Correctly Choosing An Electric Guitar

If you are a musical instrument lover, then deciding to play the electric guitar is an adventure in itself. When deciding you want to play the electric guitar, you will enjoy it all the more if you make the correct choice when buying an electric guitar. One will find that there are many people and places that will gladly extend their expertise and enroll you in a course to learn how to play.

A frequently asked question by many about guitars is, if they are all the same? The answer is a resounding NO. The marketplace has a wide variation of styles of electric guitars that are ready to find a home. Knowing what sound you want to go for can aid you in your decision to purchase. Again, classes or their teachers can lend you a knowledgeable thought on what the right choice of purchase will be for you. Where you find the neck of the guitar residing will have an affect on the choice you will make also. The “Set-neck” or the “bolt-On” position of the neck, are two styles of guitars. The first one will allow you to play longer periods than the latter. The closer position of the neck to the guitar makes for you to move easier at will.

One downfall of the set-neck is that it is often hard to fix if it ever receives damage. The least expensive of the guitars you will find to have the bolt-on version. The guitars body will obviously show the neck is secured safely into it. Many who play the electric guitar are in agreement as to the sound not being quite as good as the set-neck and will shorten your length of play. This however, can be chalked up more to the choice of what kinds of stuff the manufacturers use to make the guitars. If money is no object, by all means buy a set-neck.

When you take a class or do research on playing guitars and what to choose for your ideal guitar, you will become fret friendly. This simple means that you will know how many frets that you will want on your chosen guitar. The smaller number of frets the shorter in length the neck of the guitar will be. The higher the number of frets, the longer the neck will be. You get the picture. Stratocasters opposed to Jackson guitars have a lower number of frets. You should make your choice as to how many notes or chords you will want to learn. More sounds will be produced if you pick a guitar that has a higher number of frets.

Electric Guitar for Beginners

When the electric guitar first made its way into the universe in the 1930s, I’m sure no one at that time thought it would be where it is today. No one ever thought that there would be classical music compositions where the main star was the electric guitar. The guitar gets its electronic sound from the pick-up body and is magnified when it’s plugged into the amplifier. So can you learn how to play electric guitar?

Yes! But before you make the investment to get an electric guitar and starting composing masterpieces, you need to get an acoustic guitar to practice on. Learn the chords and get your fingers used to the metal strings. The strings on an acoustic guitar are a lot nicer on your fingers than the steel strings on an electric guitar. Your acoustic guitar doesn’t have to be anything exceptional, and it certainly doesn’t matter if you buy the guitar on Ebay or at your local music store. You’ll just need something playable to get started with.

When and if you start taking guitar lessons, one of the most important pieces of advice anyone who plays guitar can give you is to: take your time and relax. If you feel you’re trying to push yourself too hard to try and be the next Slash or Brad Paisley, then all you’re going to do is get yourself flustered, frustrated, and get your fingers and muscles aching. Slow down- your music composition will still be there. If you choose to teach yourself and not use a guitar (acoustic or electric) instructor, then consider using books or better yet- make use of Google. There are videos and DVDs you can buy to help teach you how to play guitar as well. Online courses or courses taught at the local community college are also great options. Either way you want to learn how to play guitar, there’s a great world of knowledge at your fingertips (pun intended).

When you feel that you are ready to graduate up to an electric guitar, the first thing you may notice is that electric guitars can be quite pricy. If you haven’t done your research to see which guitar would be good for you but would still like to practice on an electric guitar, consider buying one from your music store or local electronics store. You can still get the feel and sound from the inexpensive electric guitar that you can get from the expensive Fenders and Gibsons.

Along with your guitar, go ahead and get a decent amplifier. Some electronic stores will carry electric guitar with a 5-watt or a 10-watt amp–these are fine to buy if you want and are fairly inexpensive.

After you get home with your electric guitar, consider how you will hold the guitar so it is comfortable to you. If you want to be any good (and you will be), then you must practice every day. Therefore you will need to figure out how to hold the guitar so it doesn’t wear out your neck, shoulders, and body.

Other essentials for playing electric guitar are a tuner and a metronome. Getting into the habit of tuning your guitar every time you play can mean the difference between being too low and being too flat. A metronome is a device that produces a regulated pulse to establish the steady tempo in a song. These come in handy when you’re trying to learn a song but have a hard time keeping a steady beat or tempo.

