Buying Your First Classical Guitar: What Actually Matters

I’m Urs, and I write about classical guitars for Federmeier from Berlin. Most weeks I get some version of the same message: “I want to start playing, which guitar do I buy?” It’s a simple question with an answer that gets more complicated the more you search for it — every forum thread disagrees with the last one. So here is the short version, without the noise.

The one decision that matters most: solid top or laminate

A classical guitar’s soundboard — the flat piece of wood right under the strings — is either cut from a single piece of solid wood, usually cedar or spruce, or built from several thin layers glued together, like plywood.

Solid wood moves more freely. It resonates more, develops richer overtones, and — this is the part people don’t expect — actually improves with years of playing, as the wood settles into its vibration. A laminate top sounds the same on day one as it does after a decade, because the glue between the layers dampens exactly the kind of movement that makes a top come alive.

That doesn’t make laminate guitars bad. It makes them consistent, tougher against humidity swings, and cheaper. If you genuinely don’t know whether you’ll still be playing in six months, a laminate guitar under €200 is a reasonable way to find out without much risk. If you already know you’re committing, spend the extra and go solid. The jump in sound is not subtle.

Try before you decide — even if “trying” means a video call

The advice to “always try a guitar before buying” is correct, and also not always practical if you’re ordering from a specialist shop rather than walking into a local store. What you can do instead: ask for sound samples of the specific instrument, not the model in general — a solid-top guitar has enough individual character between two production years, even two units off the same bench.

When you do get to play one, in person or on video, listen for balance rather than volume. A guitar that booms in the bass but goes thin and papery in the treble will frustrate you within a month, no matter how impressive it sounds strumming the low E once.

The neck will feel wider than you expect

If you’ve played electric or steel-string guitar before, the classical neck comes as a small shock — it’s flatter and noticeably wider, built that way to give the right hand room for the fingerstyle patterns nylon strings are made for. This is not a flaw to work around; it’s the instrument doing its job. Give it two or three weeks before deciding it doesn’t suit you.

What else to budget for

The guitar itself is rarely the whole cost. Set money aside for a proper case — a soft gig bag is fine for a starter instrument, a hard case matters more as the price of the guitar goes up — a clip-on tuner, and, if you live somewhere with dry winters or aggressive central heating, a small case humidifier. A €20 humidifier has saved more solid-top soundboards than any warranty I’ve seen.

A short, honest checklist

Question	Why it matters
Solid top or laminate?	Determines sound now and how it develops later
Does the sound stay balanced across all six strings?	Uneven tone gets tiring to play
Does the neck width feel manageable after a few sessions?	It’s a real adjustment, not a red flag
Is a case, tuner, and humidity control included in your budget?	The guitar is the start of the cost, not all of it
Are you buying to commit, or to test the waters?	Decides whether laminate is a sensible choice or a compromise

None of this is complicated once it’s laid out. It just rarely gets explained in one place before someone’s already paid for the wrong guitar.

— Urs