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sections on this page
What guitar to start on
How to choose a first guitar
When to buy a new guitar |
Advice for beginners
I need to start off immediately by saying I am by no means a professional and not really an authority on this. I am a
beginner/intermediate guitarist myself so take all my advice with a grain of salt.
What guitar to start on? The first choice you have to make when picking a guitar is if you want an electric or an acoustic. Now this choice depends heavily on your budget. If you are going to buy an electric guitar then you not only have to get the guitar but also the amp, meaning you might have to pay twice the price of the guitar depending on which one you get. If for whatever reason you are starting your guitar journey with a $800 budget then feel free to pick up a $500 electric and $300 amp or an $800 acoustic, but most people will probably want to spend as little as possible. So I would recommend that no matter what genre you plan on playing that you start on an acoustic. If you're just starting then the chances are you want to keep prices low in case guitar ends up not really being for you. The cheapest guitars for electrics and acoustics tend to be around $200, but again that's either a $200 acoustic or a $200 electric and an extra $100 for the amp. The chances are that around that price point that the electric and amp will be shitty, and you probably won't enjoy playing since even if you play correctly it'll sound weird. How to choose a first guitar Since you would be just starting you probably don't have any idea of acoustic body shapes or electric pickups so my advice would be to pick something that you just think is cool. Whether it be the kind of guitar your favorite player uses or just one you think looks sweet, a guitar you like will encourage to keep playing. When to buy a new guitar This is for a little later down the line in your guitar journey. You should give yourself some time before jumping into a new guitar, if you just started and you've only been playing for a month you're gonna feel like you could play guitar forever, and you're gonna want to drop some money on a new instrument. But you have to wait that feeling out, it's possible you could play for another month or two and find that you really don't like the guitar all the much, or maybe you think another instrument is more your style. You need to stay level-headed about your desire to play. If you play on and off every now-and-then, a new guitar won't suddenly give you the energy to practice everyday. But if you feel confident in your desire to play and you really think that your instrument may be holding you back, then go for it and try out a new guitar. What I personally do is I say to myself "If i'm gonna buy a $500 guitar, then I better be a $500 player". That is to say, I better have proven myself in my skills and practice routine to be deserving of a new guitar. 
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