Tony Martin’s Guitar WorkshopFrequently Asked QuestionsWhy buy a guitar ?Apart from being the most popular member of the ‘String Instrument Family’, it is easy to learn, very portable and can be played both with chords and as a solo instrument for such styles as blues, rock, folk, country and jazz. Also most modern music today is guitar based and they are easier to carry around than a piano. Compared to pianos, keyboards, brass and woodwind instruments they are also relatively inexpensive. You can buy a guitar for as low as $80-00. How much should I spend ?
If it’s your first guitar there are lots of things to consider as there are many different types of guitars and the price varies accordingly.
The basic styles are – THE NYLON STRING CLASSICAL, THE steel string acoustic and The SOLID BODY electric. A ¾ size classical guitar starts from around $80-00, full size from around $150-00 and up. The same applies with steel strings. You can buy an acoustic from under $200-00. They also come with or with out an electronic pick-up (these are much more expensive). If you want to buy a solid body electric you can pick one up from $200-00, but don’t forget, with an electric you will require an amp which will cost you another $200-00 plus. Don’t forget “WHAT YOU PAY FOR IS WHAT YOU GET”. Also don’t go past the secondhand market, there are some very good second hand guitars out there. I would suggest you ask your guitar teacher or the music shop assistant to look at the guitar and ask if it is worth the money you’re paying, or if there are some hidden faults that will lower the value of the guitar like a warped or cracked neck.
Should I buy an electric or an acoustic ?
The choice is entirely up to you. But here are some things to consider.
THE PRICE: How much can you afford? THE SIZE: If you have small hands and the neck of the guitar is too wide it’s going to be hard to play. If the body of the guitar is too big It will feel uncomfortable. SOLID BODY ELECTRIC: These guitars are easier to play because they have thinner strings but if you buy an ELECTRIC guitar you will need an AMP and a guitar lead.
ACOUSTIC: Acoustic guitars have a hollow body and don’t require amplification but some Acoustic guitar do come with a puck-up.
What are the different types of electric’s?
Fender and Gibson are the two predominate manufacturers of electric guitars. This doesn’t mean that other manufactures don’t make good guitars, but since the 50’s these two have been the market leaders. Many of the guitars produced by other makers are copies, close and far, of the most popular Gibson and Fender designs.
THE BASS GUITAR
Bass Guitar refers to electric and acoustic basses - stringed instruments similar in design to the guitar, but with longer scale and tuned lower in pitch. The evolution of the instrument was influenced by both the double bass and the guitar. It shares things in common with a range of bass instruments. Bass guitars may be fretless, although fretted is more common. The bass guitar is played while being held horizontally across the body and may be played with the fingers or a pick. Bass guitars are basically 4 strings but they also come in 5 and 6 strings. In electric bass guitars, as with the electric guitar, vibrations of metal strings create electrical signals in electromagnetic sensors called pickups. The signals are then amplified and played through a speaker. Various electronic components, and the configuration of the amplifier and speaker, can be used to alter the basic sound of the instrument. The electric bass is the standard bass instrument in many musical genres, including country, jazz, many flavours of rock and roll, soul, funk, and modern orchestral and Christian music. |
