Choosing the right guitar is not easy if you are an absolute beginner. There are many kinds of guitars out there so it is easy to be overwhelmed when shopping for the first guitar. Don't get fooled by their looks and colours. It is not advisable to decide by their appearance you might end up regretting it.
It happened with me when I bought my first guitar. I knew nothing about the factors. I just fell in love with the colour and designed.
The main aim of this post is to help an absolute beginner to avoid such situations and to be able to finally decide and judge by themselves which one is the best for them.
Here are the most important factors which are needed to check before buying one.
1. COMFORT
This factor is a must check before finalizing it. It is a personal choice. It is up to you how you feel when playing it. It may be too big too small, too heavy and so on. There are many kinds of body size which you can check out whether they feel comfortable or not.
First of all, your guitar should be comfortable to play. Try to hold the guitar in the playing position and ask yourself, “does holding it feels comfortable, or does it feel awkward?” It should feel comfortable while both standing and sitting.
Don’t be shy to give it a number of strums as well. If you don’t know how to play yet, you could always strum all the strings open without playing any chords. Try to get a feel of the guitar.
Now try playing a few chords. If you don’t know any yet, just try pressing against the strings with your fingers as if you’re playing chords and get a feel of that as well. The strings shouldn’t feel too far from the fretboard.
You might be asking, “why does it matter if the strings feel too far from the fretboard?”
GUITAR ACTION (PAY ATTENTION, YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT “ACTION” IS WHEN READING GUITAR REVIEWS)
Well, there’s this thing called guitar action. Basically, it is when you go farther down the fretboard you will notice that the distance between the strings and the fretboard is increasing. For beginners I recommend you to choose a guitar which has less gap between the strings and the fretboard because there’s less finger tension, making it easier to play.
So make sure the guitar action feels just right based on your personal preference, which is most likely a low action.
Don’t worry about exact action measurements at this point, you just need to get a feel of them and make sure the distance is comfortable for you.
You can even ask your local guitar shop to adjust this for you.
NECK THICKNESS
Another factor to consider when testing guitars while shopping is the feel of the neck.
Is it too fat? Too wide? Try playing up and down the fretboard (even if you don’t know how to play yet) just to get a feel of the neck.
One of the reasons beginners stop learning is because their guitar makes playing harder. Guitars can do that? Yes, if it’s not fit for you.
So while shopping for your first guitar, try out as much as you can.
LARGE BODY SIZE (DREADNAUGHT OR JUMBO)
It happened with me when I bought my first guitar. I knew nothing about the factors. I just fell in love with the colour and designed.
The main aim of this post is to help an absolute beginner to avoid such situations and to be able to finally decide and judge by themselves which one is the best for them.
Here are the most important factors which are needed to check before buying one.
1. COMFORT
This factor is a must check before finalizing it. It is a personal choice. It is up to you how you feel when playing it. It may be too big too small, too heavy and so on. There are many kinds of body size which you can check out whether they feel comfortable or not.
First of all, your guitar should be comfortable to play. Try to hold the guitar in the playing position and ask yourself, “does holding it feels comfortable, or does it feel awkward?” It should feel comfortable while both standing and sitting.
Don’t be shy to give it a number of strums as well. If you don’t know how to play yet, you could always strum all the strings open without playing any chords. Try to get a feel of the guitar.
Now try playing a few chords. If you don’t know any yet, just try pressing against the strings with your fingers as if you’re playing chords and get a feel of that as well. The strings shouldn’t feel too far from the fretboard.
You might be asking, “why does it matter if the strings feel too far from the fretboard?”
GUITAR ACTION (PAY ATTENTION, YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT “ACTION” IS WHEN READING GUITAR REVIEWS)
Well, there’s this thing called guitar action. Basically, it is when you go farther down the fretboard you will notice that the distance between the strings and the fretboard is increasing. For beginners I recommend you to choose a guitar which has less gap between the strings and the fretboard because there’s less finger tension, making it easier to play.
