Whats a good guitar? (OR) How to judge a good guitar?

Hi,

Ok, heres the deal, when i go to the guitar shop I see guitars from pretty cheap to stupidly expensive (I live in Europe)

I may be visiting Asia soon and the prices there are rock bottom....so it makes sense that I want to pick up a Acustic and Electric from there (it may not be a fender or a gibson...) ...but how do i know which ones are "good"?

My Ear is not experienced enough to make out much difference....

advise please?

Thanks in advance,
Ryan

I once read that the best way to tell if a guitar is right for you is whether or not you want to keep playing it after you've tried it.

the best advice is: find whatever suits you best....play everything repeatedly and try tuning it up and try messing with the volumes and tones and switches and all.


you'll beable to tell if something feels cheap.

and if you can't: pick up an epiphone les paul or an ibanez artcore....use that as reference for cheap. :p

Just play the guitar, mess with the volume and junk, try all the techniques you can think of, if your satisfied with all of the above then buy it immediately!!!

Hey guys,
Thanks for replying.

Cryptic Excretions -> yep, thats the same advise i followed when i purchased my guitar, I love the way it looks, the way it feels and the way it sounds...and even the way it stands in the corner when i am not playing it :p
but the other day i went for a private lesson and the guy told me I would have to upgrade in around a year (or sooner) and when i asked him why and how do you judge a good guitar he told me its just the feel of the wood, if its handmade and you just need experience to judge a good guitar unless you are buying a Gibson Les Paul or Fender Strato...I kind of got the feeling that he was taking me for a little spin.

The thing is, I cant afford a Les Paul or a Strato so am going in for an "unknown" brand, I have very little experience with guitars (playing just a few weeks...actually, around 10 weeks)
I want to later get into rock/blues, but am taking it step by step first learning Acustic and playing simple songs like Lennon's "Imagine",Elton's "Daniel", Lennon's "Woman", Pauls "Yesterday",and Eagle's "Hotel California"

I'm also messing around with a few scales (eg: minor/major pentatonic) and learning the fretboard properly...along with what makes chords, finding the 3rd,5th or major 7th in a chord etc

Truthfully, I have never played a single note on an Electric, thats why i threw my question here in your collective pool of knowledge as you guys are mostly mucccch more experenced that me.

Any other advise, (however obvious you might think it is) is most welcome.
Eg:
(Good/Bad) things to watch out for

Thanks,
Ryan

[font=trebuchet ms]I'm glad to see that you recognise that the brand-name on the headstock is not necessarily an assurance of quality. And the top-of-the-line may not be significantly better than the mid-level stuff. Case in point: the Taylor 310 series sounds every bit as good as the 610 series. I've seen guitars from major manufacturers (hello, Gibson!) that were suitable only for firewood. Caveat emptor, indeed.

Some things I look for in steel-string acoustics:

- Thump several places on the body with the side of your thumb. Don't use your finger tip, because you don't want to scratch the finish with your nail. There should be no hint of buzzing sounds which would indicate that something is loose.

- Inside the guitar is where the attention to detail, (or lack of it), shows up. Get an inspection mirror at a hardware store or a car parts store. This is a bigger version of the kind of mirror a dentist uses. These things are handy for checking the inside of a guitar. Poke it into the sound hole and take a look around. The glue joints should be neat and tidy... no gaps or big globs of sqeeze-out. Any cracked braces are cause to put that guitar back in the rack, and move on.

- Look closely at everything! Glue joints at the bridge and neck should be free of gaps or squeeze-out. Marquetry should be smooth and crisp, no decals! The tuners should operate smoothly. The strings should sit at least half-way into the nut. The ends of the frets should not have any sharp edges. There should be no 'belly' on the body (caused by tension on the bridge pulling the top of the body outwards). The neck should be straight and flat, no twist, and only a very little bow.

- The space beneath an unfretted (open) string should be somewhat greater at the body end of the finger board than at the nut. The space under the thickest string should be a little more than under the thinnest string. If you hold a string down at the first fret and the fret closest to the bridge, there should be some space between the string and the frets between these two points. This shows how much 'bow' the neck has. Some bow is needed to allow the strings to vibrate freely without buzzing against the frets. Take note of these dimensions when you are trying out various guitars. This will help you build up some clear ideas of what you prefer and what you wish to avoid.

