Choosing a Beginnerâs Guitar
Here are some pointers and tips to help you when choosing your all important first guitar. Although this article is specifically tailored to the electric guitar, many of the points made are also relevant to acoustic or classical guitars and bass guitars.
What to Look for In a Guitar
The first thing to decide is obviously your budget. How much can you afford to spend on your first guitar? A close second consideration is what type of music you are going to play as this will heavily influence your choice of instrument. If you expect to play lots of different styles of music then it may be better to choose an electric guitar that is flexible and versatile enough to adapt its sound to several different genres of music such as the Yamaha RGX A2.
On the other hand, if you are determined to play a specific type of music then there may be a particular instrument that is ideally suited to your musical preference. An example of this would be buying a rock guitar like the Epiphone Les Paul Black Beauty, safe in the knowledge that you will only be playing rock music, so buying a guitar that has hum-bucking pick-ups would probably be better suited to rock music. Hum-buckers tend to output more gain and higher distortion levels than single coil pick-ups and are perhaps therefore better suited to rock music.
That said, there are many fine rock guitarists who prefer to use guitars such as the Fender Stratocaster for rock music, despite the fact that it has single coil pick-ups. In truth there are no hard and fast rules about what instruments should be used for specific genres of music and it merely comes down to personal taste and preference.
So let’s get back to the question of choosing your first guitar. Budget-wise electric guitars start at less than £100 and Nevada’s own ST range would be a good example of this – check out the review and video demo on this website. The next level up would be instruments from £100 - £200. One to check out in this price band would be the Yamaha Pacifica – a guitar that has won several awards for design and quality in recent years.
Beginner’s Guitar Action
Now let’s talk about what to look for in a good beginner’s guitar. The thing that frustrates a lot of novice players is the ability to fret the notes on the guitar and hold down chord shapes. Therefore, an important thing to look for here is the guitar’s “action”. The action of the guitar means the distance between the guitar strings and the fret board. This is the wooden area mounted onto the guitar neck that has metal strips running from the bottom to the top. Each section separated by the metal strip is called a “fret” and if you put your finger on a string and pluck the note you’ll hear that each fret has a different tone or note.
Ideally, the action needs to be set up so that there is a minimal distance between the strings and the fret board without causing the strings to “buzz” – which is something that happens when the strings are too low. If the action on a guitar is low and clean then it takes only a small amount of finger pressure to hold down a chord or fret a note so that the player’s fingers don’t hurt from applying too much pressure to the guitar strings.
Nevada Music has a team of clever guys who will be able to assist you and help adjust the action on your guitar to suit your playing style. Call 02392 205100 and speak with our team of guitar technicians or mail music@nevada.co.uk explaining your requirement.
Ask Our Expert Team for Advice
So what else should a beginner look for in a starter guitar? Well, I guess the next thing to focus on is a brand that has a credible history, will deliver good build quality and a sound that pleases the ears. This is where Nevada’s many years of knowledge in the guitar industry can help. The guys in the shop have many years of experience of playing lots of different types and makes of guitars. By playing so many different types and styles of guitar Nevada has considerable expertise in knowing what instrument will suit a particular type of guitar player. We can therefore advise each individual depending upon their specific needs and requirements.
All of our sales consultants in the Nevada Music Warehouse are busy gigging musicians, so they get to “road-test” some of the models to ensure that they really are suitable. This is why it’s important to chat with our team and explain to them what you’re looking for in your first guitar. They can also advise on amplifiers, electronic guitar tuners, guitar effects and many other aspects of learning the guitar including some recommendations on tuition DVDs or guitar tutors.
Let’s recap on some of the things that you’ll need to consider when buying your first electric guitar…
- Budget – You’ll need to have an idea of how much you have to spend. The more money you can afford, the better the quality of the instrument and the easier it will be to play.
- Communication – Talk to our friendly staff, tell them what style of music you wish to play and what type of guitar you’d ideally like along with ideas on the sound that you’re hoping to achieve. We can then advise you on particular models and what’s available within your budget.
- Playability – When you have selected your instrument, check for things such as the string “action” and listen to chords played high up on the neck to ensure that the strings are in tune all the way up the fret board.
- Brand Credibility – Where possible choose a recognised brand. This is a fairly easy thing to do at Nevada as we only stock brands that we know and trust.
- Sound Suitability – If you are able to play something on your instrument, check that the guitar’s sound will suit your chosen style of music. Otherwise ask one of our friendly sales guys to play something for you in that particular style so that you can judge the suitability of the instrument.
- Protection – If you’ve spent hard earned cash on your guitar, make sure you also buy a case or gig bag to protect your new instrument whilst it’s being transported or stored.
- Tuition – Our sales team can advise you on the best tuition DVD or perhaps alternatively a local guitar teacher that can help you master your instrument.
Using these rules as a basic guide should enable you to pick the best quality guitar which matches your budget and help you to start learning your instrument.