Playing fingerstyle describes the way to play your guitar using your fingers. Sometimes, you may play it with a pick, but mostly with your fingers. More and more people play the best acoustic guitar for fingerstyle nowadays because it can apply to almost every music genre, which creates the player’s many opportunities to broaden their knowledge about music. Also, it’s fun to play because, with practice and your ideas, you can fully craft your arrangements.
However, if you intend to pursue this style, you have to keep in mind that it is quite challenging for beginners. Therefore, today, we are listing the top 10 Best Guitars For Fingerstyle for you to choose, as well as some buying guides if you are the first-time buyer. Keep reading reviews from Carroll / Fletcher to understand the best acoustic guitar for fingerstyle before deciding to purchase
Best Acoustic Guitar For Fingerstyle Comparison 2023
| Washburn WD7S Harvest Series Acoustic Guitar | Yamaha L-Series LL6 Acoustic-Electric Guitar | Takamine GD20-NS 6 String Acoustic Guitar | Martin LX1 Little Martin Acoustic Guitar | Yamaha FG800 Solid Top Acoustic Guitar |
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Best guitar for fingerstyle for long life span |
Best guitar for fingerstyle for vintage design |
Best guitar for fingerstyle for affordability |
Best guitar for a wide range of players |
Best guitar for fingerstyle for experienced fingerstyle guitarists |
** Below, you will find our detailed reviews of the best acoustic guitar for fingerstyle, but you can also click the links above to see current prices or read customer reviews on Amazon.
Detailed Reviews Of Top best acoustic guitar for fingerstyle
Fender CD-60SCE Acoustic Guitar
Unique features:
- Dreadnought mahogany cutaway body style
- Easy-to-play neck
- Onboard electronics include a built-in tuner
If you are interested in the brand Fender, which provides players all around the world with instruments like guitars and types of equipment like amplifiers, you should look at this product
As a beginner, the first thing you need to remember is that playing fingerstyle requires a classical guitar, so don’t be surprised when reading our articles.
This guitar features a dreadnought mahogany cutaway body style, which will react adequately with any acoustic playing style, from hard strumming to delicate finger styling. Moreover, with rolled fingerboards edge, this may be easier for beginners or even professionals to perform fret-hand techniques in order to not seem incredibly awkward.
Moreover, its pickup/preamp system also contains a wide range of onboard controls to intensify your acoustic instrument, which will provide you with the as pure, rich, full sound as possible. Finally, it also has a built-in tuner.
In general, with all the features I mentioned above, this guitar is perfect for beginning and intermediate guitar players. You can play it anywhere you want, from the beach to the coffee shop as long as you are ready to show others your talents with the Fender CD-60SCE
Fender Paramount PM-3 Standard
Unique features:
- Solid mahogany
- The C-shaped mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboards
- Classical design
- Fishman and Fender-designed PM preamp in collaboration with the tuner, frequency such as bass, master, volume, treble, and phase controls
Another Fender product I want to introduce you to is the Fender Paramount PM-3
This guitar is popular because of the balance between the tone and the projection. Moreover, it is suitable for both solo guitarists and whole bands. Therefore, if you are the person who wants this balance, take a good consideration on this guitar.
There are two types of models: Deluxe and Standard but today, I want to introduce you to the Standard model. The Standard model features solid mahogany, with C-shaped mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboards give you the capability to play any style you want. Furthermore, A grade “A” Sitka spruce top for strong and balanced projection.
Moreover, the design looks quite classical, but don’t you worry, people still love it and the guitar is still an example of a foundational guitar in modern society.
This model also equips with a Fishman and Fender-designed PM preamp in collaboration with the tuner, frequency such as bass, master, volume, treble, and phase controls, this not only provides you various ways to fine-tune your tone but also resembles the retro look of the vintage radio knobs.
Washburn WD7S Harvest Series Acoustic Guitar
Unique features:
- The quality is way beyond the price range
- Dreadnought body style
- Easy-to-play neck
- Stage/performance friendly cutaway
- Solid spruce tops
- Non-glare satin finish
If you want to purchase a guitar that may last a lifetime and you don’t have to waste money on other guitars, this could be the one for you.
When scrolling through the comment sections of Amazon, we can see that there are many people compliments on this guitar about its durability. Therefore, I can assure you that this model will not disappoint you.
