Purchasing a Guitar
This lesson is for people who are interested in purchasing a guitar for a student. I will cover the basic styles and differences quickly and cover the main concerns of why your decisions are important.
A student can learn on any model of guitar, the basics of playing guitar, reading music, playing chords and strumming are the same on any 6 string guitar. Once the student has the basics down and can play the guitar only then different styles and types of guitars will make a difference.
Firstly the student size must be considered. The guitar must fit the student properly, too large of a guitar will make it hard or impossible for a new student to enjoy learning. The body of the guitar cannot be too large for the student to reach over and around to reach the stings with both hands comfortably and easily.
Acoustic guitars come in steel string, nylon string and different sizes to fit different students. They can have an electric pickup to allow amplification and can have cutaways in the body to allow access to frets closer to the body of the guitar. More detail about guitar styles is covered in the Guitars – The Basics Lesson.
The guitar must be set up properly so the strings are not too hard to push down using the fingers on the fret hand. Many less expensive guitars are simply built by machines in factories and the playability will be compromised making it impossible for a new student to enjoy learning and playing. This can normally be adjusted by a luthier or guitar technician and is extremely important for new students.
Generally more expensive brands will be better set-up right from the factory but still might need some adjustments to make playing easy and comfortable.
The style of the guitar is of less importance for a new student but may be a consideration if a specific style of playing is desired. A classical guitar (nylon strings) may be desired for fingerstyle, classical or Spanish style playing. A steel string guitar may be desired to get a stronger western or rock sound from the guitar. An electric pickup is optional but does allow the guitar to be amplified if performance or playing with a band is desired.
Acoustic guitars are made from wood, more expensive guitars are made from better quality materials. Generally they have sides and back made from a less expensive wood and either spruce or cedar for the top. A solid wood top guitar tends to be thought of as better quality and may improve the overall sound produced. A plywood top is generally less expensive but still may produce a very nice sounding guitar, generally for less cost. You can normally see if the top is solid wood by looking at the edge of the wood at the sound hole. If the wood grain runs all the way through the wood it is likely made from a solid wood. If the grain doesn’t, you cannot see it or you see the laminations it is likely plywood top. If the guitar top is painted it will make it difficult or impossible to see the grain of the wood. You can also look up the guitar make and model on the internet and get detailed information about the guitar.
The quality of the bridge, nut and tuners also make a difference in the overall sound quality and playability.
Electric guitars also vary greatly in cost, generally less expensive guitars are made with less expensive materials, hardware and electronic components. Electric guitars are highly adjustable and can be setup to make them easier to play. Less expensive guitars will normally require set-up adjustments to make them easier for new students to use. Electric guitars also will require an amplifier and guitar cable to be able to hear the sound generated by the pickups.
The budget for a guitar is important, a very good new guitar can cost anywhere from $200 to many thousands of dollars. Generally a new student will learn on a less expensive guitar and might want to upgrade as their style and skills develop.
There are thousands of used guitars available in stores, on sales sites on the internet, at swap meets, from friends or family, etc. Often these guitars have been lightly used and are perfectly good guitars. If you are unsure of the quality, brand name or condition of any guitar there are many resources online available to do some research before you commit to the purchase. Alternately you can send me an e-mail and I will do my best to answer your questions.
There are many guitar brands to choose from, mainstream brands like Fender, Gibson, and PRS tend to be higher in cost but are made with better materials and components. These are often constructed or finished by hand and generally have a better finish and setup quality from the start.
There are many brands coming from overseas factories that are cheaply made and not setup well. They can be very inexpensive but will not generally be as easy or pleasurable to play and use.
Brands I recommend for beginners are Yamaha, Ibanez, Epiphone, Art & Luthier, Seagull and Fender many of these will start under $200 and go up into the thousands of dollars. If you start with a quality instrument it will last a very long time if cared for and will be enjoyable to learn on and play for a lifetime.
A student can learn on any model of guitar, the basics of playing guitar, reading music, playing chords and strumming are the same on any 6 string guitar. Once the student has the basics down and can play the guitar only then different styles and types of guitars will make a difference.
Firstly the student size must be considered. The guitar must fit the student properly, too large of a guitar will make it hard or impossible for a new student to enjoy learning. The body of the guitar cannot be too large for the student to reach over and around to reach the stings with both hands comfortably and easily.
Acoustic guitars come in steel string, nylon string and different sizes to fit different students. They can have an electric pickup to allow amplification and can have cutaways in the body to allow access to frets closer to the body of the guitar. More detail about guitar styles is covered in the Guitars – The Basics Lesson.
The guitar must be set up properly so the strings are not too hard to push down using the fingers on the fret hand. Many less expensive guitars are simply built by machines in factories and the playability will be compromised making it impossible for a new student to enjoy learning and playing. This can normally be adjusted by a luthier or guitar technician and is extremely important for new students.
Generally more expensive brands will be better set-up right from the factory but still might need some adjustments to make playing easy and comfortable.
The style of the guitar is of less importance for a new student but may be a consideration if a specific style of playing is desired. A classical guitar (nylon strings) may be desired for fingerstyle, classical or Spanish style playing. A steel string guitar may be desired to get a stronger western or rock sound from the guitar. An electric pickup is optional but does allow the guitar to be amplified if performance or playing with a band is desired.
Acoustic guitars are made from wood, more expensive guitars are made from better quality materials. Generally they have sides and back made from a less expensive wood and either spruce or cedar for the top. A solid wood top guitar tends to be thought of as better quality and may improve the overall sound produced. A plywood top is generally less expensive but still may produce a very nice sounding guitar, generally for less cost. You can normally see if the top is solid wood by looking at the edge of the wood at the sound hole. If the wood grain runs all the way through the wood it is likely made from a solid wood. If the grain doesn’t, you cannot see it or you see the laminations it is likely plywood top. If the guitar top is painted it will make it difficult or impossible to see the grain of the wood. You can also look up the guitar make and model on the internet and get detailed information about the guitar.
The quality of the bridge, nut and tuners also make a difference in the overall sound quality and playability.
Electric guitars also vary greatly in cost, generally less expensive guitars are made with less expensive materials, hardware and electronic components. Electric guitars are highly adjustable and can be setup to make them easier to play. Less expensive guitars will normally require set-up adjustments to make them easier for new students to use. Electric guitars also will require an amplifier and guitar cable to be able to hear the sound generated by the pickups.
The budget for a guitar is important, a very good new guitar can cost anywhere from $200 to many thousands of dollars. Generally a new student will learn on a less expensive guitar and might want to upgrade as their style and skills develop.
There are thousands of used guitars available in stores, on sales sites on the internet, at swap meets, from friends or family, etc. Often these guitars have been lightly used and are perfectly good guitars. If you are unsure of the quality, brand name or condition of any guitar there are many resources online available to do some research before you commit to the purchase. Alternately you can send me an e-mail and I will do my best to answer your questions.
There are many guitar brands to choose from, mainstream brands like Fender, Gibson, and PRS tend to be higher in cost but are made with better materials and components. These are often constructed or finished by hand and generally have a better finish and setup quality from the start.
There are many brands coming from overseas factories that are cheaply made and not setup well. They can be very inexpensive but will not generally be as easy or pleasurable to play and use.
Brands I recommend for beginners are Yamaha, Ibanez, Epiphone, Art & Luthier, Seagull and Fender many of these will start under $200 and go up into the thousands of dollars. If you start with a quality instrument it will last a very long time if cared for and will be enjoyable to learn on and play for a lifetime.