Selecting the right guitar is essential to get the most indelible taste of music. If you are out there in a guitar shop, your thoughts must be clear about what you want to buy. There is a huge variety of guitars available in the market, and every guitar is not suitable for every person.
First of all, for whom are you buying the guitar? Is it for yourself or someone else? If it’s for yourself, then buying the right guitar is not a big issue. However, if you are here to surprise someone on their birthday, then it might be challenging.
With vast experience in the music industry, here is a guide from us on “how to choose a guitar for beginners.” However, to get more details regarding the guitar essentials, visit instrumentbuzz. It will help you quickly decide the most suitable guitar you need.
Basic Variations In Guitars
To conserve time, let’s dive straight into the details of the three basic guitar types.
Classical Guitar
It is also known as nylon string guitar due to its nylon strings. This guitar is most suitable and preferable for beginner guitarists, especially for younger players.
Their small size makes them the best choice for beginner children such as those under ten years old. Moreover, the nylon strings are never going to hurt the fingers as much as the steel strings might.
Classical guitars are inexpensive and easy to play, so that every beginner guitarist may afford them easily. However, the sound of this guitar is low compared to the other guitars.
Acoustic Guitar
Acoustic Guitars are almost similar to classical guitars except for the difference that these have steel strings. A steel-stringed acoustic guitar has more tension that produces a louder and brighter sound than the Classical guitar.
Due to the high tension in the strings of these guitars, these are most preferable for chord strumming. However, we would recommend these to beginners over ten years old due to the sharp steel strings. Unless your fingertips get used to the guitar strings, we would recommend you a classical guitar.
Once your fingers get stronger enough to bear the steel strings, you can try the acoustic or electric guitar.
Electric Guitar
The Electric Guitar is considered to be the most advanced type of guitar due to its variety of sounds and tunes. Like the acoustic guitar, this guitar also has steel strings. However, these steel stringed guitars can not produce effective sounds until they are connected to an amplifier.
Most electric guitars are solid wood, and they don’t have a cavity. These types of electric guitars produce sound by transferring the magnetic energy produced by the vibrating strings. The magnetic energy is converted into electrical energy, which is later amplified by the amplifier.
The amplified data is then molded into different guitar sounds and tones. Due to their small size, guitar players of any age and height can use them.
Examining The Guitar
Whenever we buy a product, we look for some basic technicalities in that product. Similarly, some technical things in a guitar need to be checked before you buy it. So here we are with “What to look in a guitar.”
Get A Professional With You
If you have any pro guitarist friends, ask any of them to visit the guitar store with you. A professional guitarist knows precisely how a beginner guitar should be. Moreover, he can also check for any faults or errors in the guitar equipment, which a beginner can not.
Tuning Of A Guitar
The first thing to examine while buying a guitar is to check whether the guitar remains in tune or not. To check this, ask the seller or some pro guitarist to tune the guitar and play a few chords. While you play the guitar, examine the action and sound of the guitar.
Guitars Neck
Your guitar’s neck must be straight. If the guitar neck has a bow, the strings might touch the frets. This makes guitar playing harder. If you can’t make out whether the neck is straight or not, ask some professional.
Sometimes, the guitar neck is straight when you buy it. However, after about six months, it bends automatically and can not be readjusted. To overcome this, make sure the neck of your guitar is made of a truss rod. A truss rod can be readjusted easily whenever needed.
Relation Of The Strings And The Fretboard
The guitar’s action is the most critical thing in a guitar. To check the action of the guitar, simply check the difference between the strings and the fretboard. The exact point to measure this distance is at the 12th fret-midpoint of the string.
Don’t select the guitar whose strings are much away from the fretboard. Such guitars are challenging to play, and their action is also not suitable for beginners. Recommended guitar actions for beginners are as follows.
• Classical guitar = 3-3.6 mm
• Acoustic guitar = 2-2.7 mm
• Electric guitar = 2-2.3 mm
See If You Can Comfortably Reach All The Frets
To play the guitar efficiently, it is essential that you feel comfortable while playing guitar. Before buying a guitar, check the guitar by strumming all the strings at every fret. By doing so, you may also check the level of frets. Sometimes the frets are unbalanced which later needs to be corrected.
Check The Additional Components Of The Guitar
If you are buying a new guitar, you have to buy the additional electronics separately- in the case of electric guitar. However, if you are purchasing a used one, you may also get the components with it. So, before buying a guitar, check whether the amplifier and the other devices are working properly or not.
Which One To Buy?- Used Or New
According to my opinion, it doesn’t matter much whether you buy a new or an old guitar. However, both have some specific advantages that can not be ignored. Let’s check these out.
Advantages Of Buying A New Guitar
If you want to buy a full-sized guitar for longer use then you should go for a new guitar. Though new guitars are expensive to buy, their sound is much brighter and has many different sounds. Some advantages of buying new guitars are as follows.
• Latest Technology
• New features that are not available in old guitars
• Companys warranty
• A new look
Advantages Of Buying An Old Guitar
If your child is much younger to play with a full-size guitar, you should go for an old one. After a couple of years, when he has explored much using an old guitar, you can go for a new one. Here are some advantages of buying a used guitar.
• Less expensive
• You may find old brands that are no more available
• Antique look
Frequently Asked Questions:
Which is the best guitar for beginners?
For a very beginner, we would recommend a classical or nylon-stringed guitar. The strings of this guitar are made of nylon that gives s soft touch on fingers and prevents sore fingers. However, if you are looking for an acoustic guitar, Fender CD-60S All-Mahogany Acoustic Guitar is the best choice.
What size guitar is best for beginners?
The size of the guitar suitable for a player depends on the player’s body size. However, beginners should get a small size guitar as it is easy to play. The frets are close to the strings increasing the action of the guitar. A 38 inches guitar is recommended for a beginner guitar player.
How do I know what guitar is right for me?
The best guitar for you is the one you can play comfortably. Besides being comfortable with a guitar, your guitar should be in good condition, and the action must be good.
How do I know what size guitar to buy?
Hold the guitar in your hands and play a few chords. If you are comfortable playing it, it is the right size for you. However, if you want to buy online, you should know how to choose a guitar size. Some estimates are as follows.
• 1/4 size = below five years old
• 1/3 size = five to seven years old
• 1/2 size = seven to ten years old
• full size = above ten years old
Final Words
This was all about ” how to choose a guitar for beginners.” Some people think that famous brands guitars are the best choice to buy. I agree with this thought, but not for beginners. Renowned companies are known for their full-size guitars with multiple features. However, a beginner can not understand the exclusive features installed in these guitars.
Buying a guitar online may be a bit easier, but you can not get the right thing you need. The best way is to go to a guitar world shop and buy one for yourself after checking it personally. Accompanying a professional to a guitar shop can be more fruitful as professionals know more about a new guitar.
If you are a professional and know more about “how to choose an acoustic guitar for beginners”, then share your experience below. Click on the comment box and let us know about your recent purchase.
