Good morning, I thought I would talk to about buying your first guitar as a beginner.

What I recommend that you buy and what to look for when purchasing your first guitar as a beginner.

Most people recommend that you start on an acoustic guitar, but these are the reasons why I would go against that recommendation.

Firstly you need to decide how much you would like to spend on your first guitar, and as you will probably be thinking I don’t want to spend to much just in case playing or learning the guitar is not for me.

You can buy various types of guitars, I have complied a list below.

• Steel string acoustic, 3/4 or full size. £70.00 and up wards
• Classical guitar or nylon string guitar 3/4 or full size. £30.00 and up wards
• Electric guitar package this would include a guitar, amplifier, soft carry case, guitar lead, strap and some plectrums. £100.00 up wards.

So yo might be thinking the steel string acoustic or classical.

The steel string guitar sounds attractive for the  starting price, however, the first thing you will notice on a budget low price acoustic is how on some cheap acoustics that the distance from the fret board to the strings are quite high this will make life learning the guitar a lot harder. The strings on a acoustic guitar are usually a medium gauge string which are quite hard on the soft finger tips of a beginner, so if you do decide on a steel string guitar ask the guitar shop where you purchased or purchasing the guitar from to replace the medium gauge strings to an extra light set of strings.

this may cost another £10 if they charge for fitting the strings for you, but the lighter gauge string will slightly lower the guitar action and be more comfortable on the soft finger tips.

This can be corrected and have the action or string height adjusted by a guitar Luther or guitar technician, but this will exceed you budget as the cost may be another £30.00 to £50.00 more on top of your guitar purchase price.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lower action may look like this.

 

 

 

 

 

This may increase you chances of continuing with you new hobby or interest in playing the guitar. Something else to think about lets say you buy a budget acoustic guitar for £70.00, and you decide the guitar is not for me! well to re sell your guitar on to someone else you will lose at leased £50 to £40 of you hard earned money, so you re sale price second hand is only going to be around the £30 mark. however, you may get a little more on ebay, if its collection only and no postage cost on top.

Classical guitars usually have a slightly high action or string height from the fret board, however, the nylon strings are a lot softer on the fingers making playing a bit more comfortable. But on a full size classical for an adult the neck width is a lot wider, which will make playing some chords a bit of a stretch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would not recommend a full size classical guitar for a student of 6 to 13 years old, as there hands are still growing and not full size yet. so look around for a half size or a three quarter size classical or nylon stringed guitar.

Electric guitar packages can be found at all guitar shops, and as mentioned before can start from £100 and up wards. With an electric guitar the action or string height should be low on most electric guitars, if it is slightly high the process of adjusting the action compared to an acoustic guitar is a lot simpler. The gauges of strings for an electric guitar start as low a gauge 8, which are a really comfortable string gauge for a beginner student.

The amplifier in the package will be a basic one, but will have a headphone socket for near silent practice. Silent practice is great for practicing late at night and early in the morning.

Yes, you are thinking but I want to play acoustic as I like ed sheeran, Tommy Emanuel and various other players. But I can honestly say you strum and finger pick the electric guitar the same way you do acoustic guitar, so once you fingers are used to playing the electric you can then go out and purchase an acoustic later once your up and running with your electric guitar. Why? well you fingers will already be hardening up and once you have the experience of actually playing the guitar and how a guitar feel should feel to you, you will already know how you would like you acoustic guitar to feel under your fingers. Thus, meaning you wont be wasting money on a wooden shoe box that is near impossible even for an intermediate to play.

So your check list.

• How much do I want to spend
• Do I want an acoustic or an electric guitar
• Which would be the easier guitar to learn on
• Do I want to succeed on the guitar or make it harder for me to learn

So as a sum up for me I would recommend any beginner student to buy an electric guitar, not a budget acoustic guitar. GO to a shop and try various guitars within your budget, by doing this may help you decide on which guitar to buy and you may even see why it pays to pay a little more than some cheap guitar that will make learning harder.

For your first purchase I would NOT recommend that you buy a guitar ONLINE, as you will not be able to see the guitar or the string action in person. you need to hold and feel the guitar to decide if the guitar you are purchasing is for you. Plus, you will not see the guitar till it is delivered to you and the last thing you want is to be disappointed with your purchase as soon as you receive it. So Go To A Shop.

“if you have any further questions relating to learning or buying a guitar, please use the contact form on the side of this site or on the contact page. I will be happy to assist you with any question that you may have, I hope you enjoyed this post and the above information helps you with your quest on buying your first guitar, Kindest Regards Lee – L.A. Guitar School”.