The guitar offers you the quality, tones, and features, which will be unmatched in this price range. With the dreadnought body style, you may think that it’s difficult to hold it for a long time, you may feel tired, but the easy-to-play neck design offers you multiple hours of comfortably playing. Also, the dreadnought body style allows you to choose from a variety of tones, and attractive acoustic phenomena.
Finally, the stage/performance friendly cut away if offered for those that play live. Moreover, the guitar also features solid spruce tops and a non-glare satin finish. Therefore, if you intend not just play guitar at home but also on some professional occasions, don’t hesitate to buy this product. It’s really worth your money.
Yamaha L-Series LL6 Acoustic-Electric Guitar
Unique features:
- 5-ply neck
- SRT Zero Impact Pickup
- A.R.E ( Acoustic Resonance Enhancement )
- High-quality pickups
If you are interested in the guitar that provides a heritage design but still meets the demand of the guitarists nowadays, Yamaha L-Series LL6 could be the one for you.
The L-Series provides you with 2 options: LL for full-sized body and LS for the small-sized body. In this article, we will review the model LL6
This guitar features a 5-ply mahogany and rosewood neck, a volute headstock, and a double-action flexible rod that develops a neck with great strength and support. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about experiencing an arm ache after hours of practicing. What a relief, right?
Another additional feature is the SRT Zero Impact Pickup. Many of you will wonder what is this? Let me tell you, this feature is newly developed by Yamaha, in order to reduce the influence of the pick up in the tone down to the smallest amount, and the traditional appearance of the instrument. Moreover, Yamaha also provides the A.R.E, which is the abbreviation from Acoustic Resonance Enhancement. By maintaining the bright tone while enhancing low-end tone, this guitar will give you a rich, vintage tone as if it has been played for years. Finally, the high-quality pickups also catch every nuance of your music, giving you the best performance you will ever have.
In general, this guitar gives you the best chance to exploit your talent, tackle your inspiration and let your creativity flow
Takamine GD20-NS 6 String Acoustic Guitar
Unique features:
- Thin string shape
- Solid cedar top with mahogany back and sides
- The slim-satin-finish mahogany neck and 12”-radius rosewood fingerboard
- Split-saddle design of the pin-less rosewood bridge
If you are tight on budget, this guitar may be a great choice for you.
For your information, this guitar is affordable for players at every level, especially the beginners because it’s easy to play. The reason I tell you this is because of the size of the neck. The thin string helps you not feel easily exhausted, therefore, you will be able to play the guitar in a comfortable way, making room for your creative ideas to be explored.
Moreover, by including a solid cedar top with mahogany back and sides, this guitar has the capability to generate a warm and definite sound that suits perfectly with a variety of music styles.
Another feature I like is the slim-satin-finish mahogany neck and 12”-radius rosewood fingerboard gives you a quite nice feeling to play the guitar, which boosts your inspiration. On the other hand, the split-saddle design of the pin-less rosewood bridge gives you the impression of smoother-sounding chords and single-note runs.
In general, if you want to own a multi-million guitar but not willing to spend a large sum of money like that, I highly recommend this guitar.
Takamine Pro Series 3 Acoustic-Electric Guitar
Unique features:
- High-quality material
- Solid Sapele back
- Mahogany neck
- Rosewood fingerboard with “dot-in-dot” inlays
- Gold tuners with amber buttons
- Natural satin finish
- CT4B II preamp system with three-band EQ, volume control, and built-in tuner
- Elegant Venetian cutaway
- Special Takamine split-saddle
In case you are looking for an electric-acoustic guitar for fingerstyle playing, this could be a perfect fit for you.
The first thing I want to mention is the material. The wood that Takamine used for this model has the same quality as other guitars in higher price ranges. Therefore, if you are not willing to spend much money on a guitar but still require a guitar with high-quality sound and tone, this guitar will probably be what you are searching for. Some other features include a solid Sapele back, mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard with “dot-in-dot” inlays, gold tuners with amber buttons which makes the guitar look stylizing and different compared to any other guitars in the market, natural satin finish, and the highly acclaimed CT4B II preamp system with three-band EQ, volume control and built-in tuner to provide the rich, full, deep sound for users.