If you're still interested in it, you can play. By now, you should already know what kind of sound you are seeking. A good guitar will deliver this. A great guitar will come alive in your hands. If you can possibly afford it, find youself a great guitar!

If the intonation is good, chords will sound right anywhere on the neck, without sour notes sticking out.

For an electric guitar, play it unplugged. It should sound really good on its own. Sub-standard pickups can be replaced, but an inherently bad-sounding guitar is maimed for all time. Bolt-on necks tend to sound a bit brighter than set-necks or neck-through-body construction. Tremolo setups are tone-suckers. Avoid 'em unless you expect to be using a lot of effects.

May your search and your savings come together for you.[/font]

The best way to tell if a guitar is cheap and nasty is, fiddle with the hardware if it moves about a lot it is something to watch out for. Then have a go on it if anything rattles stay away my friend (ie tone and volume nobs ect)

Hey,
Lordathestrings - > thanks for that detailed explanation, I wish I knew so much before i bought my first acustic guitar, lucky for me it passed all (or nearly all) of what you said....I guess 'beginners luck' :cool: but I have bookmarked your reply for when i want to go in for a better/new guitar in future.

I actually started this thread with the electric guitar in mind, thanks for your tips there too (and Dr Riffmachines tips too) but what do you mean by

Tremolo setups are tone-suckers. Avoid 'em unless you expect to be using a lot of effects.

(sorry, am a total newbie)

Thanks,
Ryan

Originally Posted by: musicgu7... I actually started this thread with the electric guitar in mind, thanks for your tips there too (and Dr Riffmachines tips too) but what do you mean by

Originally Posted by: Lordathestrings... Tremolo setups are tone-suckers. Avoid 'em unless you expect to be using a lot of effects.

(sorry, am a total newbie)

Thanks,
Ryan

[font=trebuchet ms]I've played, bought, and sold, a lot of guitars over the years, and I have come to the conclusion that all tremolo tailpiece/bridge designs reduce the integrity of the connection between the body of the guitar and the the strings. [u]No[/u] exceptions. The resulting loss of tonal richness and detail is unacceptable to me. I find I get the most satisfying tone and response out of guitars with 'hardtail' or bridge & stop-bar hardware. If I want a note or a chord to slur or tremble, I make it happen with my hands.

Probably the most startling example of the tone loss due to tremolo hardware that I've experienced personally was the MIJ '62 Re-issue Fender Stratocaster that I bought new in 1986. It sounded merely OK, not wonderful. I bought it because the fit & finish was typically Japanese (which is to say excellent!), and it felt really good in my hands. I decided to remove the tremolo setup and lock the bridge to the body by filling the cavity under the bridge with a machined brass block. I tapped holes in the brass to allow me to screw the bridge down very solidly. The result was very gratifying! What had been a slightly lifeless guitar came alive, and started singing.

I was one of the unemployed victims of the recession in the early 90's, and I sold my lovely blue Strat to pay my rent, but that's one of the guitars I wish I still had.

If you use a lot of pedal or preamp distortion, or you bury the true tone of your guitar in layers of effects, then the tone loss imposed by a trem becomes insignificant. But if your rig and your style are such that people hear you through your guitar, then a trem becomes an obstacle IMO.

Your Mileage May Vary, as they say.[/font] :cool:

If you are heading to Asia, have a look at some Cort Guitars, they are Korean made, I am not sure how easily available they are in Asia, but they are pretty common in South africa (not in Europe tho). They tend to make some awesome guitars...I own a Cort s2550, it is one of the lower guitars in the range, but I also own a Gibson Usa Les Paul and a Prs Custom 22 Artist package, the cort competes with both.

Seriously, Cort make some quality guitars, especially good acoustic and bass guitars, that seems to be there forte.

As a rule, just stick to the advise given on this thread...I think it was from the Lord...and just make sure it is a guitar you enjoy playing and one that inspires you.

Good Luck

Hi,
I am heading to India actually...I am not sure what they have there :-(

Cheers,
Ryan