Transcription
If you take nothing else away from this video, please remember this: today I'll show you everything you need to get started with playing electric guitar, with plenty of tips throughout to help you understand exactly what you're buying, how to make your money go further, and my number one tip for buying an electric guitar that most beginners aren't doing.
Before I start, this video is not sponsored by anyone. All the info here is based on my 20-some years of experience and is exactly what I would get if I had to start again today. I'll link any products that I mentioned in the description below if you want to check out, but feel free just to use the info from this video to shop around.
So let's start with the guitar itself. When choosing a guitar, there's two things that you want to think about: the style of the guitar and the music that you like, and your budget. A good place to start is by thinking about what inspires you to play. Ask yourself, what's going to make you want to pick up this guitar every day? Whether it's a certain Guitar Hero, a style of music, or just the look of a guitar itself. For example, when I was younger, I was heavily inspired by Joe Bonamassa and Slash and Blues Rock in general, so this Epiphone Les Paul made perfect sense as one of my first guitars.
The most important part of an electric guitar for a beginner, I would say, is the pickups. While most of the guitar's sound comes from the amplifier, which I'll cover shortly, a lot of its character comes from the pickups. At this stage, all you need to know is that pickups either come as humbuckers, like this, or as single coils, like this. Single coil pickups are twangy and thinner sounding, but they buzz more through an amplifier. Humbuckers are much beefier and richer sounding, and they buzz less through an amplifier, which means that they sound better for heavier and louder styles of music.
As a tip, I always recommend trying out the guitar in person if you can. There's so many factors that affect how a guitar sounds and feels to play. Some you just gel with, others not so much. So your best bet is to get down to a store and try out as many as you can and compare them to each other.
If you can't get to a store and have absolutely no idea where to start and just want a recommendation, I would suggest what's called an HSS style guitar, meaning humbucker, single coil, single coil. You get the benefit of having a humbucker and single coil pickups on the same guitar, which is a really versatile design, especially if you're just figuring out the styles of music that you like to play.
As for budget, if you're buying new, then there's plenty of entry-level guitars out there. You can get some really great things between the $200 to $500 range. Brands like Squier by Fender and Epiphone by Gibson are a great place to start. They make more affordable versions of the iconic guitars made by their parent companies. In my experience, you can't go wrong with a guitar from either company. For heavy rock and metal focused players, the Ibanez GIO series or guitars by LTD, which is an affordable brand owned by ESP, are great places to start. But beware of cheap guitars, especially anything unbranded. They're more likely to have issues that will cause problems with your playing, like uneven frets or poor quality hardware. They'll also have poorer quality electronics, which means a worse sound overall, and they're more likely to break. All of which is bad for beginners and will dishearten you from picking up your guitar and playing.
If you're on a tighter budget and want your money to go further, then there's some great deals to be found on the secondhand market. For the price of a new entry-level guitar, you can usually find something a bit better secondhand. In fact, I buy most of my guitars secondhand for that reason.
Whatever you buy, here is my number one tip for beginner guitarists: If you take nothing else away from this video, please remember this: get your guitar set up. A guitar setup will make your guitar easier to play and sound better. It's a good way to get some extra playability out of some more affordable guitars, and it's something that beginner guitarists just don't know about. It makes a world of difference to your guitar. You can do it yourself, which I've covered in this video here, but most guitar stores will offer it as a service. Usually, I find between $50 to $70, which is about $85 in the US. I've also found that most guitar stores will offer a free setup if you buy the guitar from their store, which is another great reason to get there if you can.
Now that your guitar is sorted, let's take a look at the amplifier. This is what makes an electric guitar loud and gives it its sound. As with the guitar, have a think about the style of music that you want to play and your budget. If you're into country music, for example, you'll want something that can be clean and clear sounding. If you're into rock or metal, then you'll want something with plenty of distortion and drive. You'll find that most amplifiers can do both, but some are better at some things than others.
I really, really recommend getting a modeling amplifier. They can emulate a wide range of different amplifiers, so it's like having loads of amps in one. In fact, all the clips that you've heard in this video just come from this one amp, which was one of my first guitar amps. If you can't get a modeling amp, then at the very least, I would make sure that the amp that you're getting has both a clean and distorted channel, so you have the option for either sound.
As a tip, get an amplifier with a headphone jack. Not only will you be able to hear your guitar clearer, but you're also not going to annoy anyone with your practicing. Over-ear headphones are better for this than earbuds. Amplifier brands like Fender, Marshall, Boss's Katana series, Blackstar, and Vox are all great places to start. Again, I would really recommend steering clear of any cheap amplifiers. They're more tinny sounding and really prone to humming and buzzing, and with the lack of controls on there, you're really limited with the amount of sound that you can dial in.
Like guitars, you can make your money go further by shopping secondhand. Your guitar and your amplifier are the two most expensive things that you're going to buy here, so I recommend just taking your time, doing your research, and where possible, getting out and trying them for yourself.
Now we have our accessories, which are still very much essential, but they're a lot more straightforward and cheaper to start. You'll need a guitar lead, which looks like this, and this connects your guitar to your amplifier. It will have two quarter-inch jacks either side, and it doesn't matter which one you plug into which. In terms of length, a 10-foot cable is all you need at this stage. You don't have to spend a lot on guitar cables, but don't go super cheap either. Cheaper cables are more likely to introduce noise into your signal and will break quicker. I've found that anything above $15 works fine.