Moreover, an elegant Venetian cutaway gives you the best connection with the upper registers. The special Takamine split-saddle bone bridge provides quite accurate pitch and incredible acoustic.
Yamaha JR1 ¾-Scale Acoustic Guitar Bundle
Unique features:
- Include a whole package for necessary accessories
- Steel strings
- Elegant design
- Spruce top
- Meranti back and sides
- Rosewood fingerboard and bridge
- Nato neck
If you want to buy a guitar with necessary accessories without investing too much time and money in researching, this could be the one for you.
For your information, Austin Bazaar packs your instruments with crucial components. As you will see, the packages include a gig bag, an easy-to-use clip-on tuner, strings, a string winder, picks, and a polishing cloth. Some of you will wonder what the use of these types of equipment is. Let me tell you about this. A gig bag will help you protect your guitar from any external factor when you are on the go, or even when you are at home. I’m sure that you don’t want to see any scratch in the guitar on some random days. An easy-to-use clip-on-tuner to keep your instruments always in tune. A string winder will offer a quick restringing. Picks and strings are added for your future playing, or maybe they are adđe to encourage you to start playing right away. The polishing cloth is to always keep your guitar in excellent condition.
This model is a steel-string guitar and is manufactured after the FG series, one of the most popular guitar series of Yamaha. Yamaha is famous for its craftsmanship and the careful selection of woods to serve what is best for customers. This guitar is not an exception. It successfully presents a guitar with authentic acoustic sound, which is desired by many artists
Yamaha JR1 features a spruce top, giving the players a sense of sweet, smooth sound, not too bright but still offering enough warmth. Moreover, the meranti back and sides are for durability. Also, thanks to these wood choices, you can enjoy the rich acoustic tones and deep resonance in every tone.
This guitar’s size is perfect for the age of 10 and up. Therefore, if you are considering among many guitars for your child, don’t hesitate to buy this model. It is also suitable for beginners but advanced players can always take advantage of the sound and the sturdiness this guitar provides them.
Seagull S6 Original Acoustic Guitar
Unique features:
- Made in North America
- Select pressure tested the top
- Dual-action truss rod
- Domestic wild cherry back and sides
- Silver leaf maple neck and rosewood fretboard
- Tapered headstock
If you want to find a guitar that is made in North American, this is the one for you!
This guitar features a select pressure tested top, which is a unique feature I have never seen in other guitars, makes sure its highest level of rigidity and stiffness together with maximum harmonic vibration. Moreover, there is a dual-action truss rod that allows accurate adjustments to the neck in both directions, which is quite convenient for you to manage the guitar in a pleasant way.
Moreover, the domestic wild cherry back and sides provide an exclusive tone. The silver leaf maple neck and the rosewood fretboard is smooth for the fingers, and the tapered headstock specializes in accurate and stable tuning. Finally, the compensated saddle supports the intonation correctly.
Martin LX1 Little Martin Acoustic Guitar
Unique features:
- Solid Sitka spruce top
- Hand-rubbed finish
- Rust Stratabond neck
- Solid Morado or East Indian Rosewood fingerboard
- Small size and scale
- Chrome small-knob tuners
- Tusq saddle
- Padded gig bag included
Some of you here may want to find the beginning guitar for small-handed players, this could be the one for you!
The model features a gorgeous solid Sitka spruce top for rich, full, and deep sound with a hand-rubbed finish for a classy look. Moreover, there are Rust Stratabond neck, which provides you comfortability when playing, and Solid Morado or East Indian Rosewood fingerboard to help you achieve the Martin sound in a portable and affordable instrument, suitable for people who are always on the go or in love with traveling.
Moreover, with the small size and scale, this guitar is also suitable for children from the age of 10 to above. If you are a parent who wants to give your kids a guitar as a present, this should be on your list of considerations.
Finally, there are other features such as Chrome small-knob tuners and Tusq saddle also play important parts in giving you the best sound that may be beyond your expectation.
Yamaha FG800 Solid Top Acoustic Guitar
Unique features:
- New acoustic analysis technology
- Scalloped bracing pattern
- Cure and dried wood, hand-sprayed finishes, quality control
- Solid Sitka spruce top
- Nato back & sides
- Rosewood fingerboard
- Rosewood bridge
- Adjustable truss rod.
