GUITAR BUYING GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS

Guitar Buying Guide For Beginners

Guitar Buying Guide For Beginners
New to Guitar? There are 1000s of guitars out there so it can be a little overwhelming on what to pick for your first guitar. 

We have all been there, but there are things to look for to make the best choice guitar and feel confident in your purchase. 

We're going to give you some tips and pointers on what to look out for in buying your first guitar~
*If you're looking for great guitar suggestions, we suggest you check out our picks for the best beginner electric guitars, best multi effects pedals, and our list of preferred small guitar amps for gigs.
Guitar Buying Guide For Beginners

What To Look For When Buying a Beginner Guitar ~

1. Acoustic or Electric Guitar

First and foremost - you should have an idea on whether you want to go electric or acoustic guitar for your choice.

Now, this is probably an easy choice, but sometimes it's good to factor where you will be playing, your music style interest and your surroundings. 

If you're leaning toward a folk-country style, you might want an acoustic or acoustic-electric while you would want an electric if you would like to play rock or metal.

Typically, you would want an electric guitar if you're playing in a band as it becomes more difficult to play an acoustic over a drummer. *Acoustic Pickups are getting better every day, but for the sake of this article lets stick to guitars.

Your environment could be a big factor as well starting out as you might live in an apartment and can't necessarily play an electric because you might create tension with your neighbors or your family. 

Also, buying an electric you have to factor in that you have to purchase an amplifier as well so that an extra cost you have to consider, otherwise you will hear more of the strumming sound of the strings rather than what you are playing.
beginner acoustic and electric guitars

2. Guitar Body Style

Once you choose whether you wish to go for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar, you want to have a good sense of how to choose an electric guitar or acoustic guitar body style you want to go for. There are few, so let's go through it:

ELECTRIC GUITARS

Fender Stratocaster (Amazon)

Solid Body Guitars

Solid Body Guitars are workhorse guitars. They can be abused alot more than all the other types of guitar bodies. If you are looking to throw your guitar around alot or you are considered 'heavy-handed' and not-as-careful, this type of guitar is probably for you. These guitars are mainly used in Rock and Metal Genres, but because of their durability, all genres use these.
Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster
Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster (Amazon)

Semi-Hollow Body Guitars

Semi-Hollow Bodies are close to Solid Bodies but there are a few differences. There are cutouts in the body, and they typically look like an 'F' hole - these cutouts give the guitar sound a more 'airy' quality to the sound, and the notes tend to vibrate off each other. They do have less sustain compared to Solid Body Guitars. These are durable guitars as well so most genres use these as well.
Gretsch G5420T Electromatic
Gretsch G5420T Electromatic (Amazon)

Hollow Body Guitars

Hollowbody Guitars (sometimes referred to as Archtop Guitars) is just what the name sounds like - the body of these guitars are hollow. These guitars can add alot of character to your guitar playing because the notes reverberate off each other. Sometimes it can be a little too much if you're playing with a full band in which you have to place your hand on the strings to tame the sound. These kinds of guitars are typically used in jazz and rockabilly music.

ACOUSTIC GUITARS

Martin Road Series DRS1
Martin Road Series DRS1 (Amazon)

Standard Acoustic Guitars

This is your everyday acoustic you see everywhere. Acoustic guitars are great for playing anywhere with ease - all you have to do is pick it up and play. Acoustic guitars are typically played in folk and country genres.
Epiphone Hummingbird Pro
Epiphone Hummingbird Pro (Amazon)

Electric Acoustic Guitars

Electric Acoustic Guitars give you more freedom than standard acoustic guitars as they already have a pickup built-in so you can plug into an amp or pa and jam with others at a much louder volume. A good thing to do is check out some videos on the particular electric-acoustic guitar you're interested in to hear how it sounds plugged in because some of these have an unrealistic acoustic sound quality to them (imagine a cheap keyboard mimicking a piano).
Yamaha CG142S
Yamaha CG142S (Amazon)

Classical Guitars

Last but not least - Classical Guitars use nylon strings - Nylon strings are great because they don't break NEARLY as much as electric strings. Most folk and world music genres use these guitars. Classical guitars are typically very light in weight. I really like these for writing and working out songs as the sound of these pulls you away from the guitar sound and helps you focus on the songwriting.

3. Guitar Features

You want to have a general idea on what kind of features you're looking for. 

If you're looking for an electric guitar, you might look for a:
  • Whammy Bar - A metal rod on the bridge that bends the note(s) up or down a step. There are typically 2 different types of whammy bars ~
    • Standard Whammy Bar - Cheaper and can easily take off but takes more work to use smoothly
    • Bigsby Whammy Bar - Much more expensive and attached to the guitar, but has a great feel and smooth play
  • Tone Knobs - Some like the simplicity of only using 1 tonal knob while others like more defined tonal guitar control
  • Tone Switch - A switch on the guitar that easily moves from one pickup to other (or combines pickups)
  • Volume Knobs - Some guitars have only 1 master volume knob while others have volume knobs for each pickup for more control

4. Guitar Design

Guitar Design ties into the Guitar Body Style but is much more specific on what specific look do you like, or even brand as some lean toward specific brands as they know they build more quality guitars. There are a few general designs that most guitar brands make including:
  • Stratocasters
  • Telecasters
  • Les Paul
  • Thinline
  • Mustang
  • Firebird
  • Jazzmaster
  • SG
  • Flying V
  • and many more
guitar designs

5. Guitar Weight

Now we're getting into the picky-specifics - So guitar weight should be considered as there are many heavy guitars which wear on your neck when practicing hours. Also, light guitars are usually made from cheaper wood and not as durable which could break alot easier. You probably want to go for a decent middleweight - which would be around 7 lbs.  You can search for the weight of most guitars on Google. 

6. Size of Guitar

The size of guitar bodies varies quite a bit. Some people like bulky guitars while others appreciate smaller bodies. The typical length of a guitar is 41". If you or the one you are buying a guitar for has difficulties or strains while playing, you might want to consider a 3/4 size or 1/2 size guitar as comfortability is a key to playing well.

7. Guitar Pickups

Regarding Electric Guitars (and acoustic-electric guitars), guitar pickups tie in with features and design - but you might want to consider what kind of pickups are on the various types of that particular guitar design. Stock pickups can be decent on most guitars, but most designs of a guitar actually have several different setups including different stock pickups. Most guitars online will state the pickups, and you can hear how each guitar sounds through videos online or at a local music store.
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