What's Important When Selecting A Guitar
Gaining an appreciation of a certain musical instrument -- in this case, the guitar -- is exceedingly easy, especially when one takes only a few minutes to begin to appreciate the beauty of the well-made instrument, no matter what one it is. In the case of a guitar, it's doubly easy because it's actually relatively simple to learn to play, along with being a beautiful instrument itself.
Take a look at a typical dreadnought acoustic guitar. It's been favored by many musicians -- and most especially, by singer/songwriters -- for decades. It not only can be carried just about anywhere, but it also can be pulled out and used at the drop of a hat to compose a song or piece of music that may have happened to just pop up during a conversation, for example.
This is actually the real beauty of just about any guitar, because that portability means that it is easily carried around in a case or a bag, on one's back or at one's side. And it's generally one of the more portable instruments out there, and certainly more so than a grand piano or drums, though this isn't a criticism of those two types of musical instruments. However, guitars have brought music to the masses for over a century now.
Nowadays, there are more manufacturers of guitars out there then make most any other kind of musical instrument. A typical Alvarez acoustic guitar, for example, can be found in more music stores then a typical brand-name tuba or other traditional band instrument, as a matter of fact. Keep in mind that guitars are not only fairly easy to learn to play but also fairly portable, and one gets at least one part of their enduring popularity.
It really matters little what style of music is going to be played, because it's a fact that a guitar can help a person play it. This includes classical or even jazz music, which has taken to a guitar greatly in the last half-century. This is why people who develop a yearning to play music invariably consider picking up a guitar before almost any other instrument.
Never forget that a better-made guitar always makes it easier to learn to play music, however. When one has the choice between a generic department store guitar sold for relatively little money and a Takamine acoustic guitar that may cost a little bit more but which will play 1000 times better, try to go with the brand-name guitar when possible.
Appreciating music and musical instruments it's played on is quite easy to do after spending just a few seconds really learning how a nice instrument can make music that's being played sound even nicer. Acoustic guitars, by their very nature, provide a way for the masses to play music just about anywhere and at any time, and that's a good thing.
Cheap Acoustic Guitars
How2 Buy Cheap Acoustic or Electric Guitar-Check Neck/Action
Frequently Asked Questions...
Cheap Student Acoustic Guitars?
I want a student acoustic guitar. I don't want a big one, like the full one, maybe a 1/2 or 3/4. i just want to teach myself, or take lessons. And I want a cheap one. Like about 50 bucks. or less. I'm broke, lol, my parents won't pay I'm sure. So you guys know any places near North Normandie? Email me if you know a place or if you want to give me any other info. Thanks! or just answer the question! THANK YOU!
Answer:
You have a couple of options.
Unless you're a small person, you'll probably have issues with a 1/2 sized guitar. Some of these are made for kids, more commonly they're made for travel. You can find very nice small guitars, but the sound is always going to suffer versus the full thing.
With that said, you don't have to buy the full-sized Dreadnought, either. Look for a "parlor" guitar or, as you say, a 3/4 size, which is still going feel like a full sized design, but a bit smaller overall.
As for cheap... I wouldn't recommend going overly cheap. It's not simply that you'll get lower quality sound (though you might), but that you may have technical problems with it, which will keep you from playing the guitar.. and the most important thing you can do to learn is practice, practice, practice. I play at least an hour every day.
There are three things I'd do to find a guitar bargain. One is to look at some of the "beginner" models put out by reputable guitar makers. These will be no-frills guitars, but they're of a decent enough quality to get you into learning, and there's little risk.
A bit more risk is the idea of buying a used guitar. You can look at the local classified, on-line resources like eBay or Craigslist, flea markets, yard sales, etc. There are plenty of people who buy a nice guitar, don't play for some years, and finally decide they just want to be rid of it. The risk is of course that there's something wrong with the guitar that you wouldn't notice, or that you buy an off-brand that's really no bargain.
A big help would be if you have a friend who's an experienced player to drag along if you go shopping locally, or to look over something you find on-line. I'm not saying that all off-brands are bad guitars, just that some are really cheap, and without holding it and playing it, I can't tell the difference. If it says "Martin" or "Taylor" or "Gibson" or "Fender" or something similar on it (and assuming it's not a Chinese knock-off), I'm pretty confident there's at least a base level of quality.
A word about eBay... if you look on eBay, you'll find any number of guitars selling for $20, $30, etc. Most of these are "novelty" guitars... they're very cheaply made, not really something you'd want to play. If you spend this little, you're very likely to buy a guitar that will work against you in the learning process (I'll have to admit here I learned on a Martin D-15... about $1300 MSRP.. and I'm still playing it today). The number 1 warning is that there's no brand-name listed.
In fact, if you can, borrow one for a month, get a beginner's book (assuming you don't play at all right now), and just play as long as you can every day (it may not be a hour... you have to put in some time to develop thick calluses and kill off those pesky nerves on the fingertips of your fretting hand). At that point, you'll at least have some idea of what you like and don't like, which will help you make a better decision about the guitar... and that's particularly important if you can't afford even one bad buy. Another option is to buy from a local store that offers a liberal return policy.
Here are a couple of buying guides, which might also help:
http://guitar.about.com/od/commonbeginnerquestions/a/to_buy_guitar.htm
http://www.acousticfingerstyle.com/BuyingGuitars.htm
http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/guitar/guitar.html
http://www.mahalo.com/How_to_Buy_a_Guitar
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