Nylon string guitars have a deeper, softer tone than their steel-string cousins whose sound is more bright and sharp. This difference in tonality makes nylon stringed guitars more expressive than other guitars on the market. Now, if you’re interested in playing popular genres like rock, jazz or country, this is not the instrument for you. Instead, nylon stringed guitars are better suited to play classical and Spanish style music.

This is because the nylon string guitar is especially suited to finger picking – a key aspect of classical and Spanish music. Of course, the guitars are also adequate for strumming and can be played with a pick but they simply won’t produce the bright, loud sounds necessary for country or rock music no matter how you play them.

If you decide that the nylon string guitar is for you, the next step is to actually pick out a beginner’s instrument. Compared to electric guitars or steel-string acoustic guitars, nylon stringed instruments are much cheaper. More importantly, a cheaper nylon stringed guitar plays well and, although the quality of the guitar increases with the price, it’s possible to purchase a solid one for under $200 that sounds quite nice. This is one of the major points in favor of nylon stringed guitars because it’s almost impossible to purchase a quality steel-string guitar for less than $200.

There are a few varieties of nylon string guitars that a beginner can choose from. Flamenco, Romantic and Baroque guitars are all popular varieties of nylon string guitars but the most common one you will find is the classical guitar. Also known as the Spanish guitar, the classical guitar is suitable for beginners because it lends itself well to the playing of several diverse musical genres. If you aren’t exactly sure what genres you are interested in playing, the classical guitar can play jazz, folk, flamenco and classical music.

For this reason, it’s a great learning instrument even if it is primarily a finger-picking guitar. One of the noticeable design elements that makes the instrument suitable to finger picking is that the strings are farther apart on a classical guitar than on a steel-string guitar.

Also, nylon stringed instruments like the classical guitar can be purchased with electronic amplifiers built into the body although this can significantly diminish the expressiveness of the instrument. If you need to amplify the instrument, consider clipping a microphone to the body as it’s cheaper and should have less of a distorting affect on the guitar.

Ultimately, the nylon string guitar is a great instrument with soft, deep tones that make it perfect for classical and Spanish music. Every beginner should seriously consider starting out with one.

The steel-string acoustic is popular in a number of music genres including country, rock, folk and blues, primarily because of its clearer and louder sound quality. There’s a popular misconception that beginners should avoid the steel-string guitar because its strings are particularly rough on a beginner’s fingers but the steel-string acoustic is actually suitable for players of every level. Frankly, a beginner’s fingers are going to hurt no matter what type of guitar they start out on and a beginner who is interested in rock, country or any of the other genres favored by a steel-string guitar should start on a steel-string guitar. It’s just that simple. In fact, the sound of the guitar is far more important than how your fingers feel when you’re just learning to play.

Of course, cost is also a factor for beginners and you should expect to pay more for a steel-string guitar than for other types of guitars like the gut or nylon string acoustics. The benefit is that steel-string acoustics need to be tuned far less often than other acoustic guitars and are far more versatile so the price difference can be worth it.

Before you purchase your steel-string acoustic guitar, make sure it’s a solid top instrument. Some guitars have plywood or laminated tops and these don’t produce the brilliant sound that a solid top steel-string acoustic does. Keep in mind that a solid top is slightly more expensive and you can expect to pay about $300 for a new one.

If you’re considering a steel-string guitar, it’s also important to understand just how these guitars are amplified. Like any acoustic guitar, steel-string acoustics can be amplified using a detachable pickup or through a microphone that clips on to the guitar body. Steel-string acoustics can also be amplified using a transducer built into the body of the guitar that turns the steel-string acoustic into what is commonly known as an acoustic-electric guitar. You have to be careful when choosing a means of amplification for your acoustic guitar because you’ll want to choose something that amplifies the sound without distorting it. The lack of distortion is important because it’s the clear tones and bright sounds of steel-string acoustics that distinguish them from distortion-laden electric guitars.

