There are hundreds of choices in buying a new guitar, but not all of them are good. I’m sorry to all you folks out there looking for great bargains, but you get what you pay for. You aren’t going to find a great guitar that a professional would even think about owning for $100 at your local guitar center, it’s just not the way the market works.

If you are a beginner with a normal pocketbook, you should buy a medium priced guitar. You don’t know if you’re going to say “Screw it!” after a few weeks or months, so it is best that you don’t put too big of a dent in your wallet for something that ends up collecting dust in your closet. I won’t tell you to buy a cheap one because if your guitar is absolute shit, you’re much more likely to give up because you aren’t getting that sound/playability that you should have. Also, cheap guitars lose their resale value pretty much as soon as you pay for it, but more medium/high priced guitars do not. Some may even grow in value over the years.

If you are planning to get an electric as your first guitar, I highly discourage you from doing so. Guess what you need with an electric? An amplifier. A good one will cost you a pretty penny. A bad one will make a crappy sound, which may lead you to give up. So, what’s the solution? Learn on an acoustic. That’s right folks, you heard right, learn on an acoustic. Acoustics are usually more difficult to play than electrics (yes, that is IN DEED a good thing!). Your fingers will hurt, but that’s a sign of building those finger muscles that any guitarist should have. Those finger muscles are harder to obtain when learning on an electric, because they’re easier on you. If you learn on an acoustic, your first words when playing an electric will be “Holy crap! This is easier than I thought!”…maybe not that much excitement, but you hopefully get the point. Now, I know that some are reading this who are completely devoted to getting an electric as your first. I’d just like to remind you that virtually all forms o f music utilize the acoustic guitar in them. Yes, that includes rock.

Another benefit of acoustic guitars is their portability. You can take the acoustic guitar anywhere you want, and you don’t need a power source…or to lug around an amplifier with a bunch of cables. An acoustic guitar is an all-in-one learning machine, while an electric is a semi-complex system.

Now, if you unfortunately have a habit of giving up as soon as you’ve determined that you “can’t do it”, then you may want to learn on an electric.

Acoustic Guitars – Acoustic guitars, besides being a better choice for learning with, are easier to choose from in that there aren’t so many options. With an electric, you can change things out to radically change the sound. Plus, if the amplifier you try it with sounds terrible, a great guitar will sound terrible along with it…leading you to make an incorrect choice.

Acoustic Guitar Size – There are many sizes of acoustic guitars. How the size affects the sound is quite simple: larger guitars have more bass (they sound deeper).

Steel Stringed versus Classical – Two main categories of acoustic guitars exist: steel stringed and classical. Steel string guitars have steel strings, classical guitars have nylon strings. They both make different tones, which you will have to hear for yourself at a guitar store. The necks on classical guitars are generally wider, also – which should affect your choice if you have small hands.

Acoustic Guitar Construction – One of the first things to look at is common sense structual integrity. If the guitar seems as though it will far apart as soon as you drop it (you will eventually), don’t buy it. In guitars, it is better to be safe than sorry. Cheaper guitars have plywood (AKA laminate) backs/sides/tops. Most of the sound from an acoustic guitar comes from the top, so it is best to get a guitar with at least a solid top (plywood doesn’t sound as good). The more expensive the guitar is, the more solid wood it has, generally speaking. If you have a deep wallet, go ahead and buy an acoustic guitar with all solid wood.

Make sure that the neck is straight by looking down it from the headstock.

Then, make sure that the guitar is tuned (if you don’t know how to, ask a salesman…they will help, they want you to buy their guitars). Strum it a few times, and even to the untrained ear it should be apparent as to if it has a good tone to it. Be careful with this though, don’t strum one guitar and say that you’ll buy it because you happen to like it. You need to compare it to all the other guitars, in all price ranges, so that you get a good idea as to where it stands among them.

What’s it for? – Now, decide what the hell you are going to do with the guitar. Are you going to record with it? Play live with it? Or just sit on your porch and play songs with your friends? For recording, it is best to get a guitar with a bright tone (high pitched), as bassy guitars will sound very muffled through a microphone. For playing on a stage, you want to double check that the guitar is made well. A guitar that is played live often takes a beating, so you don’t want it to snap in half in the middle of a show. For playing just for fun, it’s pretty much up to you: what sounds the best to your ears?

Hey, guess what? You’ve (hopefully) bought yourself a good guitar that will become one of your closest friends through the years. Don’t forget to name it!

