But if you buy mass production guitars you have the chance to play the market and see what’s available there. Well let’s say you already decided to buy a Fender Stratocaster with Lightning Strike Burst finishing, there are several ways to get one:

1. You can simply go to your local music shop and buy it.

The advantage of this method is that you will have the chance to see the products live and real. You will be able to touch it and try it to see if it fits your hands. Now about the price. Always remember that local music shop rarely sell anything “at cost”. So if you say something like, “I think I could get a cheaper price on this one somewhere (which is usually true), can you get me a cut price on this?”

Very frequently they will be able to take something off from price; or at least give you some free picks or free set of strings or at discount. You never know, but remember that it never, ever, hurt to ask. Also check out a lower advertised price on same item at a local competitor. Many of them will beat the price to get your deal.

2. Check out online retailers like ZZounds or Musician’s Friend.
Compared to local music shop, usually you will find better prices and better selections when you browse through these online retailers. Plus, you get the chance of reading the user reviews that we talked about earlier.

Pros:

• Better Price, Better Selection
• Many accessories available. You need picks, strings, cases, or fretboard cleaner, or perhaps an instructional video? You can have them here also.
• Free shipping, although you may have to spend on certain amount to meet the requirements or purchase a case to qualify.

Cons:

• Shipping charge applied if you don’t reach the minimum or buy any certain items as required.
• You can’t see the products until it arrives at home. If possible, I suggest that you played it before to get the feel of how it handles.

3. Check Craigslist and Ebay for Second-hand deals

In case you don’t know yet, Craigslist is a worldwide classifieds list from which you can find almost any merchandise imaginable (such as guitars!) for sale by individuals.

Pros:

• Wide selection of guitars and gears.
• Lower asking prices. Let me give you illustration on this. Supposed I want to sell my guitar on some local music shop, which then re-sell it to you as a consumer, I will get some money on it, but would be not as much as if I sell it directly to you. So as long as the guitar offered on craigslist is cheaper than you can get from your local music shop, then it’s a great deal for you (and the seller).
• You may don’t have to pay anything for it. No I’m not saying that it would be free at all, but sometimes people on craigslist are willing to accept trade for gears. A barter as you can say. I found a guy on my area who wanted to trade his 76 Chevy truck for original BB King series Les Paul guitar. Well you never know what people may be willing to trade for.

Cons:

• Beware! Especially if you play the buyer part. Since you don’t know the people you are buying from, so I suggest that you exercise due diligence before making any purchase. This is an online transaction, you won’t be able to see the products offered until it arrives, and you probably won’t be able to return it if later on you finds out that it wasn’t what you expected. If you have any doubts or something that seems too good to be true, don’t do it!

While ebay of course; is probably the world’s no 1 online auctioneer. Looking items in here will expand your search range to anywhere in the world. Supposed if you can’t find the one you’re looking for in here it may not be for sale. Buying a guitar here would probably doesn’t put you in your comfort zone but the deals you get here can be well worth it.

Pros:

• Selection is Unprecedented
• If you use Paypal for payment, there will be protection if there was some misrepresented, etc.

Cons:

• Since this is an auction, there is possibility that you would be outbid on the last second.
• Until the guitar falls in your hands after you’ve pay it, you will never know what’s the seller means with “a few small scratches”. Sure there are pics when you make the bid, but pics are definitely not the substitute for guitar you are holding and stare at it directly.
• Is there any savings if you buying from here? Well you have to at least pay for the shipping price, unless if it happens that you live near the seller location and they allow local pick up.

Buying a guitar especially if this is your first time, can be tricky, just take your time, ask a lot to your guitar player friends, and follow this simple guide, then you have a good chance everything’s went right. Good luck on finding your special one, and when you do be sure to browse back the lesson section to get you started.

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My advice is if that you’re actively involved in “buying guitar” process and assuming that you haven’t grabbed best and killer price from family or friends, then I suggest that you’re find a good reason to buy a guitar that does not solely depend on its looks or because it’s extremely cheap. Too cheap for you to resist.

I understand that if this is your first time, you probably wouldn’t drop tons of money until you know that you’re going to like it. Just remember, just like anything else, there are cheap guitars that are good deals and there are cheap guitar that is just cheap over all. I mean they are just cheap and not worth to buy. And your job is to find the first one, they’re out there somewhere, you just have to know where to find them.

And everyone can do this research in their own different ways. As for me when I’m buying a guitar I’ll check out one of the online music retailer such as zzounds.com and browse through the list until I found something that interest me.

There two valuable functions doing this:

• Let you to see a view array of guitar selections; some that are not available in your local shop along with information about the specs and prices.
• You can read the reviews written by people who actually have played the instrument. By doing this you will have valuable information that you can give as consideration when you walk on into a shop.

You can also do the reverse, for example you may choose the visit the local shop first, and find guitars that seems to be a great choice based on your desire and goals; then you can find reviews from online source written by actual users. I would suggest you to go to Harmony Central. I found this so far as the best.

Whatever it is, make sure that you always read up information about any guitar before you decide to buy it. That way you will at least minimize the chances of regretting the purchase later.

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You should really-seriously thinking about it. Is there any particular guitar or style of guitar you would like to have? Asking some guitar players to point you to the right direction would be useful.

In General
In general, for most beginners taking formal guitar lessons, a standard steel-string acoustic guitar seems like a smart choice, since they usually require the smallest investment. You’re not required to buy an amp, cable etc just to make it works. For simple basic chords learning and simple picking patterns, these would do just fine.

In my experience, when I first started, I was learning from lesson series books my instructor using which consist of classic song such as “Happy Birthday”. I went through acoustic route and I was doing fine.

In fact by beginning with acoustic guitar you’ll be benefit in gaining strength and endurance at your fingers, rather than straight jumping to electric. Your fingers would develop incredible endurance and strength when using the acoustic guitar. You need to press a little harder than on electric.

But To Be Honest!
Still, no matter how good or important acoustic for my learning, I wanted to play the electric from the start.

And I know that it would be a better choice for some people. Let’s say that you’re learning from song to song basis rather than following the standard lesson book, electric will give you extra flexibility and range to deal rather than acoustic can handle. You can go from Happy Birthday song to Smoke on the Water.

Furthermore, as I said earlier that it would be a lot of easier to hold basic chords on electric than on acoustic.

But remember you have gotta have amps, cables, and all that stuffs.

Give it thought to make your decision, but don’t stress it too much, because if you ends up loving guitars as much as I do, then you’ll have both acoustic and electric guitars anyway. So take it easy.

For Non Beginners!
If you’ve been playing for sometimes then I supposed you will be able to determine on what you’re looking for in a guitar. But still, it wouldn’t do any harm if you ask around; who knows others would have better idea, do your research, and make sure you get what’s best for you and your goals.

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If this is to be your first ever guitar purchase, then let me congratulate you for that. Your fun is about to begin. And if you already bought a guitar or two in the past, and you want to add one in your collection, you know that it’s always exciting thing to do.

But still you have to work with the excitement and not get carried away by it during the purchase. All I’m saying, no matter how excited you are on guitar purchase; is that whether you’re new or been playing for thirty years or so, when it comes to guitar shopping you need to be a smart shopper. You don’t wanna regret it later wouldn’t you?

And this guide will help you in buying axe into shape.

1. Buying a Guitar: What Do You Want?

2. Buying a Guitar: Research Tips

3. Buying a Guitar: Purchase Tips

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