There are other options to consider in steel-string guitars like what sort of body style you’d like or what sort of tonewoods comprise the guitar but these are decisions to be made based on personal feel and playing style. You simply don’t have the expertise as a beginner for these choices to have much impact on your playing but make sure to consider them when you’re purchasing your second guitar.

Simply put, if you’re interested in playing country, rock or folk, a steel-string acoustic guitar is definitely something you should consider. Its clear tones and louder sound make it the perfect guitar for these genres and set it apart from other varieties of acoustic guitars.

First, before you start shopping, set a price that you’re willing to spend. Bass guitars start at about $200 new and $100 used. These entry-level guitars are a beginner’s best bet because they sound good, help you get a feel for the instrument when you’re starting out and constitute a fairly small investment so if you find out that the bass guitar is not for you, you haven’t spent $1,000 that you’ll never recoup.

Second, decide between a four, five and six string bass. In general, a four string bass is the most common and most suitable for bass guitar beginners. The five and six string bass guitars allow for greater experimentation and are useful for bass players who perform frequent solos. Beginners should start out with the basic four string bass because it’s an easier instrument to learn on. Neither the fifth or sixth strings are necessary for basic bassists so why pay for something you’re not going to use?

In the same vein, bass guitars can be purchased with or without frets. Like the choice between four or more strings, this is mainly a feature for individuals with a lot of talent and experience. Frets make the bass easier to play by clearly marking each semitone, producing a consistent intonation and generally making beginning bassists more confident in their handling of the strings. That being said, fretless bass guitars produce a distinct sound that some expert bassists crave. Without frets, the bassist presses the string directly against the wood of the fingerboard, producing a somewhat muted intonation compared to fretted bass guitars. The fretless bass also enables the use of vibrato and other musical effects popular in Jazz and Funk.

But perhaps the most important factor to keep in mind when purchasing the best bass guitar for you is just how comfortable it is for you personally. Everything from the weight of the instrument to the length of the neck to the width of the body can influence how comfortable the bass guitar is for you. Remember, how the guitar actually feels is far more important than how it looks or what it costs. Don’t settle on a guitar simply because it’s on sale or you like the way it looks.

One final feature to keep in mind is the wood the bass guitar is constructed with. The wood used in manufacturing a bass guitar has a significant impact on its tone. It isn’t something that a beginner should be concerned with but it is interesting to know that alder is the most common wood used for the body and maple the most common for the neck. The wood shouldn’t matter to your playing style until you’re ready to purchase your second or third bass guitar.

As a beginner, your choices are fairly simple and price will probably prove the most significant factor in your purchase. However, these other features will be important as you learn more about your instrument and progress enough to consider purchasing a second bass guitar.

In describing the different types of electric guitars, it’s best to start at the beginning of the electric guitar’s history with the hollow-body electric guitar. More than 70 years old, the hollow-body appeared in Swing bands during the 1930s and is still in use to this day. Also known as a semi-acoustic guitar, hollow-body guitars have both a sound box and electrical pickups. This produces a unique sound based on the vibrations of the open chamber in the body of the guitar combined with the vibrations from the strings. The hollow-body is still popular more than 70 years after its inception and its unique sound can be heard prominently in Jazz music today.

Even though the first electric guitar was the hollow-body, the solid body electric guitar is the dominant player in the electric market today. Debuted in 1950, the first solid body to hit the mass market was the Fender Telecaster. The solid body is the most radical departure from the traditional acoustic guitar. It’s comprised of a solid wood body and almost totally dependent on an amplifier. Solid body guitars require amps because they don’t have an empty chamber in which sound vibrates and is naturally amplified. Solid body guitars are noted for their clean, cutting sound totally divorced from the feedback that’s noticeable in hollow body electric guitars. The sound of the solid body is also more precise and it’s the natural starting point for anyone interested in learning the electric guitar.

