Monday, 10 December 2007
Monday, 3 December 2007
Buying Your First Guitar (2)
You're in the guitar shop. What are you looking at?
The average guitar store will have rows of guitars hanging on the walls. Usually they will be grouped in all acoustic, all electrics and possibly, basses.
Let's say you have decided that a steel strung acoustic is going to suit the type of music that you most want to play. OK! that narrows your choice. You can ignore all the electrics and all the nylon strung "classical" guitars.
What you will now be confronted with is a range of guitars that all look superficially the same. However, they are NOT all the same!
The shape of the body, the type of wood and the construction of both the parts you can see - body, neck/fingerboard, bridge and headstock/tuners etc - as well as the parts you CAN'T see - internal bracing, neck to body joint etc - will all have a bearing on both the playability and sound of the instrument, as well as the price!!
Price will probably be the next thing that narrows your choice! So, you have now got a range of guitars from your maximum possible price, down to the cheapest in the shop!
Physical size (both YOU and the instrument!) is also going to come into play in your decision making process.
(I am assuming, for the purposes of this exercise, that you are an adult. For small children, who are not yet fully developed, you are likely to be looking at an instrument that is both 3/4 size and nylon strung.)
Most of the steel strung acoustic guitars manufactured today are based on the size and shape range established by the Martin guitar company over it's long history. Therefore the guitars you are looking at will, in all likelihood be based on the following styles:- 00, 000, J = Jumbo, and D = Dreadnought. Go to http://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/choosing/sizes to see diagrams and descriptions of these styles and sizes.
At this point you will be wanting to actually get your hands on a guitar!
TIP! Ask the store assistant to get the guitar(s) you are interested in off the wall! Don't just take them down without asking! You will want the staff in the store to be interested and helpful, so don't take the risk of damaging their stock!
If the guitar store doesn't have a soundproof demo room, get your friendly assistant to take your possible choices to a quiet corner and sit down and see how they each feel physically, ie:-
Does it feel comfortable to get your arm round, or does it feel too big and cumbersome for you? Does it balance well when resting on your leg, or does the headstock end tend to want to sink towards the floor? Can you press the strings down to the frets up and down the fingerboard without having to use undue pressure?
At this point you might want to put one or more of your preliminary choices to one side if they don't pass these "comfort " tests.
Now, assuming you haven't got a guitar playing friend with you, ask the assistant to tune up the guitars that remain as possibles and play some simple chords and single string runs. You do want to avoid, if possible, having him/her tearing into their favourite "flash" licks! What you want to hear is what each instrument will sound like once YOU have started to play it!
Ask the assistant to describe each guitar as you listen to it. What woods are used in it's construction, are they solid or laminated? How is the the neck joined to the body? Dovetail joint? Mortise & Tenon? Or, horror of horrors, Bolt On?
You will gradually, and this will take a bit of time, begin to hear the difference in tone - is it brash and treble dominated or more mellow etc. - and sustain - ie. how long the note "rings" for - between solid and laminated woods, rosewood & mahogany (this is much more subtle) and all the other variants that have been developed by the individual luthier or manufacturer.
It is worth bearing in mind that a higher price, name on the headstock, or country of manufacture, isn't ALWAYS going to give you the best instrument for YOUR particular needs. It is a useful exercise to turn your back whilst each guitar is played - chosen at random from your selection - and choose with your ears only!
Finally - for this post anyway -, do not allow the staff or other, more experienced guitarists, to intimidate you. Ask all the questions, get all the answers and make up your OWN mind! If the staff are not friendly, helpful and enthusiastic, go elsewhere! It's your money and your guitar playing pleasure for many years to come that's important.
Lots more info and tips soon.
The average guitar store will have rows of guitars hanging on the walls. Usually they will be grouped in all acoustic, all electrics and possibly, basses.
Let's say you have decided that a steel strung acoustic is going to suit the type of music that you most want to play. OK! that narrows your choice. You can ignore all the electrics and all the nylon strung "classical" guitars.
What you will now be confronted with is a range of guitars that all look superficially the same. However, they are NOT all the same!
The shape of the body, the type of wood and the construction of both the parts you can see - body, neck/fingerboard, bridge and headstock/tuners etc - as well as the parts you CAN'T see - internal bracing, neck to body joint etc - will all have a bearing on both the playability and sound of the instrument, as well as the price!!
Price will probably be the next thing that narrows your choice! So, you have now got a range of guitars from your maximum possible price, down to the cheapest in the shop!
Physical size (both YOU and the instrument!) is also going to come into play in your decision making process.
(I am assuming, for the purposes of this exercise, that you are an adult. For small children, who are not yet fully developed, you are likely to be looking at an instrument that is both 3/4 size and nylon strung.)
Most of the steel strung acoustic guitars manufactured today are based on the size and shape range established by the Martin guitar company over it's long history. Therefore the guitars you are looking at will, in all likelihood be based on the following styles:- 00, 000, J = Jumbo, and D = Dreadnought. Go to http://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/choosing/sizes to see diagrams and descriptions of these styles and sizes.
At this point you will be wanting to actually get your hands on a guitar!
TIP! Ask the store assistant to get the guitar(s) you are interested in off the wall! Don't just take them down without asking! You will want the staff in the store to be interested and helpful, so don't take the risk of damaging their stock!
If the guitar store doesn't have a soundproof demo room, get your friendly assistant to take your possible choices to a quiet corner and sit down and see how they each feel physically, ie:-
Does it feel comfortable to get your arm round, or does it feel too big and cumbersome for you? Does it balance well when resting on your leg, or does the headstock end tend to want to sink towards the floor? Can you press the strings down to the frets up and down the fingerboard without having to use undue pressure?
At this point you might want to put one or more of your preliminary choices to one side if they don't pass these "comfort " tests.
Now, assuming you haven't got a guitar playing friend with you, ask the assistant to tune up the guitars that remain as possibles and play some simple chords and single string runs. You do want to avoid, if possible, having him/her tearing into their favourite "flash" licks! What you want to hear is what each instrument will sound like once YOU have started to play it!
Ask the assistant to describe each guitar as you listen to it. What woods are used in it's construction, are they solid or laminated? How is the the neck joined to the body? Dovetail joint? Mortise & Tenon? Or, horror of horrors, Bolt On?
You will gradually, and this will take a bit of time, begin to hear the difference in tone - is it brash and treble dominated or more mellow etc. - and sustain - ie. how long the note "rings" for - between solid and laminated woods, rosewood & mahogany (this is much more subtle) and all the other variants that have been developed by the individual luthier or manufacturer.
It is worth bearing in mind that a higher price, name on the headstock, or country of manufacture, isn't ALWAYS going to give you the best instrument for YOUR particular needs. It is a useful exercise to turn your back whilst each guitar is played - chosen at random from your selection - and choose with your ears only!
Finally - for this post anyway -, do not allow the staff or other, more experienced guitarists, to intimidate you. Ask all the questions, get all the answers and make up your OWN mind! If the staff are not friendly, helpful and enthusiastic, go elsewhere! It's your money and your guitar playing pleasure for many years to come that's important.
Lots more info and tips soon.
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