Guitar Music Lessons from 5 Guitar Greats Like Slash Joe and Satriani

When buying a guitar, it is important to select the correct model for you. Always trust your instincts, if a guitar feels right for you, it probably is, but do not go out and buy a hugely expensive model if your ability doesn’t reflect that standard. It is a depressing fact that a huge amount of beginners buy an expensive model, only to give up and leave the guitar in the corner of a room gathering dust.

Here are a few points to consider when buying a new instrument. 

Body Style

You will have your own playing style, and each individual guitar will be suited to a .

Solid-body electric guitars are the most common, come in the most varied styles and have no acoustic restrictions.

Semi-hollow (or semi-solid) guitars have a rounder, darker sound. They have solid wood centers (to minimize feedback) with large chambers on either side and sound holes above them.

Hollow-body guitars, the choice of many jazz musicians. They can be played with an amp, but will produce significant feedback with a little amount of power. They are best used as an acoustic. 

Frets

in general, electric guitars come with 22 frets as a standard. If you choose a guitar with smooth frets, you will be able to do more with the guitar and also makes playing the instrument a little easier. 

Amps

If you already have an amp that you are familiar with, test the model you are looking at on this amp. You will know the kind of sound your amp produces. This will help to avoid any later disappointment, it is all to common to get your new instrument home only to find it plays in an entirely different tone than you had expected. 

Wood

Even with electric guitars, wood type influences the tone. Hard woods such as alder, ash, , maple, rosewood and basswood are the most common. They are often used in combination with one another to create unique tones. 

Necks

bolt on necks are the most common used in electric guitars, this is mainly because they are easier to repair than fixed necks. While set necks are often more expensive to buy and repair, their solid attachment ensures stability. Within the neck is a truss rod which is a metal bar used to reinforce the neck. Necks come in various shapes, such as C-shaped, thin, wide-thin, etc.

The most important factor when selecting your new guitar is that is feels comfortable and natural for you to play. If the guitar feels awkward, the music you play will sound awkward too.

Scale Length

Most guitars have one of two scale lengths: 25-1/2″ (provides a high tension and more trebly sound) and 24-3/4″ (the lower string tension is slightly easier to play and provides a less trebly sound). 

Bridges

A tremolo and a stoptail are the two main types of bridges for electric guitars. Also called a , a tremolo bridge lets you bend all the strings at once. It is best for ‘metal’ sounds but you will need to tune the guitar after use. A stoptail bridge is more stable for tune because it’s fixed onto the body of the guitar. Many players prefer the stoptail feeling as it provides more sustain. Both of these bridges are a great way of altering the sound of the guitar. 

Action

the ‘action’ is the distance between the string and the frets. A high actions means that the strings sit away from the fret, making it harder to play the correct note. A low action can cause a buzzing sound when playing. You need to set your guitar for the perfect mix between a high and low action 

Research

There are hundreds of manufactures, each supplying different guitars to create different sounds. Research the style of music you want to play. That genre will generally use the same style of guitar.

There will be plenty of opinion on which the for a certain style is. If you do your research, you can’t go wrong. 

Cost and Quality

when buying guitars, in general, the more you spend, the better the quality. If you can’t afford the model that feels right for you, save until you can, this way you will get years of enjoyment out of the instrument.

A great thing to remember is that a good quality guitar will often go up in value, and many shops will happily take part exchange.

Conclusion

If you decide what style of music you want to play, then research which guitars those musicians use, you can’t go far wrong. Each genre of music will have many different models ranging from entry levels to hugely expensive options. Always try the guitar first, and if possible, with your own tried and tested amp.