How to Buy Guitars

After playing air guitar for 14 years, you've decided to grab a piece of wood and become the world's newest guitar virtuoso. But before you're ready to take on Madison Square Garden, you have to have a guitar in your hands that's high-quality enough to take you there. Learn the attributes and features the pros look out for so you can to buy the best acoustic guitar for all of your playing needs (and dreams).

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Instructions

Choose Between a Steel-String Acoustic Guitar and a Classical Guitar

1. First familiarize yourself with the parts of a guitar.
   
   Body: The big part with the hole in it.
   
   Sound hole: The big hole in the body where the sound comes out.
   
   Strings: These are what you pluck to make music. There are six of them.
   
   Bridge: The bar where the strings are attached to the body of the guitar.
   
   Neck: The really long thing that the strings run along. You'll notice that the neck is subdivided into partitions called frets.
   
   Nut: At the end of the neck are six grooves the strings nestle in. That's the nut.
   
   Headstock: The top, which houses the six tuning pegs used to tune the strings.
   
   (If you would like to learn exactly how a guitar works in great mathematical detail, see Resources.)
   
   So now comes your first big decision: Do you want a steel-string acoustic guitar or a classical guitar?
   
   The steel-string acoustic guitar is what you're probably most familiar with: You've seen them played at bars and at concerts. These guitars have steel strings, which provide a thick, rich sound. These guitars are very popular in pop and blues music.
   
   If you're a beginner, some people will tell you that you should not get a steel-string guitar because it will hurt your fingers. True, it will hurt your fingers at the beginning, but you'll eventually develop calluses that will ease your pain. So if you think that the steel-string acoustic sounds better or is more your style, feel free to get one.
   
   The classical guitar has nylon strings that provide a rounder, smoother tone than its steel-string cousin. Nylon strings are much softer than steel strings. They also have less "sustain," which means that any plucked note will die more quickly. Still, there are people who would swear that the nylon strings provide more sound control than steel strings.
   
   There are several other differences between steel-string and classical guitars:
   
   Classical guitars are not nearly as loud as steel-string acoustics.
   
   The classical guitar has a much wider neck than the steel-string; this can be a bad thing if your hands are small.
   
   One rarely strums the classical guitar, as fingerpicking is the norm.
   
   Classical guitars have a smaller body than steel-string acoustics, so they might be a little more portable if you're interested in taking your guitar with you to numerous places.

Next: Select the Options You Want

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Resources

• How Acoustic Guitars Work