Looks are important. If you have a guitar that has fantastic action and killer tone, it’s still going to be hard to pick it up if you think it’s ugly. Look for something that you would be proud to wield and one that you will want to play. Sometimes it can be hard to pick up your guitar and practice, but if you have a really cool looking axe (maybe one that some cool players use), it can make it much easier.
Try to find a guitar that is set up well. This means that it has spot-on intonation and action that fits your purpose. If you are unfamiliar with these concepts, be sure to bring a more experienced player along that you can trust. Many new guitars that shops get in have never been properly set up, and as a result won’t sound that great when they are played (they may have buzzes or harmonic issues). If the guitar you are considering isn’t set up properly, make sure to negotiate a professional set-up with the purchase.
If a guitar has no acoustic brilliance, it is a very poor quality instrument. You should try out all guitars first without any amp and listen closely to what tonal characteristics they have. Never test drive a guitar with a heavily overdriven amp until you have thoroughly tested its acoustic quality.
If you do not know the difference between humbuckers and single coil pickups, you should take someone experienced with you when you go look at potential guitars. They are both fantastic pickups, but which are best for you depends largely on what style you play. Make sure you know a bit about pickups before you go shopping for a new axe.
Price is a critical factor for most players that aren’t yet rock stars. If your budget is huge, you can get any number of fantastic guitars for any style or any outfit. Most of us have only limited capital and want to ensure we get the best instrument possible for our money. For a beginning player, the requirements are substantially less than for an experienced guitarist. In this regard, it can be easy for a beginner to find a satisfactory guitar at a modest price point, whereas an advanced guitarist may have to spend a fair amount for a precision instrument. Some alternatives to get the guitar you really want are to look for an option to pay in installments and/or consider buying used.
Wood is another important factor. Guitars can be made out of any number of woods and their tonal characteristics are directly related to the wood(s) they are constructed from. It is a good idea to do a bit of research before checking out guitars to get an idea of some of the common woods used in instruments and which ones you might be interested in. There are a few main ones such as mahogany and maple, but others might produce a sound that you really like.
There are many different styles of guitars out there. If you look at some different body shapes, but also some semi-hollowbody or hollowbody guitars, you can get a real feeling for what instrument turns you on. Don’t write off a guitar until you have played it and also don’t write off a guitar because of the style the majority of players use it for.
Guitar jam tracks are a fantastic teaching aid for all guitar players. Come check some jam tracks out right here!