An acoustic guitar can have a high or low action. The term “action” refers to the distance of the strings from the fretboard. If the action is too low the strings will buzz against the frets. If the action is too high the guitarist needs to exert too much pressure on the strings to get a clean sound. Acoustic guitars also make use of two kinds of strings – nylon and steel. The ideal guitar for a beginner would have as low an action as possible without fret buzz and use nylon strings which are better for breaking in a new guitar player’s soft finger tips.

Every guitar buyer has his or her own budget and you need to bear in mind that if you are looking at buying a new guitar, there’s no such thing as a bargain. An acoustic guitar is a valuable item so when you buy a new one, get a warranty with it.

The body of an acoustic guitar should be without dings or cracks in the wood. Any kind of damage or deterioration which shows itself in the form of splitting wood is not going to heal by itself. It will mean repairs later on. This also goes for any splits around the screws holding the machine heads in at the top of the neck.

The lacquer on the guitar should be free from chips and worn patches and you should check to make sure that the neck is not bowed. Hold the guitar up to your eye with the fat part of the guitar against your cheek, and sight along the neck. The neck should be straight.

After inspecting the physical condition of the guitar, play a few chords at different places on the fretboard. If you or whoever you brought with you to help check out the guitar, can play bar chords going right up the guitar’s neck without the guitar sounding out of tune it means there is no twisting of the neck that you could not see during your physical inspection.

The strings are stretched between the machine heads and the bridge. These two parts of the guitar hold all the tension. Make sure the machine heads do not resist you efforts to turn them. Any decent guitar can be tuned easily and don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. The bridge should be without cracks and be firmly attached to the body of the guitar.

By: Ricky Sharples

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The Alvarez guitar line as we know it today started with a Japanese luthier named Kazuo Yairi who worked in partnership with an American company to design these guitars. Yairis family is known for creating high quality, hand made instruments. The companys current, skilled luthiers continue this tradition.

Alvarez does not use computers and other high tech devices to help build their guitars. Computer assisted guitars have a very uniform sound across the board. The Alvarez guitars are unique from instrument to instrument. Building them by hand gives each guitar their own character. That is why it is important to find luthiers and other workers who are both skilled and passionate.

They pride themselves on their wood seasoning process. Done correctly, this can be considered the key to the sound. Wood types such as mahogany and rosewood are both air dried and kiln dried for long periods of time- sometimes as much as fifteen years. This aging process helps develop the tone and gives it a rich quality. The guitars are then shaped into their various styles.

Alvarez has a complete line of high quality guitars. Their acoustic guitar styles include the Dreadnought series, crafted in a shape and style similar to other Dreadnoughts, Alvarez classic guitars of various styles and woods, and Alvarez folk style guitars, including some cutaway models. For a complete list of styles, visit their website.

There are also plenty of famous and accomplished musicians who play Alvarez guitars. These include Ani DiFranco, Bret Michaels, Carlos Santana, Graham Nash, Kipp Winger, Laura Clapp, and David Crosby. For an extensive list, please visit their website.

Here are some reviews of Alvarez Acoustic Guitars (source Harmony Central):

About the Alvarez 5054 12 String

Got started more than half a century ago. I m what we now like to call a multi-instrumentalist. Play in half a dozen bands, jazz, blues, metal, punk, Cajun and Irish.

This is a great guitar. The first time you pick it up you immediately recognize that it “has something”. And it ain t just me, I ve had some friends (including some well-known players) try it out and give it a thumbs-up.

I m not saying I would trade my Guild for it, but I ve not come across a comparable second choice. And considering that nowadays this is a sub $400 guitar it s an outright bargain.

About the Alvarez AC 60SC

I have been playing guitar for over 30 years and have owned all types of guitars and gear. I was without a nylon stringed guitar for a while and developed a nylon jones. I began looking for a classical guitar, with a cutaway and built in electronics. I checked out guitars at 2 stores and chose this one for it s acoustic sound. I did not even plug it in at the store. I liked the characteristics in her voice. I came back the next day and traded my steel-string acoustic in on her.

As I said before, this guitar is like a wonderful woman. One that should be treated well and caressed. Playing her should be like making love.

If guitar playing can be that much fun everyone should take it up.

By: William McRea

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Acquiring and wrapping your fingers around your own, personal guitar to get its ‘feel’ is always a good idea. We recommend you to go in for a used acoustic guitar. Here’s what, why and how …

Unlike, say, an electric guitar, an acoustic guitar neither needs nor uses any external devices to enhance its sound volume and quality. Remember, guitars are seldom played solo. They’re played along with other, often noisy, instruments. Naturally, if you’re the guitarist you want to be distinctly heard by and be properly audible to the audience. You might not be blasting away like the trumpeter but, nevertheless, you want the melody of the music you’re making to be picked up straight away.

It is to help you fulfill this perfectly legitimate aspiration that we suggest you begin your music-making with not just an acoustic guitar but specifically a used acoustic guitar. Why? Because thanks to its earlier use by another guitarist, whether professional or amateur, the used acoustic guitar is more likely than not to have already ‘found’ its fully formed voice. With the passage of time a wood-based musical instrument like a guitar (or violin, for that matter) sheds the brittleness of its timber and becomes soft and mellowed with the cleaning up and rubbing with oil that comes with its proper maintenance. In a used acoustic guitar somebody else has already done the rubbing up for you! Besides, you’re likely to spend only half the cost of a brand new instrument – so it’s a bargain all the way!

Fine, so where can you find cheap acoustic guitars? To start with, you’ll have to be certain that the acoustic guitar for sale won’t land you conned into buying an instrument you wouldn’t want. Generally, the used guitar could be one of four kinds: old used, new used, refurbished and needs work.

Your best choice would be in finding an old used acoustic guitar for sale that’s ten years old or even older. A new used one would be fewer than five years old. If you’re lucky, you’ll find factory seconds or refurbished guitars on recent models. You must know what you’re buying: Is the neck twisted or bent? Is the neck joint flush to the body of the guitar? (It ought to be so.) Is it plastic or wood? (Wood is definitely better.) Do you have to change the strings? (If so, you can’t test the sound.)

Online,you’ll find great bargains on acoustic guitars for sale of all categories. Look for sellers who have sold acoustic guitars before and have positive feedbacks. So now you know your what, why and how. Happy strumming!

By: Fredrik Roaldset

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