Understanding how to find the right guitar and the way to identify a poor one, will save you from countless headaches, as well as finger aches.
Electric guitar bodies come in simply the same hourglass shape, with a few variations, however they do vary in size, color, wood-type, style, and additional features. You may also buy an acoustic guitar so small that matches into a hiking backpack.
Guitars are available in a very number of prices, but when it comes to instruments, generally, you get what you purchase, particularly when you purchase new. There’s a real distinction between getting a bargain and purchasing cheap.
But whether you purchase new or used might be based on many personal factors including your budget, with each having their own pros and cons.
Buying new, provides you with a warranty and, hopefully, a return period, if for some reason you’re not totally pleased with your purchase, or something like that goes completely wrong.
Under ‘usual’ circumstances, a used guitar can usually be bought cheaper and has already gone through its “break-in” period.
Commercially built guitars are often mass manufactured. “Custom-made” guitars are just that. They are custom made and tailored to your specifications by a highly skilled guitar maker.
Prices for a custom-built guitar vary considerably, with respect to the skill level from the craftsperson you contract the task to, but, as a rule, they are generally quite higher than a commercially built guitar of “similar” quality. Each custom made guitar is exclusive and therefore tough to compare in price to a commercially built guitar.
FOR THE “TECHIES”
Understanding some of the parts of a guitar will certainly assist you to when it comes to the Pre-Purchase Checklist.
BODY: This is actually the part with the sound hole right in front. It’s where the strumming is performed, also it can vary in dimensions. The particular size, shape, type of wood, coating, and general build of the body also affects how the guitar will “sound”, whether it’s a rich and warm sound, or a thin and ‘twangy’ sound. The body is commonly the part that also gets scratched, damaged, and generally banged-up the most.
NECK: This is actually the long piece extending in the body and ends in the ‘head’ from the guitar in which the ‘Tuning Heads’ are, also known as ‘machine heads’. The strings travel from the ‘Bridge’ on our bodies, over the sound hole, along the ‘Fret Board’, that is attached to the front-side of the neck, and lastly arriving at the tuning heads where they are wrapped around tuning posts. The tuning heads are then turned manually, which then turns the posts, making the strings tighter or looser, thus affecting their ‘tuning’. Necks tend to warp and twist otherwise looked after, or if your guitar remains propped against a heat source.
BRIDGE: The Bridge is normally located on the front of the body, by the sound hole, and on along side it from the hole opposite towards the neck. The strings are usually fed with the bridge first before they cross the hole and travel up the neck towards the tuning heads. The bridge is much like an anchor-point for that strings. Metal bridges are best, but of all acoustics they are either plastic or wood. Bridges tend to crack and split over a long period of time.
FRET BOARD: The fret board is glued towards the front from the neck. This is actually the part you press the strings onto to make chords or play individual notes. Because it’s glued on separately, a fret board can be made of a wood that’s not the same as the neck.
The strings travel over the fret board and also the distance they are over the fret board makes a difference to the playability from the guitar. When the strings are extremely far beyond the fret board, they is going to be hard to press down, making your guitar tough to play.
Whenever a beginner plays an instrument, initially his or her fingertips are very soft and need to become hardened. A guitar with the strings too far over the fret board, also known as using a ‘high action’, will cause the player’s fingers to hurt so much that they’re prone to place the guitar away in discouragement and perhaps stop playing altogether.
STRINGS: Electric guitar strings, come in a wide variety of ‘flavors’. They may be made out of nylon, brass, steel, or perhaps a combination. Nylon strings are often only found on Classical guitars and Student guitars, because they’re easier on the fingertips. They have a rich, warm sound for them.
Strings sets come in different ‘weights’, or sizes. Strings which come from a package marked ‘Heavy’ are often quite thick in dimensions and sound “beefy”. Strings which are light, or extra light, are extremely thin in most cases possess a brighter sound to them, but are also quieter sounding than heavy strings.
String choices are purely personal taste. Light strings are easier to press than heavy strings but additionally sound quite different. The greater often strings are played, the dirtier they get. If a cloth isn’t run over and under them, from time to time, the sound becomes very dull
THE PRE-PURCHASE CHECKLIST
- Before you buy a second hand guitar, cost-compare against the cost of a brand new one, unless the guitar is very old. You might compare its used price to other used prices by visiting a web-based auction and only searching for exactly the same or perhaps a similar guitar.
- Check the overall condition from the wood for cracks, scratches, splits, dents, chips, etc.
- Also check the lacquer finish for cracks and splits.
- Look into the neck/fret board for warping and twisting. This can be done by holding your guitar flat on its back, with the sound hole facing upward. Bring your guitar as much as eye-level, with the neck running from you and the fringe of your body almost touching the face. Let your eyesight skim across the front of the body and down the fret board. You should be capable of seeing if the neck is twisted or bowing.
- Tune your guitar, or possess the seller tune it for you.
- If you know how to play about five or six chords then play them. Should you don’t know how to play, ask the seller to play them for you. This check helps to ensure that the neck of the guitar is not warped, even though you couldn’t physically view it. When the neck is warped, and also the guitar is correctly tuned, then some of the chords will sound good, but others will sound as if the guitar is not tuned. If this happens, check the tuning again. Whether it persists, then don’t purchase the guitar.
- Look into the bridge of the guitar. If it’s made from wood or plastic, make sure it’s not cracked or splitting. The bridge needs to be rock-solid, as a lot of pressure is exerted around the bridge by the strings.
- Check the tuning heads. Do they turn easily, or could they be very stiff and hard to turn. Despite our prime tension of the strings, a quality guitar may have tuning heads which are fairly easy to show.
- Look into the ‘action’ from the guitar. Are the strings a reasonable distance from the fret board? Could they be easy or hard to press down at various points around the fret board?
- If you are buying the guitar on your own, and you know how to play, even if you’re a novice, then take part in the guitar.
- So how exactly does it feel?
- Could it be easy or tough to play?
- Are you able to fit your hand around the neck/fret board comfortably to play chords?
- Is the guitar a comfortable size and shape for you? Is it simple to hold?
- If you plan to experience standing up, ask for a guitar strap.
- Do you like the sound, the colour, etc?
- If you don’t play, have somebody else listen to it for you so that you can judge what it sounds like.
WHERE TO BUY
Purchasing a guitar from a physical retail music store allows you to ‘test drive’ your guitar and ask more questions in advance. Buying online or from a catalog would bring you more cash savings.
Wherever you purchase playing the guitar, if you know what to look for, and spend a little extra effort during your search for that ‘perfect’ guitar, not only will your fingers thanks, but additionally your ears, and all sorts of those who can come to join you round the campfire, or even visit you in concert. Who knows?