If you are interested in taking up guitar for the first time this article will inform you of what to look for in your first guitar. There are a number of factors to consider when buying your first guitar and it can be difficult to make the right choice if you don't already know much about guitars.
I am going to begin by explaining what the main types of guitar are:
Steel Strung Acoustic Guitar
This guitar is very popular in many music genres, from country music to rock ballads. This guitar is made out of wood, is strung with steel strings and produces sound from its hollowed out body.
Classical/Spanish Guitar
This guitar is the same as the steel strung acoustic guitar except it is strung with nylon strings. This gives the guitar a soft sound and is played with the fingers rather than a guitar pick. Musicians typically use these guitars for classical music or in Spanish music.
Electric Guitar
These guitars are different to acoustic guitars in that the vibration of the strings transmit signals via pickups to the amplifiers which produce the sound. These guitars are used in many genres such as rock, heavy metal, jazz, blues, pop etc.
Semi-Acoustic or Electro-Acoustic Guitar
These guitars produce sound from both a hollow and from a pick up. Some are designed like regular steel strung acoustic guitars, but just have an added pick up, these guitars are the same as acoustic guitars with the advantage of greater amplification. Others are designed like electric guitars, but have gentle hollows in their body; these are used in Jazz music etc.
What A Beginner Should Avoid
Many factors must be considered when making a purchase. My advice will be aimed at someone who has a limited budget to work with and wants to get the most "bang out of their buck". Most teenagers fit into this category.
I will start by explaining what you shouldn't go for. Firstly, do not buy the classical guitars unless you are specifically interested in classical or Spanish music. My reasoning is that these guitars are incredibly difficult to play for a beginner and are limited in the type of music they can be used for. Many beginners are advised by teachers to begin on this guitar, only to be demoralised afterwards. Also I think that you should avoid the electro-acoustic guitars. The ones which are like the regular acoustic with an added pickup don't give you anything extra; except for more amplification. The Jazz type should be avoided as it will just make learning more complicated.
The steel strung guitar is a very popular guitar among beginners, and if you are particularly interested in the type of music that it is used for, then it is a fine choice. It is versatile and can be used in many types of music. However, the disadvantage here is if you have a limited budget, as a high quality acoustic guitar can be quite expensive. This is an important aspect to understand, because with acoustic guitars, quality is more important than with electric guitars. High quality acoustic guitars usually have what is known as a "low action", this means that the strings lie closer to the neck; this makes playing it far easier and makes it sound better as a result. In contrast the cheaper acoustic guitars have a "high action"; playing them is harder. Unfortunately the gap between a cheap acoustic guitar and an expensive one is huge. You can get a cheap acoustic guitar for well below $200, but good quality ones cost in the thousands of dollars, typically above $3500.
Unless you are interested exclusively in the acoustic guitar, I would go for the electric guitar. However you can still go a long way with a cheap acoustic guitar, it is only that if you want to get the most out of your purchase that I would recommend the electric guitar.
Why Electric Guitar?
There are numerous reasons to pick this variety, firstly this is the most versatile, they can be used for blues music one day and heavy metal the next. Additionally you can get a "good" electric guitar for around $400. Often you can buy an "electric guitar bundle", where you receive an electric guitar with an amplifier and leads etc. These are usually under $400, but the equipment is not always the best quality. You would be better off initially buying a decent guitar first, with a cheap amplifier, rather than have a bundle where everything is cheap and low quality.
Which Brand To Buy?
There are a huge number of electric guitar brands to pick from and it can be confusing for a beginner to understand what to buy. Often first time buyers buy a guitar which hasn't got a good "pedigree" (i.e. unheard of brand), when they could have paid slightly more and got what they needed. The first electric guitars were the Stratocaster by Fender and the Les Paul by Gibson, and these guitars influenced the design of future electric guitars.
In my opinion, the highest quality guitars are the Les Paul's; they have the most refined sound and are made from luxury mahogany. They really are spectacular to play, have an excellent rich sound and are crafted to be luxury masterpieces. The only problem is that the Les Paul is very expensive costing over a thousand dollars, with top specification versions costing more than $6000. Getting a cheap copy of the Gibson Les Paul is not advisable as they lack the quality, and all you are left with is a cumbersome guitar, of poor sound, whose only redeeming quality is its resemblance to the Les Paul.
The Fender Stratocaster influenced many guitar designs and most electric guitars have a "Strat body". I wouldn't go for the original Stratocaster though, as they are pricey and you can get more for your money with a cheaper alternative. Fender has a subsidiary, called Squier, which produces copies of the Stratocaster for less and usually sells them as part of a bundle. These guitars would be a fine choice for your first guitar.
They also have variations of the strat, such as the Squier Showmaster, which come with humbuckers. A humbucker is a type of pickup which gets rid of the hum when playing your electric guitar with distortion. Distortion is that "fuzzy" sound that you hear in rock songs; some amplifiers have a switch which allows you to get this sound. Humbuckers are useful on a guitar if you plan on playing rock or heavy metal music. Another brand to consider is the Yamaha Pacifica, these guitars are excellent for beginners, and in my opinion are the finest choices. Everyone I have met who owns a Pacifica praises its quality and cost effectiveness. They are relatively cheap and you can get them with a humbucker installed. Other good guitars are produced by Ibanez, and they have many fine guitars for around $400-500. If you want to spend more money, there are a lot of choices, you can go for the Fender Stratocaster, Gibson SG, or customized Stratocasters with added humbuckers (known as "Fat Strats") etc.
Elliot Abraham - Elliot Abraham lives in London and is a freelance writer. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from City University of London in Economics ...
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