If you’re ready to buy your instrument, but maybe you don’t know how to choose a guitar, you’ve come to the right place. The worst thing you can do is buy the wrong instrument and lose love for it before you have a chance to dive in. We tell you exactly how to find the right guitar for you.
Acoustic or electric guitar?
If you’re not an instrumentalist and have decided to start playing music on the guitar, you might consider starting with an acoustic. They don’t need much, you can basically just pick one and start playing.
Steel string guitars are similar to classical guitars in that they are acoustic, however, they are bound with steel strings. This extra tension makes the guitar much stronger and steel strings give a much brighter and louder sound. They sound much better for strumming chords compared to a classical guitar, so they are very popular for beginners over a certain age.
Nylon or steel strings?
Steel strings are the standard, but they are harder on your hands than nylon. On the other hand, steel strengthens your fingertips and creates calluses. Nylon string classical guitars are easier to hold and play when you first start, but they are often specific to classical music.
They are also smaller, hollow-bodied guitars, and don’t produce as loud, deep and full a sound as a traditional steel-string acoustic guitar. Only you can decide which one is right for you.
Electric
Electric guitars, of course, require amplification and many other different pieces of equipment such as cables, pedals, etc. which, depending on the style of music you think you’d like to tackle, can get complicated and expensive. Because electric guitars are more complicated, they allow for more experimentation in sound, which can be interesting for non-beginners.
It is very difficult to generalize electric guitars because size, shape and electronics make small differences in the sound you can produce. Electric guitars differ from classical and acoustic guitars because they do not produce any sound without external amplification.
Electric guitars are a little smaller than acoustic and classical guitars, so they are good for most ages and heights. They are great for creativity and rock.
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The aesthetics of the guitar
It seems obvious, but sometimes new guitarists get so excited about the looks and cool factor of guitars, that they end up buying something that looks good rather than its musical qualities.
The important note here is that you can always stick a custom decal on a guitar, any guitar, but if you’re not happy with how it sounds, it’s pretty expensive (if possible) to fix it. Make sure you are happy with the instrument and your skills first and foremost, and then go for all the extramusical elements.
Still in doubt?
If you’ve followed all the above steps and you’re still not sure what you want to buy, come to our guitar store in Calgary for help from our staff. In our music store you will receive all the necessary information related to your first guitar.
Why choose us?
We are a music store and academy built on excellence. 40 years of training students and music teachers in various instruments and areas of music. we are also an instrument store and have an instrument repair center.
By visiting Calgary Music School and all its locations in Alberta and British Columbia you will witness a place that offers quality to all its visitors.
Contact us
Do you want to learn a new instrument, learn to sing or compose, don’t know where to repair your broken guitar, come to our Calgary, Alberta location. You can also visit our website musicworkscanada.com or email us at beddington@musicworkscanada.com for all kinds of information on lessons, instrument repairs and sales.
Calgary AB T3K 2A8