How to Choose The Perfect Guitar

Walk into any guitar or music store in America, and you're likely to see dozens (if not hundreds) of different guitars hanging on the walls and sitting around on stands... But which one is right for you? I'll tell you how to chose the guitar best suited to your playing style and budget.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• An idea of what type of music you wish to play.
• a rough idea of how much you're willing to spend
• an arsenal of mail-order guitar mags, addresses to retail stores, etc.

1. Determine what style of music you wish to play...
   Certain guitars are better suited to certain styles of music... here are some examples of guitar types and what they can be used for:
   
   Acoustic and Acoustic/Electric: Acoustic guitars are extremely popular in country, western, bluegrass, folk, and light pop/rock genres. they are also excellent for traveling and someone who just likes to strum along to their favorite songs.
   
   Semi-Hollow and Hollowbody Electrics: These would include guitars like the Epiphone Dot and Casino, and they usually feature F-shaped sound holes (Aptly named "F holes") They provide excellent resonance and are suitable for just about any genre of music. You can see blues, country, even rock and punk artists play semi-hollows. (Tom Delonge of Blink 182 and Angels & Airwaves even has a signature hollowbody from Epiphone) I would not recommend a semi-hollow for Metal or heavier rock.(from personal experience...they don't seem to handle distortion as well as solid-bodied guitars)
   
   Solid body electrics: This is your most popular and most plentiful type of guitar. Guitars included in this section are Les Pauls, Telecasters, Stratocasters, etc. Solid body guitars are perhaps the most versatile of all guitars, and can be used to play every type of music. Some models are better for certain genres of music, so shop around and read plenty of reviews!

2. Pick an axe suitable to your budget: here is a list of price ranges and some of the guitars you can pick up in that range... remember prices may vary from place to place, but these are ballpark figures: (all guitars listed are solid-body electrics unless noted)
   
   $75-$150:
   Jasmine (By Takamine) (Acoustic)
   Squier(by Fender) Bullet Strat
   Ibanez GRX20
   Epiphone Les Paul Jr.
   Epiphone PR-150 and AJ-1 (Acoustic)
   
   $151-$500
   Epiphone LP-100, SG G-400, Wilshire
   Epiphone Dot Archtop (Semi-hollow)
   Fender (Mexican) Standard Telecaster & Stratocaster
   Ovation Celebrity CC44 (Acoustic Electric)
   Schecter Damien-FR (great for metal!)
   
   $501-up
   Gibson Guitars Including Les Paul, SG, Firebird, Explorer
   Paul Reed Smith Guitars
   Gretsch Electromatic (Hollowbody)
   Martin Acoustic Guitars
   Takamine Acoustic and Acoustic-Electric Guitars

3. The body matters!:
   Finally, Make sure you will be comfortable playing whichever guitar you choose. Some guitars, like dreadnought Acoustic, can be pretty large and difficult for smaller players to handle. Some electrics have strange body shapes (such as the explorer or razorback) that may become bothersome to play. I highly recommend going to a retail shop that lets you play the guitars before you buy them, that way you know for sure you'll be comfortable with your choice. Many guitar companies also offer smaller-scaled guitars for younger players.

Tips & Warnings

• Shop around!.. stores and online dealers have sales all the time... look around for the best deals. Also, many retail shops in my area promise to match any mail-order price...if your local shop offers this promotion...take advantage of it!
• If you are buying for a younger or first time player...Many chain stores like Wal-Mart and Target offer inexpensive guitars like FirstAct...They are great for those who have never played and are not sure they can stick with it.(It's better to dish out $75 for a guitar that will just sit there than $500!)
• The safest place to keep your guitar is in a case, if you have the cash...buy one!
• if you are left handed, don't fret! many models are offered in left-handed for a slight price increase.
• Don't be afraid to buy used, if you can find them. Just be sure to inspect the guitar carefully before you buy it!
• No matter what guitar you decide to buy....ALWAYS HAVE FUN!

Resources

• mail order music store

[pegwinn]

on 3/3/2009 I wish I'd known this before I bought my daughters guitar as a gift. Great Advice. Thanks ^5