What You Should Know Before Buying Your First Electric Guitar

Buying an instrument usually sounds like a simple idea and continues to be so until you go to the store or look online and see all the options. Your first guitar purchase can be very overwhelming. Hopefully this article will help you know where to start.

The Essentials

One common mistake made by many people when first purchasing an electric guitar is forgetting all the accessories that need to be included. An electric guitar, or any guitar for that matter, requires several specific items.

• A guitar pick – at least 1, but they are easily lost. I recommend starting with quite a few of varying thicknesses
• A shoulder strap – though not essential, it will be impossible to play standing up without one
• A case – protect your guitar and it will last much longer
• A tuner – ensure your guitar is playing the correct notes

An electric guitar requires a couple extra items:

• An amp – This doesn’t need to blow the windows out of the house. A small 50 W – 100 W amp will be more than sufficient to start.
• A cable – This will connect your guitar to your amp

It is also recommend buying a simple stand to set your guitar on. Tripping over your new guitar is no fun at all. Another thing to consider is having an extra set of guitar strings in case you break a string while rocking out the new tunes you will soon be learning.

Package Options

As you can see, there are quite a few items involved in buying your first guitar. One great option for new players is starting with a Guitar Kit or a Guitar Value Pack. These can be found at your local music stores or on any number of online shopping websites.

Common brands that have their own guitar kits are Ibanez, Fender and Epiphone. Going with one of these kits is a sure way to know you’ll be ready to play the moment you open the box. Many guitar kits come with everything you need including picks, a tuner, an amp and the guitar. Quite a few even include a basic chord chart to get you started.

The average entry level guitar kit would be priced around 200 dollars. I started with a simple Epiphone guitar kit many years ago and still play and love that guitar.

Buying a guitar kit from generic brands generally are very low quality and not worth spending money on.

Next Steps

Buying a guitar is only the first step. A high quality lesson plan will have you up and playing your favorite songs in no time. Jamorama comes highly recommended and has worked very well for this author. You can find out more about them at http://www.howtojamonguitar.net

Jeremiah Grant has been playing guitar for many years, focusing primarily on blues, rock and classical techniques.