The Guitar Resource » Guitar Gear

Choosing a Good Beginner Acoustic Guitar

Joe — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:11:00 +0000

As a beginning guitar player choosing that first instrument can be an overwhelming decision. There are a large variety of acoustic guitars to choose from, all at different prices, with many features. As a new player you want to choose a good instrument, but may not have the knowledge to know what is good and what is not.

If you have a more knowledgeable guitar-playing friend brining them along is always a good idea. Its good to get a second opinion, and they can play the guitar so you can hear what it sounds like out front. Here are some important features to consider.

Solid Top – If your budget can afford it, I highly encourage you to buy a guitar with solid top. Guitar tops are either made out of solid wood, or a series of laminations. Solid tops will sound better with age as you play them more, whereas a laminated top sounds as good as its every going to sound right out of the box.

Solid Back and Sides – Much like a solid top, a guitar with solid back and sides will have an overall better sound. The sound will continue to improve as the guitar is played over the years and the wood gets broken in. A guitar with a solid top and solid back and sides will usually cost at least $800, so something like that may not be in everyone’s budget. Laminated back and sides are certainly not bad, as a guitar’s top contributes more to the overall sound. If you are looking for solid back and sides be sure that the guitar description explicitly says so. Many manufacturers will say “Solid top with select back and sides”, which usually means they are laminated.

Tuners – Staying in tune is very important, and a good beginner guitar should have solid set of tuners that don’t slip. Tune a prospective guitar up to pitch and play it hard, strumming some chords and picking single strings. They should stay in tune. Check each tuner, turning the knob you should feel some resistance, they should not feel loose and slip.

Body Size – There are a lot of different acoustic guitar body sizes. Dreadnoughts are by far the most popular, but there are also mini jumbos, grand concerts, and parlor sizes, to name a few. Be sure to try several different sizes to see what feels best for you. Smaller guitars like grand concert and orchestra model sizes are often more comfortable for some people, who may feel that a dreadnought size is just to big.

Setup – While many guitars can be setup to fit the player, check to make sure that a prospective instrument plays fairly comfortably before you buy. It should be comfortable to fret all along the neck, and the strings should not be to far from the fretboard. Sight along the neck, it should be straight, with no twists. The frets should be seated snugly in the fret slots. A reputable music shop should give you a short approval period after buying an instrument, during which it can be beneficial to take to a competent repair person for a quick look. If you are really interested in a certain instrument the cost for getting it looked at can be a wise investment.

Pickup, yes or no? - I often see first time buyers for acoustic guitars asking what sort of acoustic electric they should get. I am of the mindset that if you want a pickup get one installed after you buy the guitar. Its better to spend that money initially on a higher quality instrument than a preinstalled pickup. Plus many preinstalled pickups include a preamp cut into the side of the guitar, which is going to make the instrument heavier and affect, tone, sustain, and volume. Sure, it might not be alot, but who wants a plastic box installed into the side of their beautiful wooden guitar? Just get an external preamp later on down the line. Some good companies for pickups include K and K, LR Baggs, Fishman, Mcintyre. You can find a good pickup for about $100.

So those are some points to keep in mind when buying that important first instrument. Now for the fun part, go out and play a lot of guitars before choosing the right one for you.

About the Author

Anton Emery is the Community Manager of http://www.RhythmStrummer.com. This site offers easy guitar songs for adult learners in a fun & patient atmosphere, taught by teachers who care. Students learn songs & technique lessons across a variety of genres, including Folk, Country, and Classic Rock- all with NO advertising.

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The Great Pick Decision

Joe — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 03:36:25 +0000

Stuck on which pick to use for guitar? Here is a great post on chosing a guitar pick submitted by Giles Dickerson. If you want to submit a post to The Guitar Resource please contact me.

