A Basic Intro Guide To Guitars

August 26th, 2009 by April Kerr, under Music. No Comments

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.

The style of music you’re going to want to play as well as the places you’ll be playing in will definitely have an impact on the choices you make. Let’s face it, if you’re going to be playing dances, or other such gatherings with lots of people, you will most likely need a guitar that can be amplified. That pretty much eliminates acoustic.

Many people say that Acoustic guitars are best suited to country, jazz and that style of music. These same people will tell you that Electric guitars are best suited to rock, pop, blues and that style of music. I have personally heard both types of music played quite well on either type of guitar. However, having said that, I must say that whether you plan to play in front of a small group of people, or if you have aspirations of someday playing in front of a large crowd can affect your decision.

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.