Buying Your First Guitar

My main instrument is guitar. I’ve been playing since I was eight, and my love affair with it probably started much earlier, listening to an old cassette tape that my father had lying around called “The John Williams Collection.” My world changed forever when my parents enrolled me in lessons at my local primary school and bought me a guitar through the teacher on which to learn. I still remember the box that it came in; a cardboard triangular shaped box with the brand name (I think it was a Riviera) and model number written on it in technical type. Upon opening the box, an intoxicating blend of the smell of wood, silk-core strings, varnish and glue— the new materials that made up my 3/4 size nylon-string guitar—a smell I’d never smelt before hit me. I loved that smell, and have never forgotten it since. I can bring it back just thinking about that guitar. Though the emotional response the smell triggers is multi-facetted, I keep coming back to one word: promise. To me, it was the smell of potential, adventure, discovery. It represents the start of my journey learning the guitar, a journey that has lived up to and greatly exceeded that first alluring promise.

I was lucky to have great advice back then from my first guitar teacher to set me on the right path. Others are not so fortunate. Getting the wrong instrument to start on can really put a stumbling block in your path to success. And there are enough potential stumbling blocks as it is, just check out in last week’s edition for some of them. What will follow over the next three editions, while by no means definitive, will give you a good idea of what to think about when considering the acquisition of that first guitar.

Secondhand vs. New

While you might luck out and get a great used guitar, in my experience the risk/ benefit balance weighs up in favour of a new guitar (not an expensive one, but a new one). Unless you know an experienced guitarist or luthier (that's what we call someone who builds guitars or other stringed instruments btw 🗜 ✏️ 🪚 ) who can accompany you when you go guitar shopping, secondhand guitars—at least as a first guitar—are best avoided. The one exception here is that a used guitar, sold by a reputable music shop, should be okay. (Note: the local pawnshop is not a reputable music store.) Any store Worth Their Salt will stand by their products (new and old) and won't sell you something that doesn't play well.

Happily, good student-model-guitars are not as expensive as the equivalent choice for other instruments (such as the flute or cello, where you’ll have to cough-up for anything half decent 🤑). You can get a great, brand-new guitar that will serve your needs for under US 200. This way, you have peace of mind knowing that everything's in top working order. Plus, should anything go wrong in the initial period after you've brought the guitar, you'll be covered by the manufacturer's warranty. The model I recommend (look out for it in the final post in this series)

takes a real beating, so once you're out of the warranty period (during which time any freak production quirk should've become apparent), you'll be able to sleep easy knowing that your guitar will be around for the long haul, provided you take some minimal care steps (which I'll outline in a subsequent post).

Buying vs. Hiring

Unless you’re really on the fence as to whether learning guitar will be for you, I’d recommend buying over hiring. As mentioned above, a guitar that will do everything you need it to is relatively affordable. Besides, if you’re serious about giving this a go, then you should be ready to commit for at least a year: good things take time! By the end of your “trial period,”🗓 you’ll probably have spent the same amount of money on hire costs that you could have bought the guitar. And, If you decide at the end of your guitar year that it’s not going to be your thing, having one around your home is not such a bad thing. They make for an inexpensive, original, and cool piece of art when hung on the wall or even displayed in one of these cool frames from guisplay!

If you would rather not keep it around, though, guitars are always easy to find new homes for. Their enduring popularity as an instrument means that, at the right price, there’s bound to be someone else in your local area who’s all too happy to buy it from you. Or perhaps you prefer to give your guitar to a friend or family member? (To the right person, a guitar makes a wonderful gift. 😉)

“I’m Left-Handed. Do I Need to Buy A Left-Handed Guitar?”

Short answer: No! You should play the same guitar as everybody else. This topic could (and probably should) have its very own post; there are many passionate opinions out there on the matter. For now, here are a couple of points to reflect upon, which should reassure the lefties out there that they're doing the “right” thing (okay, no more bad puns, I promise!) in buying a “standard” guitar:

• When was the last time you went to an orchestral concert and saw a violinist 🎻playing “left-handed?” This is not to say, however, that there are no “left-handed” violinists in orchestras. There are many; they just play the instrument the same way as everyone else to ensure that their bows are not taking out the eyes of the person sitting next to them 😵.
• Both hands are required to play the guitar; the job the left hand does when playing a “standard” strung guitar is perhaps even more intensive in terms of fine-motor-skill than that of the right hand (especially at the start).
  (That’s right, you could actually be advantaged being left-handed and playing the guitar the “standard” way.)
• Although there are many great examples of self-taught-players who play left-handed (e.g., Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney), if you progress to study guitar at a conservatory level, you'll be encouraged to play it the “standard” way.
• The guitar is a great social instrument. If you have one around, it's good to have it strung in the “standard” configuration. This way, you've got the biggest chance of your guitar being playable for friends. Furthermore, if you're left-handed, but string your guitar according to standard norms, you'll be able to play the majority of instruments you come across without too much fuss.
• You'll get a better choice of instruments. Though guitar manufacturers cater somewhat for players who choose to play the guitar “left-handed,” your choices are really limited compared to what's on offer for those playing the guitar the 'standard' way.

That’s all for this week. Be sure to check next week’s edition (or subscribe to have weekly posts delivered straight to your inbox) when I’ll get into what type of guitar you should consider and why!