Talk:Guitar/Buying a Guitar

How do we set up a link back to the main guitar wikibook? theres got to be some automatic way to do this. - jmcgarey I added alink back, but can't we make part of the 'Guitar:Buying a Guitar' header be a link back to the main book?

I have moved some content from this page to Guitar/Different_Types_of_Guitars. I also rearranged a lot of the cast-away sentences into the main articles, reworked a lot of the sentences and deleted some duplicate content. I tried to save as much of the flavour of the text as I could, and I hope the article flows better. Don't forget to modify my changes and make it even better! --99.245.94.31 05:57, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

"Your strings should be somewhere around a centimeter above the fretboard."

What? --80.59.3.82 04:21, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

That does seem awfully high to me. --Ivelasco (talk) 16:22, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

Clearly written by a dealer
Recommends buying a bunch of accessory crap, never mentions tiers of brands and/or manufacturing countries, and otherwise gives loads of advice on how to blow several hundred bucks and get crap MiC gear. Seems rather destructive more than constructive

Material removed and placed here for adding later
Removed

Budget guitars use less expensive woods and parts though major manufacturers adhere to high standards and therefore these are ideal first guitars. (Opening paragraph)

Sluffs (discuss • contribs) 16:07, 27 October 2012 (UTC)

Possible changes needed to this section
This section has a lot of material already covered in the two preceding sections. For example the acoustic guitar description mentions the body acting as a resonating chamber, the metallic sound of steel strings, the steel string acoutic is used in popular music, etc, etc. All this has been stated ealier and should be removed.

Maybe a banded price range might be better - after-all Fender set out to build good guitars that could be bought with 2 or 3 paypackets and then entered the budget market with their Squier range (half a paypacket) after realising thats where the market lay for beginners. Also that the early Japanese made Fenders (I think the very early good Japanese guitars don't have the Squier logo) were superb budget guitars before Fender realised that people were just swapping out the cheaper tuners and pickups and were ending up with Strats as good as the USA models and half the price. Fender then removed the license from the Japanese and I do believe had a short run of Chinese made budget Fenders before realising that was a mistake and shifted the production to Mexico.

Another area is the normally unbranded pre-1970s guitars that can be found in second-hand shops - this was the height of rock guitar and there are some terrible beginners guitars from this period - especially since very little computerised production existed at this time.

Just some ideas on how this section should read. I'm going to remove duplicate material though as per usual fell free to revert my edits that you disagree with or to add your own material.

Sluffs (discuss • contribs) 23:30, 27 October 2012 (UTC)

Removed Acoustic Paragraph
The first two pages of this book has covered most of the material pasted below though there is some that needs to be added back. Will add those later. I'm going to try to make this a buying guide and all the stuff about how guitars work, etc, will be placed elsewhere if not already covered.

Acoustic guitar
There are basically two kinds of acoustic: classical guitar and steel-string guitar.

Steel string-guitars, also known as folk guitars, typically have a large sound box, which gives them a big resonating sound. Steel strings are used extensively in country, folk-rock and popular music and occasionally are used for their distinctive timbre in blues, jazz and rock music. Steel strings can be hard to press, especially for beginners that have not developed callouses. Picking also demands an extra muscular effort whether you use a plectrum or finger-style.

Classical guitars have nylon strings and a wider fretboard. The peg box resembles the peg box of a violin, which has tuning pegs that are perpendicular to the neck. The body is also smaller. The tone is mellow when compared to a steel string guitar and is the instrument of choice for players wishing to learn classical music. The nylon strings of a classical guitar are the easiest of all strings to fret though nylon strings normally take longer to settle down to stable tuning than steel strings.

Sluffs (discuss • contribs) 21:18, 28 October 2012 (UTC)

Material removed from beginning to be placed elsewhere
I've removed this material from the beginning to allow a concise opening. The material is relevant and useful so I've placed it here and will add it back into the chapter at a different place.

Material Removed

Whether you are buying an entry level guitar for yourself or a parent buying a beginner's guitar for a child; it is not worth spending any money on a guitar that the player won't enjoy. How the guitar feels in the player's hands is more important than how it looks hanging up in a store, and the key to learning to play is being excited about playing.

Be careful about buying a guitar for a person that already plays, unless you know exactly what they want. The best course of action is to buy the guitar with the person. Players who have played long enough know what they like and what they don't like. If it is not possible to shop with the guitarist, then the best option is to give them a gift certificate.

Always remember every single guitar is different. Even if the guitar is exactly the same make and model and color, it may play completely differently than the next. This is because wood is an organic material and is subject to variation and also the way a shop or manufacturer sets up a guitar may add to the differences. This means in some cases one guitar will be great and another seemingly identical guitar will be a dud.

Sluffs (discuss • contribs) 11:15, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

Material removed - already covered in the accessories and amps sections
I removed all this material since this is about buying a guitar and the material is already covered in the accessories and amps section. Placed the material here since some of it needs to be added to the appropiate sections.

