Choosing Your First Guitar
People love variety.
Odds are, you’ve checked out your local guitar store of choice, and marveled at the wide selection of guitars. They’ve got big ones, small ones, colorful ones, black ones, pointy ones, round ones, and everything in between. Some have 2 knobs, some have 4; some have 6 strings, and some can even have 8!
With so many options, where to begin? What is important and what can be disregarded for the time being? Luckily, figuring out which one to take home with you can be made relatively easy.
If you are just starting out, simplicity is the name of the game. Having too many bells and whistles on a guitar can easily inflate the price with extra options that you simply won’t have a use for starting out. Therefore, there are a few basic guidelines I would recommend following to make your first-time-buying experience as smooth and pain-free as possible.
Stick to the 6-string. 98% of beginner music is going to be centered around having the 6 standard strings available, and no more. Can you play beginner music on a 7-string? Absolutely! But remember, starting out, your job is to learn how to navigate the guitar effectively, and adding extra strings means adding extra complication (both when it comes to reading music/tabs, or when watching and learning from someone and translating that into your own actual guitar skills.)
The less knobs and levers, the better. In the beginning, all you need is a single volume knob. Being able to change the volume on the guitar, without reaching for the amp everything, will carry you far when starting on your guitar journey. You can have tone knobs, pickup selector switches, and all kinds of other fancy bits, but they won’t do you any good until you can play some actual music!
Which guitar do you want to play? Grab them off the wall! Playtest them! Which one is comfortable for you? Which one isn’t extra heavy for you? Which one just flat out looks the best to you?
Now, in the end, this is all just theory. Starting out, you likely won’t find a single knob, single pickup, super light, super comfortable guitar that looks outstanding, meets your every need, and is within your price range. The point here is that you can find an excellent guitar that looks great and is simple to play. That is what makes it as easy as possible for you to be enthusiastic about picking up your guitar and playing it.
Don’t worry about what people believe is a perfect guitar, find the guitar that is perfect for YOU!
Play Loud. Be Heard.
Gavin F. Haley
Headmaster
Apex Guitar Institute
