A lot of people always have some doubts - should I buy a large guitar or a travel guitar? Are there many disadvantages to travel guitars?
In fact, guitars have been available in different sizes since ancient times.
For beginners, taller friends have relatively longer arms and relatively larger palms. If you use a guitar with a small size, it is easier to have a hunchback. You should pay special attention to your posture. Petite friends have relatively small hands. If you buy a large guitar, you will find that your arms are not long enough and your hands cannot hook the strings, which may also lead to poor posture.
When buying a novice guitar, it is recommended to choose a suitable guitar according to your physical condition
Therefore, when a novice buys a guitar, it is not necessary to decide whether to buy a "big" guitar or a "small" guitar, but should make a comprehensive evaluation based on their height, arm length, palm size and comfort. As long as it is not too strenuous to play, and you will not feel any discomfort after playing for a long time, at least in terms of feel and durability, it is a guitar suitable for you.
Common guitar sizes:
Common folk guitar: 40 inches to 42 inches Classical guitar: 39 inches Travel guitar: 38 inches or less
*1 inch = 2.54 cm
There are some claims that small guitars are limited by the size of the amp, resulting in less resonance than larger guitars. However, it is precisely because the size is reduced that it can be exchanged for its convenience, and it also allows guitar learners with small hands or young children to have more choices.
In addition, after increasing the budget, small guitars can also choose better quality woods or well-known big labels. In addition to making up for the lack of resonance, they also have the same sound quality as big guitars!
If you go to a musical instrument store and ask the clerk to introduce the guitar, you may hear: "This is a single sheet, made of XXX wood" "This is a plywood, with OOO construction", what does the single sheet, plywood, or full sheet mean? Woolen cloth?
The price of the guitar includes the comprehensive sum of workmanship, sound, and brand value. When the total is very low, it is easy to have problems such as "poor sound quality", "poor workmanship", and "inaccurate sound".
- Poor sound quality - refers to the feeling that the sound contains impurities and is not saturated, but this has nothing to do with the volume and timbre (eg: bright, warm, etc.).
- Poor workmanship - ranging from poor settings, high string spacing makes it painful to press, prone to wrong posture, and even injury. If it is heavy, the angle of the fingerboard is wrong, and the strings are still played at a high string distance, and the maintenance cost may exceed the price of a piano. Then there is the sloppy ending in the details of the appearance, without texture.
- Inaccurate tone - the wrong position of the scale grid will cause you to have a situation where the tuning of the open string is accurate, but it is not accurate when you press it, so it will not sound good no matter how you play. *Note: The pitch inaccuracy is a workmanship problem. If the pitch difference is too large, it is almost irreversible.
Therefore, even for novice guitars, we still do not recommend buying guitars under 5,000 yuan.
And the price of more than 5,000 yuan, you can buy a high-end composite piano with good quality; a novice with a relatively abundant budget can choose a veneer with a price of 10,000 yuan, which has obvious differences in sound quality and sustain performance than the composite piano, and It can avoid the loss of spending extra money to change the piano after learning for a while (usually, there are requirements for timbre after learning for a while, so I will not buy another plywood piano).
For any brand in the world, it is impossible to achieve "the string spacing setting of every guitar is the same" when it leaves the factory, but of course, the higher the brand's error value, the smaller the error value; Opportunity for high string spacing.
A good store will do a string spacing setting before the guitar hits the shelves! Therefore, pianos of the same brand and model purchased in different places are likely to have completely different feel.
*Note 1: The picture is a schematic diagram of ultra-high chord distance.
*Note 2: Our string spacing is set to 12 frets (fret): the first string is 2mm, and the sixth string is 2.5mm.
4. What are the barrels?
The guitar barrel is definitely not just about its appearance. "Different" guitar barrels will have different sound characteristics, and the "same" barrel may have slight differences between different labels. For those who are just beginning to come into contact with the term "barrel body", you can first understand what barrel bodies are and what kind of sounds they probably make.
Establish a basic understanding of the sound of the barrel body when choosing a novice guitar, and it will be a lot more fun to learn
Parlor barrel
This barrel has a long history and a strong retro feel, which is the favorite of Wen Qing. There are slight differences in the shape and size of each manufacturer, which is less common in Taiwan. The unique vocal resonance is great for brushing chords, blues, and country music. The timbre characteristics are crisp, mostly 36 and 38 inches.
0 barrel
Similar in shape to the Parlor barrel but larger overall, it is the form that the guitar first appeared in, from 0 barrels to 00 barrels and 000 (OM) barrels that gradually increased.
000 / OM barrel
One of the most common guitar barrels on the market, mostly 39 and 40 inches. It has a detailed and grainy character, similar to classical guitar, and is suitable for playing genres. The two barrels are the same, but the chord length of the 000 barrel is 24.9 inches, and the OM barrel is 25.4 inches.
GS mini
The representative of travel guitars, Taylor guitar broke through the inherent resonance shortcomings of small guitars in 2010, and was subsequently followed by world guitar manufacturers to promote the trend of travel guitars.
GA bucket
The most difficult to distinguish from the OM barrel, the upper shoulder is narrower, more slanted, and wider at the bottom than the OM barrel. The sound quality is clear and clear, which is the favorite of fingerstyle players, so it is also the barrel body with the most missing corners.
OM barrel
The barrels of each brand have their own advantages and disadvantages, and they are all slightly different. This guitar is the appearance of Martin's guitar, and the upper and lower parts are more flat.
Small Jumbo Bucket
Like the big Jumbo barrel, it has the characteristics of loud volume. The appearance is slightly different from the 36-inch GS mini barrel, commonly known as Small Jumbo (SJ barrel), Little Jumbo (LJ barrel). The round butt is the best recognizable feature!
