Buying your first Guitar
Author: David Hines Date Posted:29 April 2014
Some good advice on buying your first instrument
Buying your first guitar can be a confusing expereience. Here are some tips to help you make sense of it all!
Acoustic or Electric?
This will really depend on what style of music you are going to be playing. Generally speaking you will need an acoustic for folk, country or similar and an electric for rock, metal, pop etc. However, the lines do get a little blurred so have a chat to us about your needs. Of course, an electric guitar will require an amplifier whereas with an acoustic guitar you can play it anywhere, anytime!
Nylon String or Steel?
This really does confuse a lot of first time players! Nylon String guitars are basically Classical guitars, with soft nylon strings and a wide, flat fingerboard. They are good for beginners because the strings are a lot softer on the fingers and the wide neck makes it easy to place your fingers. The sound is quite soft and delicate. By comparison, a steel string guitar has all metal strings which give a brighter louder sound more suited to modern music but require a little time to get used to. It is important to note that you cannot put steel strings on a nylon string guitar, as the neck is not re-inforced in the way that a steel string guitar is.
Guitar Packs
These are a great way to get started, as the pack will contain everything you need. A standard Acoustic Guitar pack gets you the guitar, a soft case, strap and spare strings. By buying a premade pack you will be saving considerably on purchashing all these items individually.
