Summary:
With so many options available, purchasing an electric guitar for the first time can be a confusing process. Here are some essential points to consider that will clarify this process while helping the shopper to be happy with their purchase.

Details or Sample:
Five Things to Consider When Buying an Electric Guitar for the First Time
by Erik Tans

Are you considering buying an electric guitar for the first time? Ready to take all of those riffs perfected in Guitar Hero to a real stage in front of real people? If so, then you’re going to need a real guitar- here are a few things to keep in mind when sorting through all of the choices to find one that’s right for you.

All electric guitars have some basic parts in common. The quality, size and ‘feel’ will be different, even amongst the same make and model. This can be frustrating at first but remember that it also means you have a wide variety from which to choose the right guitar for you. The ‘business-end’ of any guitar is its strings. These are anchored on one end on what is called the headstock, stretched across the neck with frets that help produce the different pitches, then across the body of the guitar and over ‘pickups’ where the vibration of the strings is picked up and sent electronically to a separate amplifier via a guitar cable. Finally there are knobs on the body that control the volume and tone of the sound coming through the amplifier. This may sound a bit involved at first but when buying a first instrument keep in mind the points below.

Trust in your initial reaction to the sound and ‘feel’ of the instrument in the beginning.
As you play more guitars, you will build up a reservoir of things you like and dislike about different types. For now, pay attention to the size of the neck: does it feel too large to get your fingers around? Some necks are thin and wide whereas others are thick and narrow. The large number of possibilities means that there should be one that feels good to you. Also, the strings should not be too high off of the neck. You will know they are if you are pressing down very hard while fretting a note or chord. This will tire you out and have an adverse effect on tuning. This situation can be adjusted somewhat, but I recommend going for the right feel up front.

Smaller fingers need a smaller scale neck
If you have smaller hands, there are necks that have what is known as a smaller scale. This means that the neck is shorter and the frets are closer together. Ask the salesman if you can try a smaller scale neck as this might be appropriate for you.

Should you go for a high-end instrument or a more economical model in the beginning?
A better and more-expensive instrument will usually, in many ways, sound better and play better than a less-expensive model. That said, a less-expensive entry model still has the chance to sound and feel good in a way that makes you want to play the thing. And that is what playing guitar is about: actually playing and enjoying the experience. If your instrument encourages this, you will want to practice more, and you will get better as a result. There are many ‘copies’ or entry-level models of famous brands. These have many similarities to their more-expensive brethren in sound and feel while coming in at non-budget-busting prices.

You’ll want an instrument that stays in tune well. Guitars can go out of tune more often than they should for a number of reasons: some lower-end guitars have tuning pegs that slip and allow the string to go a little loose, and so the string goes flat (or lower than the pitch you want). If the strings are very high off of the neck, pressing down on them will distort the tuning as well. All of this can be a little tricky to make sure of in the store, as new guitars usually have new strings and the metal in them tends to stretch a bit in the beginning. Ask the salesperson to play the guitar a little for you, and watch how often they need to tune the guitar. This will help give you an idea of what to expect with that particular guitar.

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