Now, this isn't a rule, but I also like to think of the shape of my cables when I'm buying them. For example, if your guitar is going to have an angled input, then I prefer straight jacks like this. But if your guitar has a body-mounted input, then I prefer an angled jack like this, 'cause it sits closer to the guitar. Again, any style cable will work, it's just about what looks better on the guitar.
Next up, we have the guitar picks. Unless you're Mark Knopfler, you're probably going to want to use a guitar pick, but finding the right guitar pick can be tricky, especially when you've got no frame of reference. As a beginner, I've made a whole video on that here. Long story short, I really recommend getting a variety pack of picks. These contain a wide range of different shapes, sizes, materials, thicknesses, so you can try out a bunch of different picks and find which one works best for you, and then once you find the one you like, you can just buy a pack of those. I'd stay clear of any bulk packs of picks, like the ones you can find online for a pack of 100, or novelty picks. They're usually made of a cheaper material that's much more likely to break. Also, be prepared to lose your picks. This still happens to me after years and years and years of playing. No matter where I put them, they will eventually disappear, so it's always best to have a couple spare laying around.
Now, you'll need a good guitar tuner. Your guitar needs to be in tune every time you play it, so having a tuner is a must. You can find free online tuners where there's a reference pitch played and you tune your guitar to it, but I think it's much easier for beginners to see a visual representation of how in tune they are. I forgot to mention that you can also get free tuning apps for your smartphone, which work well too. But you don't need a fancy tuner like this when you're just getting started. I've found that a simple clip-on tuner works just fine. In fact, this is the only tuner that I use when I'm practicing at home. I've got a whole video that explores the different types of tuners up here, but I've found that the clip-on is just really easy to use, and it's also the most affordable.
Next on the list is a spare set of strings. At some point, sooner or later, you're going to have to change your guitar strings, so it's always good to have a set ready to go. It's also very likely that as a beginner, you're going to snap a few guitar strings. It just happens, it's part of the process of learning. In my experience, the most common casualty is the thinnest string, which is the first string. Now, if you snap this by accident, you don't have to replace the whole set of strings, you can just replace the individual string. So I recommend getting a couple of spare packs of your thinnest string. Just make sure that it's the same thickness or gauge, which is this number here, as the thinnest string from the set of strings that you're using. For example, both of these are a gauge 9. It will keep everything balanced and sounding right on your guitar.
As a tip, if you want your strings to last even longer, then give them a quick wipe down before and after playing. I've made a video on it here, but wiping your strings down with a clean lint-free cloth removes any sweat and dirt from building up, which will help your strings sound better for longer.
Next up is a guitar stand. It's really, really important to keep your guitar on a stand when you're not playing it. Leaning it against a wall, a chair, or an amp is a great way to get it to fall over. The biggest risk when a guitar falls is it's snapping at the headstock, which I've seen happen in front of me to a friend's guitar. It's either an expensive fix or a complete write-off, especially when it comes to set-neck guitars like this Les Paul. So get a stand to keep your guitar steady and in one place. I recommend this style of stand with a neck, as it keeps your guitar secure in two places. It's the type that I've always used. As for where to keep your guitar, make sure it's not in a high-traffic area and isn't a risk of being knocked over from passersby.
While we're talking about protecting your guitar, a guitar case is a must if you're going to be taking your guitar out of the house to practices or lessons. Hard cases like this are the gold standard when it comes to protecting your guitar from knocks and bumps, but for a beginner, a soft case is more than enough. I would however recommend getting a case with padding like this instead of these ones that just are made of a flimsy material. The padding will help protect against any minor knocks or bumps.
Another thing you might want is a guitar strap, as it will let you play standing up. You'll want a strap like this that has two holes at either side. If the strap that you're looking at has a side that looks a bit like a shoelace, then that's for an acoustic guitar. If you're thinking about getting a heavier guitar like a Les Paul, then I'd suggest getting a broader strap, as it distributes the weight better across your shoulder. You can also get padded guitar straps or a strap like this with a shoulder pad for extra comfort when you're playing.
As an extra tip, I would recommend getting a set of strap locks for your guitar. This will stop your strap from falling off your guitar, which can happen, especially when you're a beginner. I use this type, which replaces the strap buttons on my guitar entirely, and I like this because it means that I can quickly put on or take off my guitar strap depending on whether I'm standing or sitting. But as a beginner, I would recommend just getting these washer-style strap locks. They're a fraction of the price, but do the same job in keeping your strap on your guitar.
Finally, having a maintenance kit specifically for your guitar is really handy for jobs like changing your strings or bigger jobs like setting up your guitar. I use this kit here, but as a beginner, all you need are a few tools to keep your guitar clean and help change your strings. I'd recommend getting a set of pliers, a lint-free microfiber cloth, some guitar polish, and some lemon oil for when you change your strings. Again, there's plenty of videos on my channel showing you how to do each of these things.
Once you've put some time into learning guitar and decide that it's for you, then you can start upgrading your gear and experimenting with things like guitar pedals.
As a final piece of advice for anyone that's learning guitar, I would say: Enjoy the process. There's really nothing like learning your first song or scale and finally cracking a technique or solo and discovering what you're like as a player. There's a lot to learn and plenty of time to learn it. Just focus on getting the fundamentals down: a good picking technique and a good fingering technique, and the rest will fall into place. I'll finish with a piece of advice that my guitar teacher gave me that was really helpful, which is: You'll never be the best guitarist, 'cause there is no best. You can only ever be your best. So good luck with the journey ahead, and let me know how you get on. And subscribe for more guitar tips. Thank you.