How to buy Your First Electric Guitar  

Buying my first electric guitar is an experience that I still remember to this day. I was turning either 8 or 10 and my parents got me a guitar as a birthday present. It was exciting. I got to go pick out my first guitar and amplifier. It was a Squier Mini Black Stratocaster with a little Fender amp.   

Before then, I had a mini acoustic and microphone that I brought everywhere and played all the time. When dad is a worship pastor. I would bring the microphone and acoustic to rehearsal and play along. So, when we got home with the brand-new electric guitar, I was so excited. 

But as many people experienced, I didn’t practice guitar right away. I played a little here and there, but it took me years to dive into learning the instrument.   

It feels like every week parents ask about getting their kid into music. They want to start music lessons but don't want to buy an expensive instrument if the kid doesn't like it.  

There are two things that can greatly increase the chances of enjoying guitar. The first one is learning how to practice. The second one is making sure you have the right instrument. This article will cover making sure they have the right guitar.  

Check back tomorrow for an article on learning how to practice as a beginner! 

The best beginner electric guitar for beginners is a loaded question. There are constant arguments about brands, styles, neck shapes, and more. But the correct answer is it depends on these 4 factors:    

1. What Music You Want to Play 
2. Budget 
3. The Look of the Guitar  
4. Does it Stay In Tune  

What Music Do You Want to Play  

There are certain guitars that work better for certain styles of music. The guitars that work better for metal can work for rock, but it's harder to get there. Finding the right style instrument for your preferred genre can help you get that sound.  

One of the most important aspects of picking a beginner guitar are the pickups inside of it. A pickup is like a microphone for guitars. It captures the sound the guitar is playing.  There are two main styles of pickups. Humbuckers and Single-Coil Pickups.  

Single-Coil pickups are one pickup (Shown Below) that captures sound. They have a sound that can sound more distinct or clear. 

Humbucker pickups (Shown Below) are two single-coil pickups put side-by-side. These pickups create a wall of sound. They may have less clarity than single coils, but they rock. 

If you like metal or heavy rock like Metallica, Humbuckers guitars are a great fit. Here are some examples: 

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If you like country music, A guitar with a lot of distinct notes that are bright and clear is a perfect fit for you. Here are some examples of a great country guitars:  

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If you like rock or blues, you have several different options. A lot of guitar players play single coil Stratocaster guitars. Others play humbucker Les Paul style guitars and everything in between. Here are some great options for you:  

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Budget  

Your budget is very important when buying your first. We never want anyone to buy a guitar that they can't afford. But, if you’re able to get started on a guitar that isn’t super cheap there are a several benefits 

1. You will have more buy-in for learning the instrument 

1. The quality of the instrument is often higher  

1. It will Sound Better  

If you spend more money on something, it is much harder to justify not practicing then if you spend a low amount. Now for each person, this is subjective. When I was 10, $100 was everything. Now, if I lost $100 it wouldn’t ruin my life. If you’rebuying a guitar for your kid, the cost will motivate you to help them practice.  

The quality of the instrument often is better based on the price. This also means they will last longer and be easier to play. Having a guitar that is easy to play is very helpful in the beginning. The goal is to increase the chance you play the guitar on a regular basis. If a guitar is hard to play, that chance goes down. 

Oftentimes, higher-end guitars will sound better than lower-end. There are a lot of factors, but the main ones are the quality of pickups and the wood of the guitar. If you're getting started, listen to someone who has experience playing the guitar. This will give you a more accurate assessment than if your kid plays it. A master can make a bad guitar sound good. A beginner can make an amazing guitar sound bad. 

If you are able to start with a $450-$600 guitar, the quality of those guitars goes up. Check out this article on the best guitars under $500 to learn more:  

Here are some guitars at different budgets that are great options: 

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The Look of the Guitar  

One of the most important factors in learning guitar is if it’s readily available to play at home. If you have to pull a guitar out of the closet and out of its case every time you play. It is much harder to get a consistent practice routine going. There is a more likely chance that it won’t sit around if you look at the instrument all day. This also means that if you’re buying a guitar for your kid, you should like how it looks. Because if you don't want to see it and put it away, they won't play it. 

This may seem obvious. However, there are so many stories of people who buy guitar then never play them. One of the secrets to avoiding that outcome is to make it as easy as possible to play the guitar.  

Feel free to browse our electric guitar selection to find ones that you like: 

Electric Guitars

The Tuning of the Guitar.  

Does the guitar you are buying stay in tune? When I started music school, I had a Gibson ES 335. It sounded great, played great, and even looked awesome. But it wouldn’t stay in tune. I ended up practicing less. Every time I performed, it would drop out of tune and sound terrible. It was very humiliating. I was learning how to get better at guitar, but my guitar limited my growth. The summer after my freshman year of college, I bought my Fender Stratocaster that I have to this day. This guitar was so inspiring to play. It stayed in tune and is the easiest guitar to play I own. The next semester, I practiced 4 hours every day.  

If you’re not sure how to see if a guitar will stay in tune or if it’s your lack of playing experience. Your local guitar shop can help you determine how well it stays in tune.  There are many factors that affect how stable the tuning is on a guitar, but locking tuners will always help. Locking tuners keep the string in place and increases the tuning stability.  

Here are some guitars with locking Tuners:  

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The 4 most important things when buying a guitar are what music you want to play. Your budget, the look, and how well it stays in tune? Thinking about these factors will help you make sure that you get the best guitar to achieve your goals. 

So what guitar caught your eye, and what’s stopping you from beginning your guitar journey?  

If you’re ready to get your first guitar. Purchasing any of the guitars at Roxy Music will get you going. Every guitar comes with a free set-up so it plays in the best condition the guitar can. And if you think it's not the right fit, you can return it for 31 days. The only risk you have would be the return shipping cost.