Finding Your Perfect Guitar 101

Since the start of the COVID pandemic, Sweetwater music has reported a 200% increase in sales of musical equipment.  The cause is perfectly reasonable.  With more time at home and nothing to do, many people across all age groups are picking up music as a creative hobby.  

The first step in this process, of course, is to buy an instrument.  I have had so many friends of mine choose guitar as their instrument, possibly because of the accessibility or the prominence in pop music and culture.  Having played guitar for the past twelve years of my life--literally more than half my life--I’ve had to do my fair share of navigating the world of musical equipment, what’s worth it and what’s not, red flags, and more.  Here are some things I’ve learned along the way that you might want to keep in mind when buying your first guitar.  I want to mention that this article specifically refers to guitar, but pretty much all these points can be generalized to bass guitar as well if that’s your thing!

You really should not be spending more than $500

While everyone’s budget is going to look different, you do not need to go all out on your first guitar purchase.  One of the main reasons for this is that as a beginner you are still in the process of finding out what style you like to play, and even how your own anatomy may impact what type of instrument is best for you.  Another reason is simply that you just don’t need to.  There are TONS of amazing guitars at a more affordable price point, some of which I even prefer to their more pricey relatives.  My first electric guitar was a Squier Stratocaster my grandfather got from one of his friends.  In hindsight, it was not a good quality instrument--it’s retail value honestly probably would have been under $50--but it helped me decide that I in fact wanted to continue playing guitar.  My next guitar, a Fender Stratocaster, cost roughly in the $200 range.  I love that guitar.  I still play it to this day.  

Fender Stratocaster

 Play before you buy

Alas, this tip is not really applicable in the time of COVID as music stores are closed and honestly probably not worth the risk of exposure and transmission even if they are open.  That being said, if you have access to instruments, try and find out what you like.  Again, this will likely change over time.  However, it can still be helpful to have a vague idea of what you like and don’t like going in.  If you have friends or family who play, ask if you can borrow one of theirs (don’t forget to sanitize!) just to avoid a less useful investment.  For example, even though they are great guitars, I hate the feel of Les Pauls.  I have known this from day one.  I find them way too heavy, I don’t like how the weight distribution makes them fall on my body, and I find the neck profile way too chunky.  That being said, I have friends who exclusively swear by them.  Find out what works for you.  A lot of online retailers like Sweetwater also have very generous return and refund policies that can give you this same accessibility to trial during the pandemic.  

 Looks matter… but not that much

While you should definitely like the way your guitar looks, looks are not everything.  Finding an instrument with a feel and sound you like is most important.  Just because your favorite guitarist looks really cool playing one kind of guitar, does not mean that’s necessarily what you should buy if it doesn’t feel right to you.  

I can’t conclude this section without mentioning that I was in a lil kids’ band when I was twelve and got my Fender Stratocaster.  The lead guitarist, a cis boy who incessantly felt the need to one-up me since alas I was the only girl in the band, came back the next week with a guitar covered in flames and in an absolutely absurd and impractical shape.  Immediately, my bandmates started calling my guitar boring looking unprompted.  Years later and I still play my strat, I doubt he still plays that guitar no matter how cool it looked at the time.  

 At the same price point, used gear might be better than new

The logic behind this is fairly simple.  A $500 guitar being sold at half price after a year of light use is probably going to be better quality than a guitar constructed at the $200 price point.  This of course excludes significant damage, but a few scratches won’t really impact the sound of your instrument.  Trust me if you’re practicing, you would have already added those scratches within a year as well.  While I do not recommend buying some random person’s guitar on Ebay, websites like Reverb quality check on their own so you’re less likely to get screwed over.  Some people on there even have return policies too. 

Trust your instinct

If a guitar feels really right or wrong to you, trust that instinct.  Don’t let the condescending Guitar Center employee or social media influencer tell you otherwise.  Just because you play metal doesn’t mean you can’t play a stratocaster, just because you play dream pop doesn’t mean you can’t play a Charvel Desolation… and I know because I have done both of those things.

If this article didn’t answer your question, or if you just wanna talk gear and guitars, feel free to DM me @soleileileileileil