Are you considering learning to play guitar? Are you considering having your child pick up this skill? Does this tie in with your holiday giving plans? Do you know where to start? Obviously, nothing is going to happen until you have those six strings in your hands. It is time for buying your first guitar! I’ve been a guitar player on-and-off throughout my life. I have some information to share with you for when you’re buying your first guitar based on my experience and know-how.
Realize this
You must get the guitar that will keep you practicing, learning, trying things, and generally building your enthusiasm as you go. There are certain factors that can work for you or against you depending on your purchase decisions. Read through this list of pointers before you acquire that first guitar. You will be glad you did!
Let’s start with the music style you like
You first goal is to narrow down which type of guitar is appropriate for the type of music that most interests you. In very broad terms, we can classify guitars as one of these four types:
—Electric (many, many variations)
—Acoustic (optionally, some can be amplified)
—Nylon string (classical and flamenco)
—Bass (one octave lower than a guitar and typically only four strings, but really a whole different style of playing)
Consider this: do you have favorite guitar heroes or bands? What do you listen to the most? Would you like to eventually play in that genre of music? I am not implying that you must pigeonhole your playing or never change your mind, but your initial foray should deliver the maximum good to you. Please understand that a seasoned guitar player can likely adapt to several of these guitar types, but you acquire different skills for each different type of guitar. You should also know that learning to play the electric guitar is probably the easiest because the handling of the instrument is more comfortable and the strings are more reachable and easier to press. Nevertheless, if your goal is to be a singer-songwriter or a bluegrass picker, you might as well bite the bullet and go acoustic right from the start.
Don’t do this alone
You are not going to get all the information you need from reading this article. But you will know what are the decision points and what to be concerned with. If you decide to go it alone from this point forward, you will in all likelihood get lost in the details. Once you have played a bit, you learn quite a bit about guitars. I’m not talking about how to play guitar. Rather, you will be able to go out and make sound buying decisions based on your time playing and the results you’ve experienced. You lack that mindset when you start. By all means, get a friend that plays with some experience to help guide the way as you select your first guitar. Make sure he or she is familiar with the type of guitar to which you narrowed down from the preceding section. Let this person show you the ropes.
A sad story
If you are considering this purchase for a young person, I have a little tale to tell you. When I was eight, I asked my parents if I could play the drums. To this day I don’t know what happened, but I was signed up for beginner guitar lessons. This was a miserable experience. Each week, for three months, I go into a rooms with 20 other kids, sheepish and shy, and we are all playing the same simple nursery songs one plunk at a time. But wait, there’s more! None of the kids owned their guitar; they were all rented from the music studio. They were $20 Stellas and impossible to play because they were too big and had warped necks, and the strings were so high that it was just about impossible to press them down to the frets. I kept my mouth shut and let this sham run its course, learned nothing, and quit afterwards. I can’t imagine anyone in that forlorn class doing anything different. Six months later, I was sent to private lessons equipped with a cheap electric guitar (the whole point of this was to play rock). “Cheap” means the instructor knew nothing about adjusting the guitar for easy playing and sooner than not my fingers started to bleed when I practiced. Don’t do this to your kids! It’s not necessary these days. With the right choice of first guitar, the learning is easy, fun, and interesting.
Bargain basement
I’m going to make some broad statements here. Today, all entry-level guitars are imported. Some are better than others. Some are quite suitable. Some are pure junk, as I learned firsthand as a child.
You will not find a decent guitar under $200. You will not find a decent guitar packaged with an amplifier in a kit (aka a “play pack”). Instruments made in the USA start at about $1,000. You don’t need to buy only a domestic guitar to get a good instrument (but it’s probably patriotic, if that matters). Imported guitars may contain domestic parts. Imported guitars may have final assembly and inspection in the USA. Used guitars, as long as they follow these guidelines and are in decent condition, are viable options to consider and will save money.
What this boils down to is that a $200 price point is where you should start your search. In all likelihood, you should expect to pay a bit more for quality and features. You will want the guitar formally set up by a guitar tech or luthier to get it in shape for comfortable playing and maximum performance. Expect that to tack on up to $100 unless you get that as part of the deal at purchase time. A setup is essential. More on this to follow.
Brands to consider
Many might dispute this, but I recommend that you concentrate your search on imported versions that are sold by the major manufacturers. In some instances, these have an alternate brand name. Ask your friend to sort this out for you. I suggest these as respectable starting choices:
—Fender imports (Squire from Asia and Fender from Mexico; avoid “Squire Affinity,” “Squire Bullet,” and “starter packs” like the plague)
—Gibson imports (Epiphone is their second-tier brand, avoid “starter packs”)
—Yamaha
—Ibanez
—Alvarez imports
—Paul Reed Smith SE imports (which cost a bit more)
—Many others, just make sure they have an American sales, distribution, and service company
Resale
In the price range we are looking at here there is a greater depreciation than American instruments, but not by much. I’ve found that all guitars lose about 20 percent of their value the moment they are taken home from the store. From that point on, the following possibilities are:
—You trashed the instrument: good luck selling it at any price
—Used, but works great: probably loses another 20 percent
—Owned, but mint condition: probably only loses another 10 percent
—Of interest to collectors: increasing value depending on the market
Resale possibilities are (in order of desirability) are private sale, eBay, dealer trade-in, consignment, pawn, or Craigslist (bad reputation).
The setup
Guitars are adjustable to keep playability and performance maximized. Learning these skills should be held off for another day. Learn how to play first. Most players use a guitar tech (repairer) or luthier (builder) get a basic setup for the guitar before they even use it in earnest. In St. George, Dan’s Guitar Repair handles this. Setup adjustments might include the following steps:
—Neck adjustment
—Fret leveling
—Action setting (the height of strings above the frets)
—Pickup height adjustment
—Install new quality alternate strings if instructed
—Set intonation
—Collect money with a smile
Gifting a first guitar
Buying someone their first guitar is a great gesture—that is, if he or she wants to learn to play a guitar. I would, however, hardly make this a surprise purchase. A guitar is a highly personal choice. If the first guitar doesn’t light a flame, the tinder might blow out. A completely improper choice may slowly wear away at the original desire to play.
