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Buying Your First Guitar

 

Buying Your First Guitar

 

Well what a very exciting time, particularly if you have done your research and have a good plan of action ready. Here are some hints to help with the process regardless of whether you are looking for an Electric or an Acoustic Guitar.

Most people will start out with purchasing an acoustic guitar but not everyone. If you are keen on learning how rock music like Eddie Van Halen plays, I understand you will probably be leaning towards an Electric Guitar. Maybe you are a Sheryl Crow fan and you want an acoustic guitar, either way I plan to provide some tips in this article that will make the exercise a lot easier.

 

An acoustic guitar will nearly always be cheaper then an electric guitar and if you are a beginner most people will suggest an acoustic is the way to go. You differently can learn on an electric guitar though and I would suggest respectfully that you might need to buy some earplugs for the people living in close proximity to you. If you are a complete natural and very quick learner, please forgive me for that earlier comment. I may well have the next Stevie Ray Vaughan reading this article.

 

Budget

 

Probably the first thing to consider is how much you wish to spend on your new pride and joy. If you can afford a brand new guitar, at least you know that your instrument will come with a warrantee and will not have been messed with. By that, I mean you can be sure that if you put your fingers in the right places and diligently follow your tuition the guitar will sound like a guitar. Some of the used guitars that I have picked up have been strung too tight, too high etc and they never quite sound right again.

 

If you know the seller and can establish that, a guitar has been well cared for and is damage free the obvious benefit with a used purchase is the saving on new price. If you have decided that you really want to learn guitar and take the idea seriously try to take someone with you when inspecting a used guitar. Even if you have no good friends that play guitar, the advent of the World Wide Web and social networking makes connecting with other guitar players in your city very easy.

One of my friends that was buying a guitar when I was still a novice may contact with a few people in his town on a forum for guitarists and offered an experienced musician one hundred dollars if he would be willing to accompany him to inspect two different guitars. The offer ended up not only helping my mate purchase a great near new acoustic guitar at a value price, but also started a friendship that endures between my friend and his mentor after six years. So do not be shy about contacting knowledgeable people online and asking for their help. Music like most creative endeavours tends to have people involved that like sharing what they know and making connections both on and offline.

If you do decide to buy, a cheap used guitar is prepared to trash it and upgrade within a few months. People that enjoy playing music quickly become much attuned to the sound that their guitar is making and the quest to have a better sound will never really go away. Therefore, my advice on buying used would be buying cheap and be prepared to write the amount off or give the instrument away within about six months.

If You Do Buy a Used Guitar

If you do decide to buy used try and line up an expert to accompany you as I suggested above, but also make a written list of all the things that the guitar should come with. Often the seller will have new Nylon or Steel strings they have purchased that are just sitting around that they could include sweetening the deal. Other things they could include are the case, amplifers, guitar cables and even a computer connection cable if they are technically inclined. Often sellers will be travelling or have bought completely new setups so they can through everything in with the deal.

Inspect a Used Guitar Very Closely

Anything that is used will show signs of wear and tear and guitars are no exception. Look closely at the neck joint of your guitar and see that it looks string and crack free. The bridge area is also one that warrants very close inspection and look closely at the tabs to see they are not strained or looking weak. Amateurs will have re strung many used guitars and there is a long list of bad things that this can do to a guitar.

Buying From a Guitar Store

From my experience in a completely none related world, that of finance and sales management I have learnt that most selling situations are all about control. Whether you are visiting a car dealer or a guitar shop, many of the same rules apply. If you do your research both on and offline when you visit the store you will be in control. If you wander in knowing very little this will be spotted immediately and you may well find yourself walking out with a guitar worth far more then you budgeted to buy. Take a written list of question in to the store and watch that the sales person is listening to the questions rather then just trying to push you into his oldest stock.

Ask the sales person in the store if they have a separate room where you can play the guitar and really listen to it. Even if you are brand new to playing, you will be able to concentrate that way and hear any dificencies, particulary if you took my earlier advice and enlisted an expert to accompany you.

Do not be afraid of just strumming away in the shop, even if you do not play like a master just yet. You need to concentrate of listening to the guitars intonation, which is the guitars sound quality in relation to being able to hold tune through the length of a scale. If an instrument has good intonation, your expert friend will be able to hear that each string when played will be the same note when played in the middle of the scale. For more information about that just Google the term”twelth fret”

 

What I don’t Recommend

 

With many products, online EBay and similar online sites are a great way to purchase things both new and used, but with a guitar be careful. This is a much more personal investment and like buying a car, I would recommend finding a store or dealer that you can have a relationship with. A place with real people where you can ask real questions, get real answers’ vested five different stores before finding the one that I was completely comfortable with.

 

Learning To Play online or off

 

Obviously if you have a great music teacher that has been recommended to you then this is ideal. However, if you are time, poor and a little computer savvy there are some fantastic online guitar training courses online. Just imagine being able to pay under one hundred dollars and having access to a team of professional guitarists providing hundreds of hours of online lessons that you can play repeatedly. It is the way of the future no question and I have found some fantastic online Guitar lessons.

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