Classic, Electric Or Acoustic
Classic, Electric Or Acoustic
Classic, Electric Or Acoustic
Acoustic, Classical, or Electric?
You can find3primaryvarieties of guitars, as well as thekind you pick will depend on the style of music you want to play.
Acoustic and Classical guitars look prettysimilar, but they feel and sound different. Acoustic guitar strings are produced of steel, and create a big, bright, brash tone. Classical strings are nylon, and sound mellow. Mellifluous. Muted, even. For those whodesire to play acoustic rock, or sound like Bob Dylan or Neil Young or Jack Johnson, you most likely want an acoustic guitar. If all of the songs inside your iPods playlist have Italian names, or youre Sergeant of Arms inside the Andres Segovia Fan Club, youll want a classical guitar. Youll also want a diverse guitar teacherCmy classical music education is limited to dancing to my moms Peter as well as the Wolf record when I was 8. OK, maybe 28.
Also, acoustic guitar necks are narrower and longer than classical guitar necks. This means that its a bitless difficult to fingerpick on a classical guitar (those strings arent as crowded), and simpler to fret some typical folk/rock chords on the acoustic.
Electric guitars come in two main flavors, depending on the kind of pickups they've. Pickups are like microphones that "pick up" string vibrations. Theyre the lipstick- or matchbox-shaped things under the strings within theregion where you strum the guitar. You coulddesire topick a guitar that has pickups that match your style of music. Or decide on the guitar with the palm trees painted on the front. Whatever.
Single-coil pickups are the narrow, lipstick-shaped pickups. They tend to have a brighter tone, and are usuallyregarded as to be the best-sounding pickups for clean (un-distorted) guitar playing. Theyre also sort of noisy, specially if youre near a laptop or computer monitor or light fixture, or when youre making use ofa great deal of distortion. Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters (and their less expensive cousins, created by Squier) typically have single-coil pickups. Most of my beginning electric guitar students purchase $150 Squier Stratocasters, but for those who can afford $300, the Fender Stratocasters sound a whole lotbetter and dont fall apart in two years.
Humbuckers are the matchbox-shaped pickups. They got their name (its trademarked, in fact) mainly because they "bucked the hum" that single-coil pickups were susceptible to. Humbuckers sound great with distortion, so theyre the pickups of selection for the tough rockers. Most Gibson (and theless expensive Epiphone) guitars have humbuckers.
Have a look at my electric guitar comparison chart.
What about size?
Getting a guitar is like shopping for a coatCyoull want one that fits your body type. Guitars which are too largereally feel awkward whenever you drape your strumming/picking arm over the top of the body. Guitars which are too little make you feel like Don Ho.
Littleindividualsrequiresmall guitars, so there are actually 1/2 and 3/4 sized guitars for youngsters.
Ask a salesperson to help youdetermine if your guitar fits.
What about color? Its much better to look great than to sound great, correct?
Looks are crucial to most people, myself included. I want my guitars to entice me to play them. They musta minimum of look as appealing as whatevers on Television.
Youngsters are specifically concerned with looks, and I believe thats fine. Luckily, guitars with blue paint jobs or bodies shaped like skulls arent necessarily additionalcostly, so if youre shopping for a child, encourage them to pick a guitar that they feel looks cool. Just ensure they like the sound of it, too.
Just how muchwill need to I invest?
Additionalexpensive guitars have better tone, are simpler to play, and are additional durable. Even so, I bought my first guitar, a Japanese-made Fender Stratocaster, for $250 in 1983, and it held together, additional or much less, by means of two years of high school and five years of college. It even survived my brief flirtation with electronics tinkering, when I utilized my dads 100-watt soldering iron to install a new pickup. When the smoke finally cleared, half the electronics were melted, but that guitar held on.
If youre shopping for a child, Id recommendobtaining a guitar within the $150 to $300 range. They wont have the ability to hear significantlydifference in tone, and by the time the guitar wears out, theyll have saved their paper route income (do children even do paper routes anymore?) for a nicer 1. Keep in mind that if youre getting an electric guitar, youll also will need a practice amplifier ($100), cable ($15), and strap ($20).
If youre shopping for yourself, follow your instincts. If youre in really like with that $2000 Martin shining inside the store window, and can afford it, heck, you can find worse methods tospend your funds. Playing a really nice guitar can be inspiring.
But if youre on a budget like many people, discover a guitar in the $250-$500 range that looks beneficial and feels excellent.
Check out my electric guitar comparison chart.
How low-cost is too affordable?
Dont buy a guitar whose strings are high above the fretboard. This condition, called high "action," is usually correlated with other conditions, like "Carpel Tunnel Syndrome" and "Guitar Homicidal Tendency". Affordableused acoustic guitars often have high action. If youre a total beginner shopping for a screaming deal on a utilized acoustic, ask a salesperson to uncover you one with great action.
Where can I purchase my guitar in Seattle?
Tip:
Keep in mind to ask, "What price can you give me for this?" Music instruments are virtuallyusually marked high.
Acoustic Guitar Stores
Dusty Strings Duck into a doorway on a busy sidewalk within the heart of Fremont, and descend a flight of stairs into a vast underground acoustic instrument smorgasbord! Pluck "Mary Had a little Lamb" on 1 of the $15000 harps! Play "Stairway" on a $5000 Martin! Youll neverwant to leave.
Dusty Strings also has moderately priced guitars, along with a friendly, knowledgeable staff, but in general, youll pay a bit more for guitars here.
Guitar Emporium Funky small acoustic guitar shop in old Ballard. Robb, the proprietor, is a nice guy and always eager to talk shop. Very good mix of used and new guitars beginning around $350. I got a fantastic deal on a 1978 Alvarez here. Its meant to be my beach guitar, but I like it so significantly I dont wish to bang it up!
Acoustic and Electric Guitar Stores
American Music These are the people I go to for strings, tuners, cables, etc. Theyve got a wide selection, but they still have a small-shop really feel. Located in Fremont.
Trading Musician Employed equipment galore! If youre looking for a cheapemployed guitar, this could possibly be the place to locate it.
Guitar Center When I cant locate it anywhere else, I get it at Guitar Center, the Costco of music equipment stores. If you dont mind becoming addressed as "dude", you may get rock-bottom costs on new guitars and amps here.
Classical Guitar Stores
Rosewood Guitars Pardon me, do you've any Gray Poupon? Seattles finest new classical guitars are here.
On lineAlternatives (bargain hunters, this is for you!)
Craigslist The common, free of chargeonline classified web site. For those whodefinitely want a screaming deal, you dont have topurchase a guitar right away, and you have a friend who can inspect your prospective purchase, trawl the musical instrument section of Craigslist every day and if you see a promising listing, jump on it. I prefer Craigslist to Ebay or Instrument Exchange because I can inspect the equipment prior to I obtain it.
Ebay The on-line auction internet site. You'll be able to get some terrific deals on Ebay (I bought my Les Paul there for half the retail price) but you cant preview the goods.
Instrument Exchange Guitar Centers version of Ebay is a greatplace for utilized and vintage gear, but again, its risky.(from
online-guitar-store)
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