View source for Guitar Choice - What to Consider

Whether you're a beginner or experienced player, choosing a new guitar can be a daunting task.  There are many factors to consider, such as the style of music you want to play or what types of sound you want to achieve, and of course price.

When first looking to purchase equipment, you are faced with the standard hobby-beginners' difficulty of trying to evaluate something that you are really not yet qualified/experienced to judge.  This is why it's recommended that you are accompanied by an experienced friend or guitar mentor to help you avoid getting a bad deal or unsuitable instrument.  But if this isn't possible you will need to educate yourself on some of the basic concepts of guitars in order to help yourself make a better choice.

== Guitar Types ==
There are three main categories of guitar:
* the nylon-string acoustic,
* the steel-string acoustic, and
* the steel-string electric.
Each type is better suited to certain styles of music and/or playing, and each comes with it's own pro's and con's.

=== Nylon-String Acoustic ===
Budget (~$100) guitars in this category are considered the cheapest type of guitar to learn on, and the physically easiest to play in terms of bang-for-buck.  

A nylon-string acoustic has a sound hole in the body to increase output, and nylon strings.  They are not recommended as an all-purpose guitar for most people due to their specific sound and characteristics - they are typically suited to certain styles of music (such as classical and spanish/flamenco).  However for players of those types of styles, such a guitar is obviously a must and there are many well-crafted instruments available for professionals, as with any classical instrument.

A nylon-string guitar (or "classical guitar" as they're sometimes called) has slightly wider gaps between adjacent strings, as compared to most steel string guitars.  This can make them desirable for people with larger hands who may initially struggle to come to terms with the smaller string spacing on other guitars.

=== Steel-String Acoustic ===
Steel-string acoustics are similar to nylon-string acoustics in basic configuration, but use steel strings and have other slight differences in construction.  These guitars are most popular for their use in (acoustic) rock and pop styles of music.  Due to the slightly higher string-tensions (than either nylon-string or electrics), and the often higher 'action' (see below) of cheaper steel-string acoustics, development of finger-strength and playing endurance is often helped through their use.

Steel-string acoustics can be had for around $150 and up, while you can easily expect to easily pay $3000+ for a higher-end professional instrument in this category.

The Washburn D10S is a popular entry-level steel-string guitar - at around $300 - partly due to it's good design and solid top (a tone-enhancing build characteristic generally not seen in budget instruments).  The Yamaha F310 is another popular choice.  Fender and Ibanez are a couple of other reputable brands that can offer budget/beginner range guitars.

Some acoustic guitars (both steel and nylon string) can contain a "pickup" (generally a thin strip built into the bridge of the guitar which "picks up" the string vibrations and turns them into an electrical impulse that can be amplified by a guitar amplifier), these types of guitars are known as "electro-acoustic", or "semi-acoustic", or simply "acoustic guitar with pickup".  Most players will not require a pickup in their acoustic guitar, particularly in the budget arena where the quality of the pickup's output generally leaves something to be desired (and when a proper acoustic amp would probably cost more than the guitar would, anyway), and where the player is unlikely to be at a stage where they require one.  In light of the above points, serious consideration as to actual practical use is recommended before considering purchasing a budget acoustic guitar with an inbuilt pickup.  

Likewise with "cutaways" (a section cut away from the guitar's body, providing better access to the fretboard above the 12th fret) which, while they might seem like a good idea, are often neglected and go un-used simply due to the fact that the vast majority of players play the vast majority of their acoustic material below the 12th fret.

=== Steel-String Electric ===
Pickups (and other electronic components such as volume/tone control knobs) are an intrinsic component of electric guitars.  They are the most versatile guitar, with most electric guitars being capable of covering a range of sounds and styles.

Fender (under the name of their budget brand "Squier"), Ibanez, Epiphone, and Yamaha are a few popular brands that can offer reasonable quality budget instruments (and starter packs including amps etc, for a little more money) in this price bracket.  In particular, the Yamaha Pacifica range of electric guitars is widely-lauded for it's quality in the budget arena.

