Picking the best acoustic guitar under $300 that has good tonewood and plays great can be difficult. Not all budget acoustic guitars in the $300 price range sound good, are playable, and are built to last. Some less expensive acoustic guitars don’t have electronics or mics to plug into an amp either.
Don’t worry though. We’ll show you what you need to know. If you are buying your first acoustic guitar or you are simply trying to find an inexpensive acoustic guitar that won’t break your budget, we can help you out.
We’ve reviewed all of the most popular acoustic guitars around the $300 price point to help you decide which one is right for you and your playing style. Let’s check out which top-rated $300 acoustic guitars made our list!
Top 10 Best Acoustic Guitars Below $300 in 2021
Contents
Here is a list of the best affordable acoustic guitars under $300 on the market that will help you become a better guitarist and sound great!
- Yamaha FG830 – Best Acoustic Under $300
- Takamine GD20-NS – Best $300 Acoustic Guitar
- Yamaha APX600 BL
- Breedlove Discovery Concert
- Alvarez Artist Series AF30
- Ibanez AW54CEOPN
- Yamaha FS820
- Washburn WG7SCE
- Ibanez Talman TCY10
- Fender CP-100 Parlor
Yamaha FG830
Specs, features, and benefits
The Yamaha FG series was first introduced in the sixties, and since then they are the top-selling acoustic guitars in the world due to their low cost, sturdily build and great tone.
The Yamaha FG830 is a dreadnought body shape guitar with a Solid Sitka Spruce top, and rosewood back and sides. This is why this guitar sounds like it is of a higher price.
The neck of the guitar is built out of nato mahogany and sports a rosewood fingerboard with twenty frets. The bridge on the guitar is also made out of rosewood, while the saddle and the nut are made out of Urea material. On the headstock, there are six chrome die-cast tuning machines that hold the tune of the strings just fine.
Due to the Solid Sitka Spruce top, and the Rosewood back and sides, the Yamaha FG830 has a warm, resonant sound with a solid amount of sustain.
Pros and Highlights
- Great sound! – The Yamaha FG830 is one of the best sounding guitars (if not the best sounding) in this price range.
- Smooth neck – The neck of the guitar is very comfortable and smooth.
- High-quality built – The Yamaha FG830 has a scalloped bracing and high-quality tonewoods, and neck wood. It is built with great attention to detail. In fact, this is why it sounds so good.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- It will need a set-up by a luthier – Of course, most of the newly bought guitars need a set-up right away, and it is best to be done by a professional.
Bottom line
In this price range, the Yamaha FG830 sits high on the list. It has a great, balanced and warm sound due to its design and the tonewoods that are used. It’s a sturdy-built guitar, which will last you decades. If you want to improve your Yamaha FG830 we recommend changing the hardware on the guitar, like the saddle and the nut. However, the guitar plays and sounds nice right out of the factory. Great guitar for the price!
Takamine GD20-NS
Specs, features, and benefits
The Takamine GD20-NS is a dreadnought style guitar, great for live playing and recording. The top of the body is made out of solid cedar, while the back and the sides are made out of mahogany. The neck of the guitar is thin and comfortable and it is made out of mahogany.
It has a rosewood fingerboard with twenty frets. The hardware on the guitar consists of pin-less rosewood bridge, split saddle made of bone, nut made out of bone, and top-quality chrome die-cast tuning machines. The sound of this guitar is clear, warm, and crisp, and it works great on stage.
Pros and Highlights
- Solid wood body – At this price range, it is incredible how Takamine managed to put a solid cedar top and mahogany back and sides. The guitar sounds amazing!
- Comfortable neck – The neck of the guitar is thin and very comfortable!
- Great hardware – The hardware on the guitar is very well put together. The pin-less rosewood bridge, the bone split-saddle and bone nut, and the tuning machines – they work together flawlessly!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
The Takamine GD20-NS is truly an amazing great guitar. It is a guitar that can easily compete with guitars of much higher prices. It sounds great, it performs flawlessly, and it looks amazing! Great guitar for the casual players who play at home for their own pleasure, but also great for professionals.
Yamaha APX600 BL
Specs, features, and benefits
Yamaha first introduced ABX series in the late eighties, and they instantly became hit with electric guitar players due to the comfortable thinline neck design and great sound.
