Size of the Guitar

One of the most overlooked aspects in buying a guitar: Is it the right size? This is particularly important for children but also for people of small build and females. Steel string acoustic guitars are often quite large particularly those built in dreadnought style. Electric guitars have smaller and thinner bodies so size is not an issue with them except for with small children. Classical guitars while bigger than electrics are also rarely too big for adult players.

Children should learn on small sized guitars that match their bodies. Do not try to save money by buying them a larger guitar that they will grow into. By the time they have grown into this guitar they may have stopped playing altogether because they became frustrated trying to play on an instrument that was too large for them. All three types of guitar are produced in 3/4 and 7/8 sizes. As a rough guide children from 5 to 9 should play on a 3/4 size and children from 9 to 12 on a 7/8 size. At around 12 years old most children can play a normal sized guitar as long as it is not a huge steel string. It is not necessary to buy a top notch and expensive instrument at this age as long as the guitar is reasonably well constructed and easy to play.

Adult players also need to consider the size of the guitar but mostly in regards to steel string acoustics. Many of these guitars have very large bodies. They are made this way partly because of a desired sound and partly because of tradition and fashion preference. I would estimate that 50% of steel string guitars are built to a size that is only comfortable for 20% of the adult population, i.e. tall men. It is very important when you choosing a guitar to consider whether you are comfortable holding the instrument. You will be holding it for many hours and you want these to be pleasant hours. It is also important to consider whether you will be standing or sitting with the instrument. A large guitar may feel comfortable while played standing up but may be awkward when sitting. If you are unsure, assume you will be sitting. There are many fine steel string guitars with smaller classical sized bodies so it is not necessary to buy a large one.

Weight of the Guitar

The weight of the guitar is only an issue with electric guitars as acoustics have hollow bodies and are much lighter. Electrics are made of solid wood and the larger ones can be quite heavy. If you play sitting down this is less of an issue but many electric guitar players play standing up. A heavy guitar can aggrevate back problems and even cause them. It is sometimes hard to judge the weight of a guitar by playing it for a few minutes in a store because the guitar tends to feel heavy when you are playing on it for long periods of time. Fortunately most electric guitars do not have large bodies and you can easily see the difference between the smaller, regular sized electrics and the larger, heavy electrics. I once had an electric guitar that sounded quite good but was very heavy especially after practicing with a band for a couple of hours. This was one of the main reasons I sold this guitar and looked for another one that I liked just as much but didn't leave me with a backache after each rehersal.

Neck Width and Radius

Different types and brands of guitars have different neck widths. Electric guitars usually have a neck width of slightly under 1.7 inches, the acoustic guitar standard is 1.72 inches while the standard classical guitar is 2 inches. A smaller neck makes it easier to play fast and make chord changes but makes it harder to avoid unintentionally muting strings. A larger neck is better for fingerpicking (gives the fingers of the right hand more room) and makes it easier not to mute strings when playing chords. In general, a smaller neck is better for people with smaller hands and thinner fingers and a larger neck is better for people with larger hands and thicker fingers. A small neck will give a person with large, thick fingers more problems than a larger neck will give someone with smaller fingers. There are some hybrid guitars: nylon string guitars with necks smaller than the classical standard and steel-string guitars with larger than standard size necks. These guitars are designed to allow players used to one type of guitar to play the other type without having to play on a different sized neck. While many of the hybrid guitars are not in the lower price range there are a few options in this price category. Some of the Seagull acoustic guitar models have a neck width of 1.8 inches while Ovation makes a classical guitar with a 1.875 inch neck. There are some small variations in the neck widths of electric guitars but wider necked electrics are relatively rare outside of a few nylon string electrics in the higher price range.

The neck radius is the amount of curvature or roundness in a guitar neck and can vary significantly. A round guitar neck fits the contours of the hand better and makes it more comfortable to play. Unfortunately, round necks also cause significant problems in guitar playability. The action of a guitar (the height of the strings) can be set lower on a flat neck than on a round neck making it easier to play fast on a guitar with a flat neck. Round necks also cause problems in bending strings because the curved neck stops the string from ringing when it is bent too high. Round necks do make chords much easier to play especially bar chords. Classical guitars have flat necks because they are designed for playing virtuosic music while steel strings have rounded necks because their primary function is playing chords. LaPatrie does make a hybrid nylon string guitar that has a rounded radius similar to an acoustic guitar although its neck width is the standard classicl width of 2 inches. This guitar would be good for players wanting to strum chords on a nylon string guitar. There is a great variety of neck radiuses in electric guitars and the preferrable one depends on the style you want to play. If you want to be a rhythm guitarist a round neck will be better but a flat neck is preferrable for lead guitar. Fenders usually have round necks while Gibsons are slightly less round, Ibanez even less round and Jackson guitars have flat necks (which is why they are often the preferred guitar for shred guitarists). Some guitar makers are starting to use compound radius necks which are necks that are rounded at the lower part of the neck where one is usually playing chords and which gradually get flatter as the neck progresses to the upper positions where one is playing lead guitar.

Playability of the Guitar

This is probably the most important factor for beginning guitarists. One can still learn the guitar on an instrument that sounds poor but is easy to play. However, an instrument that sounds great but is difficult to play will cause unnecessary struggle for a beginning player. Obviously, the best scenario is to have a guitar that sounds great and is easy to play.

The biggest problem is: How do you judge a guitar's playability if you do not know how to play the guitar? Weight and size issues are relatively simple in comparison to this one. One solution is to have a guitarist friend accompany you to the store but this is often not possible. You should try pressing the strings down on the guitar neck yourself. Do this on all the different strings and at both the lower and upper frets. Try this on several different guitars and compare them. See if it seems hard to press the strings down. Look at the strings and see if they run fairly low and at a constant height along the neck or if they get significantly higher in the upper frets. A bit of rise is normal but too much is undesirable. A guitar that is difficult to play at the 12th is probably one you want to stay away from even if it seems easy to play in the lower frets. Even someone who has never played the guitar before should be able to tell if an instrument is easy to play as long as he has several guitars to compare it to. Do not be afraid to touch and try the guitar, this particular test does not require you to make a sound and only requires you to feel the guitar. Do not rely on the salesman to do this for you.