Shopping For Guitars

There's nothing more fun for musicians than going to the store to play on their beauties…unless of course you're prepared to buy it yourself! Shopping for guitars is a lot of fun, but you need to be responsible and do your due diligence before spending a lot of money on something that doesn't meet all your needs. Here's what you need to know about buying a guitar.

What level of guitar are you at? If you are a beginner, you don't need to get deep into technical considerations. If you aren't sure you want to play guitar, buy something extremely basic to see if you take to the instrument. It doesn't need to be high quality because you're not ready to commit. It should be inexpensive. If you are beginning guitar but you're confident you want to pursue it seriously, it is wise to buy a more expensive model that is still appropriate for beginners but features a couple crucial upgrades.

For instance, Chinese made plywood guitars won't improve in sound down the road whereas Canadian hardwood guitars will. This doesn't matter if you never play guitar again, but otherwise it will. Also, cheaper guitars get out of tune easier, and they're harder to play because the strings generally move further away from the neck. When you're starting out, you're likely to believe the deficiencies are your fault, not the fault of the guitar. It'd be a shame for someone to drop an instrument and give up on music because they blamed themselves instead of their instrument. These are important tips for beginners.

For more advanced musicians, define your sound and buy a guitar that compliments it. The more you spend on guitars, the more particular sound you're buying, so you'll want a narrow idea of what you want it to sound like. A $2000 guitar will have an incredible sound for jazz, but might be kind of funny used in country. Maybe, or maybe not, but the odds are you're looking for a guitar that can be excellent in one domain opposed to one with amazing versatility. If you're spending $500 (no small amount of money!) you can buy a versatile guitar that sounds great and can be used differently. Essentially, the guitar player who knows he loves music but isn't going professional needs a guitar that stays in tune, that has a rich sound, and that keeps the strings at a good distance from the neck (referred to as a guitar's "action"). If you want to invest in ornery things like inlays, that's up to you, but those features are essential. The look of a guitar is important too, but it comes second. It might sound superficial, but you want a guitar you're excited about, and there's something to be said about the way it looks.

More advanced players know what kind of feel, look and sound they want because they've likely played and heard hundreds of guitars. Before buying an expensive guitar, this kind of knowledge is needed. Window shop for as long as you have to (there's no shame, the clerks will understand if you're serious about looking) and have fun in your search!


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