So you've listened to the last twenty songs on your city's alternative station and now you're thinking, "Wow, I could pull better music out of my left nostril!"
Don't be so cocky about it - but if you really think you can pull it off, or if you just want to give it a shot, here's some good news.
You can find a great acoustic guitar, whether new or used, for less than three hundred dollars. In fact, most people can find a first-class used instrument for about a hundred bucks, depending on how patient (and lucky!) they are.
Before you even think about going into short-term debt, here are a few things that you really need to know.
* There are a couple of basic differences between the types of acoustic guitars.
6-STRING MODELS have, well, six strings. They can be "straight acoustic," or "acoustic electric." The latter is easy to hook up to an amplifier (in case you ever rock out your local concert venue); the former can do the same, but with a little more effort and a few extra pieces of equipment.
They can have offset sound holes (near the top of the guitar, or perhaps the bottom), or centered (beneath the strings, in the middle of the guitar's body). Most have decorative trim around the sound holes so that it looks good while still doing the job.
12-STRING MODELS are harder to tune, because there are "sets" of strings. The two top strings, for example, are often tuned so that they are in perfect harmony with each other. The same is true of the other "sets." It's a pain in the backside to pull off unless you're a musical genius (in which case your friends probably hate you, but that's to be expected).
There are also differences in the styles.
CLASSICAL GUITARS have tuning pegs that are installed inside the head of the guitar: there are large slots around the pegs so that you can re-string the guitar easily.
These guitars usually don't have pick guards, because you finger-pick. They also come with nylon strings. Shannon Hoon (from Blind Melon) was a classical guitarist.
Then you have the rest, which are usually just called "acoustic guitars." They can have steel strings (often made of bronze), and often come with pick guards. These can be strummed, picked, plucked, banged, set on fire, or pretty much whatever else you want to do with them. Oh, and you can have nylon strings on these if you want.
Now that you know the basic differences between the types of guitars, you're almost ready to go shopping. Now all you have to do is figure out what size you want. If you're getting this for a 10-year-old, you can get a downscaled size, usually known as a student guitar. They're also cheaper - and if the child in question sticks with it, he or she will probably thank you in a decade or so, when everyone is talking about how wonderful the kid plays.
You can go shopping now. One of the best places to start is the largest music store you can find: one with the biggest possible selection of acoustic guitars. You aren't necessarily going to BUY the guitar there: you're just going to play through the inventory (to the extent that the employees will let you, of course), to find out what's comfortable, affordable, and just plain cool.
When you're trying out a new guitar, get comfortable before you do anything else. Sit on a stool, because that's probably the position you'll be in while you're learning to play it. Strum it. Fingerpick it a little. Make some noises with it. You aren't going to sound like a pro right now, but that's all right. Listen to the richness and the tone of the guitar's sounds. If it reverberates and echoes without going flat or dull at the very end, you've found a high-quality model.
Oh, and check to be sure that it's not made out of pressboard or some other, equally-cheap material. Why pay for something that's going to fall apart in twenty minutes?
When you find a model that attracts you like your first crush back in grade school, make a note of what it is and, of course, how much the music store wants for it. You can always comparison shop - in fact, you can even order a guitar through the Internet. Just make sure that whomever sells it to you, whether online or in person, offers some sort of guarantee.
If you decide to do the in-person thing, check the guitar over before you give the seller your credit card or cash. Make sure that there are no cracks between the neck and fretboard, or the fretboard and the body. Play it for a few moments to be sure that it sounds as it should. Examine the entire body for scratches. If you're buying a used model, there will probably be a couple of surface scratches. These are okay, but deep pits - deep enough to go through the finish and hit the bare wood - aren't.
Enjoy the new guitar, and good luck with practice.
