If you’ve decided to play guitar, the first thing you need to make sure you have is a guitar. May sound obvious, but lots of people decide to play and don’t have one. They try to borrow a friends or learn without one by reading “How To” books. This may work for some, but if you are serious about playing, you need your own guitar.
So, what kind do you get? There are really two considerations. First, what is your budget and second, what kind of music do you want to play? It is possible to go out and get what I call a “pawn shop” guitar for under a $100. A guitar such as this will have a body, six strings and not much more. You can find both acoustics and electrics in this vein; however, and I can’t stress this enough, unless someone gives you one of these guitars, avoid them like the plague. Sure, you will hear stories about people who started on these and later went on to great success or skill, but these people always moved on to another guitar – generally soon after starting on the inferior one. Generally with guitars such as these, you have to fight to play them and you end up in a battle with your instrument. Not a good place to start because the guitar almost always wins.
I would suggest setting a budget for a first guitar at around $300 to $500 dollars at a minimum. It is possible to get a brand new guitar in this range and while this guitar won’t be concert quality, it will definitely be a solid student guitar that will make learning fun.
People sometimes ask me if they should go ahead and start with a top of the line guitar, perhaps spending several thousand dollars on their first instrument. Generally, for students just starting out, my guidance is to wait a while on this type of expense. My opinion is that much of the quality and potential of a high end guitar will be lost on the beginning student. Additionally, should the student give up guitar, the guitar will not be played. This is akin to having a Dodge Viper in the garage that you don’t drive. Start out with a good quality student guitar and once you have a handle on the basics, move on to a better guitar.
So, now the question is acoustic or electric? This question doesn’t have one answer, but there are several ways to answer it. First, you can never go wrong learning the basics on an acoustic guitar. The mechanics and function of the instrument make it an excellent starting point for technique and fundamentals. However, depending on your preference, you may want to soon change to an electric. Can you start out on an electric guitar? Of course you can. However, be prepared for some additional expenses in order to be able to completely appreciate your investment. In addition to an electric guitar in a price range similar to the one mentioned above, you will need an amplifier to appreciate and really hear what you are playing. With an acoustic, the body of the guitar creates and to an extent, amplifies the sound. Most electrics are solid body guitars and there is no appreciable volume to what is played when the instrument is not amplified. Much of the technique you will learn on an electric needs the amplifier to be appreciated. Even with semi-hollow or hollow body guitars, their acoustic capability is quite less than that of an acoustic, so for an electric, you need an amplifier. As to the price of an amplifier, they are similar in price to guitars in that you can spend a little or a lot; however, you can purchase a quality student amplifier for no more than $200; however, understand that if performance is something you aim to do, you will end up spending more on a more versatile amp later.
Much of the dilemma between acoustic and electric guitars can be solved by the style of music you want to play. For instance, if you are a singer/songwriter who prefers mellow music in the vein of James Taylor, Bright Eyes, Indigo Girls or, if it is you goal to play solo performances in the folk rock, coffeehouse style, an acoustic guitar will likely be your best bet. It is possible to buy acoustic guitars that can be connected to an amplifier allowing you to amplify your acoustic signal. This allows you to plug directly into an amp or PA system and project your acoustic sound. You can also play the guitar without plugging it in and have only the acoustic sound.
If your preference is more aggressive, more amplified music such as the All-American Rejects, Green Day, or classic rock such as Hendrix or Led Zeppelin, the an electric is where you will want to end up. As I said before, you will need the guitar and an amplifier. In addition to these pieces of equipment, the more you develop with your guitar playing ability you will find there are other accessories that will help refine you sound.
However, don’t think that a choice must be made between acoustics or electric guitars. Many bands commonly have both acoustics and electrics being played at the same time. Bands such as Hootie and the Blowfish, Carbon Leaf, Fountains of Wayne, even classic bands such as Led Zeppelin and the Eagles all regularly use both the acoustic and electric guitar. The bottom line is that it is not only possible, but completely normal to have both guitars.
In fact, after you play a while, expect to see your guitar collection grow to include both acoustics as well as electrics.
Let me know if there are other guitar topics you would like to learn more about.
