What A Beginner Package Puts In The Case
Most acoustic guitar packages for beginners Perth stores sell bundle a guitar, a gig bag, a clip-on tuner, a strap, a handful of picks and a spare set of strings into one price. A package is a starting kit, not a discounted professional instrument. The guitar is built to a budget, and the accessories exist to get a first practice session working on the day it comes home.
Inclusions vary by brand and by price, so it is worth reading the contents before comparing two packages on their price alone:
- The instrument: either a nylon-string classical or a steel-string acoustic, in a half, three-quarter or full size body.
- Carry and tune: a padded gig bag and a clip-on headstock tuner, which together account for a fair share of the pack value.
- Consumables: picks, a strap and, on better packs, a spare set of strings for the first breakage.
- Usually absent: a stand, a capo, a footstool for classical players, a metronome and any tuition.
One detail parents rarely think about is the tuner. It runs on a coin cell, and suppliers of goods containing button or coin batteries must meet the mandatory safety and information standards enforced by the ACCC, which cover secure battery compartments and warning information. In a house with toddlers, that compartment is worth checking on the day the pack is opened.
Nylon And Steel Strings Suit Different Beginners
Nylon strings sit on a wider, flatter neck, press down with far less effort and feel kinder on fingertips that have never been played in. Steel strings are narrower under the hand, louder and brighter, and they make the sound most beginners have in their head from pop, country and rock recordings. Neither is the beginner option. They are two different instruments.
For a young child, a nylon-string classical is usually the gentler start, because sore fingertips end more beginner journeys than boredom does. For a teenager who wants to play along with recordings, a steel-string acoustic keeps motivation alive even though the first fortnight is harder on the hands. School families have a third consideration. Classroom music programs and graded exam syllabuses often specify a nylon-string classical at a particular size, so the program requirements are worth reading before Term 1 rather than after.
Choosing The Right Body Size Before Buying
The acoustic guitar packages for beginners Perth shoppers compare online rarely explain sizing properly, and size is the most common reason a starter guitar gets abandoned. Guitars come in half, three-quarter and full size bodies. The right one is decided by the player sitting down with the instrument, not by age alone, because two children of the same age can need different guitars.
Seated and unstrapped, the strumming arm should rest over the body without the shoulder lifting, and the fretting hand should reach the first fret without the elbow straightening out. Small adults are often better served by a smaller bodied steel-string than by a full dreadnought, which is a wide instrument to hug. This is the part we would rather do in person, so families are welcome to come to Unit 4/101 Winton Rd, Joondalup and try sizes with a child sitting down, or call 08 9300 0033 before making the trip. Joondalup Music Centre is open seven days, serving Perth and Joondalup from the one shop floor.
Setup Is What Makes A Budget Guitar Playable
A guitar that arrives sealed in a factory carton has been strung and boxed, not fitted to a player. Action is often high, which means the strings sit far from the frets and every chord takes more finger pressure than it should. A beginner reads that as personal failure, and the guitar goes under the bed. On an entry level instrument, a setup changes the experience more than a step up in price does.
How the process works at the counter is straightforward:
- Fit the size and string type: sit down with two or three candidates before committing to one.
- Try it in the shop: play a few chords sitting down with the instrument before it leaves the building.
- Arrange any adjustment: our workshop handles services, repairs, re-strings and parts, and quotes in-store are free.
- Come back when it needs attention: a service and fresh strings after the first months of playing keep the instrument honest.
Because servicing is handled in-store, a guitar bought here does not have to go back into a box and travel interstate for a small adjustment. More detail on that work sits on our repair shop page.
Keeping A Guitar Alive Through A Perth Summer
Perth is hard on timber. Dry summer air and reverse-cycle air conditioning pull moisture out of a soundboard, then a wet winter puts some of it back, and the instrument moves with it. That movement shows up as fret ends standing proud of the neck, action that drifts through the year, and in bad cases a crack. Solid tops respond to it more sharply than laminate tops do, which is worth weighing up on a first guitar that will spend its life in a bedroom.
Keep the guitar out of direct sun and away from the air conditioning outlet, store it in its case rather than in a hot car, and put it on a stand rather than leaning it against a wall where it will be knocked or stood on. Our guitar stands collection covers the cheap insurance, and if the guitar is going to be carried to lessons every week, our guide to choosing a hard case or a gig bag explains what the gig bag in a package does and does not protect against.
Prices, Stock And Consumer Guarantees
The beginner end of our range covers Yamaha, Fender, Martinez, Valencia and Ashton, alongside lines such as Washburn acoustic guitars, and we ship Australia-wide for players outside the metro area. Whether a guitar is bought in the shop or delivered, it carries the consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law, which require goods to be of acceptable quality, fit for purpose and matching their description, with a repair, replacement or refund when they are not, as enforced by the ACCC and Consumer Protection WA. If a neck twists on an instrument bought locally, the remedy is a short drive rather than a freight claim.
Lessons And The Guitar After The First One
A package does not include tuition. Lessons run through the Joondalup School of Music on 08 9300 0965, and the tuition page sets out how they work. One thing every parent should know, wherever they book: anyone teaching music to under-18s in Western Australia, including online, is in child-related work and must hold a Working with Children Check card under the Working with Children (Screening) Act 2004, administered by the Department of Communities. It is a fair question to ask before the first lesson.
If the student sticks with it, the starter guitar has done its job and the next instrument is a genuine step rather than a small one. That usually means a solid top, and from there the instruments we carry from Maton, Cole Clark, Pratley and Fenech, with Pratley guitars hand-crafted with precision. Twenty years of serving the Perth music community has taught us that the students who get there are the ones whose first guitar was the right size and easy to play.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a package guitar good enough to actually learn on?
Yes, provided it plays easily. The limiting factor on an entry level instrument is rarely the tone, it is the string height and the fretwork. A budget guitar that has been checked and adjusted will take a student through the first year comfortably.
Is a package cheaper than buying the parts separately?
At the entry tier the bundle is almost always the cheaper route, because the gig bag and tuner are priced into it. Around the middle of the range the maths changes, and a better bare guitar plus two or three chosen accessories often plays better for the same total spend.
Are left-handed beginner guitars available?
Left-handed models are made in much smaller numbers than right-handed ones, and availability moves week to week. Call 08 9300 0033 before making the trip and we can say what is in the shop today rather than guess.
Can a package be bought from outside Perth?
Yes. We ship Australia-wide, prices on the site include tax, and shipping is calculated at checkout. Buyers who can reach the shop still get the advantage of holding two or three sizes before choosing.
What happens if the student stops after one term?
Keep the case, the receipt and the accessories together. A guitar that has been stored in its case and kept out of the heat stays in good order for a sibling, and it is worth more later than one that has spent a year against a bedroom wall.
How soon should a new guitar be restrung?
Factory strings on a boxed instrument may have been on it for months before the sale, and they lose brightness sitting in the carton. A fresh set early makes the guitar sound better immediately, and our workshop handles re-strings along with parts and servicing.
Contact information: Joondalup Music Centre, Unit 4/101 Winton Rd, Joondalup, open seven days on 08 9300 0033 for beginner packages, sizing advice, setups, re-strings, parts and repairs, with free quotes in-store. For lessons, the Joondalup School of Music is on 08 9300 0965, and the tuition page is where to Book Here.