Acoustic or electric?
This is perhaps one of the first questions that you will need to answer for yourself. Of all types of guitars, the electric guitar is the most popular instrument used in modern music. The electric guitar itself sounds very quiet, but as soon as you connect it to the amplifier, you will discover an amazing world full of various sounds. Electric guitars are primarily used for rock, metal, pop, blues, jazz or country music.
The body of an acoustic guitar is designed in such a way that the guitar sounds loud and spacious on its own, without any additional devices. Acoustic guitars are often used in folk, country, bluegrass, or blues music.
Many people wonder if there is any difference between learning to play an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar. In general, these instruments are very similar, and the technique of playing one guitar can easily be transferred to another instrument. We, on the other hand, think the electric guitar is a better choice as a first instrument because it can be easier to play: it tends to have a narrower neck and lighter string tension.
Guitar strings
For many beginners and professional guitarists alike, the process of choosing the best strings for guitar becomes a real challenge. For your own money, you certainly want to get something very high quality, durable, comfortable and sounding well. And in this article we will try to consider absolutely all aspects of the selection of strings for various types of guitars, as well as tell you about the most popular brands and models, the choice of which is always a good decision.
Choosing the Right Guitar Strings
You will have to experiment a lot to find out which are the best guitar strings for you. This is very much a matter of style and preference, as different windings sound very different and even the gauge of the string plays a big role. Nevertheless, it is worth starting your search with really worthy and popular models, in order to immediately feel the maximum quality and be able to compare it with the products of other famous manufacturers in the future, forming your own unique taste.
What to ignore when choosing strings
There are a number of parameters to consider before choosing the best guitar strings. Not all of them can be important at one level or another of your game. If you are a beginner, then the focus should be on the comfort and convenience of the game. This means that you can use thinner strings with traditional windings without much fancy. It is important to understand that in order to produce a unique sound, for example, from thick silver strings on acoustics, you need to have certain skills and master advanced techniques such as fingerstyle. Well, an uninitiated young musician with such strings is more likely to face a number of difficulties that are unnecessary at this level.
Also, do not chase after cheapness, making deals with your conscience, acquiring relatively cheap strings from unknown Chinese manufacturers. All this will only lead to the fact that you yourself will be dissatisfied with the sound, and low-quality products will very soon require an early replacement. It is worth remembering that strings are not an element that can be neglected, and on which it will be possible to save money, because the most important thing in an instrument is sound, and in its formation the strings play one of the most important roles.
Something about guitar picks
Among all the guitar accessories and components, one cannot find a more insidious "assistant" for a musician than a pick. The first thing you should know is always buy picks in reserve, as they are very often lost, forgotten by friends or at the rehearsal point, given to friends and spectators at a concert.
Briefly about the most common materials:
Tortex is a smooth coating with a noticeable roughness: very comfortable when playing, it wears out for a long time;
Derlin is a smoother version, favored by lead guitarists and guitar lovers;
Celluloid is the cheapest and most common material; it has a smooth texture to the touch. Versatile: suitable for all types of guitar parts and instruments;
Nylon is soft and flexible and is the preferred choice for acoustic and classical guitar owners;
Metal - has its own signature sound, but quickly wears out the strings. Used mostly sporadically, to color some parts with a metallic and harsh sound.
The most common forms of this accessory:
Standard - the most popular, versatile and suitable for any style / part;
Teardrop and Jazz are smaller but usually thicker. Most often they give a brighter and more dynamic attack;
Triangle - a triangle, has high practicality, as it allows you to play with any side.
Also, pay attention to the Sharp prefix - it means that the pick has a pointed tip, which allows you to achieve a brighter attack, but requires the musician to have a good sense of the instrument and developed playing skills.
The thickness of this accessory is selected individually and depends on the guitars and playing style: the classic option for electric guitars is 0.7-0.9 mm, for acoustic ones - 0.4-05 mm. For bass guitar, pick picks thicker than 1 mm are better.
Tuner and metronome
To tune your guitar, you will definitely need a guitar tuner. And if everything is quite simple with electric instruments (tuners are found in almost all effect processors, in extreme cases, the guitar can always be connected to a computer and tuned using online services), then for an acoustic guitar this accessory is as necessary as air. Today there are several types of tuners.
The metronome is a must-have accessory for any musician. With its help, it is easy to train a sense of rhythm and hand coordination, it will allow you to learn to play cleanly and clearly. The most popular metronomes today have a headphone jack that allows you to practice without disturbing the monotonous rhythm punching around you.