In this day and age where purchasing things can be done over the internet, it is sufficient to say that even guitars can be purchased in this manner. If a person wants to buy a guitar online, all he or she has to do is to search online for the particular guitar model and brand that they want. When the search results are displayed, they often show where this guitar can be purchased and offer options regarding modes of payment and delivery. However, there are a few things to be remembered in choosing to buy a guitar online. The first thing to do when you buy a guitar online is to do some research. There are many types of guitar out in the market. It is important to scout around. Different stores have different prices. The second thing to do is to enlist a friend’s help in buying a guitar. Your friend should know a lot about guitars especially when it comes to a guitar’s ideal specifications. If you’re on a budget, he or she can guide you in selecting a guitar which fits into your price range and yet sound amazing.The third thing to do is know the advantages of buying a guitar online versus buying a guitar in a music store. When you buy a guitar online, you won’t be able to perform some test runs on it to see how it sounds. You also won’t be able to determine if it is comfortable enough for you to handle. This is one advantage that buying in a music store has over buying a guitar over the internet. The fourth thing to know when you buy a guitar online is to know the warranty periods that each guitar manufacturer or distributor has for the guitars. This is done so as to avoid having to pay any extra fee if, by some unforeseen circumstance, you find yourself getting a damaged guitar. If you’re still stuck on which guitar to buy, then the fifth tip should come in handy. This tip involves reading guitar reviews made by users who have had the experience of owning a particular guitar. User-reviews often detail what the user likes and dislikes about the product. It is important to read these user reviews so that you’ll know what you’re getting yourself into once you purchase the guitar.The sixth tip is to choose a guitar which suits your purpose. An electric guitar is lighter and more portable than a classic or acoustic guitar. However, it does have some other accessories which are also important to own and set-up. If you’re just planning to play the guitar for recreational purposes then you might be better-off having an acoustic guitar.After choosing your guitar, you can continue to purchase it online. This is the seventh tip. There may be differences in the prices when comparing a guitar bought online to a guitar bought in a music store. It is said that some online stores don’t charge the customer any sales tax. There are a few others who do though. The shipping method is something to think about as the eighth tip. Instruments have to be handled with care. However, not most shippers, or rather employees of shippers, understand that. In order to make sure that your guitar arrives undamaged, it is important to choose a shipper with a good reputation. The ninth tip also deals with shipping. If you are not too sure about the shipper, then make sure that your guitar comes professionally packed in order to avoid damage. The tenth and final thing to do when your guitar arrives at your doorstep is to examine it carefully for any damage. If there is some damage, make sure that you are still within the warranty period as this enables you to return the guitar to the manufacturer. However, the shipping and returning fees may be costly. All in all, there are certain things to look out for when you decide to buy a guitar online. There are also certain risks involved. A person should gauge the situation carefully in order to decide which buying method is right for him or her.

Trying to figure out what guitar amp to get is like trying to make a  decision when buying a car. Sure an automobile is much more expensive, but they both cost money and you need to make sure that they do what you need them to.Stick with trusted brand names when buying an amp. I can’t tell you how many off the beaten path amps that I have purchased that didn’t work well. If you feel the love for vintage coming on already, wait till you’ve got a little bit more experience under your belt so that you can make better decisions on down the road. If you are a beginningguitar player and need an amp, this is obviously no time to start up a rare collection.Your budget doesn’t need to exceed five hundred dollars, and in many cases you can get a high powered practice amp for around three hundred. A practice amp will generally contain one, 12 inch or 10 inch speaker, which is plenty of sound. However, if you think that you might be jamming with some people any time soon, I would suggest going ahead and getting an amp with two, 12 inch speakers.You don’t necesarilly need a lot of wattage to pump out the sound, but if you’re going with a lesser known brand name then maybe you consider looking in the higher wattage department, but this all depends on what you want out of your amp.If you plan to study rock styles of music, then you’re obviously going to want some effect goodies, but I always remind people that even if they want to stick to just clean playing (no distortion), having a nice array of effects is a good thing for tweaking yoursound. Some people always say that too many effects is just covering up poor playing, and I agree with this, but there are some nice recipes out there to get a great tone, clean or distorted.Now days amp technology has improved so much some guitar amp models can actually record a little bit of music, loop it, have plug in features for stereo headphones (so you don’t bother mom and dad), and some even have USB connections made available for easier recording purposes.I don’t think that spending so much time on an amp is as important as trying out a lot of different guitars, but it never hurts to experiment with different ones in a store. If you are new to guitar playing and the thought of walking into a store and plugging in is terrifying to you, don’t worry about it. This is widely accepted and commony practice in the lair of a musician consumer. Twist the knobs around, ask questions about what does what, and see if any kind of tone stands out to you.After this the next step is to get a little instruction to learn and master guitar. There are plenty of easy learn and master guitar courses that will help you take your guitar playing where you want it to go.

A guitar amp is one of the accessories you will have to possess if you are serious about your playing an electric guitar. A guitar amp increases the volume of your guitar and is a must have if you are making public performances. Guitar Amps also allows you to modify the tone by emphasizing or de-emphasizing frequencies and adding special electronic effects.

The amplifier works in two stages. The first one is preamplifier stage which amplifies the voltage of the signal from the guitar. The preamplifier stage allows electronic effects like distortion, reverb, and chorus and controls like graphic equalizers. The second one is power amplifier stage which produces a higher current for the speaker.

There are certain things that need to be taken into consideration while buying a Guitar Amp, particularly an acoustic type.

