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A quick guide to buying a guitar
If you are a complete beginner then I don't suggest you go out and buy a guitar worth hundreds or thousands, but I guess you don't need telling. On the other hand, some cheap guitars are really awful - so here is how to try and tell the difference between a
bargain and a bad banjo.
The price of a guitar is largely determined by the woods used in its construction - cheap guitar bodies are made from plywood or laminates. As the price increases woods such as rosewoods, cedar and spruce will be encountered. These latter woods will also
age well, with the sound of the guitar improving with time, unlike the cheaper variety which are at their best when new. As a beginner, there is little harm in buying a plywood guitar - as long as it fits some other criterion.
In general, the guitar should be solid with no loose bits inside - giving the guitar a small shake will determine this. The guitar's neck should be straight. This can be checked by sighting along its length. Good fret work can also be checked at this time by running your fingers along the edge of each side of the neck. Each fret position will need checking to make sure that there is no buzzing of strings on poor frets. Do this simply by playing a note at every single fret position on the board, ensuring you place your finger close behind each fret when you do so. The action of a guitar (the height of the strings above the fret board) is down to personal choice, but it is recommended
that you pick a guitar with low action (strings near the fingerboard) as this will make fretting easier.
Do not buy a steel string guitar and replace the strings with nylon ones. There are two main reasons for this. Classical guitars are less rigid than steel strung ones, allowing the strings to vibrate the wood more, producing better sound
quality. Secondly, steel string guitars tend to have necks which vary in width. A classical guitar should be 2-1/8" across over its entire length - you'll need the width to correctly finger both the left and right hands.
Check these guitars at Guitar Imporium Online
This entry was posted on October 4, 2009 at 12:14 pm, and is filed under
acoustic guitar,
buy guitar,
buying guitar,
purchasing guitar
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