How to choose a Guitar?

A guide for beginners and professional players alike.

A guitar is a type of musical instrument called a chordophone which means that it creates sound with the help of chords or strings. It is a very popular chordophone owing to its unique construction and tuning. It is constructed with wood and usually has six strings. These strings can be made up of gut, nylon or steel.

Not all players bother to know about the instrument and its construction but once you do, you are sure to understand simple tasks like tuning on a better level.

Hence it raises the question:

How do you choose the perfect guitar for you?
Interestingly, the main difference between a classical and an acoustic guitar is the material of the string. A classical guitar is made up of nylon strings while the acoustic guitar has steel strings.
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WHAT AFFECTS THE SOUND OF A GUITAR??

Music altogether has different combined characteristics like frequency, pitch, amplitude and tone. The tone of a guitar is the most important characteristic of the music resulting from it. Hence the sound of the guitar is affected by factors affecting its tone. Let’s take a look at some of the important ones:.

Size:

For Acoustic Guitars, size plays a huge role. In an Acoustic Guitar, a smaller body will result in a higher treble response and hence it will give a smaller bass response.

A smaller guitar is expected to have a diminished tone but it is capable of producing high volumes. It is also observed that smaller guitars have a balanced ratio of bass and treble frequencies.

This becomes a very important point of consideration when an acoustic guitar is to be used on stage. In live performance, an acoustic guitar can probably handle a better feedback while a larger guitar would give an extra bass.

When you consider recording in a smaller room, bass can always be added to your guitar and can help add a much more all-rounded experience.

Wood:

It is common belief that the choice of wood is the biggest factor when it comes to the sound of an acoustic guitar.

Let’s take a look at the types of wood and how they affect the tone and sound of the guitar:

• Spruce:  The standard wood of choice for the top of the guitar. It is preferred due to its high rigidity and light weight. This results in the production of high velocity sound.
• Sitka Spruce: This is a variation to the Spruce wood which has a power direct tone. This allows the guitar to keep its clarity especially when it is played forcefully.
• Cedar: A very popular wood which balances warm sounds. This is preferred by finger pickers because of its rich response when played by lighter styles.
• Mahogany: Guitars made with mahogany tops have a low response rate. They create a strong sound because of their high density and low overtone. Strongly preferred by country blue players, Mahogany has a high velocity of sound.
• Maple: This wood has a low response rate and high damping internally. Owing to these features it allows the tones on the top wood to be heard transparently. It is very acoustically transparent and is used for the back or the sides of the guitar.
• Rosewood: Has a high response rate and range of both over and undertones. It is awarded for its strength. Used commonly at the bottom end, it adds a darkness of tone to the rest of the range.

Scale length:

The scale length of a guitar’s fretboard plays an important role as well. It changes the tension in the strings and when they are plucked under different tension, they result in different sounds.

• Most acoustic guitars have a short or long fretboard.
• The short fretboard is approximately 24.9” and the long scale fretboard is 25.4” long.
• A sound will be stronger when produced by a combination of strings, either light or medium and a long fretboard when compared with a short fretboard.
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Strings:

There are mainly two types of strings-lighter and medium both of which have their own characteristics and affect the tone of the guitar.

Lighter strings bend easily and are lighter to touch. They are under less tension than medium strings and create warmer sounds.

Medium strings are stronger and help in increasing the volume of the sound.

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The different kinds of Guitars?

Although guitars are broadly divided into two categories, Electrical and Acoustic, both of them have several subcategories available. Let’s take a look at all of them and help you find the best match from Heritage Musical Centre.

Acoustic Guitar:
A guitar that does not need any amplification or power plugged in is called an acoustic guitar. It has a hollow body that provides the amplification of the sound produced by the strings. Some popular types of acoustic guitars that you should consider are:

• Steel String: Commonly known as flat top, it is an acoustic guitar with the strings made up of steel. It is versatile, has a rich tone and resonance which explains its popularity.

• Classical: Commonly known as the spanish guitar, it is an acoustic guitar with the strings made of nylon. It is also smaller in size compared to the steel string guitar.It also has a wider neck with no dots and frets. 

Electrical Guitar:

A guitar with a pickup which is used to convert the vibrations of the string into signals that are amplified. It does not usually have a hollow body as the amplification is given by an amplifier.

• Semi Acoustic: Commonly used for blues and jazz, it has a hollow or semi-hollow chamber in the body which gives it a loud tone and volume. They come in varying shapes, sizes and body depth. .

• Electrical Acoustic: It is basically an acoustic guitar which can be plugged into an amplifier. Once it is plugged in, it sounds just as grand as an acoustic guitar. 

 

Things to consider while choosing an Acoustic or an Electrical guitar?

Motivation:

A Before investing in your musical career, you should determine what you like to play and the style of the guitar you are most interested in. You will achieve your musical dreams only if you are motivated enough to pick up your guitar. Find out which guitar excites you and motivates you to play. The guitar which you look forward to the most will be the one you connect to the most.
Imagine yourself with both, an electric and an acoustic guitar and you will be able to connect with one of them. If you’ve been inspired by someone who plays a specific type of guitar, that should be your choice.
A visually appealing guitar further enhances your motivation, you should buy a guitar that you would want to play. 

Budget:

Map out your budget and stick to it. Realistically only a desire cannot drive your finances throughout the year. If you start with an electric guitar, it generally is more expensive than an acoustic. An electric guitar needs accessories like an amplifier. Plan out your budget and stick to it, a little time and savings will get you there.

Comfort:

Electric guitars are easier to play, when properly adjusted, due to their smaller body, thinner neck, and lighter gauge strings. All the work of the projection of sounds is done by the accessories, the amplifier and the pickups. Hence it can be played with a lighter touch.

In the case of an acoustic guitar, its top should vibrate to produce sounds and this requires a firm touch. But you can always hook your acoustic guitar to a stand rather than picking it up.

Classical guitars are a little smaller acoustic guitars with a wider neck. They have a nylon string which gives a slightly distinctive sound than the steel-string guitars. Highly recommended for beginners since they are easier to learn and get a hang of. The only downside is that their sound is not as bright as Acoustic guitars.

Left vs Right Handed:

Right handed guitars are oriented for right handed people so they can fret with their left hand and pick the strings with their right. Left handed guitars are exactly the opposite.

This is an important point for electric guitars. The actual physical cut for the guitar might be different.

Standard of quality:

Choose an instrument with a professional standard of quality and good working parts. It should stay intune. Cheaper instruments dont sound as good and don’t give you a rich experience.

Heritage Musical Centre *insert link* provides the best quality instruments with repair and servicing and with delivery all across the country.

Accessories For your Guitars?

Let’s talk about some popular accessories that you might find useful for your guitar.

Protective case:
A hard shell case is good for traveling. Your protective case should have adequate padding and it should be fluffy on the inside. 

Strap:
A strap is essential while carrying your guitar. It should attach at both ends. One end should be attached to the headstock of the guitar and to the pin attached to the bottom of the guitar.

Extra strings:
You should always have some extra strings. Strings can break. They should be ideally changed once a month or even more often. 

Metronomes:
A metronome keeps time for you by producing a click so you can practice. It can be scale or a strumming pattern. It is used as a practice guide. It keeps the beat by adjusting the frequency. 

Gig Bag:
Used for electric guitar, a gig bag is a protective padded case carried on your back. 

Tuners:
As you can guess by the name, these are used to tune the guitar. They are used because of their precision. If your accuracy is being hurt by the background noise, a tuner can be directly plugged in. There are also clip-on tuners available which do not pick up any background noise.