11 Best Acoustic Guitar Under 500 $ in 2022 – Reviewed

This is a complete buyer’s guide to Best Acoustic Guitar Under 500 $ in 2022. 🤴

The best part?

We bought the 17 Acoustic Guitar Under 500 $ available in the current market and reviewed them based on Body Shape and comfort, Material, and Sound.

And, finally came to 11 Of The Best Acoustic Guitar Under 500 $ to our readers. 📗

So without further ado, Let’s dive right in. 🎭

If you are among the millions that love to play the guitar but are scared of the price, then you will be glad to know that guitars exist with quality sound, resonance, and clarity at a cheaper rate.

The acoustic guitar has quite an interesting history behind it, but we aren’t here for a history class, and you can get a good acoustic guitar that will bring a smile to your friend’s and family’s faces when you string sweet music and all for less or equal to 500$.

We have listed a bunch of guitars with the price range falling under or equal to 500 dollars; some we love because we heard them play, and others are here because they are favorites to the guitarist.

The market is filled with hundreds of guitars that will allow you to string your tune but durability, sturdiness, and ability to produce the sound as you string it matters.

Furthermore, for a guitar to make this Best Acoustic Guitar Under 500 $ list, it must be the right price and be of exceptional quality.

After reading through this article, we hope you will be strung in the direction of buying your first acoustic guitar or adding one more to your collection of guitars. It never gets too much; it only gets better.

Best Acoustic Guitar Under 500 $ – Our Picks👌

1. Seagull S6 Original Acoustic Guitar

The Seagull S6 has been getting the buzz recently for its high-quality build and sound. Although not necessarily the cheapest, fewer than 500 dollars still wows listeners who never believe it costs that low.

The Seagull S6 is an excellent acoustic dreadnought, handcrafted, high-quality cedarwood guitar. The guitar’s build is durable with excellent craftsmanship and is just right as it’s not too big or small and fits right into your body to produce sweet music every time.

The playability is so professional for a guitar at its price; it is excellent for beginners and newbies to the guitar world.

When you string the S6, you will hear cool, beautiful, rich, warm, and robust tones- a testament to the thought and craftsmanship put into making the guitar.

Features:-

• Made with a solid cedar top and Canadian wild cherry for the back and sides
• Semi-highlight gloss finish
• The neck is of silver leaf maple, rosewood fingerboard, and bridge
• It has a tilted headstock that keeps the string tight for smooth sound production and makes playability easy
• It has a double truss rod for a more accurate pitch
• It weighs in at 5 pounds with dimensions of 40 by six by 17 inches

Pros:-

• The variety of colors on the market
• Right-hand orientation
• Adjustable truss rod to create a high and low pitch
• Great for beginners or having fun with the extra space

Cons:-

• Some complaints of the neck being too slim
• The design needs some upgrade; it looks too plain

The manufacturers of the S6 acoustic guitar certainly went to put all the best into this one brand for the cost.

It also has added electronics and a case to keep your guitar safe. This Seagull is also the best guitar for beginners and students alike, making it perfectly fit our best acoustic guitar under 500 $ list.

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2. Yamaha L-Series LS6 Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Okay, this guitar is exotic and very sexy, with great craftsmanship. Like every guitar in the Yamaha Series, the L-series show off the innovative creation and enhancement that upgrades the overall feel and build of the L-series; the LS6 series.

Like all Yamaha brand, is fitted with the Acoustic Resonance enhancement treatment that improves the aging of the wood.

Features:-

• The body of the LS6 is smaller, traditionally built guitar with a natural and smooth appearance that appeals to the player. The body is made with laminated rosewood for the back and sides. At 25.26 inches, this concert acoustic guitar is solidly built for durability and sturdiness.
• The sound is one of the best things in the LS6 series. The sound is powerful, warm, loud, and rich, and we can assure you that the strings are tight in place so that you won’t have your finger slipping or sliding when you string this guitar with good frets too, making playtime wonderful.
• The LS6 comes with electronics allowing you to plug it into an amp to create excellent sounds.
• The neck is made with 5-ply for great comfort and style
• It has a zero-impact pickup
• It weighs in at almost 7 pounds and measures 42.5 by 20.7 by 6.1 inches

Pros:-

• Great value for money with a set of gold die-cast tuners
• The strings are Elixir coated, meaning you will play for a long before changing the strings
• The craftsmanship is very notable and beautiful
• Produces clear, crisp, and well-balanced sounds
• A great pickup that captures all your nuances

Cons:-

• It does come with a bag to carry your guitar

The LS6 series is a modern guitar with some traditional design for a great feel, comfort, and the best hardware and finish to make a complete guitar.

