How to choose your first electrical guitar and its amplifier?
The electrical system is a guitar, cable and amplifier system. What to look at each, what to prove before to pay and why pedal can wait for.
To start with, look for an electrical guitar with a solid body with a fixed bridge or a simple trumole, a comfortable mast for your hand and a small practice amplifier with an earphone output. Thus, a good cable and a tuning machine have everything necessary for the first few months. Fingers can wait.
The electrical system is a guitar, cable and amplifier system. If one of the three fails, everything sounds bad. We explain what to look at and what to have before buying.
To sum up
- A good guitar connected to a bad amplifier sounds bad: it evaluates the set.
- For the house, a small practice amplifier with hearing aids is more useful than a big one.
- Simple coil tablets sound more brilliant and double coil, thicker and without buzzing.
- Avoid double-track floating bridges as the first guitar: they complicate tuning and changing strings.
- The pedal's been bought after you know what's missing from you, and not the first day.
Type of body: solid, semi-hollow or hollow
| Cuerpo | How does that sound? | Ventajas | Please note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid | Define and with a lot of maintenance | The most versatile and high volume without matching | Some weigh quite a while. |
| Semihueco | warmer and with air | Used widely in classical blues, jazz, funk and rock | with high distortion can be attached (pounding) |
| Hueco | Roundabout, almost acoustic | Thought for traditional jazz | Great, delicate and unuseful to start with |
Between the solids you will see double-cut bodies with two "horns" that let them get to high and simple, more compact and often heavier cuts. Choose by comfort: sit and then stand with the hung guitar. If you leave your head to the ground, it's unbalanced and your left arm will get tired.
Mast, scale and size
See the mast thickness more than his profile name: hold it at first and fifth and note if his hand clears comfortable. The small hands appreciate a thin mast and a slightly shorter scale, that leaves the strings somewhat less tense. For children there are 3 / 4 or short scale electrics, good choice if a complete guitar remains big or heavy.
Couples and bridge: sound and stability
The tablets are the magnets with coils that capture the vibration of the strings. Their type defines a good part of the character of the guitar:
| Pastillas | Sonido | That's where they shine |
|---|---|---|
| Simple coil (single coil) | Brilliant, clear and with attack, some buzzing's normal. | Funk, pop, blues, classical rock |
| Double coil (humbug) | Thick, hot and without buzzing | Rock, hard rock, metal, jazz |
| Simple and double combination | From bright clear to thick distorted | If you haven't got a definite gender yet |
Passive tablets, which do not use drums, are normal and are sufficient to learn. Actives are associated with high gain styles and are unnecessary at first.
The bridge
- Fixed: The most stable. Easy tuning and changing strings are simple. Ideal to start with.
- Simple with lever: That's how tipple the tone. That's how tipsy the tuning holds and how to use it with restraint at first.
- Two-track float: He holds the strings with screws at his eyebrow and bridge. He's very stable with expert hands, but tuning and changing strings can be a nightmare for a beginner.
The amplifier: small, with hearing aids and well tested
A small practice amplifier filled with a room and what matters is that it sounds good at low volume. Watts do not indicate quality.
| Option | What's his use? | Please note |
|---|---|---|
| Propeller with effect | House and classes: clear, distorted, reverb, delay | That have hearing aids and auxiliary entrance to play about songs |
| hearing aids | Connects directly to guitar and practice at night or travel | That's a good complement, but it's no good to play with other people. |
| Audio and computer interface | Record, use simulators and sound good at virtual classes | Requires configuration and hearing aids or study speakers |
| Tube or high power amplifier | Test with band and tirames | Unnecessary at first and at an apartment, you don't have to use them. |
The packets that bring guitar, amplifier, cable and cover are comfortable but the amplifier usually his weak point: try with the same attention as the guitar. If you are going to take [online music classes]](/clases-de-musica-online)connecting the guitar to an interface greatly improves what the teacher hears to the other end.
Cable and accessories for first day
- Instrument cable: about 3 meters with 6.3 mm (1 / 4 inch plug) connectors. If an end is at an angle, it gets less attached. A cable that crosses as you move it is damaged.
- Finger: clip, an amplifier or our [guitar tuner]](/herramientas/afinador/guitarra).
- Strap: padded if the guitar is heavy. Tap it up so that the guitar remains at the same height sitting and standing.
- Fits: buy several of different thickness and a thin or medium makes the scattering easier at first.
- Rings: 9 or 10 calibre is the usual and 9 calibre are easier to press.
- padded cover, support and closed hearing aids: The guitar with his face and his face and his face are more and more but saved and his hearing aids let you practice at night.
What about the pedal?
Wait. In the first few months, the clean channel and amplifier's distortion are sufficient to learn chords, riffs and rhythm. When you have clear what sound you have missing, as an elay for ballads or a different distortion, a multieffect pedal is a useful way to explore before buying loose pedals. Your teacher helps you to avoid spending on effects that you are not going to use.
What to prove before you pay, new or used
- Fold and touch every string into the air and step onto several scattering: there should be no buzzing against scattering.
- Drive the selector through all its positions and each should sound different and without cuts.
- Turn the volume and tone knobs with the connected guitar. If they cross, the potentiometers are dirty or worn out.
- Gently move the cable onto the guitar's connector. If the sound cuts, the jack's loose.
- A little noise with a distorted light is normal with simple coils. If the buzzing's very strong or changes a lot with his touch of the ropes, there can be a ground problem.
- Pass his hand through the edge of his mast: the ends of his scattering should not scrape.
- Compare the harmonic at 3 with the note step right there. If they differ quite a while, you need octavation titration.
- If you have a lever, use it and check that the guitar will be tuned again.
In a used one, also check the wear and wear of the scattering under the first strings and ask if the mast's soul has a path to suit. The latter is known by a luthier. We count more on [new or used instrument]](/blog/instrumento-nuevo-o-usado-que-revisar-antes-de-comprar).
Frequently asked questions
Is it easier to start with an electrical guitar than with an acoustic guitar?
In some respects, they are more thin and they are more low and they are less expensive. But they require additional equipment and have their own technique, as they turn off the strings that don't sound. We compare them with [acoustic or electrical guitar].](/blog/guitarra-acustica-o-electrica-cual-aprender-primero).
Can I practice an electrical guitar without an amplifier?
You can check out nonconnected digitations but you don't listen to how they really sound and you get lost with mistakes such as buzzing strings or notes that don't turn out. with an autophone amplifier or an interface you don't care about anyone and you listen to everything.
Do an electrical guitar serve a child?
Yes, if the size and weight are good for them. There are 3 / 4 models or short scale models. Check that his strap does not hold his shoulder, his first cut will reach his arm without stretching his arm and his volume will be low to care for his ears.
What do I do if my guitar buzzes when I connect it?
First change the cable to get rid of it. It removes the guitar from the computer, LED lights and voltage regulators that put noise into the simple coil tablets. If the buzzing goes on, it can be a loose ground connection: that checks a luthier.