Jumbo barrel
The large-volume speaker has an explosive resonance effect, suitable for playing, singing, and fingerstyle. It is an all-round barrel. The standard Jumbo barrel is 42 inches, but due to its large size, many small Jumbo forms have appeared in recent years, ranging from 36 to 40 inches.
GJ bucket
In 1937, Gibson first published the enlarged Jumbo barrel, so it is called Grand Jumbo (GJ barrel). Up to 43 inches.
D bucket
It is a standard and classic body. The barrel is heavy and the low frequency is excellent. Compared with other barrels, the tone frequency is the most average and the resonance is full. It has a sense of surround and wrapping. It is suitable for playing and singing chords.
Drop shoulder D bucket
A marked departure from the common D barrel, the 1942 became a classic with the introduction of Gibson. But in fact, similar barrels appeared long before that. Because of its warm color and full bass, it is also suitable for playing and singing musicians.
Baby bucket
Commonly known as the small D barrel, but there are still obvious differences between the two in actual observation. The 34-inch design is most suitable for small guitars to carry when traveling. It is also suitable for petite women or young children. It is easy to play and effortless.
5. Do you value 【Appearance】?
Appearance is often an important basis for many people to consider. After all, a good guitar may accompany you for a lifetime. Maybe you're not a person who cares about looks, but in the beginning, you can also rely on the "wood" or "painting" of the guitar as a basis for your consideration, because these will affect the tone.
- Wood <br>In addition to affecting the sound, the wood of the guitar also has its own unique color. The following is a list of three common woods and their characteristics.
Others include red pine (cedar), which is often used on classical guitars, or sapele, which is often used on ukuleles.
spruce wood
Yellow, the tone is brighter.
mahogany
Orange-red, with a mellow tone.
Acacia
There are obvious dark and light lines, the sound is more rounded, and the penetration is better.
- Lacquer method <br>If you don't understand, you can first have a rough understanding of the following two kinds of paint and their impact on the sound. You can try the sound characteristics of the two kinds of paint during the piano test, and then choose your own. favorite:
1. Open type : This type of lacquer saves the procedure of filling in the wood grain, and the cost is low. It is common in beginner piano models, and the grain can be seen with the naked eye . The advantage is that the sound conduction is more direct and the penetration is better. good.
2. Closed : Since the wood grain has been filled, the texture will be improved whether it is bright or matte. However, since the thickness of the paint surface will affect the tone, if it is handled well, the sound will be more concentrated, and if it is too thick, the sound will be obscured and affect the resonance of the wood. Low-cost beginner pianos often save the workmanship and only want the brightness regardless of the thickness, which greatly increases the possibility of the sound being muffled.
Finally, there are all-single pianos on the market that are extremely simple in workmanship and focus entirely on timbre; there are also gorgeous plywood models that focus on aesthetics; of course, the more workmanship, the more time-consuming and expensive it is, and these will be reflected in the pricing. So understand your own needs orientation, and you won't waste money when you buy it!
[Extended reading] Lacquer: Protection between guitar and danger
In 2017, Martin made a two million guitar commemorative model, which is intricate, beautiful and flamboyant.
Taiwanese Brand – Sunrise Guitar Pukana La has made an unadorned all-single guitar, you can find it!
6. Do you need to buy [Bakelite Guitar]?
Whether it is a novice guitar or not, unless you have performance or recording needs, it is not recommended to buy a guitar with pickups~
Three reasons!
- A. The pickups are not "gifted" when you buy a guitar, but "plus" in the price.
- B. The pickups also have different grades and suitable usages, so the original pickups may not be suitable for your accustomed playing method. For example, the Fingerstyle technique, which requires hitting the panel, is not suitable for under-saddle pickups.
- C. Electronic equipment is prone to oxidation and rust, wire damage and other problems if it has not been used for a long time.
Therefore, we suggest that when you have learned to a certain level and have basic equipment knowledge, you can find an experienced musical instrument store to purchase and install it!
- Judging from the experience of the physical store, it is not easy to be deceived, and it is easier to find it after understanding your needs and then seeking the advice of the store, especially the first guitar is very important!
- Each guitar barrel and neck have different thickness and width. How does it feel to hold it up? Is it comfortable to hold? will affect the willingness to learn. Even if it is an old piano gifted by relatives and friends, it is recommended to hand it over to the musical instrument company for professional inspection and sorting.
In addition, the following introduction is also for your reference. In addition to a basic humidity storage environment, a good musical instrument store should also have:
1. Guitar quality and brand selection (select products with high CP value at the same price)
2. New product defect inspection (defects may occur if they are not paid attention to when leaving the factory or during transportation)
3. Check and adjust the string spacing before putting on the shelf (the height of the string spacing will affect the playing quality, the lower the better, the better, but if it is too low, the strings will produce noise)
4. Loosen the strings on the guitar (the tension of the tuned strings can reach 60-80 kg, which is easy to cause the neck to bend for a long time)
5. Dealing with consumers honestly (not arbitrarily pricing, not concealing the advantages and disadvantages of products)
6. Commodity warranty (protecting the basic rights and interests of consumers)
7. After-sale service (most needed by beginners, including: maintenance instructions, auxiliary string changing, neck adjustment, nut setting...)
"A good piano will send you to heaven, and a bad one will send you to hell" is an exaggeration of course, but it is not without reason.
I will talk about this first. I believe that everyone already has a certain understanding of guitars, but Jiang is still old and hot. I wish everyone to buy guitars and not encounter bad stores!