Guitar/Buying a Guitar

A common six-stringed acoustic guitar.

There are two things that hold true, whether you are buying a guitar or an amplifier:

1. A guitar that doesn't get played is worthless at any price.
2. There is no such thing as bad tone; There are only tones that you may not like.

A guitar is an excellent instrument for almost anyone. A guitar that is difficult to play is not a good choice for a beginner. While it takes dedication to learn, if the guitar is comfortable for the player, it is easier to learn.

Whether you are buying an entry level guitar for yourself or a parent buying a beginner's guitar for a child; it is not worth spending any money on a guitar that the player won't enjoy. How the guitar feels in the player's hands is more important than how it looks hanging up in a store, and the key to learning to play is being excited about playing.

Be careful about buying a guitar for a person that already plays, unless you know exactly what they want. The best course of action is to buy the guitar with the person. Players who have played long enough know what they like and what they don't like. If it is not possible to shop with the guitarist, then the best option is to give them a gift certificate.

Always remember (and this will be obvious after playing a few dozen guitars) every single guitar is different. Even if the guitar is exactly the same make and model and color, it may play completely differently than the next. This is because wood is an organic material and is subject to variation and also the way a shop or manufacturer sets up a guitar may add to the differences. This means in some cases one guitar will be great and another seemingly identical guitar will be a dud.

Acoustic or Electric?

The first question you should ask is "what kind of guitar do you want to buy?". The player should always make this decision, because if the player does not enjoy playing a particular guitar, then they may lose interest. Instead of being fun, it becomes a chore and the player will get frustrated easily. Acquiring a guitar that the player will not be frustrated with will encourage or allow the player to be the best they can be. Usually the kind of music the guitarist listens to is a good indicator of the kind of guitar they want to play, though other considerations like cost or size also have to be taken into account.

A Stevie Ray Vaughan signature Fender Stratocaster, featuring the Fender synchronized tremolo bridge

An electric guitar is typically better for a beginner because they are easier to play than a steel string acoustic. Because the strings are easier to push down and pluck, the sense of advancing will be felt much sooner and any frustration they may feel will have less of an impact. These things are important for a beginner. Most guitarists who wish to play lead guitar start on an electric guitar and many skills learnt on the electric guitar can be applied to an acoustic guitar though the guitarist will have to exert some extra muscular effort due to the high tension of acoustic steel strings.

The acoustic guitar has thicker strings that are more difficult to fret and is quieter than an electric guitar played through a powerful amplifier. If the type of material that a player chooses is suited to an acoustic guitar (folk and classical are two examples) then an extra effort and a different learning curve needs to be applied. The extra muscular effort needed to play a steel string acoustic will lead to much easier time playing the electric guitar. On the other hand, the more significant learning curve on the acoustic guitar may be enough to fustrate a guitarist in the early stages and cause them to lose interest.

If the player wants an acoustic, but expects to go out jamming with an electric guitarist and/or drummer, they should buy an electro-acoustic guitar which is an acoustic guitar fitted with a specially designed pickup that allows the guitar to be amplified. There is no way an acoustic guitar can compete with the volume levels of the louder instruments unless it is fitted with an internal pick-up or has a microphone placed in front of the sound-hole.

If the desired guitar is too expensive, there is quite often a more affordable model of the same kind. For example, the Squier-branded guitars look and sound like Fenders, Epiphone makes guitars that look like Gibsons, and Ibanez makes a wide variety of styles. For Ibanez, anything with a "G" as a prefix is the cheaper model. For example, GRG model is the cheaper version of their RG guitar.

Please see Different Types of Guitars and Anatomy of a Guitar for more information.

Acoustic guitar

There are basically two kinds of acoustic: classical guitar and steel-string guitar.

Steel string-guitars, also known as folk guitars, typically have a large sound box, which gives them a big resonating sound. Steel strings are used extensively in country, folk-rock and popular music and occasionally are used for their distinctive timbre in blues, jazz and rock music. Steel strings can be hard to press, especially for beginners that have not developed callouses. Picking also demands an extra muscular effort whether you use a plectrum or finger-style.

Classical guitars have nylon strings and a wider fretboard. The peg box resembles the peg box of a violin, which has tuning pegs that are perpendicular to the neck. The body is also smaller. The tone is mellow when compared to a steel string guitar and is the instrument of choice for players wishing to learn classical music. The nylon strings of a classical guitar are the easiest of all strings to fret though nylon strings normally take longer to settle down to stable tuning than steel strings.

