Guitar Buying Guide

ok there has been a few questions and threads made by people about to buy a new guitar.

here are my recommendations:

Originally Posted by acoustic

if you are a beginner get a cheap acoustic that is easy for you to HOLD thats not play but HOLD, next see if its easy to play :p

Originally Posted by bass

for a bass guitarist get a decent bass guitar but nothing too expensive as the cheaper guitars aren't that bad, again see if its easy for you to hold. One of the most important things to check is to see if your hand can span the first four frets easily in the playing position. If your hands can then buy that guitar otherwise look to get a smaller scale bass guitar. Standard is something like 34 1/2 inch or 30 inch scale but you can get smaller, lowest i have seen was something like a 24 inch scale but i'm sure there are smaller available.

Originally Posted by electric

electric guitars are a little more tricky. There are various schools of thought on this but here are mine:

1. what sort of music do you mostly like? Believe it or not the branded electric guitars made are better for a certain type of music and not another. For instance a metal fan would not like Fender's as their sounds are too 'dirty' and metallic, instead a guitar with more tone such as Ibanez would be what they would prefer. However any Blues or Classic Rock guitarists would not want to look further than the Fenders. Indy guitarists would love their Gibsons and the range goes on. By knowing what sort of music you like may be key in finding that guitar quicker. I'm not saying that all metal fans should stay clear of the Fenders or that all Blues guitarists never touch an Ibanez but just keep this in mind that the Fender is better for Blues guitaring than the Metal guitaring and likewise the Ibanez is better for Metal than Blues.

2. go to a guitar shop and play the guitars this is the only way to work out what brand or model guitar you like, maybe you will prefer the Telecaster than the Stratocaster or you may prefer the Jaguar instead.

3. once you have decided on the guitar and you have given it a good workout don't buy it. A guitar is bought once and should last for a few years before your next 'upgrade'. Come back to the net or your guitaring buddies and find out more about the brand, such as their general reliability, costs, maintanence, other people's experiences.

4. remember that looks are a secondary issue (for me at least) no point in buying something that looks ***y but moos like a cow

5. i would never buy an effects processor straight away, in my opinion its better to save that money to pay a little more on the guitar and to get a decent 10-15W amp that has the built in overdrive. A cheap amp sucks no matter what the W rating is, get a decent make, again like the guitars the brand of the amp also matters a Fender amp will give a different style of sound than the Marshall amps. In my opinions of the effects processor you should buy that once you know how to handle the six strings and 22odd frets first --> learn the guitar then get the effects.

Thats my opinions, I'll be honest and say that I know my Fender's more than any other guitar as I knew I was going to buy a Fender since i love Blues and Classic Rock but I did try other guitars such as Ibanez, Yamaha and Gibson before finally deciding that it was a Fender.

i'll post up some info on Fender guitars a little later such as their costs and which brands are available and why they are better than the Fender brand below it etc. Maybe if some of the experienced guitarists here may want to post a little something about their fav brands? Or the approach they recommend in buying their guitar/equipment.

Nice guide, especially the electric category. I'll put up something on ibanez soon.

Here's the approach I would recommend for a complete beginner to get a guitar:

1. GET AN ACOUSTIC FIRST!
Pretty soon, you could be playing in stage with heavy distortion and making your guitar scream and cry, but you must begin with an acoustic. Its easy for an efficient acoustic player to play electric but its difficult for someone who always plays electric to be able to adjust to acoustic. So, if you start of with an electric, chances are, you might not be able to play an acoustic very well..

Also there are some techniques which must be acquired slowly. And acoustics help these. For example, to get to know the sound of each note, to be able to tune your guitar, strumming. I would say that its better if you start with an acoustic guitar.

2. Your first guitar.
Presuming you take my advice to buy an acoustic, it does not need to be a $800 Gibson, neither should it be a Rs. 500 (approx US$10) second hand givson notice the stress on "v"). You should have a decent model, which need not be very expensive as there is no saying whether you continue playing your guitar or like the majority just learn for a few months, and then play a few songs here and there for a while and then forget about it.

At this point, you should know whether you'd be going for classes at a music school or private lessons from someone or just learning from the net. Most music schools recommend specific guitars. I would suggest you to take their recommendations (or that of your guitar teacher) as they are the ones who will be teaching you.

