Holiday Gift Guide: How To Buy A Guitar

I am often asked to make recommendations for instruments for folks starting to play music. During the year it's usually someone wanting to play something themselves. However, during the Holidays it is more often a friend's spouse, child, or significant other wanting to buy a gift. Gift-buyers often need more help, because they may know their aspiring musician wants to play something, but what?

In the end, it always comes down to two questions.
1) "What should I get for them?"
2) "How much should I spend?"

Here, today, in these hallowed halls of HickoryWind.org, I'm going to help you with these age-old questions and more. First, for the impatient among us:
Answer #1) An acoustic guitar.
Answer #2) Not much, but more than you might think. (More than $100, but less than $200. I recommend $120-150, especially.)

Buy An Acoustic Guitar
Okay, why a guitar? Well, guitars are crazy popular. Most rock n' roll, country, folk, even Jazz music is based around, or at least can be played on, the simple acoustic guitar. It's the heart and soul of practically all popular music of the past hundred years.

And just as important to the gift-buyer, since guitars are so popular, you are more likely to find a cheap... err, "affordable" one. Greater demand means greater supply, and greater supply means lower prices. So buy a guitar.

Most of my pickin' buddies started with guitars, and when they (like me) moved to a different acoustic instrument, they were seriously sticker-shocked by how much other instruments cost. Mandolins, banjos, fiddles, and basses are much, much more expensive than a normal guitar. Even saxophones, trumpets, flutes, and especially pianos are more expensive! So if you're not sure what kind of instrument to buy, buy a guitar! They're cheap, they're fun, and most people will want one anyway!

Once your new musician learns how songs work and how to "be a musician," they can later learn an additional instrument much easier. Every musician I know that wasn't classically trained, and almost all that were classically trained, can play at least a few songs on the guitar. It's the basis of most of our music, and it's important for people to learn. I highly recommend a guitar as the first instrument for adults, teens, and pre-teens. For children, however, you might want to start with violin or piano Suzuki lessons, but that's a post for another day!

Okay, so why not an electric guitar? Well, HickoryWind.org is an acoustic music website, right? Also, you can't just buy an electric guitar. You have to buy an amplifier too. If you only have so much money to spend, I recommend spending the entire amount on one acoustic instrument. It's simpler, and you'll get a better instrument. And believe me, if you're a parent of a pre-teen or teen, you'd rather tell them to shut the door and play acoustic rather than force them to unplug their amp that's been turned to 11 and is feeding back. (I'm speaking from the point of view of an ex-teen with the 11-cranked amp, not a parent. But I bet that would suck.)

Okay, all that being said, if you know that the person you're buying for does not want an acoustic guitar, obviously don't get them one. If they have their heart set on that accordian, flying-v bass (the "Gene Simmons Special"), or killer electric axe, well then go buy one. The pricing stuff below still applies. However, if you're not sure, get an acoustic guitar. You can't really go wrong there. Everyone needs one in their closet or preferably next to their couch.

How Much To Spend?
There is a strong temptation to spend less than one hundred dollars on a first instrument. There's just some magical significance in our mind for that $99 mark. I recommend, however, going a little bit more. I know it sounds crazy, but there is (in general) a big difference between that $79 guitar ($99 regularly! marked down just for you for the holidays!) and a $150 guitar. At $150 you start to get a little bit more for your money. It's still a starter guitar, and starter guitars are not the easiest guitars in the world to play. However, at $120-150, you're talking about a decent starter guitar that won't cut you and end up with blood all over the wood. (You think I'm joking.) At $120-150, you start to get a decent-ish mid-range in the sound, and you can actually start to hear the low-range.

What makes a good guitar? Well, that's a serious question for debate. However, I think, in the simplest terms, that cheaper instruments sacrifice the low-end, the rumble of the bass strings. They sound high and tinny. Strum a few different models of the same price range in the music store. Even strum a higher-end guitar to just tell the difference. You might not be a musician, but think of how the neck feels when you put your hand around it. (Pretend you're going to play it, even if you can't. We've all seen music videos. Pretend you're Eric Clapton or Eddie Van Halen.) Is it comfortable? Or are there jagged, sharp edges? Then strum your fingers across the strings, and put it up to your ear to listen. Do you hear a lower rumble? A nice warm, deep, tone? Or does it sound sort of dry and tinny? High-pitched, whiney? Try several to get some idea, and then, whichever one you like the best in your price range, take it home.

