Just like automobiles, where you can buy one for just about any price between $15,000 and $1 million dollars, guitar prices are pretty wide too. So if you're looking to get your very first guitar, what do you do? Do you go for one that is a little cheaper or do you buy one that is of better quality? There are two schools of thought on this subject. We'll present both of them with the understanding that neither is right or wrong. They are just opinion.
The first school of thought is that you want to get a guitar that is well made and sounds good, even if it costs a little more. The question you're probably asking, is why? The school of thought that recommends this bases their argument on the following. If a new guitar player buys a cheap guitar with a poor sound, he is more likely to lose interest early on. The reason is because when you first learn to play the guitar you're mostly playing scales and simple tunes that really aren't all that interesting. It's going to be boring enough just trying to get through this, but at least if the guitar itself is of better quality, it will sound better, stay in tune longer and ultimately provide the new student with a more pleasurable learning experience. This will make it so that the student will have a better chance of sticking with his instrument. The extra money will have, in a sense, saved money in the long run. A good quality guitar for a beginner will probably run about $300.
The other school of thought is to get the beginning student a beginner's guitar, maybe something with a price tag of $100 max. Why? Because the thought here is that the beginning student, because he will have to go through with those boring scales and simple tunes, unless he is really dedicated and has a strong love for the instrument, is more likely to give it up early. This will mean less money wasted if a cheaper guitar is purchased in the first place.
There is something to be said for both sides of this argument and we're not going to take one side or the other. However, if a student gets past that initial period on his beginner guitar, whether you went with cheap or not so, what's next? If you bought a cheap guitar to start with, the student is going to want something better. If he stuck with it this long, he's entitled to it. Certainly he can't play a cheap guitar in a band or professionally. This is where you have to more or less live within your means. Sure, he'd probably love to have a $2500 Rickenbacker signature model but maybe he'll have to settle for a Gibson Les Paul for around $700.
Best suggestion is to talk to your kid after the learning stage is over. Find out how serious he is about his guitar playing. If he's very serious, you might just want to invest in an instrument that he'll cherish for many years to come.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Guitars