Electric guitar

If you are buying an electric guitar, also read Buying an Amplifier

The electric guitar is the workhorse of rock music and is also used in other genres such as blues, jazz and pop music. Amplified electric guitars sound very different from an acoustic guitar, even when no effects or distortion are used. The pick-ups and amplifier define the guitar's sound. Electric guitars come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Pick-ups are an important part of an electric guitar's sound. There are two main kinds of pick-ups: passive single coil and humbuckers. Passive single coil pick-ups have one magnetic coil and are the standard pick-up for Fender Stratocasters. Humbuckers have two magnetic coils, allowing the pick-ups to be over-driven by the use of gain and this generally give a heavier overall sound. Furthermore, as the name implies, humbuckers cancel noise from electrical interference. Ultimately, however, both kinds of pick-ups are suitable for any kind of music and you will have to decide what kind of pickup is best for you.

Guitars can have more than one pick-up and it is the arrangement of the pick-ups that generate the end tone. Another consideration is the "playing area" between the pick-ups, as too much contact with the pick-ups can change the tone drastically, if not damage it. The lack of a pick-up "sticking out" also allows harder (and slightly less precise) picking. Such a problem is even more prevalent when it is either the Humbucker-Single Coil-Humbucker or Humbucker-Humbucker-Humbucker arrangement, where there is a smaller clean region, if any, and therefore will require a more careful approach to playing, which can be an important concern when buying a guitar for a beginner

A Tremolo bar, also known as a Whammy bar or Vibrato bar, is a bar that is used to slacken and stretch the strings, causing the sound to change pitch rapidly. When used lightly, it can create a vibrato effect, but it is more commonly used for dive bombs and various other guitar tricks. Some whammy bars have locking mechanisms that allow you to stay in tune more easily, but these may be too complicated for beginners to maintain.

Cables

An EKO Ranger twelve string acoustic guitar.

You will also need a cable to connect to your amplifier. Sometimes a shop may throw in a free cable when you buy a guitar, which apart from having poor shielding will also typically have a short head-shell that requires you to unplug it in the wrong way (i.e. grabbing the cable to pull it out, instead of grabbing the head-shell). This is especially true for Fender-type body-front-embedded plugs, which is also used on other big-name guitars. This method of removing the cord could result in damage to the guitar (for those without the plug guard, such as Ibanez S series) or the plug getting stuck in the jack on the guitar.

Therefore, let's start with the headshell. If you are just using one that plugs into the side of the guitar, then a standard AV-sized head plug is good enough. If you are using the body-front plugs, such as Fender and Ibanez S series, you may want to use the ones with the larger head-shell, which should be about three inches including the plug itself. When plugged in, the head-shell should be long enough for you to grab the plug comfortably and easily. The material used in construction of the head-shell also matters: some players endorse the metal head-shell; while others may prefer the injected plastic type.

The minimum cable length greatly depends on how and where you play the guitar. If you play it with the amplifier just next to it, six to ten feet (3m) is enough. In a live or even a normal jamming situation, however, you may need 20 feet (6m) or more. If you want to connect the effect units, you may want cables as short as 3 feet. Also take note of any fraying or kinked sections as the cable's durability is the best indicator of quality; some have plastic-based wrapping and others use a knitted outer shell wrapping.

"Special" guitars

There are a variety of less common guitar types. These include archtop guitars, 12-string guitars, bass guitars, and multi-neck guitars. Each kind of these special guitars has its own characteristics, which may or may not suit the playing style of the guitarist, they are usually used for specific reasons like timbre or for technical reasons. They can be expensive and difficult to maintain and play. This can deter guitarists from adopting them as their main instrument. For more information on these kinds of guitars, please see the Different Type of Guitars article.

What to look for (and what to look out for)

• The height of the strings above the fretboard is called the "action". Action can be extremely low, meaning that the strings buzz when struck, or very high, meaning that it takes much more effort to push the string down to the fret. Guitars with really high or low action could be a sign that the neck is warped. Sometimes this can be fixed, but it can be costly. It is best to buy a guitar that is set up properly.

• When a string is struck, it produces the note you hear, and also a variety of harmonic tones within the note. The harmonics give each guitar a special character to its sound, known as the "intonation". How a particular guitar's intonation sounds depends on the straightness of the neck, nut, bridge, and scale of the frets. You can quickly check if the intonation is setup properly by playing harmonics, with attention paid to the harmonics on the 12th fret. Please see the harmonics chapter for more details.

