9 things to know when buying a guitar for a beginner
Are you thinking to buy an inexpensive beginner’s guitar? Don’t make a mistake that you may regret for a long time! Buying the WRONG guitar for a beginner is serious. It can cause the person learning to become discouraged. Worse, a poor instrument can be unplayable and be impossible to learn on. Get the FREE six-page guide below to help you make the best choice.
Free guide – How to buy an inexpensive beginners guitar: 9 things you must know
In the guide you’ll find valuable information to help you to buy a guitar. Find out where is the best place to buy. Learn what kind of guitar is best, and how do you check if it’s good or not.
Key points in the guide are explained in the video below. Watch the video to understand about guitars and the different features and types. Learn what to look for.
After learning from the video, use the guide to remind you about the key points. Read the guide to also find additional information that the video doesn’t cover.
If you decide to shop in a music store, use the checklist at the end of the guide to help you.
I hope that this gives you confidence to go guitar shopping, avoid expensive mistakes, and find a guitar that you’ll be happy with.
Read Music for Guitar - Beginner's Course
Excerpt from the FREE guide:
Acoustic guitar:
“Acoustic guitar” usually means a steel stringed guitar. These have been around since the early 1900’s and they are probably what most people think of when using the term “guitar.” They have a sound box with a top, back and sides that resonate to amplify the sound without electronics. The advantage of these guitars over classical guitars is that they produce more volume because of the higher tension and brighter sounding steel strings and the typically larger body.
Acoustic guitars come in a variety of shapes and sizes such as dreadnaught, jumbo and grand auditorium. These terms refer to the shape and size and the one that you choose is a personal preference. One thing to note is that the bigger the body size will generally produce more volume and deeper sounding guitar.
Classical Guitar
Classical or nylon string guitar: These type of guitars in the past had gut strings. These days they almost always have nylon strings or nylon fibers wound with metal. Although they are acoustic guitars in the sense that they have a hollow body that amplifies and projects the sound acoustically, we usually save the term “acoustic guitar” to mean steel stringed guitars.
The characteristic sound of classical guitars is more mellow and is usually associated with classical music, but sometimes jazz, pop and other types of music.
Since these guitars have thicker nylon strings, compared to thin steel stringed guitars, they are often favored as a beginner’s guitar because they are easier on the fingers.
Electric Guitars
Electric guitar: Most electric guitars have a body made of solid wood with a neck attached. By themselves they produce quite low sound volume. They generally have magnetic pickups with coils that generate an electrical signal that’s sent to an amplifier.
There are also other hollow-bodied and semi-acoustic guitars with magnetic pickups that tend to be grouped together with solid bodied guitars. Although it’s fine if you decide to learn on an electric guitar, my recommendation is to learn on an acoustic or classical guitar first. You can learn how to get different sounds out of an acoustic without relying on electronics.
If you decide to buy an electric guitar as a first instrument, just make sure to look out for the same issues that I’ll explain