Buying Your First Guitar
by Chuck Pinnell copyright 1997
If you are interested in learning to play the guitar, and on the verge of buying one, there are several important things to consider first.
Even if you primarily picture yourself wailing away on an electric guitar, it's a good idea to start on an acoustic guitar. The fundamentals of guitar are better learned on the older version of the instrument, and you'll never need electricity to play it. And remember, if you go electric, you'll also need an amp, cord and strap. Several of my students have opted to start out on both electric and acoustic and that's not a bad idea either.
A good first guitar, whether electric or acoustic, will run you between $150 and $200 (less if you can track down a good used one). The amp rig will cost around $120. Well, this brings me to the most important thing I have to say. Before you buy, find yourself a good teacher and consult with him or her first. Any experienced teacher of beginners, as I am, will know the local market for cheap guitars. This will save you time, and ensure that you get a good start up guitar.
There are really only 2 kinds of guitars: ones that are dead and ones that are alive. A dead guitar has severe problems: a bad neck, high string action, buzzing frets, severe tuning problems, faulty electronics, or the darned thing is just impossible to play. Unfortunately, there are alot of dead guitars in the low end of the market and I often see them matched up with beginning students. This is an impossible situation for student and teacher alike and one that is entirely avoidable. Happily, there are some very good cheap guitars on the market.
If you are buying a guitar for a young child, they may need a 1 / 2 or 3 / 4 size guitar, and again, this decision is best make by a teacher. Deciding between a steel string or classical acoustic guitar is another big choice. The classical, by virtue of its nylon strings, is much easier on the tender fingers of beginners and is therefore the easiest instrument to begin on, especially for a child.
Now, here's the second most important thing I have to say. You can’t always depend on a salesman to take the time and interest to successfully sort all this out. They might not be particularly knowledgable, or too busy to spend much time on a low profit sale, or just plain ole' untrustworthy. By the time you talk to a salesman, you really want to know the exact guitar you're looking for. Choosing between the available models in stock is another choice a salesman will not routinely offer, and where a teacher can come in handy. Handpicking a guitar for a student is all in a days work.
So come on down to the guitar school, and I'll be glad to help you make that first important choice. And don’t forget, once you've bought a guitar, lessons are essential.