A Basic Intro Guide To Guitars

There are a great number of guitars out there, that’s for sure. Electric, Acoustic, bass, steel, classical and acoustic-electric just to mention a few. Then besides that there are a huge number of brand names for guitars. You have Fender, Yamaha, Gibson, BC Rich just to name a few. How does one go about deciding with all these guitars to choose from.

There are a number of factors that can eliminate many of the choices, but ultimately it all comes down to personal preference. The type of music you like to listen to, which is most likely what you’ll like to play, or want to learn to play, plays a big part.

A common thought seems to be that acoustic guitars are best suited to country, jazz and that style of music. Electric guitars it is said are deemed to be best for rock, pop, the blues and so on. So if you want to go with this train of thought, the type of music you will be playing the most will also narrow down the field for you.

Choosing to play or learn bass guitar or steel guitar drastically reduces the number of guitars you have to choose from. If this is the style of guitar you want to play, then you need only be concerned with brand and model.

The acoustic-electric gives you the option of being able to play either way. Some people say you sacrifice sound quality with these guitars, but I know of a family band that produces excellent music, even has their own albums out that use acoustic-electric guitars and they sound excellent. I also personally have both an electric and an acoustic-electric. I don’t notice a whole lot of difference in the sound of the two.

How much do you know about the artists you listen to? Do you know what style and brand of guitar they play? If you want to reproduce sounds similar to theirs, you may do best to have the same type of guitar as they do. It’s hard to get the same sound from two entirely different types of guitars.

Most music shops though are pretty good about showing you the different guitars, and letting you see how they feel, and hear what they sound like. For beginners, unless you’re certain you want an electric guitar, the acoustic-electric makes an excellent beginner guitar.