3. When to buy
Your first visit need not be the one when you purchase the guitar. A few things you need to make sure before you buy a guitar...
a) You wouldn't prefer any other instrument. I've seen many people who buy a guitar first but continue with keyboard or some other instrument. So make sure you've tried out a variety of instruments and only then you have decided on a guitar.
b) Make sure you go to a reputed store to buy it. Most small and little known stores who claim to sell you guitars at "cheaper" rates do not sell quality products. I know this from a personal experience in New Delhi.
c) Make sure you are buying the right guitar. If you want to play western classical, get a classical guitar. If you want to play flamenco music, get a flamenco guitar (preferably an Admira). If you want to play Indian classical music, I would suggest a hawaiin lap guitar.
d) Go with some experienced person, say your music teacher, a friend or anyone who has a basic knowledge of guitars. He will know which guitars are good and which are not.

4. A Small Step
when you feel you are quite used to your guitar and want to progress to the next step, get an electric. Remember, you MUST have a good electric guitar. If you have a big budget, you can first buy a cheaper model until you know what sort of guitar would suit you. If not, then wait until you save enough to buy a really good model. And a good amp, as well. Do not worry about distortion and effects at this point. In fact, I would recommend you to not buy effects at first as most effects tend to drown out any mistaken note which you might play and this may hinder your learning process. Of course, a metronome is very handy. And good strings and picks as well. Picks should be used according to your individual preference.

5. The Giant Leap
If you bought a cheaper beginner's guitar, and now you feel you are a good enough guitarist, you should get a good electric guitar which suits your type of music. Look at rabi's advice about this. Also, get a decent effects processor. There are many processors out there which may suit your needs. Just follow the same pattern of approach as you did before buying your acoustic. And make sure you get it tried in the store before you buy it.

6. A Final Word
Don't forget that no matter how good or bad your guitar is, the quality of sound will always depend on your strings. If you use good strings and change them often, then even a poor quality guitar like Givson (notice the "v" again) will sound quite good with the proper effects. This is also a personal experience of mine. I used Givson GS1000, with ernie ball extra slinky strings, marshall amps and Korg AX100G processor when my school band won a couple of inter school competitions against people who used ibanez and fender (but I guess that was basically due to our good song selection and our opponents poor song selections). And remember to practice hard. It is said that only if you play 4 hours every day, then in ten years you'll become an average guitarist. I guess thats an exaggeration, but only a slight one.

sssiiiigggggghhhh......... :(...... wish sumone had told me these things wen i had bought my first guitar (yes ... its a givson...i mean its ok ... for a beginner like me...)but still compared to the tone of sum other guitars it def. is a let down....
but me will definitely keep these things in mind wen i buy me next guitar..... thnxxxx essi n rabi....i'm sure this post will help loaaddssssaaaaa ppl..... keep up the gud work,,,,, .........

truly a great guide. thx rabi & essi.

EDIT: Added information regarding Cyclone2 and Mustang

ok i'll run down some of the Fenders. but before I start I'll add that Fender have an excellent club where there are lessons etc available http://www.fenderplayersclub.com/

(im going to state the obvious here :p) Fender is a guitar manufacturing company (well ok they make violins and amps as well but its basically guitars) that produces both acoustic, electric and bass guitars. Lets ignore their acoustic range and their bass range and concentrate on the electric guitars.

Available are these following guitar models:
Cyclone
Jag-Stang
Jaguar
Jazzmaster
Mustang * may not be produced anymore
Showmaster
Stratocaster
Telecaster
Tornado

bascially for more information check out Fender but I will list what I know about these models. But before I do lets consider the grades available within these models.

These grades are basically:
Custom Shop
Artist Series
USA Special
USA Vintage/Deluxe
USA Series
(Californian) Highway 1
Mexican Classic/Deluxe
Mexican Standard

now you may have heard of the Fender Squire, lets put things straight here. The Squire is a company located in Korea that builds under license from Fender, this means that the guitar is built on a Fender spec but not of Fender quality!! In regards to Fender Japan they build their own guitars and are basically slightly better than the Mexican versions from what I have heard, I myself have no experience on the Japanese guitars.

Lets start reviewing the models

Originally Posted by Jag-Stang

Perfect for the Nirvana and Grunge sounds.

Well it should be good for that sound as the guitar was built by Fender Japan (only by them) under the design of Kurt Cobain who made this by fusing together the Fender Jaguar and the Fender Mustang. This guitar is available around the world but it is not as popular as any of the other main Fender models and probably was the reason why it was not produced by Fender USA. Retails approximately around £350-450

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Used a lot by the new Punk bands, in particular Green Day. Was also used by Nirvana.

Not a brand new guitar but Green Day use this guitar to play most of their songs, especially their early ones. It is a hyped up version of the Jazzmaster mainly used by the bands out in California, or so what I have been told. Haven't played it and retails around the same as the Jazzmaster. It is available in the Fender USA and Fender Mexican models.

