How to Pick a Guitar

YouTube video of this lesson

After deciding to start playing guitar many people ask what they should choose.  After all, the choices can be daunting.. steel string acoustics, nylon string classical guitars, electric guitars, semi-hollow body electrics, dobros, etc.

First, any guitar you have is better than one you don’t.  If there is one lying around, pick it up, start playing! The more you play and the more you listen, you might find that the type of guitar you ultimately want changes.  And you can learn on any guitar.

But if you are going to buy your first guitar, there are two questions you have to answer… what do you want in your hands and what type of music do you want to play.

Electrics are easier to play, especially when we get to barre chords.  It takes less strength to hold down the strings and electrics tend to hurt newbies’ fingers less.  However electrics, to be fully appreciated, need to be plugged in, and therefore will be louder.  Nylon string classicals are quietest, and easiest to finger pick, but the fingerboard is a little wide so your hand has to stretch more.  But acoustic guitars are quieter which the family or neighbors might appreciate more.  The steel strings are quite stiffer and take more effort to make ring clearly.  And while it may be more difficult to start, once you can manage yourself on an acoustic, moving to an electric is quite easy.

I started myself with electrics, then moved to classicals before I ever owned an acoustic, but must say that due to the volume and portability, my acoustic gets the most play these days.

If your goal is to play metal or punk, you might want to hit the electric.  If you are more into folk or indie rock, grab the acoustic.  If your heroes are Lindsay Buckingham or Paganini, then start with a classical.  

The lessons here are workable on any type of guitar you can get your hands on.  As the level progresses, we will get into more instrument specific techniques.