So make sure the guitar action feels just right based on your personal preference, which is most likely a low action.
Don’t worry about exact action measurements at this point, you just need to get a feel of them and make sure the distance is comfortable for you.
You can even ask your local guitar shop to adjust this for you.
NECK THICKNESS
Another factor to consider when testing guitars while shopping is the feel of the neck.
Is it too fat? Too wide? Try playing up and down the fretboard (even if you don’t know how to play yet) just to get a feel of the neck.
One of the reasons beginners stop learning is because their guitar makes playing harder. Guitars can do that? Yes, if it’s not fit for you.
So while shopping for your first guitar, try out as much as you can.
If you are an absolute beginner I advised you not to go for classical guitar because of the thick neck. I rather recommended you to go for the medium size.
2. BODY SIZE
You have to be very conscious while judging it. This is related to comfort, but the body size is an important topic that needs its own section. Basically, there are small, medium, and large body guitar sizes.
SMALL BODY SIZE (CLASSICAL GUITAR)
Also known as Classic or Concert body type, a small body guitar. They come in nylon or steel string. If you like a less bass sound, clearer and more articulate sound then this is for you.
Specification
- Has weaker bass sound.
- Has a more focused tone especially in the middle range.
- Produce a clearer and more articulate sound.
A small body guitar is perfect for kids or beginners of smaller stature. This type is also popular among traveling guitarists because of its compact body size.
Disadvantage: I personally recommend not to go for this kind if you are a beginner like I said because of its thick neck.
MEDIUM BODY SIZE
Small body guitars are good because of their great articulation, but the volume is lacking. This is where the medium body-sized guitar comes in.
Specification
- Are not too emphasized on the bass, treble, and higher end.
- Produce sound that is right in the middle, which makes it the most versatile of all guitar body sizes.
A medium body guitar is perfect for beginners and intermediate player. So if you plan to do both fingerpicking and strumming, then a medium body guitar is a perfect choice.
I highly recommend you if you are a beginner.
LARGE BODY SIZE (DREADNAUGHT OR JUMBO)
Also known as Dreadnaught or Jumbo, a large body guitar. This large size is for those who love loud and bass sound.
Specification
A large body guitar is a good choice if you’ll be doing a majority of strumming, or purely just strumming.
3. NYLON OR STEEL STRINGS
Nylon strings come only in classical guitar and ukulele. The best thing about nylon string is that you will not feel pain while playing. Nylon string is mostly used in
Specification
- Has more bass tone.
- Has less focused tone.
- Sound louder than their smaller counterparts.
A large body guitar is a good choice if you’ll be doing a majority of strumming, or purely just strumming.
3. NYLON OR STEEL STRINGS
Nylon strings come only in classical guitar and ukulele. The best thing about nylon string is that you will not feel pain while playing. Nylon string is mostly used in
jazz or flamenco music? If not, then don’t get a classical or flamenco guitar.
Steel-stringed guitars are used in popular music like pop, rock, and country because of the tone it produces. It has more power and volume.
The truth is you should choose a guitar based on your musical interest.
Steel-stringed guitars are used in popular music like pop, rock, and country because of the tone it produces. It has more power and volume.
The truth is you should choose a guitar based on your musical interest.
4. LAMINATE OR SOLID BODY TOP
A guitar with a solid top produces a more superior quality of sound than a laminate top guitar.
Basically, a solid top is a single “real” piece of wood while laminate tops are layered plywoods that are glued together with a thin top wood finish.
Solid top guitars:
- Sound better than laminate top guitars
- Sound even better as it ages
Laminate top guitars:
- More durable than solid top guitars
- Cheaper
I hope you find this post helpful
Please do share, if you find it valuable.
Also read
Ultimate Guitar Buying Guide For Beginners
Reviewed by frankiebey
on
July 20, 2019
Rating:
Reviewed by frankiebey
on
July 20, 2019
Rating:
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