If you are an experienced fingerstyle guitarist, I recommend you to take careful consideration of this product because it is highly suitable for you.
This series offers a louder and stronger tone in the low to mid-range because of the acoustic analysis technology developed by the Yamaha R&D Division. Moreover, this model also includes a scalloped bracing pattern, which permits the guitar to retain the endurance of the top board, while bringing out the natural sound of the instrument.
Furthermore, there are cured and dried woods, hand-sprayed finishes, and specific quality control to help the guitar last for a long time, increasing its durability.
Some other features contain solid Sitka spruce top, nato back & sides, rosewood fingerboard, rosewood bridge, and adjustable truss rod.
Buying Guide: Tips How To Choose The Best Acoustic Guitar For Fingerstyle
As it turns out, there are not many fingerstyle guitarists. Therefore, you may find yourself struggling with a large number of fingerstyle guitars. Numerous factors are affecting your choice such as the price, the strings material, the size, the wood quality. You may find yourself confused with all these aspects and don’t know where to start.
Therefore, below here, we have summarised some criteria you should take careful consideration when buying the fingerstyle guitar. We hope that this guide will help you have a clear picture of a perfect fingerstyle guitar just for you.
First of all, I think we need to start with this question:
What Is The Fingerstyle?
I’m sure that when you hear the name, you can somehow guess how this style will be played. Yes, you were right, this style requires you to play the guitar with your finger instead of some picks.
Why Should You Apply Fingerstyle In Your Song?
The main reason is that with fingerstyle, you can apply to a wide range of music genres. Unlike other styles that can seem a little bit boring, I can be sure that fingerstyle will never make you boring. You can just try by taking a popular song that most people have known and loved and fingerstyle playing it, I can make sure that you create another version of that song, your version. Moreover, this can happen to your song too. With proper practice, fingerstyle technique, and creative ideas, you can craft your song. However, being an expert in this style is quite a challenging task. You will have to spend hours doing some research, practicing,, and buying the perfect guitar. And you will have to prepare for the fact that you may have to rebuy the guitar. However, I believe hard work brings the best results. Therefore, I want you to know that the more you practice, the better you become.
And right now, the most crucial part in this article, I want to pay all of your attention into this part and read it carefully because this part will show you some factors to consider before choosing the best guitars for fingerstyle
The strings material
There are two common types of strings: Nylon and steel. With beginners, I suggest you should choose the guitar with the nylon strings. The main reason is that beginners will not be familiar with the guitar yet, they have to take some time to get to know how to play fingerstyle. The nylon strings can support them a lot because it is smooth on your fingers. You will find it easier to pluck the strings when you play. If you are new but you don’t like the nylon string guitar, you can always try the light-gauge steel strings. This string also doesn’t require much finger strength to be able to play it.
On the other hand, the guitar with steel strings may be more appropriate with the experienced players. When you play this style for a considerable amount of time, your finger movements are becoming better and better. Therefore, you will know how to use your finger strength to be more qualified in playing this style. As you know, the drawback when playing the steel strings guitar is the fact you have to strengthen your fingers
Types of guitars
There are two popular types for you to choose from. The first is the acoustic-electric guitar. In my perspective, this is an interesting combination. Moreover, with this guitar, you can use it with an amplifier to make the sound louder and bigger. This is extremely suitable for people who always have to perform at the stage or the outdoor activities with a large crowd. And it can be a lifelong partner for you if you don’t want to constantly spend money on buying new guitars.
In contrast, the cutaway guitars can help you reach the higher frets and allow you to experience some other techniques of finger styling. This may be a great help to you for some specific songs that need playing in fingerstyle.
Other features like resonance, the body, and the neck
You will need to find a guitar that sounds amazing even when you pluck the guitar strings using your finger. You must know that some guitars may sound incredible when you play with your picks. However, when you use your hand, it creates the sound that makes you unacceptable. Making sure that you try your potential guitars with both your picks and your fingers. Choose wisely!
Moreover, you should choose a wider body because it provides more resonance. I’m not saying that the smaller body will not have the ability to give you the resonance you need, it just may not give the exact amount you want. A wider body always is a more safe choice for you, especially the beginners. Beginners will never want to spend too much money to find the perfect guitar for them.
