What You Need to Know Before Buying A Guitar
Most guitar students in our Scottsdale Music Academy usually come equipped with their own acoustic or electric guitar to get started on lessons with us. Fortunately, most of the students have done research beforehand to make sure they got the right guitar for their needs. In other cases however, we’ve had a few students who made mistakes in buying a guitar before taking lessons.
Your guitar-playing progress will depend heavily on the quality and size of the instrument you’ve purchased. Our excellent guitar instructors in Scottsdale can help you determine what might be the right type of guitar you should get, depending on your musical preferences, your goals for playing live onstage or not, and other considerations.
Check these pointers before you buy that first guitar.
Don’t Buy Cheap – Parents often don’t want to shell out big bucks for their aspiring rock star teens right at the start of their musical interests. They might opt to buy a cheap guitar with poor action and cheap wood. But buying cheapo could stop a beginner guitarist in his or her tracks before they even get going. The student may be less than thrilled with their sound, the difficulty in playing chords, or even simply holding the guitar. Make sure to research well-made models and work down there from a price standpoint. You’ll likely find a good middle ground between quality and price without paying too much.
Know your Type – Knowing what style of music you want to play is important in knowing which guitar to buy. Is your goal to play quiet, fingerpicked acoustic guitar? Or will you be raging loudly on an electric guitar? Some new guitar students say it’s easier to learn to play an electric guitar, with less pressure at first on building calluses on the fingers. But if you learn to play acoustic guitar first, switching later to electric guitar will be a breeze.
Check the Sound – Because of the varieties of wood involved in the making of acoustic guitars, every model will have a slightly unique sound with it. Make sure that when browsing models and playing them that you are happy with the sound. Some guitars are more trebly-sounding, and other guitars offer a richer, more full-bodied sound. Don’t buy the one with the buzzing string, even if the guitar salesman says it’s the string. It may not be the string, but the guitar. Look at frets for quality, and check the tuning keys too. These are what you will use everyday.
Check the Internet: Many online sites exist for buying guitars online. If you are able to find a perfect model for yourself in a local music store, but find a better price online, then move in that direction. Some of the musician sites we like include:
Zzounds – http://www.zzounds.com/
Musicians Friend – http://www.musiciansfriend.com/
Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/
Playing the right guitar before starting for your guitar lessons in Scottsdale will move ahead of the game. If you can buy a top-quality Martin or Takamine acoustic, we wholeheartedly recommend that. They are beautiful guitars and sound great, even in beginner student hands. But if you need helpful assistance, then check in with us at Scottsdale Music Academy for help. We’ll be glad to share our knowledge with you before buying your guitar.