At almost 500 dollars, you will experience excellent sound and ease of play either as a beginner or a casual performer.

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3. Epiphone Hummingbird Pro Solid Top

This acoustic/electric guitar is ready to play right from the box; the manufacturers have taken the time to string it to an E-flat, allowing you to feel your guitar immediately after it is delivered.

The Hummingbird Pro by Epiphone is an upgrade of their brand to produce quality guitars that are affordable for any guitar lover.

Features:-

• The Hummingbird Pro has an appealing cherry sunburst color, with the hummingbird designed on the pickguard. The guitar has a solid spruce top with polished mahogany wood for the back and sides.
• The sound of the Hummingbird may not be like a Gibson, but this acoustic guitar produces warm, bold tones for a beautiful experience. The guitar comes with D’Addario strings which are already tuned for a quick play upon unboxing the pack.

Pros:-

• it has excellent feet and doesn’t produce any rattling sound during play.
• The tones are beautiful, rich, and vibrant before or after a plug-in
• The Hummingbird neck allows you to adjust it to any level you feel comfortable at during a play.
• The strings hold on to tunes for a long time.
• Sounds produced are loud, either alone or like the electric guitar
• Very comfortable guitar for any style of your choice
• Great playability and price

Cons:-

• The bass is poor
• It doesn’t have an in-built timer

The Hummingbird Pro is perhaps the best dreadnought guitar under 500 dollars but also delivers on the height, intonation, and appearance.

It might be lacking acoustically in the sound; the vibrancy of the sound and ease of playability makes the acoustic guitar worth every cent spent.

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4. Taylor BBT Big Baby Acoustic Guitar

The Taylor BBT big baby guitar is a junior and cheap version of the same brand on the market but at a higher price.

If you love traveling with a guitar, then the compact size is just for you. Hey, don’t let the size fool you; the Big Baby has more volume, sound, and bass than most guitars on the market.

Features:-

• The size of this guitar is an attractive appeal to most people that play the big baby Taylor, but it is also super light with a 15/16 dreadnought for some banging sound quality. The back and sides are made with spruce wood for durability and flexibility.
• The sound and playability on this guitar are rich and robust, unlike most guitars of this size. The Baby Taylor is loud but easy to play with with its easy finger placement, especially for small-sized people.
• Furthermore, the arched back of the guitar makes for a robust and rich sound when you play.

Pros:-

• Lightweight, portable, and compact design
• Louder than most small guitar
• Easy to play and understand
• 15/16 size dreadnought
• Flexible and durable
• Excellent sound and quality

Cons:-

• A bit pricey for people that love this brand

The Taylor BBT big baby acoustic guitar is a fun and easy-to-play mini guitar. The size doesn’t take away from the sound, performance, and comfort of play.

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5. Yamaha FG800 Solid Top Acoustic Guitar

The Yamaha brand of guitars is the most popular and affordable that comes with the necessary accessories that allow you to play it out of the pack. This great beginner’s guitar.

Features:-

1. The Yamaha FG800 guitar is a solid wood spruce top with scallop bracing, Nato/Okume back and sides, a rosewood fretboard, and a tortoiseshell pickguard, a complete guitar that plays beautifully.

To further enhance this guitar, it comes with a gig bag, straps, an extra set of straps, a cleaning cloth and an instructional DVD, and a manual on how to tune your guitar on your own.

2. The unique building materials are woods that aren’t normally used in making the guitar as part of Yamaha’s ways of preserving the trees in the world. The solid spruce top gives the guitar a smooth and warm sound when the strings are strung.

3. The Yamaha FG800 is a dreadnought acoustic guitar and produces exceptional large volume during play.

Pros:-

• A unique wood construction choice
• Great play and volume
• Full musical kit to help you get started

Cons:-

• The strings in the pack sometimes differ from those published on the package.

When the Yamaha brand of guitars was introduced into the market, many people looked down because of the price but over the years, with innovations did Yamaha series grab the attention of musicians and guitar lovers around the world.

The FG800 brings more to the plate that every guitarist will love, making it perfectly fit in our best acoustic guitar under 500 $ list.

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6. Takamine GD20-NS Satin Acoustic Guitar with Bag

Takamine is a new brand on the market, and this beautiful dreadnought acoustic guitar is an excellent choice for both beginners and professionals.

Takamine GD20 is for guitarists looking for a good sound and comfort in play. If you want different sounds and easy playability, Takamine will always deliver on all grounds to set you satisfied.

Features:-

1. The Takamine combines beautiful design and authentic material of solid cedar wood top and mahogany back and sides to always create an appealing and attractive guitar.