Also, check out the "action" of the guitar. The action is how high the strings are off the fretboard. You want the action to be as low as possible to make fretting the notes easier, but you don't want the action so low that the guitar buzzes. You can usually have the guitar shop adjust the action for you to make it sound better. (Better instruments allow more customization like this.)

Now, all that being said, make sure you go cheap in case they don't like it, or more likely, that they end up not being serious about it. It's better to be out $100 than $1,000. But even if they aren't serious today, don't give up hope. Your budding musician might stash that guitar in a closet but one day pick it back up again. This leads me to the next most important thing about buying someone an instrument and making sure it does not become closet-fodder.

Lessons?
Very yes! Lessons aren't strictly necessary, but they're very, very, very useful, especially for a beginner. If you've never played an instrument before at all, then I absolutely recommend you take lessons for a few months. It's very important to have another living human being help you out. Music is often a confidence game. "Am I going to be confident enough to screw up?" Cause you're gonna. It's a patience-wearing endeavor, especially in this video-game-playing, one-second-sound-bite world. It's important to have someone encourage you, and make you feel guilty when you don't practice. It's very important to have someone help you make good habits before you learn all those bad habits.

Buying someone music lessons is the most important thing next to buying the instrument itself. This is the most important thing you can do to help them love their instrument, take it seriously, and not lose interest a couple of weeks in.

Accessories?
Beware accessories. You can spend as much on accessories as on your guitar if you're not careful. Here's a few items I recommend:

* A beginner book. However, if you're planning on getting lessons, I'd recommend you wait and let the teacher refer you to one. (I recommend the Skeptical Guitarist "Guitar From Scratch" books, though.)

* A cheap stand. Something that won't move when you're not looking. (You think I'm kidding.) You can get a cheap wire one, but I recommend you get something sturdier if you can afford it. At home I use a nice orchestra stand, but those cost around $70. For a beginner I recommend the On-Stage portable stand for $12. They're small, cheap, but stay in one place dependably. I have one for going to jams and practices. They're quite handy.

More Accessories?
And that's about it. There are tons more you could get, but not right away. Eventually you'll definitely want:

* A capo. ("kay-POE") These are the doo-hickeys that clamp onto the neck of the guitar to make it sound higher. If you're a Bluegrass picker or folk musician, then a capo is required. If you're any other kind of musician, they're 99% required. But while you're first learning, you don't really need one. As soon as you start playing with other people, though, especially singers, go grab one immediately!

* A metronome. These are the doo-hickeys, most are electric these days, that go "tap, tap, tap" at a set speed. You can make them go fast or slow. I highly recommend you get one of these once you start playing sounds that are almost recognizable as songs. It's important to play in a normal rhythm, and when you're working on your speed, it's good to start slowly and start cranking it up one notch at a time. Every music teacher I've ever known swears by metronomes. You'll eventually both love and hate your metronome. I really love/hate mine. Make sure it's fairly loud, and if you can get one with a earphone it's even better.

* A string winder. When you start playing fairly seriously, you'll start to realize you need to change your strings pretty regularly. (I'm still not to this point on the guitar, to be honest, but I change my fiddle strings regularly.) On the guitar, it's a pain to manually wind the guitar keys, so I recommend a $5 string winder. Make sure you get one that has a peg puller in the handle. (I've never seen one without a peg-puller, but just in case you do see one, don't get it!)

What brand? Buy online?
If you're buying online, I recommend going with a decent brand name. (Avoid Rogue.) I recommend Washburn. Yes, you can get a bad instrument from a decent brand name, and you might get lucky and get a great instrument from a no-name brand. However, online you're buying the guitar sound-unheard, and you gotta use some yardstick other than the sound. You have to go by brand name.