The Yamaha ABX600BL is an electro-acoustic guitar with a single cutaway body made of spruce top, and mahogany neck, back, and sides. It has a rosewood fingerboard and bridge, and twenty-two easily accessible frets. It has urea saddle and nut, and chrome die-cast tuners.
The body and the neck of the guitar are thinner than the standard dreadnought guitars; this makes the guitar very comfortable for performing.
Under the bridge there is a piezo pick-up with System 65A Preamp, so you can plug in. On the control panel of the preamp, there is three-band EQ controls, volume control knob, and a built-in tuner. The preamp runs on two AA batteries.
Pros and Highlights
- This is a “giging” guitar – Yeah, just plug in and play. Due to the awesome pick-up system, you can plug in the acoustic amp/mixer and play venues, stages, etc.
- Great sound – The Yamaha APX600 sounds great both unplugged and plugged-in, due to the great tonewood/great pick-up system;
- Very comfortable – Those guitarists who play electric guitar most of the time will fall in love with this guitar. The neck is actually very similar to the one the electric guitars have, thin and comfortable.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- It might be small for you – If you have really big hands, this guitar is not a great fit for you. It works for many guitarists, but definitely not for everybody. Those with ultra-big hands should just continue reading the list.
Bottom line
The Yamaha APX600 BL is a great guitar for playing plugged into the amp/sound system. It sounds good unplugged too, but the real magic with this guitar happens you plug it in. It is a great, comfortable guitar, with balanced sound, and very good hardware. Great budget guitar for the money.
Breedlove Discovery Concert
Specs, features, and benefits
The Breedlove’s Discovery Concert – as the name suggests is a concert type of guitar with a body made out of Solid Sitka Spruce top, layered okoume back and sides, and solid okoume neck. It has an Ovangkol fingerboard with twenty frets.
The bridge on the guitar is also made out of ovangkol and it is a pin-less one, while the saddle and nut are made out of synthetic. The tuning machines are chrome closed-gear ones.
The guitar sounds very nice, resonant, balanced, due to the tonewoods used and the body shape. It has a very solid amount of sustain too! The guitar is finished in natural gloss, which makes the guitar look beautiful.
Pros and Highlights
- Great sound – The guitar sounds absolutely amazing. If you see one at your local guitar store, just strum a couple of chords to see what am I talking about!
- Great playability – The neck of the guitar is very well designed, and playing this guitar is a pleasure both for beginners and for experienced players.
- It looks beautiful – The natural gloss finish is enhancing the natural look of the wood on the guitar, and with time it looks even better.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- The tuning machines are not the greatest – If you are a professional musician, you would probably want to change the tuners that come with the guitar with some that will hold the tune better. The tuners that come with the guitar are not the worst one you can get, but they are not the best either.
Bottom line
Breedlove guitars is a well-known company in the experienced acoustic guitarists community for making high-quality instruments. The Breedlove Discovery Concert guitar is a good example of what kind of guitars they are producing. The only downfall with the Discovery Concert is the tuners, which I must say again — they are not the worst, but not the best either. Let’s be honest, with a price under $300 you have to make compromises here and there. The thing with this guitar is the sound and the playability – which are both amazing. It is a bang for the buck guitar. Just try it, and see for yourself.
Alvarez Artist Series AF30
Specs, features, and benefits
The Alvarez Artist Series AF30 is a folk guitar, which highly deserves its spot in the Top Acoustic Guitars list. The body of the guitar is made out of Solid Sitka Spruce top, with laminated mahogany back and sides. It has a slim mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard featuring twenty-one frets. The hardware on the guitar is featuring a rosewood “mustache” bridge, real bone saddle and nut, and set of chrome die-cast tuning heads.
The sound of the guitar is very warm and tight. Note that this is a “folk” guitar, and you won’t have the loudness as you would with a dreadnought guitar, but the quality of the sound due to the solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides of the body is something no-one can ignore.
Pros and Highlights
- It is a “folk” guitar – This means it has a smaller body than the dreadnought type, which is great for the traveling musician, and for those who want to accompany their singing.
- Sweet sound – The guitar sounds incredibly good due to the advanced bracing and the top-quality tonewoods. The Alvarez AF30 sounds way above its price!
- Great playability – The neck of the guitar is very comfortable, it holds the tune very well, and it sounds amazing. What could one ever want more from a guitar?