Material Removed

What else will you need?
Once you've chosen the guitar there are accessories the dealer will want to sell you. You will probably need:
 * Guitar strap to enable the player to play standing up. Make sure that it can be shortened and lengthened appropriately, as some models cannot be short enough for a short person to play, or long enough for a big guy to play.
 * Plastic strap lock. Washer made out of durable plastic that can be fitted over the strap buttons and have the hole shrunken to a smaller diameter, creating enough friction to ensure the strap stays on.
 * Picks (also called plectrums). These come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are made of plastic though other materials are available. Picks fall into three categories: soft, medium and hard. Thin (soft) picks offer less resistance when striking the strings and have a degree of flexibility though they do tend to break easily and also produce a lower volume than the other two types. Thick (hard) picks rarely break and their inflexibility ensures firm and stable contact when striking the strings. Because picks are inexpensive you can buy all three types and various sizes; this will allow you to test which pick is suitable for you.
 * Thumb and finger picks: while on a nylon string guitar it is not necessary, but on a steel string, finger picking without finger picks will produce a quieter less pronounced sound. Playing steel string with your bare fingers takes practice and presents a more physical challenge. A thumbpick is a good idea in that it frees the rest of the fingers of the hand for other stuff, such as holding the whammy bar or an e-bow.
 * A guitar stand to set the guitar on when its not being played, or a guitar hanger to hang the guitar on the wall. The stand should be of the best quality since the guitar falling off the stand is the most common cause of cracks to the body.
 * A tuner of some kind - preferably an electronic one with a built-in microphone and guitar cable plug. Especially important for beginners learning to tune the guitar. Buy a good quality brand at the highest cost you can afford. The market is flooded with cheap guitar tuners that do a terrible job and the beginner is advised to avoid these They come in two display types: LED and floating needle. The floating needle type is recommended since it accurately displays the oscillations of a struck string.
 * A case or a gig bag - These are protection for the guitar. A Gig Bag is typically a thick padded (1-2" of padding) zipper bag in the shape of the guitar which provides good protection and is necessary to avoid large scrapes and dings. A gig bag is not suitable for airline transportation. The case is a hardshell case suitable for greater protection and one that is ATA-approved even allows you to transport it in an airplane's cargo hold (make sure it is ATA approved!) If you are fine with scrapes and dings or you do not plan on transporting the guitar often, a case might not be necessary. Keep in mind that the case helps protect your guitar from sudden temperature and humidity changes, which can harm the wood.
 * A string winder — very useful for changing strings. It's cheap, so may as well as get one now.
 * Fine Polishing cloth - either one made for polishing guitars, or those used to wipe glasses. Fabric from an old flannel shirt works well too. Be sure to use 100% cotton.
 * You will immediately need an extra set of strings at the time of purchase. Not only will this allow you to find out from the shop which gauge and make of strings is recommended for your guitar but will also give you a set of strings ready for the removal of the old strings in about 2 months time or 30 to 40 hours playing time later. Old strings start to lose their tone and become brittle and they will also show corrosion and discoloration. All professional guitarist have spare sets of strings close at hand for quick changes and if you don't mind the extra cost this is something you should do . Changing old strings is not an absolute necessity unless they break, so if your budget is tight, don't buy too many packs. Also, the difference between the cheaper and more expensive strings is subtle at best, so as long as it is the right gauge, you are good to go.  Some people do not like the sound of new strings, which can be "bright and metallic", but this is a matter of preference.

What you don't need:


 * You don't need guitar polish. While you should always polish your guitar from time to time, most of the time the polish is mostly water with traces of lemon oil. As long as you have a small spray of water or just a quick dab on the cloth, it's good enough. Besides, what kind of polish is good is a matter of debate amongst guitarists.

Guitar dealers have a slower turnover of stock than most other businesses. Once a player has purchased a guitar it can be many years before they purchase another guitar. This means that the overheads and cost of running an outlet that sells guitars is reflected in the dealer's sale price of the guitar. However, prices are negotiable (consider saying "I've been thinking about this item; what's your best price?"). Most of the accessories (including a gig bag) can be thrown in for free. Just tell a salesperson that you want to buy a guitar and they will probably start suggesting things they can throw in for free, and if not, you can suggest some accessories yourself. The hardshell case is usually an exception. Don't forget to calculate the any sales tax on top of that. For example, dealers will rarely, if ever, bring down the price of the cheaper guitars, but are more than willing to throw in extra accessories with the purchase of a guitar. They will sometimes even offer to set it up for you. Also look for beginner-packs; these include most things a beginner would need to start off with and you will end up saving more money than if you had planned on buying those things separately.

All guitars require some maintenance over time since wood changes with air-pressure and humidity. However, this does not mean you need a humidifier, unless your guitar is very expensive or rare. Guitars at all price ranges are quite resilient to humidity and air pressure changes.

