The Best Guitar You Can Get
How to find the very best guitar for beginners
I am often asked, as a nearly life-long guitarist and enthusiast, what is the best guitar. The answer to that is not so simple. I own several guitars, but with a singular exception, none can be described in five words or less. The fact is, that finding the best guitar is really about finding the best guitar for you, the individual player, and is not at all a matter of really, any of the superlatives that you could apply to any specific instrument. I’ll go further and state that the guitar that is best for you right now is likely not what would have been the best for you several years ago. In order to understand how to buy a guitar, you must first understand why you are buying a particular instrument. Your reasons for choosing one guitar over another may very well be as diverse as the reasons you pick the songs you want to play. This will be detailed, because it’s important, for reasons I’ll soon get into, so lets dive in…
The importance of selecting your instrument the right way...
When somebody asks me what guitar they ought to purchase, I’m often left wondering, first, if they are actually going to just buy whatever I tell them, and second, if this is going to be an online purchase. Now I’m huge on online shopping. I buy nearly everything online anymore with two exceptions. Pants, and guitars. And for much the same reason. Now I have no issue with buying gear online. My main amp I bought blind – online and for a tidy sum. I have been 100% satisfied with my selection. But a word about that as well, It is a flagship product from a high-end manufacturer, their reputation proceeds them. It isn’t as if I’d be left wanting something better. It is massively versatile, and the quality is unquestionable. So If I’m going to put out the money for A Mesa Boogie Road King without first having the chance to play one, why not buy a guitar online as well? I bought every bit of my euro-rack synthesizer stuff online. And that too, adds up. So not even a low dollar guitar? What gives? For many of us these days, going to a store is a risky mission of last resort, or it at least seems that way. But, hey, most of us still shop for groceries, and the grocery store is way more crowded than the music store. It would be simple if I just told you what to get, so that you could order it, and it would just show up at your door.
Now, I’d be happy to tell you which of my guitars I play most often, and I can also tell you that is is one of the very few instruments which I’d be comfortable ordering online. The only trouble is, that just because I like it, does not mean that you will, you might not even be ready for it. My daily driver is the Ibanez Jem 7V. It is an excellent quality, in the Ibanez Prestige line, designed with lots of input from Steve Vai, it sounds awesome, its light weight makes it easy to play for the hours that I typically practice, the quality control on these instruments is second to none, and they are beautiful to look at. So you might think, OK, this guy has been playing since the Nixon administration, he seems to know what he’s talking about, I’ll just order a Jem. Not so fast. How do you know that you would even want one. I can tell you first hand who does not like those guitars – Michael Angelo Batio, for one. At a recent clinic he held just minutes from where I live, he expressed that Ibanez does not suit his preference, basically due to the tone and feel of the instrument. Now I can tell you that I like Mike, and have been a big fan of his since his earlier days in Nitro, but I for much the same reason he does not prefer Ibanez instruments, I am not really partial to Dean guitars, and I have tried a few of them. Another issue with the Jem, is that it is definitely not for beginners. The price not withstanding, you need to get good if you are going to play one of these, because if you are still training your fingers, it will get away from you. Kind of like learning to drive in a Formula 1 car, it would likely discourage the average beginner.
A beautiful ecosystem
So you may be starting to understand that there are a lot of different guitars, and no one in particular is right for everybody. What’s more important to understand is that with all of the different guitars, available, a number of them are going to be perfect for you. Now, some players have one instrument. This seems to be a start for most of us. I have several. Some players have dozens or even hundreds. To be entirely honest with you, there are a tiny handful that I’d like to add to my stable. After a point, you can’t spend enough time with any of them to play them at their best, which means that you can’t play at your best. It goes quickly from a collection to a hoard, which is fine if you want lots and lots of guitars to look at, but I personally prefer a scenario where I can pick up any of my instruments, be instantly familiar with it and just play. But I digress. The point I’m trying to make, is that for each of us, there is an instrument that, from the moment we pick it up, speaks to us in a way that the others don’t. The trick is to find that instrument.
All guitars are diferent, some are more different than others...