Finally, when choosing a fingerstyle guitar, you will have to look at the neck of the guitar. You have to be clear that as a beginner or a professional, you surely spend a huge amount of time carrying the guitar and practicing. If you choose a not easy-to-play neck, you will deal with fatigue after every practice session. As a result, this will slow you down and make you have less attempt to practice the guitar. However, you should know that practice makes perfect, you can’t expect that you can be better without proper practice. Therefore, make sure that you always choose the easy-to-play neck to make you feel comfortable when playing
The finish
This is also an important factor for you to choose when choosing a suitable fingerstyle guitar. You should take notice of the fact that cheaper guitars will always end up with low-quality finishes. Consequently, this will bring you some scratches in your skin, giving you the feeling of annoyance about your guitar. In contrast, the more expensive guitars are likely to come with a satin finish that gives you the feeling of comfortability when they touch your skin. As a result, I highly recommend you to also pay attention to this factor and do not consider it unimportant.
Size
In my opinion, this is one of the most top-priority factors you need to think about. You will have to consider where you want to bring your guitar with you. If you are going to pursue your music career in a professional way, for example, perform in a big event, you should consider purchasing a bigger guitar to provide bigger tones so you can somehow overwhelm the background noise from the crowd, and so on.
On the other hand, if you still want to professionally play the guitar but can’t handle the heavyweight of some large-sized guitar, you can always choose the smaller-sized guitar. However, remind yourself that the smaller-sized guitar still has to produce the same tone and sound as the bigger ones, or at least the difference between these two guitars are as less as possible. I’m sure that you don’t want to waste your money twice on the guitar just because of the sound.
In another scenario, if you are always on-the-go and want to bring the music with you on the whole journey, you should choose a portable guitar. Therefore, you can carry it anywhere you want to go and this doesn’t create exhaustion to you when you have to bring it among locations.
Some of you here may want to buy the guitar for your children. A full-sized guitar may be suitable for children from 10 years old and above. If your children are younger, you can take a look at half-sized guitars and ukuleles.
Playability
Playability means how easy you can fret and pluck the strings and how the neck is when you are playing. Poor playability refers to a bad guitar, in contrast, good playability refers to a good guitar and maybe that’s your guitar. The last thing I want you to remember is that before you decide to buy any guitar, you should try to test play with it first. Never buy a guitar if you feel awkward and uncomfortable when playing it. Comfort should be one of the most important factors for you when determining the best guitar for fingerstyle.
Price
Not every guitar at a cheap price is useless and disqualified. Some of the guitars I mentioned above not only have a reasonable price but also include all of the amazing features to support your performance. If you are tight on money, you can take a look at those suggestions. However, if the price is not an important aspect for you, I’m sure that you can choose any guitar you want. This will be much easier for you. I just want you to remember that you can’t expect a high-quality guitar at a cheap price. The cheap price has its own levels. You still have to put some money to buy the instruments. If you find the best guitar for yourself, don’t hesitate to take it.
Final Thoughts of Best Acoustic Guitar For Fingerstyle
After reading through these sections, I’m sure that you realize that it’s not hard to find the best fingerstyle guitar for yourself. You just have to find the correct information to understand what you have to expect when finding the guitars for fingerstyle. I know that some of you here still have doubts, you are still confused and don’t know where to start. Don’t worry, you can always just start by doing some research, go to the store to try these guitars, eventually, you will find the perfect guitar for you. And who knows, after some time, you may return to this list and choose yourself a guitar.
Finally, here are our top picks for fingerstyle guitars: ( This is also an important part so take a notice):
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Best guitar for fingerstyle for long life span |
Best guitar for fingerstyle for vintage design |
Best guitar for fingerstyle for affordability |
Best guitar for a wide range of players |
Best guitar for fingerstyle for experienced fingerstyle guitarists |
I hope that this article will provide you with a big help to choose the best guitars for fingerstyle for your needs, desire, budget, and choices. If you would like to comment or require other information, please use my contact form to get in touch with me.
Thank you for reading this far! I hope that the information provided in this article will be helpful to you.
- Don’t forget to share your thoughts about best acoustic guitar for fingerstyle at the comment box below!
Read also:
What Are The Best Intermediate Acoustic Guitars For You To Choose From?
Best Cheap Guitar For Beginners-Things To Consider When Buying A Beginner Guitar
