for working musicians.
This Martin guitar is handmade from premium mahogany and built to stand up to all kinds of jam sessions and lots of plucking and picking of its acoustic guitar strings. The playability of this guitar is further enhanced due to the iconic tone a Martin guitar provides.
Pros
- Has a simple design but is still good looking
- Solid mahogany construction
- Fantastic tone that is great for a blues player
- Lightweight and easy to hold
Cons
- May be too expensive for those on a limited budget
Selecting the Best Blues Acoustic Guitar: Buyer’s Guide
When you’re ready to invest in an acoustic blues guitar, you’ll find excellent designs and sizes to suit your preference and playing style. It’s essential to get acquainted with the various types of guitars available and compatible with your skill level.
Choosing an Acoustic Blues Guitar Based on Style and Preference
There are many styles of blues acoustic guitar options available to choose from, depending on your ability to play specific styles and the various sounds, including resonation and tones.
It’s also essential to determine the size and shape that works best for you, including how well you can reach and play the fretboard and the specific blues styles you enjoy playing. Blues guitars are available in many shapes, colors, styles, and unique, signature designs to appeal to aesthetic preferences.
Choosing a Guitar Based on Budget and Accessories
If you’re just getting started with guitar lessons or you are a guitar player who wants to focus on learning specific blues songs, you’ll find instruments that fit your budget and playing preferences. It’s ideal to consider a bundle or kit option, as this is most cost-effective and provides all the items you need without additional purchases, at least initially.
Most acoustic guitar bundles include picks, extra strings, and cleaning cloth at a minimum. You’ll want to consider a guitar kit with a tuner, gig bag, and a stand if you’re looking for a purchase that’s more inclusive of everything you need as a guitar player.
FAQ: Choosing the Best Acoustic Guitar for Blues
What is the ideal acoustic guitar brand for playing blues music?
One of the top guitar brands to play blues and country music is Telecaster. It’s a popular choice for intermediate to advanced musicians, which allows for intricate fingerpicking and twangy sounds ideal for folk, country, and blues. Tele or Telecaster and Stratocaster are great guitar brands to consider if you’re developing your playing skills from a beginner level to more advanced skills.
Is it challenging to learn to play blues on guitar?
Once you invest in an acoustic guitar to learn blues, you’ll find it’s initially easy to get started. While blues is relatively easy initially, learning a simple shuffle or chords can take further skill development and commitment to master more intricate and complex styles. If you’re serious about learning blues music, you’ll quickly find that simple styles lead to more complex songs that will take years to play well. The difficulty level varies depending on your experience with music, skill level, and how quickly you learn and master various shuffles and styles.
Is blues music an excellent style to learn for beginners?
Various tunes are simple to learn and only take a few weeks to play easily if you’re starting guitar lessons. If your goal is to learn more complex blues classics, it’s best to prepare for long-term development, and you may want to learn other styles and songs to improve further your skills and ability to play with ease.
Blues music varies considerably from simple shuffles to more layered sounds, requiring a significant time commitment to master. If you find blues too tricky at first, try some other styles at the beginning and intermediate stages of musical training until you feel comfortable retrying a more complex tune.
Are hollow guitars ideal for blues music?
Semi-hollow and hollow guitars are typical for blues music and offer a cleaner sound. These styles of guitars are famous for jazz and some types of rock music. You won’t initially notice the difference between these guitar styles. However, through more experience playing on various guitars, you’ll find a preference based on the specific styles of blues music you prefer and play.
Should I buy my guitar in-store or online?
Blues acoustic guitars are easier to buy online, though you may enjoy the experience of trying a few instruments in a store to get an idea of their sound and tone. In-store shopping is typically recommended for beginners, especially if you haven’t played the guitar before and need to get acquainted with various brands and styles’ shapes and comfort levels.
When you visit a music store, you may not find the broadest range in options, though you can ask questions and get acquainted with various blues guitars.
Fortunately, online shopping for acoustic blues guitars includes a comprehensive description of the instruments so that you can make an informed decision based on your skill level and preference. Many reputable brands offer warranty options and money-back guarantees if your new guitar doesn’t suit your playing style or work with your skill development.
What is the essential characteristic to look for in an acoustic blues guitar?
The quality of the guitar and your ability to play comfortably is most important when choosing an instrument for learning blues. Since blues is very expressive with many styles and variations, you can expect to spend a significant amount of time learning new songs and mastering the many blues styles over the years.
While style preference plays a role in how well you enjoy playing your guitar, you may find that a vintage guitar with higher quality materials and design functions better for your playing ability and comfort than a newer model.