Bear in mind that the quality of the amplifiers that come in starter packs is generally quite low.  Good enough to blast out some noise in your bedroom but you'll quickly realise just how limiting they are, as you gain experience.  The Roland Cube 15 is often recommended as the benchmark for decent-quality small practice amps.

== What to Look for in an Instrument ==
No matter what type of guitar you choose to begin on, there are certain characteristics that you should look at.  Guitars are best evaluated by an experienced guitar playing friend (or guitar teacher if you have one), and not by the in-store salesperson - as they are generally just trying to make a sale regardless of whether it's the best choice for you, don't let their standard-salesperson "knowledgeable best friend" act fool you! (not to imply that they all know nothing - it's good to have them on-side, especially when it comes time to determine the final price, or discounts - but just be aware of their generally commission-based motivations)

In terms of bargaining/discounts, a general rule of thumb is that you can expect (but may not necessarily always get) about 10% of the RRP on new gear to be bargainable, either as a price reduction, discounts on other gear, or more often as freebies such as cases/strings/etc thrown in with the deal.  For example if you buy a $500 guitar, ask for a gig bag to be thrown in.  If you buy a $1000+ guitar, you may be able to get a hard-case thrown in free.  Don't expect these kinds of deals if the gear is already on sale of course.  And if you strike up a repeat-customer relationship with your local music store, you'll probably get even better deals in future.

=== Build Quality ===
A quality guitar is made out of quality parts.  The guitar should be built solidly and free of any obvious manufacturing defects.  It should feel like it can take a beating and still play well.  

A few things to look for:
*scuff marks and other minor physical damage
*quality of detail and finish
*badly finished frets (uneven or with sharp edges, etc)
*check that knobs, switches and input jacks (where applicable) all work well and free of noise
*the height of the strings above the fretboard (referred to as the "action"), compare against other guitars - lower is easier to play
*buzzing noises when notes are fretted on a particular string(s) - this is related to guitar quality, setup, and action
*it should come with new strings if it's a display model (unless you're getting a discount for that very reason)
*many guitars come with a few small maintenance accessories such as allen keys - be sure to ask about these when you purchase

=== Neck Relief === 
[not generally a concern for a beginner buying a reputable guitar new from a retail store]
The neck of a guitar should be straight, or very slightly bent down (when looking at the guitar from the headstock down towards the bridge).  Too much bend in either direction will cause the guitar to play badly, or to have tuning issues.  Normally a problem seen more in used guitars that have been stressed in some way (age, climate, physical duress for example), but it can't hurt to check as best as possible before buying.  

The straightness of the neck can be checked several ways, including 'by eye' (it's generally considered best to look from the bridge down towards the headstock to get the most unbiased view of the neck) - be aware that it can be difficult to correctly judge the neck's straightness using this method, especially to an untrained eye - or by using one of the strings as a reference straight-edge and comparing the neck to that either by eye or by use of a measuring device.

=== Intonation === 
[not generally a concern for a beginner buying a reputable guitar new from a retail store]
Many cheap or used guitars do not have good intonation.  Intonation refers to the individual notes along a guitar's neck being at the correct pitch (not a little bit sharp or a little bit flat when fretted), and is influenced by (among other factors) the length of the string between where it contacts at the bridge saddle and where it contacts at the nut.  The positions of the 6 individual bridge saddles are adjustable a small distance backward and forward which adjusts the length of the string and hence intonation.  Intonation is best tested with the aid of a digital chromatic tuner (a simple matter of moving up the neck fretting notes while checking that each note is "in tune" on your tuner). A quick test is to compare the pitch of the 12th fret natural harmonic to the pitch of the 12th fret normally-fretted note, if they match exactly then it's a reasonable indicator of decent intonation.

Note: Many guitar issues can be rectified by a guitar technician. How well the issues can be rectified depends on the severity of the problem, the original quality of the guitar, and how much you are willing to spend.