05 October 2009

Choosing The Right Guitar For You

By Tom Sears

So, you've made the decision to take up learning the guitar. Congratulations, you're now at the beginning of a fun and rewarding journey.

Now, one of the most important things to decide before you begin is what kind of guitar should you get? Well, it all depends on the type of music you want to play. Do you prefer rock, country, funk, metal, etc.? Whichever type of music you prefer, there's pretty much a range of guitars to suit it.

So for example, if you enjoy listening to harder rock, like metal, then buying an electric guitar by such companies as Ibanez, Washburn or Jackson would be ideal. Or, if you like softer rock, a better choice would be a Gibson, Yamaha or Fender guitar.

The best piece of advice I can give you is to go into a guitar store and simply try some out. This is because your final decision should be based on the look and feel of a guitar, not just the company it's made by.

Many players stick to one make or model of guitar simply because it's their favourite in terms of look, feel and sound. In fact, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, two of the greatest guitar players of all time, played Fender Stratocasters almost exclusively. Slash from Guns n Roses plays a Gibson Les Paul, as does Jimmy Page. A good tip is to look at what type of guitar your favourite guitar players use and look for similar ones whilst at the store.

Another piece of advice is to look out for and ask the store employees about the 'action' of any guitars that interest you. This is the space between the strings and the neck, so the higher the action the harder you have to press down on the string and ultimately the harder it is to play.

Unfortunately many guitars are made without the correct care and attention these days and many make it into stores with terribly high action. Should you get one like this, it's quite possible that playing will hurt your fingers so much that you'll feel like giving up after a couple of weeks. Simply ask the the assistant in the store to check the action for you and you can't go far wrong.

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