Home Guitar Tabs Basics Guitar Tabs Symbols Top Guitar Tabs Choosing A Guitar Electric Guitars Acoustic Guitars Bass Guitars Guitar Effects Guitar Tuning Guitar Tuners Guitar Lessons? How To Practice Play Guitar By Ear Guitar Links

Choosing Guitars

Choosing guitars need to think about some considerations. First, you have to decide what kind of guitar you wantElectric Guitars or Acoustic Guitars?

Electric Guitars
Solidbody Guitars
Initially, the best electric deal will be a solidbody guitar. They are the cheapest, the most durable and the most popular. Stratocaster, Telecaster, Les Paul, SG are solidbodies
Hollowbody Guitars
Hollowbody guitars are usually a couple of inches deeper making it more similar to an acoustic. It has a boomy or jazzy sound.
Semi-Solidbody Guitars
Semi-Solidbody guitars are a hybrid of solid and hollow bodies. The result is a stronger instrument. They are guitars like the Gibson 335.

Electric Guitars Woods
A good BODY is made of very hard woods because they are more durable and
improve the sustain. Maple, ash, alder, walnut and mahogany are all popular
The NECK is usually built in mahogany or maple. The FRETBOARD is rosewood
or ebony. Ebony is better because it's extremely hard. Avoid painted fretboards

Important: Remember, when you go for an electric, you will also need an
amplifier Make sure you plug it into an amp similar to what you will buy

Playing the electric guitar is much easier because the strings are close together,
they're a lighter gauge and its neck is narrower. It covers a lot of musical styles

Acoustic Guitars
Classical or Spanish
It is made with a large, hollow sound box. The fretboard is made of a solid
wood with Spruce or Cedar top, Rosewood back and sides. Nylon strings are
used - which gives you a sweet, gentle, slightly muted sound. This guitar is
ideal for any melodic work, but particularly suited for classical music songs.
Flamenco
A nylon stringed with thinner wood dimensions and less body depth than
the Classic. Cedar Top with Cypress back and sides. The main difference
between this guitars and the classical is that the fretboard is even wider;
apart from that these two instruments are pretty much the same concept
Folk
This is similar to the classical; but the sound box is larger, the fretboard is narrower,
the sound is brighter and the strings are made of steel. Woods: spruce or cedar top, ebony or rosewood fretboard, mahogany or maple for the back and the sides. If you
want to play rhythms or take your first steps in rock, this is a good choice to consider
12-String
The fretboard is extra long, many people tune this guitar down a tone to ease the action
This instrument is very useful when you want loud strumming or twin sounds in 2 octaves
Note: Tuning a 12-string guitar is really difficult

The acoustic guitars are more portable and can be played anywhere
You just have to buy an instrument that feels and sounds good
You don't need any other equipment

Evaluation

SOUND

• TONE
The instrument must sound good to you or you
will not enjoy it and therefore not play it much
• TONE BALANCE
This means that it has bass and treble
• SEPARATION
Can you hear the individual notes on a chord?
• SUSTAIN
All the notes must last rather than quickly die
• TUNING
The instrument has to be able to stay in tune

CONSTRUCTION

• FRETBOARD
May be flat or slightly curved from side-to-side
• FRETS
Should be even, and none of them should stick
out more than the others
• NECK
A good neck must has a functional trussrod
so that a repairman can make adjustments.
A good neck should ALWAYS look straight
• BODY
Run your hands all around the body's edges.
If it feels like the wood does not quite meet
properly in any place, don't buy that instrument
• BRIDGE
Make sure that the bridge is in the right place
• PICKUPS
One pickup is all you need if you're starting out.
Don't expect a guitar to sound louder or better
because it has multiple pickups
• SMOOTH OPERATION
Make sure the tuning machines, the switches
and the knobs are tight and operate smoothly

FEEL

• NECK
Should be smooth and comfortable. Classical guitars
have wide necks. Electrics have narrow necks.
Folk necks are somewhere in between. If you
have small hands a narrow neck is more comfortable
• BODY SIZE
Most steel-string acoustic guitars have dreadnought
style bodies. These are big instruments, and if you are a
small person they can be uncomfortable to play
• BALANCE
Hold the guitar in the playing position and notice how
it feels. The instrument should be balanced so that it
is not too heavy at the headstock. If you are buying
an electric, how does it feel hanging from a strap?
• ACTION
How high are the strings from the fretboard?
Low action make guitars easier to play. The higher
the action, the greater difficulty you will have
• PLAYABILITY
This is especially critical for the beginning student.
An unsuitable instrument can have negative effects
on the learning experience

COST
• Spend as much as you can afford. Once you have set a maximum price, stick to it, and DO NOT exceed it
• If you decide for an electric, you must have an additional budget to buy an amp and effects
• Always, focus your attention (and your budget) on the guitar. You are going to have a very close relationship with it and it has to feel right
• Playability affects the price, cheap is no fun. If a guitar is no fun to play, you won’t play it

Other Things You Need

• CASE
A flight case or hardshell case is best. Soft cases
and nylon gig bags do not provide real protection
• STRAP
Get an adjustable one that lets you set the length,
I recommend to buy a strap lock at the same time
• TUNER
Get an electronic tuner. I recommend a chromatic
• STRINGS
To start out, buy a light gauge. They are easier to
play but aren't so thin you'll break them right away
• PICKS
Get all the sizes, shapes, thicknesses and brands.
Try them all and decide which works best for you
• AMP
If you buy an electric, you need a small amp.
8 - 15 watts of power with one speaker (6" to 12")
• MUSIC
Unless you're already taking lessons, a good way to
start out is to get tablatures of your favorite songs