Ken asks…
What do I need to look out for when buying an acoustic guitar?
I’m buying my first guitar but have no idea what makes a good guitar. Does the type of wood make a big difference? What about a good make? How much should I expect to pay for a relatively decent guitar?
NydiaMccartney answers:
The most important thing to look out for when buying an acoustic guitar are of course acoustic guitar thieves!
Lizzie asks…
Does the type of wood your electric guitar is made out of really matter?
I have an ESP EX 260 electric guitar. It has a agathis body and all I hear about on the internet is how awful it sounds. Personally I love my guitar and I think it sounds amazing. So is it true that the type of wood doesn’t really matter or am I an idiot?
NydiaMccartney answers:
Yes, even with a solid body guitar the type of wood is a factor. The heavier timbers have better sustain.
The different types of timber all have their own particular tone quality.
The type of timber used on the fingerboard will also influence the sound : maple, rosewood or ebony.
Sound preference is very personal so if you like your guitar and the way it sounds then don’t worry what other people think.
David asks…
I’m making a guitar this summer and would like suggestions of reasonable costing wood types to use?
Me and a few friends are making guitars in the free time we have over the 8 weeks that we work at a boyscout camp using a book that my dad used when he made one a few years ago(with all our tools and stuff)… I’m going to be picking up supplies in the next few days and would like some input for what type of wood I should get.
NydiaMccartney answers:
You are looking for what luthiers call tonewoods. So here is a brief rundown:
If acoustic: spruce, maple or cedar top, mahogany or maple sides and back.
If solid body electric: basswood, alder, mahogany, ash
Good luck, it is quite an undertaking (but fun if you have patience)
Laura asks…
What is it that makes a guitar easier to play than other guitars? And what is it that makes it sound good?
What are the factors that make one guitar easier to play than another? I play guitar and I’ve noticed that some guitars are just easier to play. The pick seems to glide through the strings more fluidly and it seems to make a nice sound without much effort on some guitars, but on others it is hard to strum and it just sounds bad. My guitar is like this. I have a Gibson Epiphone and it sounds bad and I have trouble strumming on it. When I play someone else’s guitar or another guitar at a music store, I can play effortlessy. There are other guitars that sound bad and are hard to play, but it always seems like the one that I have is hard to play. Does it have to do with the strings? Does it have to do with how the strings are mounted? I was recently playing my roommate’s Schecter guitar, and the strings felt so firm, yet it was easy to play and it sounded good. I took the strings off of mine and put them on his. So the same strings that were on my bad sounding guitar, sounded good on his.
His guitar was also easier to play. The same exact strings that were on mine were used, yet his guitar was easier for me to play. I must be cursed.
NydiaMccartney answers:
Alright, factors are:
Woods and materials- Some woods, (ussually the heavier, more expensive ones) make a guitar sound better than one with a cheaper, lighter wood. High-end guitars tend to use woods such as mahogany or rosewood, light fast guitars have basswood or maple, while cheaper poor quality guitars have plywood or agathis.
Pickups- The pickups on a guitar make up the tone by about 70 percent. There are two basic types of pickups: Humbuckers and Singlecoils. Singlecoils are thin single pickups that produce a twangy, thin tone. Guitars such as stratocasters have these. Humbuckers were invented later, and were initially made to cancel feedback and unwanted noise (hence humbucker-cancel the hum) these make a fatter, warmer sound, and are more common for metal and heavy riffs. I beleive your gibson explorer has these.
Some cheap guitars come with…cheap pickups. You can change the pickups of a guitar and change the way it sounds completely. Good pickup manufacturers are EMG, Seymour Duncan and D’Marzzio (spelling anyone?)
Action- This is the space between the strings and the frets. Although the action determines feel and speed rather than tone, it still has something to do with the way your guitar sounds. A guitar with lower action will feel easier to play than a guitar with higher action.
Neck Thickness- Guitars with thicker necks, such as Gibsons, may be harder to play than ones with thinner necks, e.g Ibanez RG’s or Fender Stratocasters. But neck thickness doesn’t have much to do with sound. People with bigger hands may get tired on thin necks quickly, but think necks mean more speed, in most cases. Nuff said.
Amp settings- Very, very “duh” A good guitar through a bad amp will most likely sound bad. It’s just the way it is.
Strings- You’ve already talked about strings, but I thought I’d give you more insight. Strings can change both the feel and the sound of a guitar. There is a huge gauge and brand range. I use Ernie Ball Super Slinkies because I’m able to play faster on thinner strings, and yet they retain a full sound. This is all down to prefference. Strings however, wear out quicker than you think. If you practice two hours every day for two weeks, your strings will already be too old.
Change your strings. It may be the most annoying job in the world (not to mention expensive) but I’ll guarantee you you’ll play a lot better on newer strings than worn out ones.
Pickup height- I forgot about this. Your pickups have two small screws on the sides, loosening or tightening them change the height of your pickup, higher and closer to the strings gives you more tone and more crunch, while lower and closer to the body mellows it out and makes it cleaner. If you’re willing to try this I suggest the following: Don’t. Unless you know what you’re doing, don’t mess with a guitar’s electronics. But if you really really really want to, then unplug your guitar from the amp. Always disconnect it before making any changes to the electronics. Try to use a screwdriver which doesn’t have a magnetised tip, for obvious reasons. Keep a phone with a luthier’s number handy. Make equal turns on both sides and remember, smaaaall turns, the slightest nudge can change the tone completely. Too far or too in can kill your sound. And try to measure with a modeller’s ruler before you make any changes so you know how to get back to what you were like before just incase.
