February 27, 2009
How To Pick Your First Guitar
Are you thinking about buying a guitar? Especially if this is your first one, you will want to choose a guitar that’s right for you. There are literally thousands of guitars available, and in every possible price range. The question you probably have is, how the heck to choose one that is right.
Don’t get sucked into just buying based on how the guitar looks. How a guitar is the least important thing when it comes to picking a guitar. You really want to look at the quality, the price and the guitar action. If you find one that fits all those factors, it also looks pretty, then you are in good shape!
What is action? A guitar’s action is how far the strings are off of the fret board. The action will make the guitar easy or hard to play. You don’t want to start on a guitar with a high action because it will be difficult to fret the notes and you might get too frustrated and give up.
So always keep this in mind, high action means harder to play. The low action guitar is what you should start with. Make it easy on yourself and take the easy path to having a good time playing your guitar.
Bring a guitarist friend, or even better yet your teacher, along to help you pick out your guitar. Take everything the sales people at the music store say with a grain of salt, after all, they just want to sell you a guitar and might not have your best interests in mind.
In general, you can find some great guitars from manufacturers like Fender, Ibanez, Gibson, Ovation, and more. In general, all the top manufacturers make guitars for entry level, and they are made in Asia. Expect to spend a few hundred for a good one.
Make sure you know if you are getting an acoustic or electric guitar. This will depend on the styles of music you want to play, and the style of guitar you are interested in buying. Getting an electric guitar may be a good idea because you can practice and the sound won’t be too loud if you are not hooked up to an amp.
The only down side is the electric guitar will take a bit more equipment. You will need an amp, and eventually effects pedals. Remember, you are getting a guitar to learn to play, and that is most important. Resist the temptation to buy the pretty one with tobacco sun burst!
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