For an electric guitar, the player has many options in their choice of practice equipment. If you want to sound like your favorite electric guitarist, an amplifier of the sort they use will obviously be necessary. Find out if your favorite guitarist uses a valve or solid state amp. Buying an electric guitar with no amplifier can be a way to get a good guitar without spending too much at first.

Another good substitute for an amplifier can be playing the guitar through a mixer or computer's sound card (especially a sound card or audio interface designed for recording guitar, like those made by M-Audio). There is a large amount of guitar effects software available; these use amplifier modeling and a wide range of effects combinations to create a simulation of the most popular guitar rigs. Amplitude and Guitar Rig are two popular guitar effects modeling software packages. Also, as mentioned in the buying an amplifier article, you can buy a direct box which has been designed for amplifier modeling and because it is a dedicated piece of hardware offers even more accurate recreations of popular guitar rigs than its software equivalent. These modelers/direct boxes can also be used with a guitar amplifier as an effects unit.

Sluffs (discuss • contribs) 12:27, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

Removed material on cables
This should go in the accessories, amps page or even more suitable should be merged with the main chapter on cables. I've placed the material here and will place it in the appropiate section. I also think the image is not suitable or necessary for this section.

Material Removed

Cables
You will also need a cable to connect to your amplifier. Sometimes a shop may throw in a free cable when you buy a guitar, which apart from having poor shielding will also typically have a short head-shell that requires you to unplug it in the wrong way (i.e. grabbing the cable to pull it out, instead of grabbing the head-shell). This is especially true for Fender-type body-front-embedded plugs, which is also used on other big-name guitars. This method of removing the cord could result in damage to the guitar (for those without the plug guard, such as Ibanez S series) or the plug getting stuck in the jack on the guitar.

Therefore, let's start with the headshell. If you are just using one that plugs into the side of the guitar, then a standard AV-sized head plug is good enough. If you are using the body-front plugs, such as Fender and Ibanez S series, you may want to use the ones with the larger head-shell, which should be about three inches including the plug itself. When plugged in, the head-shell should be long enough for you to grab the plug comfortably and easily. The material used in construction of the head-shell also matters: some players endorse the metal head-shell; while others may prefer the injected plastic type.

The minimum cable length greatly depends on how and where you play the guitar. If you play it with the amplifier just next to it, six to ten feet (3m) is enough. In a live or even a normal jamming situation, however, you may need 20 feet (6m) or more. If you want to connect the effect units, you may want cables as short as 3 feet. Also take note of any fraying or kinked sections as the cable's durability is the best indicator of quality; some have plastic-based wrapping and others use a knitted outer shell wrapping.

Electric Guitar material removed
All this material has been covered in the Anatomy section and Different Guitars section. I've pasted it here to allow anything relevant to be included in its appropiate section.

Material Removed

Electric guitar
If you are buying an electric guitar, also read Buying an Amplifier

Amplified electric guitars sound very different from an acoustic guitar, even when no effects or distortion are used. The pick-ups and amplifier define the guitar's sound. Electric guitars come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Pick-ups are an important part of an electric guitar's sound. There are two main kinds of pick-ups: passive single coil and humbuckers. Passive single coil pick-ups have one magnetic coil and are the standard pick-up for Fender Stratocasters. Humbuckers have two magnetic coils, allowing the pick-ups to be over-driven by the use of gain and this generally give a heavier overall sound. Furthermore, as the name implies, humbuckers cancel noise from electrical interference. Ultimately, however, both kinds of pick-ups are suitable for any kind of music and you will have to decide what kind of pickup is best for you.

Guitars can have more than one pick-up and it is the arrangement of the pick-ups that generate the end tone. Another consideration is the "playing area" between the pick-ups, as too much contact with the pick-ups can change the tone drastically, if not damage it. The lack of a pick-up "sticking out" also allows harder (and slightly less precise) picking. Such a problem is even more prevalent when it is either the Humbucker-Single Coil-Humbucker or Humbucker-Humbucker-Humbucker arrangement, where there is a smaller clean region, if any, and therefore will require a more careful approach to playing, which can be an important concern when buying a guitar for a beginner

A Tremolo bar, also known as a Whammy bar or Vibrato bar, is a bar that is used to slacken and stretch the strings, causing the sound to change pitch rapidly. When used lightly, it can create a vibrato effect, but it is more commonly used for dive bombs and various other guitar tricks. Some whammy bars have locking mechanisms that allow you to stay in tune more easily.

"Special" guitars
There are a variety of less common guitar types. These include archtop guitars, 12-string guitars, bass guitars, and multi-neck guitars. Each kind of these special guitars has its own characteristics, which may or may not suit the playing style of the guitarist, they are usually used for specific reasons like timbre or for technical reasons. For more information on these kinds of guitars, please see the Different Type of Guitars article.

Sluffs (discuss • contribs) 20:28, 5 November 2012 (UTC)