Buying Your First Guitar

Buying your first guitar can be a daunting experience because of the wide range of types and styles of guitars out there.
From solid body electric guitars to nylon string classical acoustics its a massive range of sounds and feels that need to be considered when you buy that first guitar.
The first thing you need to do before you go shopping for your first guitar is work out what sort of music you think you might want to play and then base your ideas on the range of guitars on that.
Also it is a great idea to take along some one you know who plays guitar to look over the guitars you look at to find any potential problems that may exist with any of the guitars you look at that may affect playability.

Guitar Types and Styles
Guitar come in a massive range of styles and types that all sound very different and can be unique to certain types of music.
They can vary a lot in feel and ease of play also and as a beginner you may want to consider some thing easy to play with versatility in the areas that suit your situation and musical interests.

Acoustic Guitars
Acoustic guitars come in quite a few different ranges and can vary in price from less than $100 to thousands.
Generally acoustics are a little harder to play than electric guitars but they do have the advantage of not needing electricity or an amplifier to make sound at adequate volumes.
Acoustic guitars are great for playing anywhere anytime and can be sung along with quite well.
The styles of music that suit acoustic guitars are folk, classical, and country just to name a few but really could be used for almost any style that requires no amplification or effects.
In broad terms there are two types of acoustic guitars:

Nylon String Guitar
Steel String Guitar

Nylon string guitar have a warmer sound with less attack when the strings are struck.
They have a very organic natural sound.
They are used more exclusively for classical playing but are are not limited to that style. Strings are relatively easy to press down to play notes but usually have a wider neck making it more difficult to play chords and just generally play for someone with smaller hands.

Steel string guitars have a brighter brassy sound with more attack when the strings are stuck and can sound a little louder than the nylon string guitar.
They are used more for country, folk and some pop.
The strings are a little harder to press down to play notes but the neck is narrower than the nylon string guitar.

Semi Acoustic Guitars
Semi Acoustic Guitars come in a massive range from some that looks like a totally acoustic guitar to some thing that barely looks acoustic at all.
It is for this reason that the feel of semi acoustics can vary due to the fact that some are just steel string acoustics with a pick up and others are closer to being electric guitars with resonating chambers having thinner necks and nickel wound strings.
Probably the most versatile of all guitars semi acoustics can be played with or without amplifiers with only a few disadvantages.
The main disadvantage of semi acoustic guitars is the tendency to feed back when amplified at high volumes particularly when some gain (distortion) is being used.

Styles of music that are generally played using semi acoustics vary a lot but a few are:

Folk
Blues
Rock 'n' Roll
Rockabilly

The sound of semi acoustic guitar can vary widely due to some being basically acoustic guitars with pickups and others being very close to solid body electrics.
Generally the guitars built in a style that more resembles solid body electric guitars arent as loud acoustically as a regular acoustic and take to amplification a lot better.

Electric Guitars
Solid body electric guitars are the soul of heavy rock and metal due to reduced feed back from amplification allowing a lot of gain (distortion) to be used.
They are generally the easiest to play particularly with a clean undistorted amplifier.
Solid body electric guitars can come in almost any shape or size leading to a massive range of styles and appearances.
Electric guitars require a amplifier to be heard properly which can be considered a draw back.
On the other hand a massive array of sound and effects can be employed to manipulate the instruments sound including the type of amplifier used and even the speaker in the amp.
The tone of the instrument can be adjusted via the amp settings and tone controls and pickup selection if the electric guitar has multiple pickups.
Feed back can be used as an effect or to increase sustain due to the lack of a resonating chamber causing uncontrolled feed back. (acoustic guitars have resonating chambers to focus sound).
Electric guitars can be used to play almost any style of music. Particularly guitar styles from the 50s on involving guitar parts. Examples would be:

Rock
Metal
Pop
Country
Grunge
Instrumental Guitar Music

What to look for when buying a First Guitar

So by now you should have some idea of what you would like but how do you know if what you are looking at is a good reliable and playable guitar.
Well first you need to pick the instrument up and see how heavy it is try strumming it standing with a strap. Ask your self if you think that it may make your back or shoulder ache due to its weight. Does it feel comfortable to play. To get a good idea try a few different shapes and styles.
Sit down and see if you can play the guitar. Some shapes particularly electrics are hard to play sitting.

Next look from the body and line up you eye along the neck to make sure the neck is straight.
Any bumps, dips or twists will affect how well it will play and also affect the tuning in certain parts of the neck.

Now its time to check the action. The action is the distance between the neck and the strings particularly in the area close to where the neck attaches to the body. Around 5mm or 3/16 of an inch is acceptable. Also if the action is too low or there are defects in the neck the strings may buzz in particular parts of the neck when played.

You should have an experienced guitar player with you and have them tune the instrument and have them play it for few minutes and then check the tuning again. A reasonable guitar should hold its tuning for some time even with mild string bending.

Also have your guitarist friend check the intonation which is the tuning of the notes as you play notes closer to the body of the guitar. This is rather important and is often over looked. Played on their own most guitars can sound OK to the untrained ear but played with a backing track or another instrument soon start sounding a bit off if the intonation is out.

If it is electric play it though an amplifier. Check all of the controls work OK and see what it sounds like. Ask your guitarist friend what his impression is.

The very last piece of advise is just as important as the rest.
Buy the best instrument that you can afford. Because if you buy a cheap guitar it will be hard to play and it more than likely will have tuning issues and have cheap pickups if it is electric which will not sound great and will more than likely aid in you loosing interest in playing and giving up.