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
If you are a professional musician who travels around and you accompany a singer, or you sing yourself, the Alvarez Artist Series AF30 is a great fit for you. The guitar sounds and performs way above its price range, and it is really hard to find an unsatisfied owner of this model. Great job, Alvarez!
Ibanez AW54CEOPN
Specs, features, and benefits
The Ibanez AW54CE Open Pore Natural is an electro-acoustic dreadnought guitar with a single cutaway body. The body of the guitar is made out of a solid okoume top, and laminated okoume for the back and the sides. The neck of the guitar is also made out of nyatoh and it sports an ovangkol fingerboard with twenty frets. If you are wondering what kind of woods these are, they are basically cheaper (but good) substitutes for mahogany and rosewood.
The hardware on the guitar consists of ovangkol bridge, Ivorex II saddle and nut, and chrome die-cast tuning machines. Speaking of hardware, the electronics on the guitar feature a Fishman Sonicore pick-up, and Ibanez AEQ210TF Preamp with onboard three-band EQ controls and a tuner. The guitar sounds very well. Both plugged and unplugged – powerful, yet balanced and articulated.
Pros and Highlights
- Amazing sound – The construction of the guitar – The X bracing, the solid Okoume top, and the body design make the guitar sound very balanced and powerful unplugged. It sounds great plugged-in too, the Fishman pick-up and the Ibanez preamp do their job perfectly. Just plug-in and play!
- Comfortable to play – The neck of the guitar is designed to be very comfortable, just like every Ibanez’s neck is, and the single cutaway lets you to easily access all the frets on the fingerboard.
- Great looks – The Open Pore Natural finish on the guitar is making it look beautiful.
It is a pleasure to take this guitar on the stage with you!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- The tuning machines are not the best ones – It would become a much better guitar if you change the tuning machines for better ones.
Bottom line
The Ibanez AW54CEOPN is an awesome-sounding guitar both plugged-in and unplugged. It has powerful, yet balanced and articulated sound. Very playable guitar with great sound and looks for a very reasonable price.
Yamaha FS820
Specs, features, and benefits
The Yamaha FS820 is a great concert type guitar with simple looks, great price, and is made to be great with fingerpicking style of playing.
The body of the guitar is made out Solid Spruce top, and laminated mahogany back and sides, which results in a rich, warm, and balanced sound. The neck of the guitar is made out of nato wood, it is finished in Matte, and it sports a rosewood fingerboard with twenty frets.
The bridge on the guitar is made out of rosewood too, while the nut and the saddle are made out of urea material. On the headstock, there are standard die-cast tuners that hold pretty well. The guitar sounds very nice, it is not loud as a dreadnought guitar, which I personally enjoy, and it is specially designed to be good accompaniment for vocals and for playing fingerstyle guitar.
Despite the natural finish version, the guitar is available in several different colors: Black, Autumn sunburst, Turquoise, and Ruby Red.
Pros and Highlights
- Great build-quality – Yamaha is well known for making sturdy-built instruments. This model is not an exception, of course.
- Awesome sound – The Yamaha FS820 sounds great due to the construction of the guitar, the bracing, the tonewoods, and the design.
- Concert design – The concert design guitars are a better choice than the dreadnoughts for many players. They are usually smaller, and they have a more balanced and thick sound.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
If you are looking for a sturdy-built concert guitar that performs great, sounds awesome, and looks amazing – the Yamaha FS820 is a great choice. The guitar is specifically designed to satisfy the needs of the fingerpicking guitarists, so if you are one of them, you must have to try it.
Washburn WG7SCE
Specs, features, and benefits
Washburn is an American company that makes string instruments and guitars for more than a century, and it is well-known for its high-quality instruments.
The Washburn WG7SCE is a Grand Auditorium electro-acoustic guitar with a single cutaway. The body of the guitar is made out of Solid Sitka Spruce top, and laminated mahogany back and sides. The neck is made out of mahogany and it sports an ovangkol fingerboard with twenty frets. It has an ovangkol bridge, ABS saddle and nut, and chrome die-cast tuning pegs.
The preamp on the guitar is pretty solid for such an affordable guitar – it features controls for treble, middle, bass, and presence, notch filter, volume, and it has a built-in tuner. The Washburn WG7SCE has a sweet, rich, and warm sound.
Pros and Highlights
- Plug & play – You don’t have to worry about mic-ing anymore, just plug & play on your gigs.