You can choose from a wide range of amps that include hard rock style guitar amplifier and acoustic amplifiers. Your choice of amplifier will depend on your personal needs, however, always make sure you are well informed. You can always buy amps through the net, and various websites are designed to help buyers choose the right amp.

Having a great guitar amp might just be more important than having a great guitar.  Sure, both are important but you can sometimes plug a poor quality guitar into a great amp and have it sound good but a great guitar plugged into a terrible amp still won’t sound that good.

There are basically four types of guitar amplifier and each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Tube amps – The tube amp has been around the longest and is the amplifier that all others are modeled after.  A tube amp uses glass vacuum tubes in its power section and preamplifier section.  Because of the tubes, these amps have a warm tone that feels natural and offers a lot of sustain and power.  The drawback to tube amps is that the tubes wear out over time and as they wear out, the sound of the amp changes.  Tube amps also store a lot of voltage and therefore require a specially trained technician to change the tubes every few years.

Solid state – The solid state guitar amp has the benefit of sounding the same every time it’s switched on as it doesn’t rely on parts that wear out to create its tone.  A solid state amp uses transistors in its preamp section rather than tubes.  While this does make the amplifier slightly more reliable, the tone is generally grittier and more sterile especially on overdriven or lead tones.  Solid date amps almost always cost less than tube amps.

Hybrid – The hybrid amp is a new breed of amplifier that blends a tube preamp section with a solid state power amp section to try to achieve the much desired tube tone.  Marshall started this trend with their Valvestate line of amps and Line 6 has partnered with world renowned tube amp manufacturer Bogner to create a modern hybrid amp.  A hybrid amp naturally costs a bit more than a solid state amp but are still less expensive than a high quality tube amp.

Modeling amp – These are amplifiers that have a digital processor built in that attempts to replicate the sounds of many different guitar amplifiers, cabinets, rooms and microphone placement.  They are very flexible and usually have effects built in as well as a tuner, and a direct line out for recording.  Most can be switched via a foot controller so that different sounds can be brought up on the fly.  They are versatile amplifiers that can generate many different sounds and are getting closer to sounding like tubes amps all the time, but many are just not there yet.

I’ve dedicated this post to the most important decision you’ll ever make in your life. How to chose the perfect rock guitar for under $500.

This is a subject that shouldn’t be taken lightly, because current statistics prove that the your guitar will out last your first marriage 10 to 1!

After owning a very decent collection of guitars in my day, I wanted to pass on some knowledge that will help your buying decision, and give you some tips that will make sure that with whatever you decide to purchase you’ll be happy.

Let’s begin:

1st step to choosing the perfect guitar – Opt for tone over looks any day!

Whether you’re new to the guitar or not, it’s easy to get caught up in a guitar that ‘looks cool’, but rest assured after you lay out the dough for that axe the hype will quickly fade if it sounds like crap.

Tone is king. Nothing will make the worlds greatest guitarist sound like horrible faster than a crappy sounding guitar. Not only for the obvious reasons (it sounds like crap), but because it’s near impossible to play good on a rig that you’re not 100% satisfied with.

The licks you used to be able to shred through with ease now sounds like pure mush, and that KILLS your confidence no matter how good of a player you are.

Lack of confidence means hesitation. That hesitation will make you sound sloppy, which will soon bring an overwhelming embarrassment that will take weeks to recover from.

If you’re looking at a guitar in the entry level market ($500 or less) then I would highly suggest staying away from Ibanez, Jackson, Danelectro, or any type of flying V, SG, or explorer type bodies.

Although these companies/brands have some sought after models in the higher price range, the cheaper counter parts have second rate electronics. (aka – crap tone)

2nd step to choosing the perfect guitar – Cheap guitar shouldn’t equal cheap craftsmanship!

The first thing you should always do is tune up the guitar (with an actual tuner, not your ear!). Play around with it, and play hard. Then re-check the tuning after about 10 minutes. If there is a drastic difference in the pitch, then that’s a little indicator that the guitar isn’t made well at all.

Itís normal for a guitar, even expensive ones, to lose tune in music shops. This is caused from dead, old, strings that are either rusted or have a years worth of caked on finger grease.

But if after playing it for ten minutes, it’s so out of tune that you can’t even distinguish what key you’re playing in, then you need to set that guitar down, and run far, far away.

This could be cause from defective hardware, often times cheap or improperly installed tremolo systems.

That’s a problem that you can not fix without paying almost as much for the repair as you did for the entire guitar in the first place.

My recommendation: If you want a good entry level guitar, that you can make sure will sound great, play great, and it’s something that you can actually keep long term, then look at a Jimmy Vaughn Signature Fender Strat.

This would be my first go to guitar for under $500 hands down. It’s built to last, sounds great, and no matter what style you want to play you’ll feel comfortable playing it on that.

Now if you want to up your budget a little bit, then we can definitely get you into an axe thatís tailored made for you, but we’ll have to deal with that on another post.