The guitar is a popular instrument to learn right after the piano. A person should consider learning the guitar for many reasons compared to other instruments. One notable factor is portability. Unlike the piano and most other instruments, the guitar is an instrument you can carry around quickly to play whenever and wherever you feel like it.
Playing the guitar has many benefits, such as memory improvement and hand-eye coordination. Learning the guitar is also famously known for reducing stress and anxiety.
Selecting the right guitar can be challenging if you have some basic guitar-playing skills or have recently started playing the guitar. Numerous online articles discuss this topic, but choosing the best guitar worth your investment can still be confusing. In this article, we will help you select the perfect guitar, whether you are a beginner or an advanced guitarist.
What Type of Guitar Should You Choose?
When you start learning the guitar, you should also decide whether to play the acoustic or electric guitar. This decision is based purely on factors such as your preference and budget. When choosing a guitar, it’s essential to consider your level of expertise, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced player. A beginner’s or a student’s guitar can differ significantly from an advanced guitarist’s.
As you advance in your guitar skills, there will be many more options for the guitars you can play. A student’s guitar tends to be cheaper and more comfortable as you manoeuvre through getting used to this instrument. As you advance in your journey of playing the guitar, most guitarist will upgrade their guitar, and some even tend to have more than one of these beautiful instruments. Each of their guitars is special to the guitarist as they produce different tones and sounds and generally have a different and distinct feel.
A guitarist often starts with an acoustic guitar, but exceptions exist. The acoustic guitar is a popular choice because it is relatively inexpensive and requires no additional purchases to play the instrument.
In the long term, buying the best you can is always advisable rather than skimping. It makes a lot of difference. Similarly, when you decide to upgrade your guitar, make sure the upgrade you are getting is decent; otherwise, it is better to save up a little bit more and upgrade. It will make no sense to keep buying the same-level guitar multiple times.
How to Set a Budget?
One of the biggest and best things you can do for yourself is to devise a budget for the guitar you plan on buying. This is extremely important, even if you are an advanced guitarist or just starting to learn to play the guitar. Without a proper budget, you will not be able to know what the best guitar within your budget is. You can avoid common mistakes when purchasing the guitar when you have a clear idea of your budget. When you do not have a clear budget, it is easy to fall into the mistake of purchasing an overpriced instrument that does not play as well as those that cost less. This tends to happen when it comes to buying branded guitars.
Certain factors in your guitar’s quality and build will change as your budget increases. Let us look at some of these factors:
Advanced Beginner Guitar
When you get an advanced beginner guitar, there are certain factors you should consider when buying.
An advanced beginner acoustic and electric guitar should have a quality truss rod. This will keep the guitar from bending from the tension of the guitar strings. Lower-quality guitars tend to bend over time. This part of the guitar should indicate whether the guitar you are getting is of better quality and build.
Advanced beginner acoustic guitars tend to have better wood, which, in turn, improves the sound quality of the instrument.
Advanced or Professional Guitar
Advanced or professional guitars tend to cost a lot. A few factors you should consider when purchasing these are acoustic guitars, which will sound great as the wood used to make this range will be of the highest quality. More often than not, at this range, the guitar usually comes with its case to protect these incredible and precious instruments. On the other hand, electric guitars come in many more designs and skins. Higher-range electric guitars also tend to have more hardware options.
What Brands Should You Consider?
When it comes to guitars, there are numerous brands available in the market, each with its unique features and characteristics. However, a few brands are more popular than the rest, and this is often due to their reputation for producing high-quality instruments that sound great, are easy to play, and offer good value for money. These brands have usually been around for a long time and have built up a loyal following of musicians who appreciate their craftsmanship and attention to detail. So, if you’re looking to buy a guitar, it’s worth considering one of these famous brands, as they are likely to offer the best combination of quality, performance, and affordability.
Fender
When people think of an electric guitar, the brand Fender comes to mind automatically. Why is that so? Fender is a brand that has existed for over 70 years and is synonymous with versatility and reliability. This brand also carries affordable ranges of guitars that make them appealing to guitarists of all ages and levels. The quality and the build of the Fender are undeniably one of the best out there, and you can’t go wrong with owning one of their guitars.
Gibson
Similar to Fender, Gibson is another renowned brand for guitars, both acoustic and electric guitars. Gibson guitars tend to be pricier, but what you get in return for that price tag is its exceptional quality. The materials used to make these guitars are of top quality.
Yamaha
Yamaha is a world-renowned manufacturer of musical instruments. Although they are more famous for their pianos, their brand is known to manufacture reliable and affordable musical instruments across the board. Yamaha musical instruments are known to have excellent tone and control. This is what makes it a popular choice for beginners as well as advanced guitarists. This is one of those brands with consistent quality and sound, even from their lower-range models.
On top of the top three brands mentioned above, there are many others that you can consider, such as Ibanez, Gretsch and even Martin. Ensure you have researched and have a clear budget to get the best instrument for your money’s worth.
Guitars Suitable for Beginners and Advanced Players
Now that you have some basic idea of how to choose a guitar for beginners and advanced learners let us look at some guitars you can consider if you would like to start learning or plan to upgrade your existing guitars.
As mentioned earlier, a few brands are popular within the guitar community as they are affordable, reliable, and of good quality. Let us look at some of the best options within these brands that are suitable for beginners and advanced guitarists.
Beginners
Fender CD 60S (Acoustic)
The Fender CD 60S is arguably one of the best beginner/student acoustic guitars you can get. This guitar is known for its excellent tone and good playability. It is known for its versatility and quality, giving players room to learn and grow. Its price is in the affordable range for an instrument of this quality. The price range for the Fender CD 60S is approximately $300 to $370, and it comes in a wide range of colours, such as Natural, Black and Mahogany.
Yamaha Pacifica (Electric)
The Yamaha Pacifica Standard Plus is a great beginner guitar for those interested in learning the electric guitar. It has a balanced tone, a comfortable and contoured body, and a slim neck, making it more comfortable for beginners learning this instrument. This instrument will cost you approximately $300 to $500.
Advanced
Gibson Les Paul (Electric guitar)
The Gibson Les Paul guitar has been around since the 50s and remains one of the best guitars. Les Paul guitars tend to be heavier and chunkier, but you can opt for the 2018 one as it has a slimmer profile. You will not go wrong by choosing this guitar. It is not only used by guitar enthusiasts all around the world but also by professional musicians and guitarists. This guitar will cost you $3,200 up to $10,000, depending on the model you pick.
Gibson Hummingbird
The Gibson Hummingbird is arguably one of the most beautiful guitars out there. The guitar in itself is a visual statement. It is known for its lovely tone, sound, and round and balanced volume. Many famous musicians like Dave Grohl and Billie Joe Armstrong play this specific guitar. This masterpiece will cost you somewhere between $7,000 to $8,000.
Are you looking for guitar lessons? One of the best things you can do is hire a private tutor. Online resources can help you supplement your guitar learning process, but they cannot be your sole guide as you need feedback to improve.
Superprofs tutors are not only well versed with this instrument but also certified and experienced when it comes to teaching the guitar. They are also verified, so you can rest assured that the tutors you hire on Superprof are the best. Superprof tutors are qualified and have experience teaching kids as well as adults. To help you make a better decision, Superprofs tutors offer their first lesson for free. This enables you to test if the tutor is the best for you.
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