Frets- Better quality guitars have better polished frets. They’re a lot easier to play on. Higher frets and jumbo frets also add to feel. These frets are taller than frets like, say an acoustic guitar. This means you don’t have to press so hard to get a sound out, but it also means you have to play light or you’ll go out of tune. A scallopped fingerboard has the wood scooped out inbetween the frets, and it maximises this effect by quite a lot. However, it can sound really bad if you don’t play light.
And at the end of the day, it’s not the guitar that makes the music, it’s you.
Quote: “Nobody can make a $10 guitar sound good, but lots of people can make pleasant music on a $1,000 guitar. This is one commodity where price does make a difference”
I dissagree, a good musician can make pleasant music on a 10 dollar guitar, it just requires more effort. The great thing about music is that it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Mary asks…
How to buy my first guitar ?
I am looking at acoustic or classical guitar but mostly acoustic. The thing about it is, i just started learning guitar and am looking to get my first guitar, so unlike experienced guitar players I don’t know how to decide when buying a guitar. I already got my budget down. Any tips ? Or any cheap guitar brand recommendations ? What type of wood am I supposed to look for and others which im supposed to avoid ?
NydiaMccartney answers:
Depends. What IS your budget? Other than that, here’s an answer I wrote this morning that applies pretty well: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Apg8SyApZ0SKQwdyv3ziSEbty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20130601032555AAfIER5
Joseph asks…
What should i look for in a new guitar?
Currently I have an Artcore Ibanez Hollow body, but I want something that is a better for metal and heavier rock. What kind of specs should I look for? Type of Wood? Type of Bridge? Type of Pickups? Tuner? lock nut or not? What do you all recommend?
NydiaMccartney answers:
You need a tube amp more than a new guitar. The amp is where MOST of your sound comes from. Even a hollow body can have a metal sound if you have the right amp.
William asks…
What acoustic guitar is best for beginners but still inexpensive?
I want to buy a guitar for the first time. I’m on a tight budget so a guitar around $100 but no more than $200. I don’t know too much on which brands are best. So I would like to know if there is a certain brand that is best for beginners. And what is the difference between nylon stringed and steel stringed guitars?
NydiaMccartney answers:
Whatever you go for check the type of wood (e.g spurce, mahogony etc) they type of wood has a big effect on the sound of the guitar. Also don’t go buy some cheap crap off Ebay – i did that once and found out after it fell over that the truss rod(the big piece that runs down the inside of the guitar neck into the body) was made out of plastic instead of metal.
The Difference between nylon(or the old “cat gut”) guitars and steel stringed is typically the former is used for playing “spanish style” guitar while the latter more contemporary or modern stuff – I’d go for the later unless your into classical or spanish style guitar playing – The steel strings are much harder to press down on, but if you keep up the practice your fingers will strengthen up after a few months.
I learnt a few Oasis songs, some by John Mayer, sting and a few Judas Priest Riffs!!, I’d stick to acoustic guitar players first – or blues, anything slower and easier before jumping into heavy metal complex riffs etc. – Just pick something you like and learn a few new bars every couple of days to keep your interest alive and break up the lessons.
Also if your internet savy and know how to DL stuff – check out “Learn and Master Guitar” by Steve Krentz – its hands down THE best guitar tutorial series out there.
Just remember – mastery is about reaching a plateau or wall and then doing what most people don’t do – Moving through it.
Btw branding on guitars that price really isn’t going to matter much – best to go to the shop and get some advice after googling some research.
Steven asks…
What should i look for in a new guitar?
Currently I have an Artcore Ibanez Hollow body, but I want something that is a better for metal and heavier rock. What kind of specs should I look for? Type of Wood? Type of Bridge? Type of Pickups? Tuner? lock nut or not? What do you all recommend?
NydiaMccartney answers:
For heavy rock, you’re gonna want humbuckers, but for metal, you’re gonna want single-coils, so you may want to compromise. Look for something that’s got a humbucker at the bridge and two single coils at the centre and neck, that’ll give you good versatility. Ibanez makes some great guitars for metal shredding. As for wood, it’s not that big of a deal for an electric guitar. Alder brings out the highs which is good for metal, spruce or maple will get you a full range for heavy rock, but like I said, don’t worry too much about the wood.
Good luck :)
Lisa asks…
What type of guitar do you guys recommend me to buy?
Im thinking of buying a new guitar, im barely starting to learn how to play it so im not soo good at it just yet. So i want a guitar that isn’t too expensive but still sounds good. I don’t know much about brands so thats why im asking, i don’t want to spend more than $250 so if it can be of good sound without spending more than that it will be great.
NydiaMccartney answers:
I highly recommend against Ibanez, Bc rich, epiphone, etc. At least their low end models. They sound like a $200 guitar. When looking at a prospective guitar consider wood. Mahogany or alder. Basswood sounds terrible.
I personally don’t think you need a amp. A 10 watt amp will become a door stop sooner than you would care for.
Reviews are useless for the most part on the low end models because many praise them yet can’t really play.
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