Learning how to play guitar can seem like a frustrating thing. Your fingers and shoulders may hurt, and you may feel like you will never learn the “Freebird” solos, but if you practice every day and keep with it, you will be well on your way.

Electric Guitar Buyer’s Guide

Electric guitars seemed to come alive at rock concerts, but the electric guitar isn’t and shouldn’t be limited to rock concerts. While you have the legends such as Carlos Santana, Slash (Guns and Roses), Stevie Ray Vaughn, Brent Mason, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Hendrix, you also have some guitarists like Keith Urban and Brad Paisley who are awesome on any guitar, especially electric.

If you have ever seen or been to watch Brad Paisley or any of these legends perform, you know that they’re about the lyrics just as much as they’re about rocking on the electric guitar. It’s almost memorizing to watch.

Now if you want to learn how to play electric guitar, the most essential thing you can buy is, of course, the guitar. A lot of people will buy an acoustic guitar to learn the basics and then graduate up to an electric guitar when they’re ready to. When you graduate up to an electric guitar, you will also want to buy an amp, a pick, a tuner, and so much more.

Because there are so many guitars that have so many various designs and colors, it’s hard to specifically tell you which guitar is the one for you. Before you make the investment in getting an electric guitar just it’s because it looks “pretty” or “cool,” you will need to do some research. That way you know how much to spend and what will work best with what you want and need to do.

Below are some choices of guitars with price and design:

Fender Stratocaster- Fender is a worldwide icon in the music industry and is known for its style. When it was first introduced in 1954, the body was the typical style it is now. The red and white body style seems to be the most popular and has been used by Mark Knopfler. The characteristics of the body have a unique curve on the upper back of the guitar and a gradual curve around the back of the guitar. In the 1960s colors such as Daphne Blue, Surf Green, Fiesta Red, Burgundy Mist, and Lake Placid Blue were introduced to the world. Today those guitars are unusual but very desirable. Some more designs by Fender include:

Deluxe Stratocaster ranges around $600.

Deluxe Stratocaster in Rosewood ranges around $1200

Standard Stratocaster in Maple around $400. If in Rosewood, the price is increased to $600.

Stratocaster Eric Johnson series guitar ranges around $1800

Fender Telecaster- the Telecaster is a dual-pickup, solid body guitar. When it was introduced in 1949, the Telecaster was the first of its kind to have a substantial scale and is one of the oldest solid-body guitars. Some popular Telecaster designs include:

American Telecaster HS ranges anywhere from $900-$1000

Standard Telecaster ranges anywhere from $400-$500

Fender 63 Telecaster Relic Solid Body ranges anywhere from $2500-$3000

Fender 72 Telecaster Custom, ranges anywhere from $700-$800

Gibson Les Paul- the Les Paul guitar is another solid-body guitar and was first introduced in the 1950s by a man named Ted McCarty. The main feature of the guitar is the neck construction, which means that it’s not bolted to the body of the guitar. Eric Clapton, Kirk Hammett from Metallica, and Slash from Guns and Roses are just some of the legends the play the Les Paul. Some other Les Paul designs include:

The Les Paul Custom ranges anywhere from $3000-$3500

1959 Standard Guitar ranges anywhere from $5500-$6000

Vintage Mahogany Electric Guitar ranges anywhere from $700-$800

Class Electric Guitar ranges around $1800-$1900

Gibson is a popular guitar name and shouldn’t be limited to just the electric guitar. They also specialize in banjos and acoustic guitar. Some of the legends of have played or still play Gibson guitars include Frank Zappa, Tommy Page, Ace Frehley, and Toni Tommi, and this is just to name a few. Some popular models of Gibson include:

Flying V Electric Guitar ranges anywhere from $500-$600

SG 61 Electric Guitar ranges anywhere from $1500-$1600

Faded SG Special Guitar ranges anywhere from $550-$600

Explorer Pro Electric Guitar ranges anywhere from $1100-$1200

There are many brand names of guitars, but these are just of the more popular names. While these are popular and well known, remember to do your research with each name brand to find the guitar that best suits your needs.