Buying your very first guitar

Buying your first guitar should be a very simple thing to do thanx to the world of W.W.W.....

Why????

Well yeah of course you want your first guitar to be perfect and all but you have to understand that you are still a newbie and just started to learn to play it....
so to keep it simple the first time is the key...


Few factors that you need to consider:
1. Price
2. Value of money(quality)
3. Size (for kids it would be smaller)
4. Colour(not that important but then a pink guitar and a black guitar makes a lot of different to
my world)

So here is the step to buying your VERY first guitar:
1. Shop for your guitar at an established shop

2. Buying the best you can afford (Go for quality of the sound over how pretty the guitar is)

3. Basic consideration to see the quality of the guitar.

• Play every note on the fretboard. Avoid guitars with excessive string buzzing as it is an indication of fret wear.
• Check to see if the fretboard/neck is not warped. Look down the neck with one eye, if it is bent the intonation will be incorrect.
• Ensure the action (distance between the bottom of the string and the top of the fret) at the 12th fret is no more than 0.2cm (1/12 inch). A high action on a guitar makes it very difficult to play. (See image below)
• Test all the machine heads. Avoid guitars with loose tuners, as tuning stability will be severely compromised.
• Plug the guitar into an amplifier to test the relative volumes of each string. If there are any major differences in volume, have the pickup heights adjusted accordingly.
• Adjust the volume and tone controls as you play, ensure that they work and there isn’t any crackling in the sound.
• When testing a guitar in a shop, make sure that the amplifier effects (or separate effects pedals) are turned off. This is so you can listen to the actual guitar tone, and not the enhanced version created by an effect.

What kinds of guitar are there?

Guitar Type Neck Strings Weight Size/ Price Acoustic, nylon string Wide, unpleasant for young players and those with small hands Medium, not too easy to bend, but still easy to play Normally light Large/ Cheapest Acoustic, steel string Narrow, similar to electric guitar, much easier for players with small hands Medium to heavy, young players often find it difficult to push strings down - can put on very light strings whilst learning Slightly heavier than the classical guitar Medium to large/ 2nd cheapest close to electric guitar prices Semi-acoustic Narrow, similar to electric guitar Medium to heavy, although you can use a light set of strings. Jazz guitarists prefer heavier, thicker strings Light to intermediate Medium to large width of guitar can vary too/ normally more expensive Electric Narrow Light to medium, but can use heavy, thicker strings if you prefer to Often heavy, as the body is generally solid wood Small to medium, normally a lot narrower than the above types. 3rd cheapest Hidden cost is the amplifier and effect pedals

Musical Styles:

• Alternative: any of the 4 basic types are suitable
  
• Blues: any of the 4 basic types are suitable
  
• Bluegrass: acoustic steel string, acoustic/electric
  
• Classical: acoustic nylon string classic guitar
  
• Country: acoustic steel string, acoustic/electric, or electric
  
• Fingerstyle: acoustic, acoustic/electric, classic
  
• Folk: acoustic, or acoustic/electric
  
• Folk/Rock: any of the 4 basic types are suitable
  
• Jazz: any of the 4 basic types are suitable
  
• Ragtime: acoustic, acoustic/electric
  
• Rock: usually played on an electric
  
• Metal: electric

But the easiest thing to do is to ask your friends that are expert in guitar to buy one for you or better off ask your guitar teacher....
Just remember to point out a few criteria you want them to follow....
especially the colour of your very first guitar....

P.S.: Guitar rockz....haha eventhough i don't really know how to rock on my guitar YET.....