What Should I Look For When Buying An Acoustic Guitar? – I Am A Begginer?
Monday, January 11th, 2010 at
6:02 pm
i am going to start learning guitar and was wondering what i should look for in an acoustic guitar.
so any suggestions/advice?
thanks
Tagged with: Acoustic • Begginer • Buying • Guitar • Look • Should • What • When
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I’m surprised no one has yet to mention a solid top. A solid top is probably the main contributor to superior tone. The top of the guitar is what produces the sound by vibrating. Laminate tops (thin sheets of wood sandwiched together) just cannot produce the timbre and sustain of a solid top.
While action (string height from neck), and intonation (all notes in tune) are definitely important factors, they can both be adjusted by sanding or shimming the bridge or a truss rod adjustment, and bc of the price increase for a solid top, those other two factors should be a given.
A great guitar with a solid top is the yamaha 700s (yes the S stands for solid top). I own one and it was set up quite well right out of the box and it only cost me
$200 USD and change.. The top is solid spruce and back and sides are nato. The higher models in the 700 series are more expensive only bc of more ornate inlays and rosettes and back and side wood (which are important but not as much as the top).
Back and sides generally determine how dark (rosewood) or bright (mahogany) the tone is, while the top determines how crisp (spruce) and warm (cedar). This is all due to the porousness and density of the wood.
Also what type of music you want to play is important Classical, or folk is the most general approach. Nylons are nice in the beginning since its easier on the fingertips but if you don’t plan on ever playing classical, you’ll most likely have to get another steel string for playing folk or acoustic rock.
Body type is also important in steel strings. I personally prefer concert/folk bodies which are shaped more like a classical guitar (think a hot woman’s hourglasss figure). but the majority of the steelstrings out there are dreadnaught (chubby woman’s figure). Concert generally has a more tighter sound more suited to finger picking, but I like them bc I’m mainly a classical player, so the body type feels comfortable.
Lastly, let you ear be your guide. You don’t have to be a concert musician to know what your ear likes. Just go out there, make sure it has a solid top, just mess around and feel how “easy” the notes are to press. Good luck!
The three things you want to look for is action, sustain, and intonation.
Action refers the height of the strings off the fretboard, which also determines the height of the strings over the nut and bridge. Pick the 1st string (thinnest, closest to floor) with your index finger behind the 1st fret. Listen for any buzzing as that could mean something is wrong with the action. Do the same for the remaining five strings, listening for buzzing.
Sustain is how long a note plays before fading. To test this, choose any string, hold it down anywhere on the fretboard, pick that note, and listen to how long it sustains. Try out more than five notes this way and make sure each note sustains in the same amount of time. If not, don’t buy the guitar.
Lastly, intonation is just whether the guitar plays the notes in tune (all guitars will be tuned to standard in the music store). Hold down a string behind the 12th fret and pick it. Then play the string without holding it down. If the first note sounds one octave higher than the second, the intonation is correct. Use a tuner if you can’t tell the difference.
Have fun searching! Do this for every guitar you consider buying. Yes, it’s time consuming, but you want the best guitar don’t you?
1. A trusty brand name.
2. Quality woods (i.e., HPL sides and back are not good)
3. Comfort level (hold the guitar naturally, does it feel right? if not, you probably won’t play it much)
4. Quality parts (like tuning heads, quality nut, etc)
5. Decent sustain. Now, I don’t know how much you are spending on this guitar, but you can get a fairly nice guitar for under $300
6. Strong, well built construction
7. Play notes all over the fretboard to make sure there are no sour notes or buzzing
8. Comfortable intonation (height of strings off the fretboard)
9. Does it look good? Not all that important obviously, but if it’s ugly.. then why would you want it?
I completely recommend an extended trip to your local Guitar Center since they are guaranteed to have a fairly excellent selection.
welll when i first started i got a classical guitar which is like an acoustic but cheaper.. but now i’m better i’m going to try and get a good one
i got my classical for about $100 and its fine for a beginner
who cares