The choice of cedarwood on this guitar removes unnecessary vibrations and resonance that interfere with the original quality of the sounds you are playing. The mahogany side and back also help manage sound production too.

2. The sound quality of the GD20-NS is wider than what is noticed in other guitars; this allows for easy transition among strings during play.

3. The GD20-NS has a 12 inches radius rosewood fingerboard with chrome die-cast tuners. The neck is narrow satin-polished mahogany wood with a smooth finish.

4. Have 20 frets which are seated and well polished with a hand quartersawn X bracing

Pros:-

• Luxurious appearance and elegant dreadnought style acoustic guitar
• Durable build material for excellent sound quality
• Exceptional resonance, unlike other laminated guitars in this series
• Affordable and a great guitar for intermediate and advanced players
• Warm, soft, and inviting tones even after years of use
• Very comfortable even when playing a fast tempo
• Produces consistency even after a long period of use

Cons:-

• None

Aside from the price, design, ease of play, and comfort, the guitarist loves the GD20-NS because of the wide fret and easy transition, especially for people that have trouble switching between chords or when chords are mistakenly pressed.

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7. Ibanez Exotic Wood AEW40ZW-NT 

This is another great guitar from the leaders in using exotic wood to create a musical masterpiece that wow the player and the listeners.

Ibanez is a brand in the known, but their AEW series brought them into the limelight with this guitar that answers all your guitar questions and puts your playing guitar fears to rest with this elegant, exotic spruce wood for the back and sides.

Features:-

1. The Ibanez AEW has a slim frame overall, making it very comfortable for either new players or professional players, whether alone or at a live event.

The guitar comes with a Fishman pickup making it easy to pick each of the 17 frets to make music and produce excellent tone control and character to your sound.

2. The actual body is made with zebrawood with a smashing finish that displays the beautiful wood grain giving it that exotic feel and touch. Furthermore, the AEW is a lightweight guitar that allows you to get hours of practice without tiring your arms out.

3. For the sound it produces, Ibanez feels and looks more expensive with its jumbo body has a robust resonance, projections with bright, vibrant tones, and exceptional balance.

Pros:-

• Terrific sound and balance
• Impeccable design and excellent material for durability
• The controls are easy to master; get the hang of the volume, bass, and treble knobs to produce music at the stroke of a chord.
• Included in the pack are tuners, battery, and preamp
• It comes with a 45-day return policy

Cons:-

• Slight vibrations when playing
• You have to buy a guitar bag separately

A guitar should have elegance and style, but with the ability to produce excellent sounds consistently without getting tired due to the lightweight, the Ibanez AEW40ZW-NT exotic wood acoustic guitar is worth every penny spent.

It also comes with the preamp already installed, saving you the trouble of doing it yourself. It may not come with a gig bag; it has great playability for beginners, guitar students, and professionals.

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8. Blueridge BR-43 Contemporary Acoustic Guitar

This is another guitar that comes highly recommended by guitar players, music teachers, and fun players because of its consistency, sound range, and shape, size, and build comfort. Blueridge combines traditional and modern guitar thoughts to produce this great fingerstyle guitar for superior playing.

Features:-

1. The mahogany neck is a narrow slender build great for a mid-range sound and feels during play. The back and sides also have mahogany wood for a more well-rounded sound and resonance.

The body is a solid Sitka spruce top with scallop braces for a crisp tone and easy articulation with a rosewood fingerboard for smooth playability.

2. Playability of the Blueridge is exceptional; it is smooth, easy, and soft on the fingers, making it the perfect guitar for beginners and advanced players that love or want something softer than the regular beats and bass.

Pros:-

• The combination of mahogany, rosewood, and Sitka allows you to focus on the sound of why playing as it balances it out throughout the board.
• Excellent details and design worth every penny spent on the guitar
• A great guitar for an aspiring musician, a student, and just for fun
• Great tones and clean sound
• Consistent and can hold down tones for so long

Cons:-

• The strings are weak and might need to be changed, and tunes when bought
• The action is a bit too high and may need some lowering

The shape, size, design, comfort, etc. the Blueridge has a lot of features we like, and so do people that play it. Furthermore, it is affordable and easy to play.

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9. Martin LXM Little Martin

Shopping for a guitar for the first time can be daunting. To cut your time in half, the LX Martin is a simple guitar for beginners or a guitarist looking to hold a tune for a long time or students.

These simple features make the Martins a great guitar for beginners learning the chord.

Below are some of the features of the Martin LXM Little Martin that earned it a spot in our list of best acoustic guitar under 500 dollars.