I figured I'd cover picks (or the plectrum, which is so strange to me I still can't say it and have it sound normal to me, it sounds more like a body part than a musical accessory) even though I didn't spend a huge amount of time on thinking about this to be honest. Sometimes to me a little advice communicated in the right way is all I need to make a decision. There are a lot of picks out there. In fact, it's a little ridiculous. Could each one offer something unique? There's every shape, size, density, material, and cost out there. How did I pick the ones to start with? My buddy handed them to me at guitar center and said "Here use these". My ignorant comment ofcourse was something like "Oh these are good?". No they're awful that's why I picked them out for you. So there you have it.

Just starting with the guitar? A master of the instrument? I recommend the Dunlop .60mm Tortext Standard Number 418 medium orange pick. Not too thick, not too thin, and according to their website they offer some sort of fantastic "memory".
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Common Amplifier Myths Guitarists Should Know About

Joe — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 20:07:54 +0000

GuitarFact.com has an interesting post titled Common Amplifier Myths Guitarists Should Know About . This is a great post that sheds light on two common guitar amplifier myths about wattage vs. volume and Hybrid amps, two areas I don’t really know much about. So check out the post and please post your thoughts to the comments.

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Buying on eBay, Part II- Effects Pedals

Joe — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 19:37:24 +0000

Before you read this article on buying guitar effects pedals you might want to read Part I of the Buying On eBay series which gives a general overview on buying from eBay as well as some specifics to buying guitars. In this post I am just going to dive right into the specifics on buying guitar effect pedals on eBay.

I personally think that effects pedals are the easiest guitar gear to buy on eBay and have the least risk involved. Why? Well for one most guitar pedals do not cost close to as much as a guitar or an amp. So even if you did end up getting scammed it is not as high of a risk as shelling out $500+ dollars.
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Buying on Ebay, Part I – Guitars

Joe — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:25:28 +0000

Introduction
Many people often consider buying their guitar gear on Ebay but are hesitant to do so for fear of being scammed. In this series on buying guitar gear on Ebay I hope to cover some of the pros and cons of buying guitar gear on Ebay. I will break this down into separate series for different types of guitar gear. In this post I will cover buying a guitar on Ebay.

Reasons people buy on ebay
Before I get into the specifics, let’s talk about the main reason people buy anything from Ebay—to save money. Buying on Ebay will save you money for a number of reasons. First, you have the opportunity to by something used off someone else. If that item is in good condition you can save significantly compared to buying it new. But you can even save on new items on Ebay. Because everyone is bidding on something you will end up paying the fair market value because most people aren’t willing to bid more than an item is worth. It’s classic economics—supply and demand.

Other reasons people buy on Ebay include being able to purchase something that s no longer available in stores and buying non working items and parts to fix themselves.

Why people don’t buy on ebay
The biggest concern with buying on Ebay is getting ripped off or scammed. But Ebay wants you to buy from them and therefore they have put practices in place that drastically limit the chances of you being scammed by another ebayer:

Ebay Feedback System
Ebay has a unique feedback scoring system that gives buyers information on sellers. The feedback system allows users to rate buyers with positive, negative, or neutral feedback, as well as leave a short comment about the transaction. While you I wouldn’t say you should only buy from sellers with 100% positive feedback, I wouldn’t buy from anyone with less than 90% positive feedback. But I also like to make sure the person I am buying from has over 50 feedback scores, and they should be a good mix of buyer and seller feedback.

Fraud Protection
The best way to make sure you are protected against any fraud is to pay with a credit card through PayPal. PayPal offers buyer protection ranging from $200 - $2000 at no extra charge. Plus most credit card companies do not hold you liable for fraudulent charges. This way if anything does happen you will be reimbursed. For more information on fraud protection Click here or read about buyer protection programs.

Buying a guitar on ebay
Now let’s talk about buying your axe on Ebay. Most guitar players need to play a guitar before they shell out cash for it. This prevents a lot of guitar players from even considering Ebay as an option for buying a guitar. But these worries should not stop you from buying on Ebay. Why? There are a few reasons.
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