Purchasing your first guitar is always an exciting yet an overwhelming experience. As a beginner it is a normal tendency to buy the cheapest and good looking guitars. But if the guitar turns out to be poorly constructed, then there is a possibility of getting your fingers worn out or experience difficulties with playing in tune. With a prearranged approach, buying a guitar for beginners is as easy as a pie. Following are some guidelines that should be kept in mind before buying your first guitar.
Determine your budget: As mentioned earlier, it is not always a good idea to buy the cheapest guitar in the market. You should be prepared to shell out at least 300$ if you want to buy a decent guitar. If you are looking for an electric guitar rather than acoustic one, then you will additionally require an amplifier which may increase you budget by 50-100$.Take advantage of the deals which are available in the market and try to negotiate the price if you buying in bulk.
Quality and size: The most important thing to remember is the material used in constructing the guitar. Acoustic guitars and electric guitars are made of solid wood and not plywood. Hence it is important to check this aspect before buying a guitar. Additionally, there are different sizes in which these guitars are available, the greater the size, deeper is the tonal quality.
Getting the “feel”: Buying a guitar, by considering just the above two factors, is of no use if you don’t find yourself comfortable playing the guitar. Therefore, once you have decided the price range and inspected the quality and size, play as many guitars, in that class, as you can and buy the one which you “feel” the most comfortable to play.
Action: The term “action” means the distance between the strings and the fret board. If this distance is too low, it causes undesired buzzing. If it is too high, it makes playing the guitar, difficult. In a good guitar, “action” can be adjusted. So, always buy a guitar that provides the feature to adjust the action.
Tune the guitar: Play some songs and listen to the tone. See if the guitar requires constant retuning. This is a good indication of the difficulty that the guitar is having in holding the tune. It would be a wise decision to buy a guitar which does not require frequent retuning.
These were few of the aspects that should be examined before buying a guitar. Do a detailed research on the internet about the making, various sizes and prices in which the guitars are available and remember not to negotiation with the experience of personally holding the guitar in your hands before buying it.