Four Tips for Finding the Best Guitar
Everyone loves good music. However, what is difficult is learning how to play or produce music that is desirable. Creating a sound that is truly unforgettable, especially as a guitar player, does not happen by accident. Instead, it requires taking deliberate action every step of the way—particularly, as it relates to purchasing a guitar that you can be comfortable with for the long haul. This article is intended as a guide that you can use to help find the right guitar for the occasion, whether it be a Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 Solid body or a different guitar.
Seek Out a Guitar that Suits Your Musical Tastes
When buying a guitar, the first thing you must bear in mind is the type of music you intend to play. Are you a jazz person, a hard rock type of guy, country music, soul, rhythm and blues, pop or etc.? The type of music you play will determine the sound that you want your guitar to produce. Thinner necked guitars produce faster sounds and are therefore most suited for rock. For smoother sound, you must look for a guitar that has a thicker neck, which makes them more suitable for jazz or R&B.
Assessing the Hardware
Another thing you should be aware of, as it relates to guitars is that each of hardware materials used to construct the instrument has an effect on the sound that the guitar produces. It is also worth noting that some hardware is more suitable for one type of music than the other. So the wood, pickups and the bridge all impact the guitar’s sound quality. For example,fixed bridges are much easier to tune but do not possess the same qualities as the tremolo bridge which allows a player to incorporate effects such as dive bombs or vibrato simply by moving the bar. On the other hand, guitars made from cheaper wood that do not sustain sound quite as well so keep this in mind.
Comparison Shopping
You should treat the guitar buying process like buying a car, i.e., you always want to test drive the guitar before finalizing the purchase. If you fail to do so, you could find yourself being very disappointed and could easily end up wasting your time and money. So remember to play the guitar for 15 to 20 minutes until you are sure you are comfortable with everything the shape and sound. Five minutes are just not enough. And if the sound doesn’t meet your satisfaction just keep looking.
Price Range
Like mentioned above, there is a reason some guitars are cheap, while others are not so don’t make your decision to purchase solely based upon price alone. Likewise,keep in mind that not all expensive guitars are better than the cheaper ones. Therefore, set a price range and look at the guitars within this range until you find something satisfactory.
Summary
Buying a guitar is serious business and requires preparation, as well as discipline. So as you go out looking for one be sure to keep these tips in mind. So long as you do that, finding the right one should not be difficult.
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Great post man. I think I have been through two dozen guitars it seems I have about four or five at a time and every few years they are all rotated out. I am currently using a Schecter Omen 6 which I like a lot but I have a fantasy of having a custom Jackson built someday. Great website too overall. Really great stuff here!