What Are The Aspects To Consider While Buying Your First Acoustic Guitar?
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 at
7:43 pm
i am buying a guitar in a few days. its an acoustic one . i want to know what should you look out for while buying your first guitar? please help
Tagged with: Acoustic • Aspects • Buying • Consider • First • Guitar • What • While • Your
Filed under: Q&A
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The best thing you could do is go to a guitar store and test drive a bunch of different guitars, since each will have its own feel. Since you’re just getting started, you’ll probably want a guitar with a thin neck and low action (the distance between the strings and the fretboard), since those things will make it much easier to move around between chords and notes comfortably.
Ibanez makes fantastic guitars that are built like rocks, sound great, and are often nicer than guitars costing twice as much. They’ve also got really thin necks and low action, so they’re comfortable for beginners and people with small hands to play. Jasmine by Takamine guitars also have very user-friendly necks. A lot of beginners start with Epiphone guitars because the name is so respected and the guitars are nice, but the necks tend to be really chunky, which can make them challenging to play. That’s why it’s best to handle a lot of guitars before choosing one, since some will just feel more comfortable in your hands than others.
Be sure to try the guitars while sitting down, since that’s probably how you’ll practice. Some guitars have gigantic bodies that throw a lot of sound, but which can also make them cumbersome to play while sitting. And the depth of the body will vary from guitar to guitar. It’s worth getting a thinner-bodied guitar that’s not quite as loud as a huge concert sized one if that makes it more comfortable to play.
If you want to do some research, Musician’s Friend is a great resource. You can search by brand, price or customer rating, and customers also post reviews that will give you a good idea which guitars are great and which ones have “issues” that make them challenging to play or keep in tune. Here’s a link:http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/acous…
The most important thing is to choose a guitar that feels really comfortable and natural in your hands, since there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all guitar. My brother, for example, plays Gibsons and Martins exclusively and swears they’re the only guitars worth owning. But I’m an average height female with small hands, so the guitars he likes are physically impossible for me to play. So I play a thin-necked Ibanez that feels like it was made for me, but which my brother says feels like a toy in his gigantic hands. Trust your instincts, since the way you feel about your guitar is more important than anyone else’s opinion. The more comfortable you are with your guitar, the more you’ll practice and the sooner you’ll become a great guitarist. Good luck!
I’m going to give you ways on how i pick my guitars:
( a bit awkward, but it works if you really love guitars and can’t stop carrying it even for 5 minutes ), if the strings are giving you the smooth and lovely sound you are looking for, and last but not least, play a song you know with bar chords and see if the sound is perfect.
Check if the wood is well built, has a nice rosetta design, if the guitar itself suits your style, if it is beautiful as your girlfriend
guitarpicker has the best answer so far but I just wanted to add some things.
playability-make sure that it is reasonably easy to play a song on the guitar.
sound-make sure it sounds nice
and you should decide whether you want your guitar to have metal strings or nylon strings. i think metal strings are actually harder to play but that’s just me.
bring a (guitar playing) friend with you when you buy your guitar. most guitarists love to go guitar shopping so convincing them to come along shouldn’t be a problem. having a guitarist there to advice you is really helpful.
Check the size, against yourself, to ensure it isnt too big or anything. Make sure the strings are nice, Metal strings are a good indication of a decent guitar, my first acoustic has some horrible Nylon strings, they’re quite difficult to play. Also, since you want to look good, make sure the finish is nice, and the wood is solid.
Check for the following:
Any warpness in the neck.
The action–distance between strings and fretboard at the 12th fret.
The tuning keys–stiff or too loose.
The projection it makes and the tone produced.
Body cracks.
if it sounds good, plays comfortably, is a good price and is good quality, then get it