Originally Posted by Jazzmaster

This is all about Jazz guitars

An old guitar based in the 50s and mainly used by Jazz guitarists, hence the name. Have played it briefly and has a very soft and sort of muffled sound that comes from it, certainly not the sharp sounds that come from the Telecaster or the Stratocaster, but nonetheless a very good guitar for rhythm and Jazz playing. Available in the Fender USA and Fender Mexican models

Originally Posted by Stratocaster/Telecaster

The stratocaster(Hendrix/Clapton) and the telecaster(Rolling Stones) are the two most popular models that makes up the Fender Collection.

Both were designed and built in the 50s. The Strat provides a larger variation in sound due to the 3 pickups and the 5 way selector switch but it doesn' replicate the sound the Telecaster makes. The telecaster is a firm favourite by any guitarists that play Jazz and Rock. This compared to the Stratocaster which is the prime guitar for the Blues and Rock. Having said that some musicians have used the Telecaster as a Blues guitar to great effect while others have done the same for the Strat in Jazz music. Due to their greater twang and crispier sound which most other guitarists would call a dirty metallic twang these are perfect for lead playing in Blues and Jazz music. These guitars have also been used in rock music to great affect, Hendrix, Clapton, Rolling Stones have all used both these guitars. These are available in different grades ranging from the Fender USA, Fender Mexican and Fender Squier.

One thing of interest is that the Japanese built Strats feature smaller frets than their USA and Mexican counterparts.

Originally Posted by Cyclone2

I thought this guitar was pretty good, you get a feeling of the Jaguar and the Strat with this.

And to be honest I think thats what it tries to be a fuse between the Strat setup of the bridge, the Jaguar sounding pickups and the Mustang style body, its a sort of guitar that people will like or hate imo. I played the Cyclone 2 which is different from the Cyclone. The neat thing is the individual on/off switch for each pickup which is easy to understand and simple to use. This guitar is only available in Rosewood and has a flashy paint scheme with the two white stripes at the bottom left of the guitar. I liked the guitar and would put it as the third best Fender model that I have played, but not a close third a distant third.

Originally Posted by Mustang

Just where the hell was this guitar when i was buying my Fender Strat and worse I think Fender have stopped building this

I played a classic 1968 relic and it was one of the best guitars i have ever played. But be warned the sound generated from this guitar is very crisp and very sharp so metal fans will loathe this guitar. well metal fans in general will loathe Fender. Anyway back to this guitar, it has two pickups and four settings where each individual pickup can have three settings where the middle means off. The settings can be the bridge on only, neck on only, bridge and neck both on and in phase or bridge and neck both on but out of phase. Anything punk, blues or early rock (60s/70s) and this is the guitar that will make people decide between this a Strat and a Tele. One other great thing about this guitar is near the bridge, this is the only Fender that has this and thats a hand rest, yes a hand rest!! Its basically a rollbar that sits above the six strings where you can rest your hand in order to play. Nirvana's Kurt Cobain based many of his custom collaboration and designs around this powerful guitar.

Originally Posted by Showmaster/Tornado/etc

if anyone knows about these models then post up because i have never seen these

Great stuff guys.. I would love to add to thuis.. But i have addressed this in a Tips to buy new stuff guide..

yo people..am almost sure abt getting an american epiphone Les Paul standard ebony finish..in which i am most probly gonna get erny ball slinkies...and hopefully SD Alnico II pros( hopefully coz u dont get those suckers in furtados...and they cost $80 a piece).....i play mostly GNR and basically anything under the sun which i like..from oasis to U2 to beatles..so ur comments people....abt the korean LP it stays...

GNR and Les Pauls.. .Cool combination i must say,, Are you gonna sell your ole LP.. I'll buy it ..

Gibsons/Eipiphone's are the best for Hard Rock and Brit Rock and Indy music.

thanx...peeps
@jay LP stays....was a gift

Ok Cool.. I would only suggest JACKSON for MEtal.. (I own one)..

wot about Ibanez for Metal? I thought they would be good for that?

Ibanez is kind of all rounder.. Not a pure Metal.. We at Jackson Users prefer a guitar meant for METAL.. Check out any good band they use Jackson.. Dimmu Borgir, Megadeth, For Some time Metallica, COB, Iron Maiden's Adrian Smith, Ozzy's Randy Rhoads, etc etc ..

Ibanez is excellent for lead playing in most metal genres, especially melodic, speed and power metal. But not all Ibanez are good. If you are going to buy an Ibanez, better buy a top quality one.