An interesting cross between the solid body and hollow-body guitars is the semi-hollow-body. Built with a piece of wood running through the middle of the guitar, the semi-hollow-body has hollow chambers on the left and right sides of the body. Essentially a compromise between the hollow-body and solid body, semi-hollow-body guitars possess a relatively clear sound with less feedback than a hollow-body but enough vibration and resonance to still be suitable for Jazz. Unlike the hollow-body, the semi-hollow-body has a precise enough tone that it’s suitable for genres like pop, rock and country.

Aside from these three dominant types of electric guitars, there are a number of variations on the electric guitar with different necks or numbers of strings. For instance, some people may be familiar with the double neck guitar that allows the musician to play both the bass and six-string guitar at once. Also, although the six-string guitar is standard, electric guitars are available with any number of strings from six to twelve.

From the iconic solid body to the obscure double neck, there are many types of electric guitars that cater to specific playing styles, needs and genres of music. For this reason, it’s important to know how the guitar developed and exactly what options are available even though you may play the guitar your whole life and never own anything but a solid body.

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Buying a guitar for the first time can be an intimidating experience. There are literally thousands of models – most of which sound relatively similar if you’re new to guitar playing. This guide will walk you through the decisions you need to make before you walk out of the store, in the order you need to make them.

Acoustic Guitar or Electric?

This is the most basic decision when purchasing a guitar. Acoustic guitars are louder when they aren’t hooked up to an external sound system, but you have less options when it comes to modulating your guitar’s tone (e.g. distortion, adjusting bass and treble, special effects like phasers and wah pedals).

Electric guitars are incredibly versatile instruments, but you simply can’t achieve that expansive, rhythmic, clean sound of a high-quality acoustic guitar – even if you purchase the most expensive effect pedals on the market.

Consider purchasing an acoustic guitar if you match any of these characteristics:

• You love listening to country, folk, or acoustic rock.
• You don’t care about modulating your guitar’s sound.
• You don’t want to purchase, or don’t have access to, an external sound amplifier.
• You like the tone of an acoustic guitar better.

If you match any of these traits, you should probably buy an electric:

• You love listening to rock, jazz, metal, or any style of music that sounds better with amplification and effects.
• You want to experiment with different sound effects.
• You don’t mind purchasing, or have access to, an external sound amplifier.
• You don’t mind waking up the neighbors.

Buying an Acoustic Guitar

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When you test guitars, make sure you try different playing techniques. Pay special attention to the fretboard. Is it easy to slide from one fret to another? How do you like the volume and tone? Acoustic guitar tones vary greatly between different woods, necks, and the style of the guitar bridge. Make sure you try a wide variety to get a better idea of what’s available.

Also decide whether you want an electro-acoustic or a standard acoustic guitar. Electro-acoustics can plug into an external amplifier system and are able to have their treble, mid, and bass levels adjusted when plugged in. Standard acoustic guitars can not be amplified.

Buying an Electric Guitar

It’s a bit safer to purchase an electric guitar online, but I still recommend trying a model out at a music store before you order anything. You’ll also have to consider which guitar amplifier you want to purchase. Your guitar tone will be greatly affected by your choice of amplifier, so choose carefully.

Electric guitars tend to be designed for specific styles of music. It’s best to choose a guitar that’s meant for the style of music you want to play. This will probably require a bit of research on your part.

Electric guitars are equipped with either humbuckers or standard pickups. The conventional wisdom is to use humbuckers if you’re going to primarily be playing heavily distorted music (heavy rock, metal, punk, progressive etc.). Otherwise most guitar players go with standard pickups.

As with acoustic guitars, pay attention to how comfortable the fret board feels when testing an electric guitar. Also, experiment with different guitar weights.

Test, test, test…

Guitars are fairly expensive and some stores don’t allow returns. Make sure you try playing a wide variety and that you try using different playing techniques. Most of all, enjoy the shopping experience!

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