• The guitar should be played from its first to last fret on all strings, to check for fret buzz, which is undesirable. Frets buzz when the truss rod in the neck is not properly adjusted, when the saddle or nut is too short, or when the frets are not properly filed down. Sometimes strings also go slack if the guitar hasn't been played in a while.

• Stamp of Inspection. These are usually a good indicator of quality, if the stamp hasn't been forged.

• If you are buying a name brand, read reviews on places like www.amazon.com to find out what problems may develop down the road or to find problems that are common to similar types of guitar.

How to get a guitar you love

• The player's hand must fit comfortably around the neck of the guitar. A player with smaller hands may likely prefer wider necks, because the wider space between the strings allows more lenience when arching your fingers. Try as many different necks as you can to find the guitar neck that you feel comfortable with.
• The guitar should be easy to play, meaning the player can strum and move their hand up and down the neck easily without interference from the body of the guitar. The most common beginner's mistake is buying a guitar that is too large or too small.
• Look for a medium action on the frets. Enough to prevent the strings from buzzing, but not so much that the strings feel like they are miles away from the frets. Your personal playing style will usually dictate the height of the strings that you feel comfortable with.
• Check for body and neck damage. Even brand name models can get damaged in shipping, and you should always check the guitar over for cracks, warping, and chips.
• Lastly, feel free to play the guitar for a few minutes. Appearances can be deceiving, and most problems will show themselves quickly with a "test drive". If the seller won't allow it, move on.

Buying the guitar

Where to buy the guitar

In this day and age guitars are sold by many vendors and the place you choose to acquire the guitar can be as important as any other choice you make. A good places to look:

• A trusted friend or relative - often a friend or relative who started with a beginner guitar and has since upgraded. If they recommend that guitar and will sell it for a good price then this is ideal. Simply take this guitar to a local music store and have it professionally 'set up'.
• A local guitar or music store that seems to have plenty of satisfied customers. If you can find a deal on a guitar you are comfortable with from a store like this, go for it. If they tell you that they do 'set up' their guitars before they leave the store then this is a good buying scenario. Look up 'musical instrument retail' in the phone book to find one of these stores. Even a used instrument from a local store can be a good deal.
• Online guitar superstores or mail-order guitars. The major difference between these and a local store is that the player cannot hold the guitar in their hands before they buy it. Luckily the necks of guitars come in all shapes and sizes. An uncomfortable guitar is less likely to get played, so contact a local music store and try to find a similar guitar to try before you buy. If you must buy without ever seeing the guitar, first verify that the business has a liberal and long (preferably 45-day) return policy, then cross your fingers and order. If the return policy works and the guitar didn't fit, you could send it back for the cost of the shipping.

Buying situations to avoid

Here are some "don'ts". While you may buy a guitar at a very low price, it is easy to get stuck with an unplayable piece of wood.

• Don't buy from a pawn shop until you are experienced at spotting faults (possible undetectable damage, often no refunds)
• Don't buy from any department store (difficult to play, damage easily, don't last, poor sound)
• Be careful buying from eBay (undeclared damage, possible forgery, usually no refunds. Read the sellers ratings.)
• Preferably, don't buy from online shops, unless you can return it in 45 days. Even some very good makes may have some deviations, and even good quality guitars from well established manufacturers may not suit the player no matter how good they sound on paper. Some people prefer wider necks, while some prefer narrower necks, and the only way to know whether the guitar is for you is to play it yourself.

What else will you need?

Once you've chosen the guitar there are accessories the dealer will want to sell you. You will probably need:

• Guitar strap to enable the player to play standing up. Make sure that it can be shortened and lengthened appropriately, as some models cannot be short enough for a short person to play, or long enough for a big guy to play.
• Plastic strap lock. Washer made out of durable plastic that can be fitted over the strap buttons and have the hole shrunken to a smaller diameter, creating enough friction to ensure the strap stays on.
• Some picks (Get at least 5, some thin ones for strumming and some thick ones for playing individual notes.
• Thumb and finger picks: while on a nylon string guitar it is not necessary, but on a steel string, finger picking without finger picks will produce a quieter less pronounced sound. Playing steel string with your bare fingers takes practice and presents a more physical challenge. A thumbpick is a good idea in that it frees the rest of the fingers of the hand for other stuff, such as holding the whammy bar or an e-bow.
• A guitar stand to set the guitar on when its not being played, or a guitar hanger to hang the guitar on the wall. The stand should be of the best quality since the guitar falling off the stand is the most common cause of cracks to the body.
• A tuner of some kind - preferably an electronic one with a built-in microphone and guitar cable plug. Especially important for beginners learning to tune the guitar. Buy a good quality brand at the highest cost you can afford. The market is flooded with cheap guitar tuners that do a terrible job and the beginner is advised to avoid these They come in two display types: LED and floating needle. The floating needle type is recommended since it accurately displays the oscillations of a struck string.
• A case or a gig bag - These are protection for the guitar. A Gig Bag is typically a thick padded (1-2" of padding) zipper bag in the shape of the guitar which provides good protection and is necessary to avoid large scrapes and dings. A gig bag is not suitable for airline transportation. The case is a hardshell case suitable for greater protection and one that is ATA-approved even allows you to transport it in an airplane's cargo hold (make sure it is ATA approved!) If you are fine with scrapes and dings or you do not plan on transporting the guitar often, a case might not be necessary. Keep in mind that the case helps protect your guitar from sudden temperature and humidity changes, which can harm the wood.
• A string winder — very useful for changing strings. It's cheap, so may as well as get one now.
• Fine Polishing cloth - either one made for polishing guitars, or those used to wipe glasses. Fabric from an old flannel shirt works well too. Be sure to use 100% cotton.
• You will immediately need an extra set of strings at the time of purchase. Not only will this allow you to find out from the shop which gauge and make of strings is recommended for your guitar but will also give you a set of strings ready for the removal of the old strings in about 2 months time or 30 to 40 hours playing time later. Old strings start to lose their tone and become brittle and they will also show corrosion and discoloration. All professional guitarist have spare sets of strings close at hand for quick changes and if you don't mind the extra cost this is something you should do . Changing old strings is not an absolute necessity unless they break, so if your budget is tight, don't buy too many packs. Also, the difference between the cheaper and more expensive strings is subtle at best, so as long as it is the right gauge, you are good to go. Some people do not like the sound of new strings, which can be "bright and metallic", but this is a matter of preference.

What you don't need:

• You don't need guitar polish. While you should always polish your guitar from time to time, most of the time the polish is mostly water with traces of lemon oil. As long as you have a small spray of water or just a quick dab on the cloth, it's good enough. Besides, what kind of polish is good is a matter of debate amongst guitarists.

Guitar dealers have a slower turnover of stock than most other businesses. Once a player has purchased a guitar it can be many years before they purchase another guitar. This means that the overheads and cost of running an outlet that sells guitars is reflected in the dealer's sale price of the guitar. However, prices are negotiable (consider saying "I've been thinking about this item; what's your best price?"). Most of the accessories (including a gig bag) can be thrown in for free. Just tell a salesperson that you want to buy a guitar and they will probably start suggesting things they can throw in for free, and if not, you can suggest some accessories yourself. The hardshell case is usually an exception. Don't forget to calculate the any sales tax on top of that. For example, dealers will rarely, if ever, bring down the price of the cheaper guitars, but are more than willing to throw in extra accessories with the purchase of a guitar. They will sometimes even offer to set it up for you. Also look for beginner-packs; these include most things a beginner would need to start off with and you will end up saving more money than if you had planned on buying those things separately.

All guitars require some maintenance over time since wood changes with air-pressure and humidity. However, this does not mean you need a humidifier, unless your guitar is very expensive or rare. Guitars at all price ranges are quite resilient to humidity and air pressure changes.

For an electric guitar, the player has many options in their choice of practice equipment. With a special plug the player can even plug into a home stereo input but that's not an ideal scenario since the sound is not that good and there's also the risk of blowing your home stereo speakers. If you want to sound like your favorite electric guitarist, an amplifier of the sort they use will obviously be necessary. Find out if your favorite guitarist uses a valve or solid state amp. Buying an electric guitar with no amplifier can be a way to get a good guitar without spending too much at first.

Another good substitute for an amplifier can be playing the guitar through a mixer or computer's sound card (especially a sound card or audio interface designed for recording guitar, like those made by M-Audio). There is a large amount of guitar effects software available; these use amplifier modeling and a wide range of effects combinations to create a simulation of the most popular guitar rigs. Amplitude and Guitar Rig are two popular guitar effects modeling software packages. Also, as mentioned in the buying an amplifier article, you can buy a direct box which has been designed for amplifier modeling and because it is a dedicated piece of hardware offers even more accurate recreations of popular guitar rigs than its software equivalent. These modelers/direct boxes can also be used with a guitar amplifier as an effects unit.