Download Purchasing a new guitar:tuner (web).

PURCHASING A NEW GUITAR
You may want to consider purchasing a new student model guitar, either steel-string or
nylon.
A steel string guitar has strings that are made of steel and as a result are much louder than
a nylon string guitar (I'll show one of those in a second...). The problem with a steel
string guitar is that the fingers need to develop calluses in order to effectively play the
instrument. For the first week of playing, the finger tips of the left hand may hurt until
calluses develop.
The other type of guitar is a nylon string guitar or Classical guitar. The nylon strings are
softer to the touch and not as "painful" as a steel string guitar can be. The sound is not as
strong as a steel string guitar. The fingerboard, where the left hand fingers touch the
strings, is also a little wider than a steel string.
So, the question you need to ask is: "In your future, do you want to play rock 'n roll
(steel-string) or classical/folk music (nylon string)? Also, try guitars before purchasing
one. Depending on the player’s hand size, a classical guitar might be too big. The key is
to try instruments, even if only one knows one chord.
Places to visit include:
• Guitar Center, Villa Park
• http://gc.guitarcenter.com/locations/store.cfm?store=336
•
•
Sam Ash Music Store, Lombard
http://www.samashmusic.com/locations/
•
•
Kagan & Gaines, Forest Park
http://www.kaganandgaines.com/
•
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Music & Arts, Itasca
http://www.musicarts.com/Stores/Store.aspx?id=343
Some suggestions if you wish to purchase a quality starter guitar for a reasonable price:
From Music & Arts (in Itasca, IL):
Yamaha Gigmaker Standard Steel-string guitar package: $159.00-$169.00
http://www.musicarts.com/Yamaha-GigMaker-Acoustic-Guitar-Pack-519040i1150348.mac
Yamaha Gigmaker C40 Classical (nylon string) Guitar package: $159.99
http://www.musicarts.com/Yamaha-Yamaha-C40-GigMaker-Classical-Acoustic-GuitarPack--Natural--510693-i1385078.mac
Either of these would be a fine choice for a beginner.
Tuners
In addition to purchasing a guitar, invest in a clip-on tuner. These relatively inexpensive
devices are excellent tools for tuning a guitar, even in a noisy room. The tuner clips
directly onto the guitar and tunes it using vibrations the guitar produces rather than by
sound waves.
Some examples include:
Brand:
Intelli IMT-60
Fishman FT-1
Korg AW-2G
Sabine Zoid Z-1000
Cost:
$17
$20
$30
$30
Note: cost may be different depending on the vender.