If you have any further questions on getting the best deal, or want more information on guitar lessons in Beverly Hills or its surrounding areas, visit us at Morimethod.com
2. Buying your first guitar can be intimidating if you don’t know
the traps to avoid, or if you’ve never taken guitar lessons before.
If you have a friend or family member that is well versed in
playing the guitar, ask them to come along and play the guitars
you are considering buying – their input will be invaluable. In
this article I’ll break down the 4 most important things you
should examine, and what you should know when buying your
first guitar.
3. Budget
This one might seem pretty obvious, but it’s an important topic to
note. Budget may not always mean what you can afford, but
what you want to afford. Before going to buy your first guitar, ask
yourself, “am I 100% absolutely I can be playing guitar for years to
come, or am I just testing the waters?” If you’re rather confident
you will be journeying down this musical path for some time, or
pursue playing gigs in Los Angeles, then you may want to invest in
a higher quality guitar that will continue to satisfy your needs
years in to taking guitar lessons. Los Angeles has tons of great
mom and pop shops that generally tend to spend more time with
their potential customers, and ensure they depart with a product
that fits the student (assuming that student is already taking
guitar lessons).
4. Machine made vs. hand made
The prices for machine made vs. hand made will obviously vary, as it takes much
more time to make a guitar by hand than it by machine. Each type of guitar has its
pros and cons. Machine made guitars are usually made with cheaper wood, and
made to nearly mathematically perfect specifications. This type of guitar is what
new students beginning to take guitar lessons usually choose. Hand made guitars
have flaws, but that’s what makes them beautiful. Such aural elegance can be
heard from a cello section for example.
5. When cello players simultaneously give a note vibrato, the reason it
sounds so rich is the imperfect, or out of sync vibration each cellist is
producing. After I had been taking guitar lessons for a few years, and
wanted to start playing some shows around Los Angeles, I decided to
buy a nice hand made guitar for around $1,400. The guitar had an
unbelievably pure tone, however when I drove to my next guitar lesson
in Los Angeles and jammed with my teacher, I started to notice two of
the notes on the B string had more bass than all the others. This is an
impurity that adds a human feel, but on the same token can be
frustrating when I am playing a pianissimo part, and don’t want the
bass frequencies jumping out. If you are planning on taking guitar
lessons, and know whom you will be taking them with, ask that person
what they prefer.
6. Warped Neck
It is important to check if the neck of your guitar is warped. A guitar being stored in
improper temperature and humidity conditions, as well as improper string changing
can cause warping. In Los Angeles we’re not subject to very extreme weather
conditions, but in areas outside of Los Angeles where the weather is volatile, this can
be more of an issue.
To check for warping, hold the neck of the guitar eye level, with the headstock being
the furthest piece from your eye. Look down the neck with one eye, as if you were
looking through a scope. If you are see any twisting or bowing of the neck, even if
subtle, move on to the next guitar.
7. Intonation
A lot of lower end guitars sold in the Los Angeles area have intonation problems that
may be hard to notice with an untrained ear, but as you start taking guitar lessons and
refine your skill, it will quickly irritate you. If you are not confident enough with your
own ear, take a tuner, and play every note on every string in succession. If, as you go
up the neck the tuner shows increasingly out of tune noted, the intonation is off, and
this is not something that is easy to fix. As with the other aspects, if you have a friend
that has been taking guitar lessons for a while, ask him to play the guitar so you can
hear the capabilities of the instrument.
8. If you have any further questions on getting the best deal, or want
more information on guitar lessons in Beverly Hills or its surrounding
areas, visit us at Morimethod.com
NickWylie, President
Mori Method Guitar Academy