So, I’ve talked a bit about Ibanez, and I bring them back into focus, along with Steve Vai, to discuss an important distinction. Mr Vai, at some point earlier on in his career wanted a guitar with certain features that were not, as a group, if at all, commercially available. Of course you had the monkey-grip, the Floyd Rose in a Strat-like guitar, and the different pickups/pot-configuration. He went to a shop called Jem to get a few (I think it was 4) made, and then came the issue of duplicating the instrument. Not as much to sell them, as it was to have the ability of walking into a music store if his equipment truck went missing just before a gig. He found that Ibanez was able to produce the most consistent instruments among various makers he looked into, and the Jem was born. Major advantage if you are in tune with the feel of the instrument, but the flip side is that if you pick one up and it just does not work for you, the next 5 probably won’t either. At the other end of the spectrum, at least in my experience, Is Gibson. I own two Les Pauls. I played several examples before buying each one, to find the one I liked. They are if anything, in premium the least consistent guitars that I have ever looked at. This is a major advantage. Why? Because we are all different, different hands, fingers, arms. So why would we all want to play the same guitar? The simple fact is, that you must find out what works for you, and there is a process to it.
In the beginning, we go through stages...
When you decide you want to learn guitar, unless you inherit something like a ’50s Les Paul or Strat, or a ’70s Martin, you are probably not going to start with a great instrument. And you are almost certainly not going to start out playing your dream guitar. This is just fine, because, if you are just beginning, you are not ready for such an instrument. As a beginner, it is important to get something that, A. will not dissuade you from playing, and B. will have some resale value when you are ready to trade up, or unfortunately in many cases, give up. When I first started, I got a $25 2 pickup no name guitar, which my first teacher promptly informed my parents was insufficient. So we went shopping. There was a ’73 Fender Strat, fat head stock, mocha finish. $325. Next to that was a Japanese Strat like guitar, white, $125. Guess which one I got… Anyhow, it was good enough to get started. I took my first few years of lessons on the white guitar, and then, once my parents saw that I was diligent in my guitar lessons, I was allowed to raid my bank account and buy the Les Paul custom that I’ve played over 20,000 hours on. Naturally, I still have it. The “Strat” was promptly sold. So in today’s market, new players have plenty of guitars to pick from, and on generality that I would dare to make is that you probably want to shop in a price range of around $350-$500 to buy an instrument for a student that shows a sincere interest in learning. Below that, you will not have much to pick from, and while you can spend more, I’d suggest, particularly if it is for a younger student, you see how serious they still are when it comes time to practice. A new player, with little to no experience should be able to tell if an instrument feels better or worse than another one, but they will not be ready to discern the fine points. Also, please remember that while the process of learning can be easier for younger students, you start when you start. Maybe the 10 year old up the street has a $2500 Fender Strat, but that child may also have started their studies at the age of three. If you are starting at 40 and want to drop 8 large on a Custom shop Gibson, fine but remember, you are a beginner, and you might not have the time for practice like you did when you were younger. Another thing that you may consider is that regardless of your budget, you probably should not buy a guitar with a Floyd Rose or similar tremolo as your first instrument, or if you do, you should absolutely consider paying a guitar tech to set it up for you the first time. Trust me on this one. It took me around four hours to set up the one on My Jem properly. It stays in tune perfectly, having been setup, but if you’ve little to no experience, you will want professional assistance on this, and you’ll need to take care of that before you can play the instrument in tune. As long as you stick to the same brand/gauge of strings, it needs only be setup once.
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Are there any brands of guitars that I should avoid?
Even near the lowest price ranges, established makers offer selections that are not terrible. The main reason I say $350+ is because even top names must cut corners to put a guitar on the shelves for, say $129. Lower quality pickups mean the instrument cannot produce good tones, cheap tuners mean the instrument will not stay in tune, and less preparation will also result in things like strings that frequently break, lack of intonation, action that is too high or too low, all things that will cost more to address that the difference in price for a better instrument. Left alone, these problems would discourage any player, and so when a parent says “my kid will never keep up with this – I’ll just go to Walmart and by some $99 guitar with an amp and everything”, they’ll promptly be proven right. So I’d say you do not want to buy a beginner any guitar from Target, Walmart, Wish or the like. Don’t but a “starter kit” , These are actually what I like to call “ender” kits. They wil more than likely assure that your young student will not want to practice.
OK, So how do I buy a guitar???????
To select a guitar, the guitar that you (or your child) will be inspired by, there are a number of steps that you must take, ideally in the following order. Now I’ve personally done this on a number of occasions, and I feel that, while this does not guarantee that every instrument that you buy this way will be a forever guitar, most of the time, you will come out with a long-term musical companion.