The guitar has both 1/4 and XLR inputs, so you don’t have to worry about what are you going to plug into – the guitar has all the options. - Sounds great – The Washburn WG7SCE sounds great both plugged-in and unplugged due to the good tonewood choice, and the decent sounding preamp.
- Very playable – The neck of the guitar is very well designed. It is great for long gigs and touring.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons! – This guitar is definitely the bang for the buck!
Bottom line
The Washburn WG7SCE is a great-sounding, very well-crafted guitar with a comfortable neck. It sounds great both unplugged and plugged-in. The preamp on the guitar is really good, and it sounds great, which is rare for a guitar in this price range. Very playable, great for gigging guitar.
Ibanez Talman TCY10
Specs, features, and benefits
The Ibanez Talman TCY10 is an electro-acoustic guitar that allows electric guitar players to move in the acoustic world freely and without broken nerves.
The “melted” looking body of the guitar has a single cutaway, and it is made out of the laminated spruce top with X bracing, and laminated mahogany back and sides. The neck of the guitar is very playable – it is very similar to electric guitar neck. It is made out of mahogany, and it sports a rosewood fingerboard with twenty frets.
The Ibanez Talman TCY10 has a rosewood bridge, Ivorex II saddle and nut, and standard chrome die-cast tuners.
The electronics of the guitar consist of an under-bridge piezo pick-up, and battery-powered Ibanez AEQ2T preamp with Volume, Bass, and Treble control knobs, and a built-in tuner.
Pros and Highlights
- Great for electric guitar players – All the electric guitar players have experienced some bad things when moving to an acoustic with a wider neck. Ibanez solves this problem with the Ibanez Talan TCY10 – the guitar has a thin body, and neck very similar to the one on your electric guitar.
- Plug & play – Just plug-in and go. This guitar has a built-in acoustic pick-up and preamp so you can play it at gigs without having to mic up.
- Wallet-friendly – The Ibanez Talman TCY10 is very affordable – it comes for $200!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Not the best out there – Well, for a $200 guitar, the Ibanez Talman TCY10 is a pretty good one.
However, it is still built out of laminated woods, and it has a small body, which results in lacking a low end when playing it unplugged. The sound of the guitar plugged-in is not an incredible one too. Also, some owners reported having sharp fret ends, and dead electronics after a couple of years.
Bottom line
If you are an electric guitar player on a budget, and you want to buy an acoustic guitar, the Ibanez Talman TCY10 would be a good fit. However, we strongly recommend applying the try-it-before-you-buy-it method to avoid a dud and a guitar that will collect dust on your shelf.
Don’t get me wrong, I still think the TCY10 is a decent guitar for the money, but there are a lot of disappointed owners of this guitar. So yeah, see for yourself.
Fender CP-100 Parlor
Specs, features, and benefits
The Fender CP-100 Parlor is a guitar with a compact-sized body and full-size neck, great for smaller hands, beginners, and traveling musicians.
The body of the guitar is made out of a laminated spruce top, and laminated mahogany back and sides. The neck is made out of mahogany, and it has a rosewood bridge with twenty frets. The bridge on the guitar is also made out of rosewood, while the saddle and the nut are made out of synthetic bone. On the headstock, there are standard die-cast tuning machines.
The sound of the guitar is surprisingly balanced, and warm – which is not common with guitars with smaller bodies.
Pros and Highlights
- Great for beginners – The Fender CP-100 Parlor is great for beginner guitar players, especially for the younger ones!
- Good sound – Despite the fact the body of the guitar is made fully out of laminated woods, the guitar has a decent sound.
- Very playable – The neck of the guitar is very comfortable!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- You might need to visit your local luthier – You might need to take your guitar to your local guitar repair guy to do a fret leveling, bridge adjusting, and a setup.
- It also lacks a bit of low-end due to the small body.
Bottom line
This guitar is good for the beginners, and for a gift for your child who wants to start learning the guitar magic. It is a decent guitar, but it is certainly not for professionals. It lacks a bit of low-end, and it might need some adjustments. The neck is comfortable, and again – good for beginners. If you are looking for a small-sized guitar for playing at gigs – try some other options.
What We Recommend and Why
We recommend the Takamine GD20-NS! It is a guitar that sounds three or four times higher than its price. The hardware is doing its job flawlessly, the neck is comfortable. It is pretty unbeatable at this price point. Great guitar for live playing, recording, accompanying, etc.