There are a lot of people who want to pick up a guitar for the first time but have no idea on where to start. Don’t feel bad, I was there one time too. If I had have known then what I know about buying guitars, I would’ve saved myself a lot of money in the beginning. But, being 13 years old when I started playing, I bought the first guitar I found (but hey, I only paid $5 for it).
That guitar was an old hollow body electric guitar that had all of the guts ripped out of it. The guitar had been stripped down, stained, and had two strings on it when I bought it. It was one of those purchases from a fellow student and it only cost me $5! And it sounded like a pissed off banjo when it got strings on it!
This past Christmas, 20 years later, my wife and I decided that it would be a great time to get the kids guitars. All five of them have expressed an interest in playing so we thought, “What the hey?!”
Going into the purchase, I had an idea of what guitars to get them already but throughout the year last year had asked them questions about what their favorite guitar of mine was, or who is your favorite guitarist? This helped me narrow down the guitars drastically by knowing what they liked.
For you, when choosing your first guitar, let’s start thinking about a few things:
- What type music do you listen to? This is important because the style music that you like will affect what type guitar that you should get. For instance, if you like rock and roll- more specifically, if Slash is your favorite guitarist, you would absolutely need a Les Paul (or copy) to get somewhere close to his sound. Likewise, if you love country music you would need a Fender Telecaster and if blues is your thing you would want to get a Strat.
- Do you want electric, acoustic, or both? This is a big question to ask. Here are some things to know, especially if you have never played before. 1.)Electric guitars are much easier on the hands than an acoustic. 2.)If you want acoustic for, an example, country music; don’t get a nylon string classical guitar. Research your guitars wisely. 3.)You want an acoustic guitar but are afraid that it won’t be loud enough. Get an acoustic/electric with a small amplifier. You will be able to probably raise the dead while you are learning to play. ;-D
- If you chose to get an electric, did you remember to choose an amplifier too? A lot of starter packs include an amplifier. Though they are more aimed for children, these are great packages for adults to get as well. Everything that you need is included in the kit ->tuner, strap, case or bag, amplifier, cords, and instructional dvd to play.
- Are you really dedicated to wanting to play guitar? This is a very important question because if you aren’t dedicated to it, you shouldn’t spend a lot of money on the guitar. Guitars can be pretty pricey but you can also get great starter guitars to learn on.
If you have a local music shop, you probably would want to visit and see if they have a few guitars in and test them out without necessarily buying them.
Remember when shopping for a guitar, it is like shopping for a car. Every guitar shop I have been in and made a deal at, there was always a better price to be negotiated. If you are shopping at Guitar Center, the sales people there are paid commission. Knowing this, haggle with them. If they won’t budge, go somewhere else. Finally, don’t forget you probably will find your best deal online!