The first step is almost the most important. Get in the car, and go to a music store. I’m not saying this because I have stock in the music store. I typically buy the electronics online. However, what I have to say about guitars, applies, for beginners, to amplifiers as well. Now, if this is going to be an electric guitar, You’ll be needing an amp as well. And I’ll discuss amps for beginners in a bit. You need to have a budget in mind for the total of items you will need. For electric, you’ll need the guitar, a case, a strap, a cable, a tuner, a spare set of strings, picks and an amplifier. The $350+ price point I recommend is for the guitar only. So you will be closer to $550+ all in. If you get an acoustic, you won’t really need an amp right away, but a good quality instrument will cost a bit more, and so it’s going to be six of one, half dozen of the other.
Especially if you have never played before, enlist the aid of a good (willing to take the time to work with you) salesperson, and determine what they have in your price range. If this is for a younger player, I recommend that if they are dead set on a specific style, and there is something in the price range, let them try it out. If it is not one of the major top brands, make sure to have them try perhaps a Fender, an Ibanez, and if affordable an Epiphone before just picking out like a B.C.Rich or a Dean or the like. If it looks cool, but does not fit their (or your-whoever will be playing) physiology all that well find one that does. Many times along your musical journey, the only inspiration you will have will be your instrument. One of the key parts of this process is realizing the all-important distinction between what you think you want and what you actually want. Now, If after all of this, you wound up with the Ibanez, you have picked out your guitar and now you can select an amp. If you chose something else, now it’s time to narrow your selection. I confess I’ve not tried many fenders. The one I have started as a MIM (Mexican Fender) and I modified it extensively. But be it that or anything else, I would say that now you want to see if they have more of the same model and try those too. Necks can be different. If you like the Epiphone, I, personally would try out every one in the store, because their necks will all be a bit different, and you want the one that fists the hand best. Narrow down your selection to two or three instruments and then from there make your final selection. You are going to want to leave the store with this particular instrument on this particular day, or the whole exercise will have been a waste of time, because if someone comes in and buys the one you wanted, while you went home to “think it over”, then you are back to square one. Do not ask me how I know this. You will then want to select a case or a gig bag. This is important, you want to store the instrument in its case to mitigate the effects of changes in temperature or humidity, unruly pets or siblings, or other hazards that may linger nearby. An inexpensive store brand gig bag is fine, as long as it reasonably fits. You want a Snark tuner. The cheap Chinese tuners don’t work, the Snark is maybe $15 or so and with battery changes will last for years. Unlike say, a piano, you need to tune the guitar frequently, (the stuff to tune the piano costs hundreds so don’t be dissuaded.) Buy a decent cable, they are less likely to fail prematurely. (they all fail eventually). Beginning players should use a full sized pick. They are the least expensive. You can get fancier on picks as you learn. Besides, the cheapest ones are the correct size and come in a dizzying array of nifty colors. I do not recommend buying effects for / as a beginning guitarist. You need to learn to play the instrument first, and to concentrate on the core elements, such as chords and scales. If you have room in the budget, put it into the instrument.
Amps, or, "I'll have that full Marshall stack"
When starting out, the ideal choice of amplifier is a good quality name brand practice amp. You will not be playing gigs right away, and if you should happen to, well, that’s what SM57s are for. (It a microphone, for the uninitiated). Many practice amps, though not all offer various effects and some even have the ability to sound like other amps. Small and easy to transport, you are not saddled with something bulky and hard to move. I have never owned a stack. I have always played combo amps, and they are heavy enough. As an aside, I do have a stack of combo amps, but that’s another article…As long as the maker of the amp is a name brand, and it is not too large or so loud as to disturb others, you should be fine.
If you follow my advice, and are happy with all of your selections, it is very likely that you will upgrade your amp long before your guitar, and that’s just fine, because the need for a practice amp does not go away after you get a larger amp. There will frequently be times where a practice amp is preferable. If I go and entertain friends, I bring my smallest amp. It is fine for an intimate setting. If you need something backstage for between sets, you’ll want to have a practice amp.
Playing guitar is a skill that you can in may cases take with you through a lifetime, and it’s never too early to begin. Finding the right teacher, Like finding the right instrument will set you on a lifelong musical path, that can bring many benefits, whether you pursue a musical career, or just enjoy playing.