Guitar-Buying Tips for Christmas

With the Christmas season fast approaching, gift ideas are plentiful this time of year? Why not give the gift of music? A gift that keeps on giving, as the saying goes!. And why not a guitar? The guitar is the one of the most affordable, portable, and popular musical instruments today. It can be played in any musical style, usually takes a minimum amount of maintenance, and can provide years of enjoyment. Here are a number of tips to buying a guitar, for the novice or the experienced music lover.

Price
Especially for the novice, price can be a major deterrent. Even a beginner guitar you might spend a couple of hundred dollars. If you want an electric guitar, you'll have to buy an amplifier and a cord too. On the other hand, don't necessarily let price strictly dictate what you buy and where you buy it from. Using some of these tips that I talk about here, shop around locally online and find yourself a good value instrument; preferably with service after the sale.

Parts of the Guitar
a guitar typically has the following parts:

• Neck - the long narrow piece that one fingers the strings on

• Fingerboard - the playing surface of the neck (can be a separate piece of wood)

• Body - the main piece of the guitar, usually single largest component

o Acoustic: hollow body, self resonating

o Electric: solid-body typically needs external amplification

• Strings - strands of wire in various gauges depending on pitch. Made out of metal or nylon (guitars usually have 6)

• Bridge - mount on the body, where the strings are fixed. Looks and acts like a bridge.

• Nut - the thin strip of plastic (sometimes bone or graphite) above which the strings sit. Lies at the joint of the neck and headstock

• Headstock - the head-shaped piece at the furthest-most part of the neck. Pegs are mounted on it with stretch the strings up to their proper tuning pitch

• tuning pegs - mounted on the headstock; strings are wrapped around these

• Electronics - electric guitars have magnetic pickups on them to amplify the sound. Some acoustic guitars have these also.

Woods and Construction
Traditionally guitars are made out of wood. Nice (more expensive) guitars are made out of nicer more exotic woods. Different woods have different densities and therefore resonate differently. Beware of cheaper guitars that advertise a "solid wood" guitar. Sure it's solid wood, but it's not necessarily good. It's probably a laminate or plywood guitar, neither of which are necessarily of high quality (but they are cheaper to manufacture). Without going into a symposium on musical woods, here is a cross-section of woods typically used in guitar building:

• Maple - hard bright sound

• Rosewood - rounder tone

• Ash - denser wood/tone

• Ebony -

• Spruce - the finer acoustic guitars are made of rare breeds of spruce, such as Engleman or Sitka

Extras
Do you know what you're getting? Typically if you buy a guitar a chain-department store, you're just getting a cheap guitar that may well break or otherwise soon die on you. If you buy through a local music store, you may pay a tad more, but you will get better service. You may well get set up with strings, as well as intonation adjustment, clean/polish, warranties, a free case or bag, etc. Typically for the novice guitar buyer/player, these things are well worth it, because the novice doesn't know about these things

Acoustic or Electric?
Does your young aspiring guitar player want to be Jimi Hendrix or Jack Johnson? How do you choose between buying an acoustic or electric guitar as their first instrument? Consider these tips. Acoustic guitars are cheaper and more portable, but more difficult to play because the strings are heavier and the necks are wider both of which can make it discouraging for a new student. But this does develop hand strength faster. Electric guitars are "neater" and easier to play with lighter strings, but they need more peripherals to use (amplifiers, etc). and have more mechanical parts to keep track of. Weigh these options carefully and discuss them with your local music shop person.

Name Brands
Name brands like Fender and Gibson typically have budget lines of guitars for purchase. Good beginning acoustic guitar brands include Yamaha, Alvarez, and Fender. If you can, ask questions and test-drive more than one. ?

Department Store vs Online shopping?
The Internet age has introduced many variables into the shopping experience. The music industry is no exception. Local stores find themselves struggling to compete with chain stores and online musical suppliers. Sometimes it is wise and good to go local, the service may well be worth it. Bottom line: you're spending money here so get the best quality for the best price. Consider music an investment which it is.

Lessons or self-taught?
If you're a beginning player, you'll want to consider lessons. Being self-taught is only good if you're extremely self-motivated. (if you think being self-taught is really great, perhaps you'd like a self-taught doctor ? ). There is something to be said for in-born talent, and goodness knows there are professional players who made it big without any lessons of any kind. But I'm a believer in structured learning for at least a part of one's musical upbringing. While you're picking our junior's new ax , ask about lessons at the store or around town. Any music store will have a studio and/or references.

In Closing…
Do a little homework before dropping down some money. Figure out what you want and why you want it. Guitars can provide a lifetime of enjoyment for not a lot of money. Happy shopping and Merry Christmas!