I recommend a low-end Washburn. My guitar is a $800 Washburn (that I got for $350 cause it had a near-invisible scratch), and every musician who's heard it loves it. The Washburns are great low-end guitars. I did a search on Harmony-Central.com and most people recommend the Washburns in the $100-$300 range.

Some other brands that are decent? Yamaha can be good. Ibanez. Epiphone. Your mileage may vary.

Where to buy online? Oh you know, the usual suspects, Musician's Friend, zZounds, and Guitar Center are okay. Online music merchants are always iffy, though. It's kinda scary buying an instrument that you haven't played yet. Make sure you check the return policy. Also, online folks won't set up the guitar action for you, normally. Once you get the guitar, take it into a local shop and have them set it up for you, if you want. It's usually only a few bucks, and it can make playing the guitar much more comfortable.

Anything Else?
Here are some important general tips.

* Stay away from the Rogue brand. It's the Musician's Friend store brand, and it is pretty much universally despised.

* Do not get a classical guitar, period. It's a very different style of guitar (especially in the neck), and not what most people are looking for.

* Do not get an acoustic-electric guitar. These look and sound like acoustic guitars, but they have fancy electronic gizmos inside that let you plug it into an amp if you wanted to, kind of like an electric guitar. I recommend against these as a first guitar, but they're great for second guitars. (My Washburn is an acoustic-electric.) In your first instrument, you're really looking for a decent acoustic sound and comfort while playing, and you don't care about amplifying it. The low-end acoustic-electrics can sacrifice some of their sound for the cost of the on-board electronics. When you start playing coffee shops and open mic nights, then you can splurge and get one of these. (Or if you get a really good deal, like I did.)

* Do not get a cut-away acoustic guitar. These are the guitars where the part beneath the fretboard is "cut-away" to give easier access to playing high-high-high notes, Eddie Van Halen style. This is a must-have feature for electric guitars, but for acoustic, I recommend staying away. If this is something you think your musician will really need, consider buying an electric guitar and amp instead.

* You can ignore what I said about cut-away guitars, if you really want to. My Dad has a fabulous cut-away Taylor that I'm making him put in his will for me. I love that guitar! Still, I recommend for a learner not getting one, especially in this price range. They mess up the sound in low-end guitars in my humble opinion. The higher-end guitars make up for it, but then you have to pay for that too.

* Beware Harmony-Central.com. They're good for getting a general "do people think it's okay or is it absolute crap" reading for some guitars and equipment, but the site is teeming with guitar-snobs and gear-geeks. These are folks that will spend hours a day writing mean-spirited emails about how if you don't have a $15,000 guitar then why bother playing at all, but yet, I bet they can barely play two songs. There are still enough good folks among the trolls, however, that you can still get some good info. If someone there tells you something is "crap", though, (and they will!) think to yourself, "are they genuine or just biased?" Don't make a decision based on one comment on a public forum like Harmony-Central.

And Lastly...
Do not get too attached to the guitar you buy. I often recommend that spouses/significant-others not buy an instrument for their partner. Remember, musical instruments (like computers) are tools, and need to be traded in, exchanged, modified, or just dumped occasionally, like any other kind of tool. However, when an instrument has "sentimental attachment" to the gift-giver and the musician, then it can be difficult to trade up when you need to.

For example, my buddy, an amazing electric guitarist in the band (shameless plug!) High Fidelity, was given a guitar as a wedding gift from his wife. Big mistake. He picked it out for her to buy, but then he realized a few months later that it really wasn't the guitar for him. At that point, though, he couldn't trade it in for one he did like because of the "wedding gift" attachment. He kept it for several years, not liking it, before they finally discussed it, and he traded it in.

No matter what you buy, if you get something less than $1,000 (and I highly recommend you go cheap!), then it's a starter or "student" guitar. If your musician sticks with it, then they'll eventually trade up to something better. (If I played guitar with my band, and not just as a side instrument, I'd very likely trade in my Washburn for a Martin, Taylor, or, *sigh*, a Collings.) (But I do love my Washburn!)

In the end, buy something you can afford, and don't be upset when eventually your virtuoso aspires to something better. Be encouraging. Music is a skill that lasts, and requires, a lifetime.