So You Have Decided To Buy Your First Guitar. Now You Are Unsure Of What To Purchase.

Should I Buy A Acoustic Or An Electric? Well Friends, Those Are Not Your Only Concerns.

Lets Start With Acoustic Guitars. There Are A Multitude Of Sizes And Designs And There Is A

Major Difference Between A Classical And Steel String Guitar. A Classical Guitar Has Nylon

Strings And A Much Wider Neck. Typically, A Classical Guitar Is Not For A Beginner. The

Fingering Agility Of Both Hands Come Into Play And, Although You Can Strum A Classical

Guitar, It's Really Not What It Is Designed For. I Know Of Many Advanced Musicians Who Had

To Relearn, To Play A Classical Guitar.

A Acoustic Steel String Guitar Can Be Strummed (Wiping The Strings In An Up And Down

Motion With A Pick Or Fingers) Or Finger Picked As With A Classical Guitar Or Banjo. The

Necks Are normally Narrower Making Them Easier To Play And Learn On. The Drawbacks

Are; The Neck Is Typically Joined To The Body At The 14th Fret Which Limits Individual Notes,

The Body Of The Guitar Is Deeper, Putting The Neck Further Away From The Student, And

There Are Limited Adjustments Available To Personalize The Guitar To The Individual.

A Electric Guitar, I Feel, Is The Best Choice. You Do Not Need A Amplifier! Now You Might

Ask Why I Feel This Way? First Off, Let Me Elaborate My Statement. I Highly Suggest A

Stratocastor Style, Hard-Tail. I Have Had THOUSANDS Of Guitars Come Through My Shop.

Very Few Musicians Are Able To Re-String A Floating Tremolo Equipped Guitar. Most Are

Able To Re-String A Fender Flat (Fulcrum) Six-Bolt Style Bridge But, Even A Beginner Can Re-

String A Hard-Tail And Tune It.

The Cut-A-Ways And Routs On A Stratocastor Style Guitar, Make It Very Comfortable For A

Student To Learn On And Play. They Are Extremely Easy To Setup Or Tailor The Guitar To The

Student. And, They Are Easily Upgraded And/Or Repaired.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR OR ASK ABOUT

ACTION, The Action Is The Distance And Feel With Respect To The String Height To The Fret

Board. You Want To Comfortably Be Able To Press Each Note All The Way Up And Down

The Neck On Each String.

MACHINES, Sometimes Referred To As The String Tuners, You Want To Have A Well Made

Set With Tight Gears. The Higher The Quality Of The Machines On The Guitar, The Easier It

Stays In Tune.

SADDLES, Saddles Are The Six Individual Bridge Pieces On The Body Of The Guitar. You

Will Want Adjustable Saddles That Provide Up And Down (Action) Adjustments And Forward

And Back (Intonation) Adjustment.

INTONATION, Intonation Is The Relationship To The Open Or Un-fretted String plucked, To

The Harmonics At The 12th Fret. The Most Accurate Way To Adjust INTONATION Is With A

Strobe Tuner.

FRETS, The Metal Bands On The FRET-BOARD, Frets Come In A Variety Of Heights And

Widths. Frets Give The Musician Note Placement. You Should Look For A Guitar That Has

Frets Which Are Level And Not Worn Or Dented.

NECK, The Neck Has; The Fret Board, The Frets, Truss Rod, And The Machines. You Should

Inspect The Neck To See If It Is TRUE. To Do This, Hold The Body Flat At Eye Level With The

Neck Pointing Away. Look Down The Neck, First Look At The Frets. Are They All The Same

Height? Please Keep This In Mind, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE FRETS ONLY! Next, Look

At The Relief Of The Neck, GUITAR NECKS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE STRAIGHT!

But, You Should Have A SLIGHT RELIEF Or Bow With The Valley At The 9th ~11th Fret.

The Neck Should NOT Have Any Other Twists Or Distortions Other Than The Relief!

TRUSS ROD, The Truss Rod Adjusts The Relief Of The Neck. The Truss Rod And The Saddles

Should Not Be Adjusted By Anyone But A TRAINED Technician, Or A Learned Musician.

Please Note, These Are Basic Guide Lines For A Novice Inquisitive Buyer. I Have Deliberately

Not Mentioned; Custom Or Scalloped And Off-Set Necks, Neck Thoughts, Set Necks, Fine

Tuners, Bone And Composite Nuts, Or ELECTRONICS!

WHAT TO EXPECT.

Typical Setup For An Acoustic Guitar, Including Strings. $30.00 ~ $45.00

Shop Time: 1~1.5 Hours.

Typical Setup For An Hard-Tail Solid Body Guitar (Stratocastor, Les Paul, Telecaster) Including

Strings. $35.00~$60.00

Shop Time: 1~1.5 Hours.

Typical Setup For A Fulcrum (Flat Stratocastor Six-Bolt) Tremolo Or Bigsby Equipped Guitar,

Including Strings. $40.00 ~ $65.00

Shop Time: 1~1.5 Hours.

Typical Setup For A Floating Tremolo Equipped Guitar, Including Strings $50.00 ~ $100.00

Shop Time: 1.5 ~3 Hours.

A Typical Setup For Guitar Includes; Test, Removal Of Old Strings, Clean And Oil The Fret-

Board (If Needed) *Re-string, Tune, Check And Set Intonation (When Applicable), Truss Rod

Adjustments (Neck Relief) Tune Again, Set The Action Height, Tune And Test, Wipe Down

The Instrument And Return It To The Customer.

Note* A Setup For A Floating Tremolo Equipped Guitar Also Includes Claw Spring Adjustments

And Locking Nut Setting. And Very Time Consuming To Get The Tremolo To Lay Parallel And

Level.

My Credentials, Factory Authorized For; Gibson/Epiphone, Fender, Ibanez, Washburn, Charvel,

Jackson, G&L. Saint Louis Music, Marshall / Korg And Many Others.

I Hope This Article Has Been A Little Help.