Important factors to consider when buying Your First Guitar

Many times people get inspired to play guitar and without understanding the basic factors of selecting a guitar, jump straight to purchasing something that might not suit them. If you’re buying your first guitar, you’ll face choices like what size guitar to buy, deciding between an acoustic or electric, or whether to invest in a new or used instrument. While there are many variables that might affect your decision, the most important thing is to find a guitar that sounds good, looks good, and feels good to play – to you. Here are some basic factors to be considered while selecting a guitar:

Start by choosing if you want an Electric Guitar or Acoustic Guitar

It is always recommendable to get an acoustic as your first guitar. As it does not require any accessories such as amplifiers whereas, electric guitar requires accessories. 

Acoustic guitars are great for all kinds of music, including folk, rock, country, and every other style.

Structure of the Guitar

While deciding on the structure of Guitar, check:

• Weight of the guitar: Is it light or heavy? Are you able to hold it comfortably?
• Neck of the Guitar: Check the neck of the guitar for any curves or bends. Your guitar should have a straight neck, and prevent the strings from hitting the frets as you play.
• Width of the guitar: Your playing arm should fit comfortably over the top of guitar
• The controls of the guitar (for electric guitars), should not be complicated
• Length of the Guitar: Can you comfortably reach the entire fretboard?

Action:

• The action of a guitar or bass is how the strings relate to the fretboard. 
• The strings should not be super far from the neck at the point where the neck and body of the guitar meet. 
• The neck of the guitar should not be curved.

Price:

While you could be worried about spending too much money on a guitar before fully committing to learning how to play, it is important to realize that the cheapest guitars can often be difficult to play or difficult to keep in tune. 

• There are budget options in both categories (Electric and Acoustic).

• The brand is not as important –if the guitar stays in tune, produces decent tone, and feels comfortable to play, it is just fine for a beginner.
• Used acoustic and electric guitars can be found at local instrument stores, and even major online music retailers.