How much does the quality of the guitar matter?

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Permalink Reply by Edward Sparks on November 6, 2009 at 6:26am

Found this article on the Musician's Friend website...Edward

Guide to buying your first guitar
By Dennis Kambury

Ever since rock 'n' roll became a household word, the Guitar Hero has ruled supreme. From Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry through Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, right up to Tom DeLonge and Mark Tremonti, it's the Guitar Hero that gets the attention.

Now you or a loved one have decided to join the ranks, and you need some help determining what's important when buying that very first guitar. Well, you've come to the right place! This week, we'll go over some of the basic things you'll want to take into consideration to make the best possible choice.

How does it feel?
Whether you're going acoustic or electric, your interaction with the guitar is very important. If you are drawn to a jumbo acoustic, you'd better have the arms to reach around that big body! Electric guitars are comparatively small, but some electric guitar bodies are made from solid pieces of hardwood that are quite substantial. If you can't handle slinging ten to twelve pounds of wood and metal around your neck, you'd be better served with something lighter!

Whatever guitar you choose, do yourself a favor and pick one that looks good to you and will give you room to grow and learn. Spend too little on your new guitar, and you might as well toss that money into the trash can. You don't need a thousand-dollar guitar to start with, necessarily, but if your new axe is so cheaply built that it won't stay in tune and feels like a 2x4 with baling wire attached, you won't want to play it for very long, you won't practice, and you'll never become a guitar player! Whatever you choose—be it classic, electric, acoustic, inexpensive, or heirloom-quality—take your new guitar to the local guitar shop and have it set up properly. Click here for more information.

What type of guitar?
This is the easy part — if your favorite bands are hard core rockers or heavy metal thrashers, a Mr. Natural acoustic is probably not the ticket — look more towards a powerhouse multi-humbucker electric with a body style that shouts "attitude."

If you're more into jazz, blues, pop, or other comparatively lighter forms of music, a straight-up solidbody Strat or Tele, or a hollowbody like the Epiphone Dot would be great choices.

If you want to sing around the campfire, prefer to go unplugged, or if artists like Dave Matthews and Shawn Colvin are more your cup of tea, an acoustic guitar will give you the vibe you want.

Do flamenco and bossanova move you? Are your favorite composers Bach and Debussy, not Beck and Dimebag? A classical guitar will deliver those mellifluous tones you love!

How does it play?
If you're new to the guitar, you'll find it can be a little hard on the fingers until you build up some calluses. If you're not ready to start playing in a band, and you want to have a gentle break-in period, you might consider a classical guitar with nylon strings. The lower tension will help your fingers get used to pressing down on strings, and the ease of playing will help you develop speed and confidence. After your fingers develop those hard pads on the tips, you can make the transition to steel strings with ease.

How does it sound?
Who cares? It's your first guitar! Unless you've got an uncanny knack for guitar tone, you won't notice the difference between one brand of pickups and another, or the tonal variances between bubinga and ash. Bottom line: find a guitar that looks good to you, and don't spend more than you can afford!

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Permalink Reply by Jim Hulseman on November 6, 2009 at 4:33pm

Hugh, I'll jump in here. Haven't read all the comments but definitely have a strong opinion here. You say your ear can't discern the difference Be that as it may - I think your ear may will develop some discernment as you keep at it. The quality of the guitar is very important. There are some fine quality guitars that are relatively afforable. I have recommended a few to beginners. My favorite was a Seagull- the value for the dollar was very high on my list. It was very pleasant sounding and easy to play. Martin offered a low end guitar which was also very nice.
I think I started on a Harmony classical- not something I'd recommend- the action was fairly high and the fretboard was wider than most. I guess I must have really wanted to play though because it did make me work.
You want something that is easy to play but not one on which the action is so low that you get fret buzz. The tonal characteristics will become important to you once you are at it for awhile. This may sound a little weird to you but I have a belief that every guitar has songs in it begging to come out. Your guitar should inspire you to come up with new songs and that will largely depend on how well you like playing it. Hope that is helpful. Happy hunting, Jim

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Permalink Reply by Willie Black on December 6, 2009 at 5:36pm

Hugh,

You have received many responses covering a lot of different opinions; that is what is truly great about this site. I like it here a lot.

Willie

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Permalink Reply by Hugh McCloskey on December 7, 2009 at 4:38am

Hey Willie,
I agree. What a great site and what a great bunch of people! I'm astounded at how many thoughtful and comprehensive responses I've received. I especially appreciate the teachers and other "pros" that respond and so generously help us Newbs out. I'm sure they would have more fun talking shop with their more accomplished friends. But I'm very grateful to everyone who has responded. They've been very helpful in aiding me in forming my judgement and been very encouraging, too.
Regards,
Hugh

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