| Best beginner electric guitar | | | | This is why I would either go for a popular |
| | | | trusted brand, or buy a guitar with a natural |
| Is there really a "best beginner electric | | | | finish. |
| guitar"?. There are a lot of guitars on the | | | | |
| market being promoted as beginner guitars, | | | | A long time ago I had a Morris Stratocaster, |
| many of which are just an excuse for poor | | | | the body was made of plywood. |
| quality. | | | | |
| | | | I only found this out when I went mad and |
| Seeing as I like to focus on the positive, | | | | stripped the beautiful sunburst paint off. |
| I'm not going to start giving names of bad | | | | |
| guitars, but rather, let's look at some well | | | | The reason I pay attention to which kind of |
| known makes with a good reputation. | | | | wood is used on the guitar, is because the |
| | | | sound of the guitar is very much a result of |
| For starters, how about some of the guitars I | | | | the kind of wood used. |
| currently own, and am very fond of. | | | | |
| | | | The second thing I look at, is which pickups |
| I have an Ibanez SA series guitar that sounds | | | | are used (Pickups are what convert the sound |
| great and plays very well, a Phil guitar (a | | | | of the guitar into an electrical signal, so |
| less known brand name), a Fender | | | | that an amplifier can be used). On most |
| Stratocaster, and a Marathone copy of a Paul | | | | guitars in the cheaper range (notice I said |
| Reed Smith. | | | | cheaper, and not cheap), the pickups will be |
| | | | standard company manufacture. |
| Previous electric guitars I have owned that | | | | |
| were also decent quality instruments where a | | | | Some companies, like Ibanez, have realised |
| Washburn Chicago series, a Yamaha, an | | | | the importance of name brands, so they will |
| Epiphone Les Paul, and some others that don't | | | | say something like "Duncan designed" or |
| suit the purpose of this discussion. | | | | "DiMarzio designed" etc. This is generally a |
| | | | good thing, but not that important. |
| My criteria for choosing an electric guitar | | | | |
| | | | The reason I say "Not that important" is |
| The first thing I look for in a guitar, be it | | | | because the most easily customizable feature |
| an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar, is | | | | of an electric guitar is the pickups. Let me |
| a decent quality wood. | | | | just add as well that buying new pickups |
| | | | doesn't have to be an expensive operation |
| Mahogany, maple and alder are my three main | | | | either, and is mostly unnecessary if you |
| choices for good quality tone in an electric | | | | choose the right guitar. |
| guitar, but Ash can also give a good sound. I | | | | |
| have also heard that Korina is an excellent | | | | The tone comes from the wood, then the |
| choice, but hard to come by. | | | | pickups interpret it. |
| | | | |
| Most guitar necks are made out of Rock or | | | | What you need then is good quality wood and |
| Canadian maple. Now I know, when one looks at | | | | good quality construction. |
| an electric guitar, the body is usually | | | | |
| painted, so it's not so easy to tell which | | | | That's why I have mostly cheaper guitars. I |
| wood they've used. | | | | have a hard time buying the hype and a good |
| | | | time playing the guitar. |