If there’s one thing that can be draining and suck about being a musician, it’s buying equipment. We all love hanging out in music stores, trying out guitars, pedals, keyboards, and drum kits, but forking over the cash and being smart about what you’re buying can be painful.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. With a huge influx of different guitar amplifier styles, models and inputs, the choices can get to be a little overwhelming, especially for those new to an instrument. Luckily there’s a varied range for beginner guitarists that are looking for quality equipment on at the right price point.
To help guide your decision a little more, we chatted to the experts at Allans Billy Hyde Parramatta to get some tips and insights for buying your first electric guitar.
The Most Commonly Damaged Elements
Strings – String breakage is the most common type of electric guitar damage. It can happen various ways, it can be just a lack of technique, just hitting too hard or it could be a set up problem as well.
How regularly you to replace strings depends on how much you play per day, but roughly if someone is playing even a small amount everyday you’ll have to replace about one per month.
String recommendations – for longevity we’d recommend the Elixr they have coated strings so they’re designed to last up to five times longer than normal strings.
Tuning An Electric Guitar
The most accurate way to tune an electric guitar is by using a digital tuner, it’s the safest way to get the best possible sound.
What types – Most of the digital ones you get these days are pretty accurate, it all depends on what style you like, you can get ones that clip in, you can get ones that attach to a pedal board. we use a lot of the Pitchblack tuners or Boss range in store , they’re two of the most popular ones.
Biggest Mistake First Time Buyers Make
Honestly you don’t need to spend a huge amount when you’re starting out.
Keep it simple – Getting too caught up in the specs of an instrument is probably one of the key mistakes people make. Specs can confuse people a lot, it’s something that you can kind knowledge on when you play more.
Best Type Of Guitar For Beginners
Epiphone – We recommend the Epiphone guitar brand in more of a rock style, like a Les Paul or SG style guitar.
When Starting To Play Live
Don’t forget – If you’re about to start playing live some things you’ll have to consider investing in are a hard case, as you’re going to be carrying your gtar around a lot.
Other things to consider investing in are extra leads and extra gtar straps as they’re definitely things you can do with more of.
FAQs
The key questions we get asked is what’s the difference between a electric guitar that’s $1000 and one that’s $300.
Usually like most things you’re paying for better parts, better pickups. You can also expect a little more attention to detail on a more expensive guitar because it’s made in smaller numbers. Often more expensive guitars are made with a bit more care into how they’re put together.
All guitar prices were sourced from Allans Billy Hyde, for more info on the music gear that best suits you visit Allans Billy Hyde – Australia’s leading and longest serving music gear retailers www.allansbillyhyde.com.au.
