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Charles E.
Watson Guitar Lessons: About Buying A Guitar Basically, it doesn't matter if the guitar costs $39 or $3900, the guitar student, preferably, should have a guitar that will tune correctly, stay in tune, and be made of appropriate materials to produce a suitable sound. There are aspects of the guitar instrument that apply to all, regardless of kind, style, model, or manufacturer. The following discussion is meant to convey basic information for testing a guitar for it's serviceability as an instrument. One need not be an expert to be able to check out and/or test basic features of a guitar to tell if it will be a serviceable instrument; it's possible a guitar music store sales person is a guitarist, or at least reasonably familiar with guitars, and can be asked to assist in checking out these aspects of an individual guitar for the customer.
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The guitar (and bass
guitar) is a musical instrument and, no different than acquiring a violin
or trombone for instrument lessons and studying music, there are features
of the construction of the instrument that render one superior over
another. Basically, it doesn't matter if the guitar costs $39 or $3900,
the guitar student, preferably, should have a guitar that will tune
correctly, stay in tune, The guitar is no doubt the most popular instrument in the general public...there are many makers of many kinds, styles, and models of guitars, manufacturing is international, and, unlike a violin, for example, the guitar keeps arriving on the shelf in ever new forms with ever improved electronic technology (for electric models), features (locking nuts, better tuning pegs, improved bridge design, additional strings, built in equalizers and effects) and unique body shapes and finishes. There are certain aspects of the guitar instrument that apply to all, regardless of kind, style, model, or manufacturer. Below are labeled diagrams of an electric 6 string guitar, an electric bass guitar, a 5 string acoustic steel string guitar, and a classical guitar. In addition to checking out the basic aspects for a serviceable guitar, finding a personal guitar could be likened to searching for a new automobile...test driving more than one tells you a lot about your own subjective preferences and fit. There is also the aspect of the quality of materials, for example volume, tone & other control knobs and switches can sometimes be 'flimsy' or loose...if a control knob comes off easily, it will soon become lost and need replacement. Price and brand isn't always an indicator of a serviceable instrument. Whereas price is sometimes a factor, for example purchasing an 'American' made Fender Stratocaster will cost much more than a Korean made Fender Stratocaster and that price difference does reflect quality of workmanship and materials, Fender has made a point of it, a pricey tag is no guarantee of a flawless individual instrument and an individual serviceable Korean made Strat is possible to find for less money. Manufacturer, country where
made, and model number on electric guitars is usually located on the back
of the head or on the neck bolt plate. Acoustic guitars, and classicals,
usually have this information on a label visible through the sound hole: Basic things to look for: Classical or acoustic guitars best have a wood top, spruce and ash are the most commonly used, sometimes other woods such as cedar, cherry wood, and maple are used. Some 'less expensive' guitars have synthetic body tops. Below is a brief description of various woods used in guitar construction describing some of the features of different woods, uses, and their resonation qualities.
'Binding' around the edges is a good feature, although not a 'necessary' one, in that this seals and fortifies where the side, bottom and top edges of the body meet. The guitar on the left shows an ash top and sides with edge binding; the guitar on the right shows a spruce top with edge binding. Both of these guitars have a 'pick guard', which protects the top surface from ware. The guitar on the right also shows a 'cut-away' body which allows easier access to the entire fretboard.
Guitar necks are often made of maple...one of the hardest of woods. The closer to the core of the tree, and therefore tightness of tree rings, the stronger the wood. Burled wood is also very strong. When looking at the neck of a guitar, notice the grain. When green wood dries, it twists and also humidity levels and temperature changes can cause wood to twist. The harder the wood, tighter the tree rings, or burled, the less, if any, the neck will twist & change over time. Some guitar necks are reinforced with a steel rod for not only keeping the neck straight but also to allow for adjustments over time to keep the neck straight. The fretboard, or 'soundboard', is a relatively thin slice of wood laminated on the top surface of the guitar neck into which metal frets are inlayed and are most commonly made of rosewood or ebony. Mother of pearl, and other decorative materials, are inlayed into the fretboard, small 'dots', to visually indicate the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 12th frets. Small similar inlays are sometimes placed on the top edge of the neck, visible to the guitarist, at these fret locations. Classical guitars, generally, do not have these 'dot' inlays. A string on a guitar vibrates and produces sound waves. The length of the string is from the bridge to the nut. The 12th fret is half the length of the string. At the 12th fret, the half-length string should sound the same note as the full-length, or 'open' string, but an octave higher...the pitch will be higher. This is called the 12th fret string harmonic. A serviceable guitar must have true harmonics. It's easy to test the 12th fret harmonics of a guitar string by simply plucking the open string and then pressing one's finger down on the string in that 12th fret and plucking the string again and listening to hear the comparative sound produced. Each string on the guitar can be tested in this way. True 12th fret harmonics, in general, indicate a straight neck and properly placed frets. Machine heads, also called tuning keys or tuning pegs, should be tight so the tension created by tightening the strings will not cause the gears to slip. If the tuning pegs are not of good quality, the strings will not stay in tune or even not be able to be tuned properly in the first place. About 'guitar packages': whereas it is possible to acquire serviceable guitars and amplifiers by purchasing one of the relatively 'low priced' bundles, which often, except for classical guitars (for which one doesn't need any accessories besides a case, cleaning/polishing products and perhaps a guitar stand and foot stool) include a set of strings, a guitar strap, guitar picks, some sort of instruction book or CD, a guitar case, usually a soft case or 'gig bag', and if for an electric guitar or bass, a small amplifier and instrument cord. The main issue with the packages is that they are bundled in a box. Unless one can open the box up and 'test-drive' the guitar (or amplifier) to check out the quality and serviceability of the contents of any particular box, it's more or less a surprise grab-bag situation where one doesn't know what they are getting. Even choosing by major brand does not guarantee the serviceability of that individual instrument and accessories. In general, retail stores will allow a customer to check out the contents of a packaged product. Being able to see another guitar or amplifier that is 'like' the one in the box isn't the same as being able to check out the individual product being considered for purchase; so regardless of whether one is in a large department-type store or a guitar music store, one can always ask to open the box to access the contents. If one store won't allow this, the same packaged guitar bundle will likely be available at another store that will.
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Active and Passive pickups. Active pickups operate on a 9-volt battery that powers a "Pre-Amp" inside the guitar, Passive pickups lack this battery. Single Coil pickups and Humbucking pickups (formerly called Hum Canceling). Single Coil pickups are wired in proper phase, while Humbuckers are wired in "reverse phase". Single Coil pickups tend to hum when the instrument power is turned on but is not being played. Humbuckers "cancel out" this hum. Humbucklers are sometimes regarded as having a preferred sound and some guitarists utilize the Single Coil 'hum' for technique purposes.
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