Where To Buy A Guitar
Sweetwater is the largest online guitar retailer in the United States, and in fact only operate one physical store, which also happens to be their warehouse and operations center. They have over 100 acres of space, including the store, recording studios, warehouse, office space, and even a diner.
where to buy a guitar
Zzounds often comes up clutch with the hard to get guitars when the more popular sites are already sold out, and their fast, free shipping gets your gear to you quicker than any of the competitors can.
Customer service at Zzounds something of a mixed bag. Some customers report responsive agents and rapid resolution to issues, while others have reported receiving open box and used guitars after specifically ordering new items. It seems that your mileage may vary with Zzounds.
They have been operating for quite some time as intermediaries between smaller guitar stores and the general public. The platform has allowed small independent retailers to compete with major chains for the first time, too, as if stores or individuals willing to ship, items are displayed nationwide.
The majority of guitar listings on eBay are from private parties selling individual items, but as with Amazon, there are people using the service to list cheap, low end guitars bought in bulk from the Far East.
Not everybody lives within a reasonable driving distance of a decent music store, so having the ability to shop for guitars online adds significant convenience to the lives of those buyers. Even for those who live 5 minutes from a Guitar Center, buying guitars from a website is still a more convenient way to shop than leaving the house.
Especially on private listings, some sellers have been known to take pictures of the genuine guitar that their replicas were based upon, and send out poor quality fakes to buyers instead.
There are countless styles of guitars available, and everyone has their own personalities and tastes. Above all, the instrument should inspire you, and make you want to practice more frequently. From deciding between types and styles, to deciding between which guitar sizes to buy, this guitar buying guide will help simplify the process of finding the best beginner guitar for you.
One of the questions we get most often at School of Rock is which guitar parents should buy for their child who wants to start learning to play. Here are a couple of pointers to help you find out how to buy a guitar for a beginning musician. Once you've put a sweet guitar into your kid's hands, come to School of Rock for a tour and free trial lesson, and we'll help them love playing it.
There are a few general categories of guitar that are very popular. These styles have very different sound and playability characteristics. Deciding the style of which guitar to buy in advance will help narrow down your choices considerably.
Out of all the types of guitars, electric guitars are by far the most popular style used in modern music. Electrics produce only the faintest of sound on their own, but once connected to an amplifier they open up a world of potential for a variety of sounds. These guitars are primarily used in rock, metal, pop, blues, jazz, country, and R&B.
Acoustic guitars are built to produce a rich sound with no electric amplification. Out of all types of guitars, they are most commonly used in genres like folk, singer-songwriter, country, and bluegrass, but are occasionally used in rock, blues, and R&B as well.
A lot of parents ask about the difference between starting on acoustic guitar versus electric guitar. At the core, they are the same instrument, and concepts learned on one are immediately transferable to the other. However, an electric guitar may be the best beginner guitar for learning, as it is usually a little easier to play since the neck is narrower and the strings are easier to press down.
If you feel like you need a guitar that combines the advantages of electric and acoustic, you may want to consider an acoustic-electric guitar. Since performers often use acoustic guitars in large venues, acoustic guitar makers produce models that have built-in microphones, or pickups. The advantage is that these guitars function and sound exactly like an acoustic guitar, but when needed, they can be plugged in and amplified through an amp or house sound system.
Most acoustic-electric guitars have some level of tone control in the form of an on-board equalizer. The drawback is that because these guitars have electronic hardware not found in acoustic guitars, you can expect to pay more. But the cost may be comparable to an electric guitar, so depending on the style of music you want to play, an acoustic-electric may be an option.
There's no way to poke and prod anything you buy online before it's at your door, so if you're shopping in person, here are a couple of things to watch out for. Important note about new instruments: One of the ways that guitar manufacturers save cost is by putting minimal labor into the final setup of the instrument.
First, if the playing sounds terrible, odds are it's not the sales person (who is likely a decent guitar player), it's a difficult instrument to play. The second reason to have the instrument tuned up is to check the action.
If the guitar has a bow or back bow, it can make playing the guitar more difficult, especially for beginners. If you're unsure of how to check your guitar's neck relief, ask a professional. They should be able to check and identify any potential problems with your guitar neck, and make corrections as needed.
The action of a guitar or bass is how the strings relate to the fretboard. Check The action is something that can be adjusted pretty easily, but if the strings are super far from the neck at the point where the neck and body of the guitar meet or the neck is noticeably curved, it might be an instrument to pass up.
If the guitar sounds all right and the action doesn't look way out of whack, see if you can comfortably reach the entire fretboard. Run your finger along each side of the neck to see whether you can feel any of the ends of the metal frets sticking out.
If you feel some that aren't level with the wood, it doesn't mean the instrument is garbage or that brand or model are no good, but you can probably find another guitar or bass that doesn't already have that problem. Frets that aren't level with the wood can be fixed, but there's no reason to deal with that if you're buying a new instrument.
If you're looking at an electric guitar, get it plugged into an amp and toggle all the switches and turn all the knobs a few times. If you hear any crackling sounds, it means some of the internal electronics may be a little dirty.
Buying a used guitar can be a great way for a young player to move up to a pro-level instrument. High-end guitars will age well if cared for, and there are a lot of professional musicians using fifty to sixty year-old classic models from manufacturers like Fender and Gibson.
These scaled down models are easier to play for young students because the neck is shorter, making them short scale guitars. Scale length is the measurement of the string length between the nut and saddle. Basically, this is the part of the string that vibrates when played.
A scale length of 25 to 25.5 inches is considered long scale, which is standard on a full sized guitar. Anything between 24.5 and 21 inches is short scale. Because all scale lengths use the same strings, a shorter scale guitar will have less tension on the strings when tuned. This makes the strings easier to fret for a younger student.
There are lots of great options for a first guitar that are inexpensive and totally decent. If cost is your main consideration, you can still give your budding musician a good starter guitar they'll feel good about bringing to band practice. If your kid is ready for something a little more serious, there are a lot of possibilities for which guitar to buy.
Both brands have a range of options for first-time players, such as starter packs that include a guitar, amp, cable, and all the trimmings that will get your kid plugged in and ready to shred the classics for a couple hundred bucks and change. Both brands also have small scale options for younger students: Fender Squier, Fender Squier Mini, and Epiphone Junior.
As a buyer, you may not want to purchase an expensive instrument for a beginner who is just learning the guitar, but if you take a step up the cost scale there are enough options to make your head spin. There are nicer Fenders and Gibsons, along with other more upscale brands such as PRS (Paul Reed Smith).
Some lesser known brands, such as Gretsch and Schecter, also offer guitars with unique looks and sounds. All of these brands have good reputations for making quality instruments, but the most important thing is whether the guitar inspires the student and makes them want to play.
We recommend that you go into a store with a small list of some professional guitar players or guitar songs you like. Even if you have no musical experience, the salesperson most likely does. They can get a sense of what kind of sound you like, and explain or demonstrate the differences in sound of the varieties of guitar to help you decide on an instrument.
The last thing you want, once you've picked out the right guitar for your kid, is to have it sit untouched for the rest of her/his childhood. At School of Rock, we focus on teaching students to enjoy playing their instrument first and build the broader concepts of music on top of that foundation, using performance as the motivation and the payoff.
I want to believe you, but too often do I see unaccomplished guitar players full of inspiration give up after a couple of weeks, their guitars left to idly rot in the corner alongside some spiderwebs and a home gym.
While online resources (such as this one!) are a good start, many are geared towards those who have an intimate knowledge of guitars and divulge information that is as useful to a beginner as a baby learning about the intricacies of Ancient Western philosophy. 041b061a72