The Luna Imagine guitar

The Luna Imagine guitar

Admittedly, I spend way too much money on guitars. I’m an addict and there’s no hope for me. Unfortunately, my tastes also gravitate to the higher-end guitars that cost around $800 to $2,000. I’m asked frequently if a guitar that costs that much sounds or plays different enough from a $300 guitar to justify the expense. Probably not, but that’s for a whole different blog post. My kids probably don’t need Nike shoes when the quality of the Wal-Mart specials are about the same but they still think they “need” (and get) the Nike’s.

 

Stoner

I’m also frequently asked what a person should buy for themselves or their children for a starter guitar. Since I run a charity where we teach beginner guitar, I’ve become very familiar with starter guitars and have actually been able to find some very quality guitars in the $200 range. Obviously, if you are unsure whether you really want to play guitar or if you have a child that wants to learn to play, it’s best to stay in the lower end guitars just in case it gets strummed a couple of times and then shoved under the bed.

 

So, here’s my advice to those looking for a starter guitar.

First, figure out which type of guitar you would like to play. Would you like an electric guitar, a classical guitar, or an acoustic guitar? For new guitarists, I would suggest staying away from classical guitars. They are very cheap but the necks are much larger than acoustics, which makes them hard to play, and since they have nylon strings, you don’t get the steel string acoustic sounds that you typically hear in your favorite songs. Electric guitars are great but are usually more expensive and require an amplifier. Therefore, most starters find it is better to start with steel string acoustic guitars for the reason that it is much cheaper than an electric guitar, and it is easier to play than a classical guitar. It’s much easier later to move from acoustic to electric than to start on electric and move to acoustic because the acoustic necks are a bit larger than electric guitars. Something else to think about is whether you would want an acoustic guitar that has a built-in pickup (usually called an acoustic/electric) or just a regular, acoustic guitar without a pickup. A pickup means that the guitar has electronics inside the guitar that picks up the sounds of the strings and can transmit the sounds (through a guitar cord) to an amplifier. If you plan to eventually play the guitar in a band, at church or anywhere else where it will need amplified through a PA system or amp, it would be best to buy an acoustic/electric even though they cost a little bit more.

Aria AW-20 acoustic guitar

So let’s assume you’ve decided on an acoustic guitar to start with. Secondly, (and this is a big one), choose to buy from a local music store. I don’t say that just to support small local businesses. While that is a great reason, there is much more to it. I’ve fallen into the trap of finding guitars online that have great prices, free shipping, and in some cases avoid sales tax. However, you need to find a guitar that makes you feel comfortable. You should feel a “spark” or a “connection” to a guitar after trying out a few of them, and you can’t do that online. You also might be able to find a cheap guitar at Wal-Mart or K-Mart but you can’t try them out to compare them and you certainly can’t take it back to have the action (distance between the strings and fret board) lower or higher, or some other modification made. A local music store can help you try different options, they typically have both new and used guitars (which may help get the price lower), and they can do any type of setup work on the guitar to customize it to your liking.

 

So, now let’s move on to some specific brands and models. While there are literally hundreds of models and brands in this range that are good guitars, I’m going to touch on some acoustic models that I have actually played AND that you can get through local music stores in Quincy.

Dean Performer guitar

For a child, I would suggest a cool Luna guitar like I just bought for my youngest son at Second String Music. The Luna Imagine guitar costs just over $100 and is part instrument, part art project for kids. It’s a black guitar that comes with erasable markers so your child can draw pictures on the guitar. My son actually labeled the strings on the guitar with the markers and wrote down chords for a song I taught him right on the body of the guitar. The guitar comes with erasable markers and a gig bag to protect the guitar.

Fender CD-60 acoustic

For adult beginners, you can spend about $250 and get an Aria AW-20 acoustic guitar or buy a ¾ size Aria AF-20 for around $200. Both of these models are great for beginners. For around $300 you can jump up to a Dean Performer E acoustic that has a pickup and built-in tuner, spruce top and mahogany back and sides. This is a cool looking black guitar that plays and sounds great. Luna, Aria, and Dean guitars are available through Second String Music at 800 S. Eighth in Quincy.

 

Fender CD-60CE

For around $250, you can also buy a Fender CD-60 acoustic. This is an all-wood (spruce top and mahogany sides & back) guitar and comes with a hardshell case. It gets great reviews on all the guitar forums and is great for beginner guitarists. For an extra $50 or so you can get a Fender CD-60CE. This guitar adds electronics (hence the “E” at the end of the model number) so you can amplify the guitar if needed. It also has a cutaway (hence the “C” in the model number), which means the guitar has part of the body cutaway from where it attaches the fretboard so you can reach the higher frets. It also comes with a hardshell case, which is a nice benefit. Time To Play Music at 307 N. 36th St, Suite 107, in Quincy is an authorized Fender dealer and has these models in stock or can get them for you.

Again, I would strongly suggest going to the music stores and trying out a few guitars. See which one(s) moves you and feels comfortable. You might also see some used guitars that might move you as much or more than a new one and that’s not something you can find online or in Walmart. That will be the right guitar for you.

Oh, and if you do try to play guitar and figure out it’s just not for you, there are some great charities that can use donated guitars. See www.facebook.com/sixstringheroes for one such charity.

Steve Stoner