This post is about how to buy a guitar for beginners. Guitars are unique from other musical instruments. It is not like a keyboard when all are identical for a certain model.
If you compare guitars of the same brand and model, sometimes you will notice differences. Some may be more resonant than others. It could also be that the feel on one is different than the others regarding playability.
Taking these points into consideration when buying a guitar, it is not that easy to pick a brand new guitar from a showroom and more so if you are buying a used guitar. It is always a good to have somebody who knows about guitar to be with you. If it is not possible, then these are the points worth considering.
Let’s take up brand new guitar first.
Acoustic
- Check for the neck. If it is warped or twisted, do not buy. ( you can check the neck by viewing the fretboard from the rear, meaning from the bridge. It is okay for some bend towards the strings but not too much. This thing is called neck relief, and good for playability. Place a guitar capo between the nut and the first fret wire and hold the biggest string on the last fret and check for gap between the string and the top of the ninth fret wire. A gap about the size of the big string is acceptable.
- Check if there is a truss rod adjustment screw. Look inside the sound hole and towards the neck and you should see an Allen Screw for truss rod adjustment. If there is no adjustment screw, you are at the mercy of your environment. Wood contracts and expands on temperature changes plus there is humidity. Once your neck moves, you have no way of compensating. Most new guitars have this though, but old ones do not truss rod adjustment screws. I recommend you do not buy if there is no adjustment screw.
- Press all strings on every space between frets one by one to check for fret buzz. If there is a buzzing sound when you hit the string, do not buy. If can be fixed but it will cost you money.
- Tap on the body of the guitar on the sides and back to check for rattles. If there is a rattling sound, do not buy.
- Ask for two or more guitars of the same model. Believe me; one would feel and sound different from the others. Select the one you like.
Electric
- Check for the neck. If it is warped or twisted, do not buy. ( you can check the neck by viewing the fretboard from the rear, meaning from the bridge. It is okay for some bend towards the strings but not too much. This thing is called neck relief, and good for playability. Place a guitar capo between the nut and the first fret and hold the biggest string on the last fret and check for gap between the string and the top of the ninth fret. A gap about the size of the big string is acceptable.
- Press all strings on every space between frets one by one to check for fret buzz. If there is a buzzing sound when you hit the string, do not buy. If can be fixed but it will cost you money.
- Ask for two or more guitars of the same model. Believe me; one would feel and sound different from the others. Select the one you like.
- Check all guitars unplugged, and select the one which is more resonant when you play it. It will be louder than the rest. Plug that guitar to an amplifier, and if it sounds better plugged than the rest, then that’s your pick.
- Check for guitar hum when you plug a guitar to an amplifier. If there is a hum on a clean channel and it will vanish when you touch any metal part of the guitar, it means the guitar has no proper grounding or insulation. Be aware that single coil guitars like Fender Stratocasters will hum when you apply distortion. This issue is inherent to single coils, and this is normal.
Buying Used Guitars.
Now let’s go to the most challenging part which is buying a used guitar. It would be roughly the same as above except you cannot have a comparison between same guitars models. I would rather buy a well-used guitar from a musician than a used guitar from a beginner.
The point is, the musician’s guitar is always set up plus it is well used thereby the neck has been lubricated well. Oil in the human hands is a good lubricant for the neck. Musician’s use fretboard conditioners and cleans their instruments as they are passionate about it. Be wary, though, if it is a guitar from a musician with all gunk on the fretboard, then don’t consider that guy a musician. He is worse than a beginner.
On the other hand, the beginner’s guitar would usually be in the corner most of the time and barely used. The neck wood could be dry because of neglect. There are some points to consider, though. If that guitar came out of the showroom in less than six months or so, that is worth considering because it could be cheaper. You can usually get a bargain from beginners, but not from musicians.
Remember you cannot buy a cheaper guitar from a musician because they know the price of their guitars. You should use your judgment. If you see rust or any sign of corrosion on any guitar, run.
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Your friend,
Den
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Great page and great niche! It is very informative overall. Thank you very much for the detailed information about how to buy guitar for beginners. This is a very good guitar buyers guide for beginners and I can use this and other guys wanting to buy their first guitar.
Hi,
Somebody has to guide the beginners to buy their first guitar. I wrote this post for the sole purpose of guiding them.
Thanks for the comments,
Den
Totally true. I bought a guitar once without playing it, just because it looked shiny and boy did I regret. You should definitely play your guitar before taking out cash from your pocket. Some guitars have more bass than others and other things like harmonics are also important to look out for, that’s if you use them a lot like I do.
Wish I had found this before buying my first guitar.
Hi Leslie,
You should try the guitar before you buy. Same model guitars will not sound and feel the same. I agree with you about acoustics. Some have more bass than others.
Thanks for the comments,
Den