Features:-

1. The guitar is a mahogany laminated textured finish with a solid Sitka spruce wood top that reduces the vibration and buzz, making beautiful warm and silky smooth sounds at every stroke. The spruce wood also gives the wood its natural look and durability against the elements.

2. The proportional distance of the neck to the top of the fingerboard makes it an excellent learning guitar for students.

The tilted headstock tightens the strings for an easier transition, frets reduction, and gives you an idea of how tight you should tighten your strings.

Below are some of the Pros and Cons of the Martin LXM Little Martin that earned it a spot in our list of Best Acoustic Guitar Under 500 $.

Pros:-

• Compact, portable, and the best travel guitar on the market
• The all-spruce construction material makes it durable and long-lasting
• Perfectly tightened strings reduce the damage to the string
• Great beginners and leaner’s guitar

Cons:-

• None

The LXM little Martins is a guitar you will love due to its small size and robust dreadnought, perfect for all music scenarios. For a small guitar, the Martins acoustic guitar delivers excellence every time.

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10. Fender CD-60S Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar

The Fender CD-60S is your fast and last stop when looking for the best guitar that will deliver excellent quality and sound, all under 500 dollars. The CD-60S has a dreadnought style body with scalloped X-bracing, and the entire accessory needed to play it starts the box.

Below are some features of the Fender CD-60S that earned it a spot in our list of Best Acoustic Guitar Under 500 $.

Features:-

1. As one of the best beginner guitars, the Fender CD-60S has a construction that will make any guitar envious of the quality materials of laminated mahogany wood for the top, sides, and back but also excellent details that distinguish the guitar from others.

The Fender CD-60S has a neck made of mahogany and Rosewood Bridge with 20 frets and a nut width of 43 mm. to get that shine on the guitar; the CD-60S has a natural wood finish.

2. The mahogany build on the CD-60S makes it durable, and it’s guaranteed to last a lifetime with proper care

3. The Fender CD-60S produces an amazingly warm and mellow tone, free of background noise and vibrations.

Below are some of the Pros and Cons of the Fender CD-60S Dreadnought that earned it a spot in our list of Best Acoustic Guitar Under 500 $.

Pros:-

• Great value for money
• Easy to play
• Solid mahogany wood for durability
• Comes with extra accessories – strap, pickup string, case, and digital tuner

Cons:-

• None

What’s not to like about the Fender CD-60S? It is everything a guitar should be and have everything a guitar of its caliber can do to your career in music. The Fender CD-60S is the best guitar for beginners and students all for a price.

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Best Acoustic Guitar Under 500 $: What To Consider

If this is your first time buying a guitar, it can be difficult to wrap your head around the process, but having the right information will give you the courage to work in a guitar shop and communicate like a pro.

Furthermore, if playing the guitar is a passionate hobby you want to pursue as a career, having a guitar is the only way to polish your skills and make you pro if there is no distance time. Some must-know buying guides are:

How much will you spend on the guitar?

Guitars are expensive, and a good brand can go for thousands of dollars; that doesn’t mean that the guitars listed here and others in this price range are not of good quality or won’t churn out good music at the strike of the string.

So when deciding on a guitar, it will be better to have a set budget and scout the market for all varieties that fit your budget before buying.

Read the reviews online.

Even though not all reviews are trustworthy, choose an online market space with a good reputation and read the reviews given by customers who have bought the guitar and how they felt about it, taking in cognizance of the performance, sound, and how well it plays.

The Material

Guitars are mostly made of wood, but the variety of finishes determines how smooth the finish is. Mahogany and cedarwood are some of the best for durability and lightweight. Other woods include Canadian maple, rosewood, spruce Sitka, and synthetic material.

Sound

The playability and sound make the guitar. So when purchasing one, consider the body style and shape, the neck length and width, the steel type, and the tonewood. These will give you an idea of how the guitar will sound when the strings are strung.

The Body Shape and comfort

The size of the body of the acoustic guitar affects the comfort, playability, and ability to produce the sounds in your heart. Well, the larger the soundboard, the deeper and louder the sound produced from the guitar. However, if you play the guitar for a long time, always consider the weight.

To conclude, looking for the perfect guitar, whether acoustic or otherwise, can be daunting even for a veteran player. With guitars flooding the market daily, having the right know-how will keep you one step ahead.

The acoustic guitar has the right features that can make any player feel like a pro, and with so many varieties, you won’t lack choices.

The “what is the best acoustic guitar under 500” article will equip you with the right brands to get the best without breaking the bank. If you have a brand you like and think should be on our list, please let us know, and we will check it out.