What Should I Know About Buying My First Guitar

So you've decided to learn guitar, that's fantastic, now it's time to get you set up. 

A quick trip to your local guitar store might induce some choice anxiety. There are so many brands with so many intricacies and each guitar has it's own sound. The most important things to remember when you pick your first one are:

Keep it Simple! Keep it Inexpensive! Make it Your Own!

You are just starting out and as much as you might want to go get all the best gear and the expensive, top of the line guitar, that is a mistake for these reasons:

• You don't need much. You're at the beginning, buy accordingly! All you need to get going is a basic guitar, a tuner and a stand (and an amp if you're going electric). When you start sounding like a guitarist and you start to appreciate the instrument more then think about getting a better one. For now lets keep it simple.
• It WILL get damaged. I guarantee that you will bang your first guitar so many times it'll look like the surface of the moon with all those craters! Its gonna get scratched, dropped, dented, kicked, drop-kicked, knocked over and pushed around all day long! That is not a bad thing, its just something that will happen. I would recommend taking all that out on a cheaper guitar first so lets keep it inexpensive. 
• Think about your style. You probably have a genre of music you prefer, a band you really like, a musician you think is awesome; well they have a style. It's time for you to think about where you're headed with your guitar. Do you want the full, unplugged, warm toned feeling of an acoustic guitar? Or do you want the metallic, thrilling, piercing sound of an electric guitar? How do you want to sound and what does that sound look like? This part is helped by going to the store and browsing. Sure the expensive ones look good but I guarantee that this first guitar will stay in your memory for ever, so pick accordingly!

What might be the best guitar at right now is always changing. Going to websites like guitarcenter.com

and samash.com and searching for acoustic or electric guitars is always a good start. Be sure to get lots of prices and reviews before you to to your local shop. But keep this post in mind as you go through.