This site offers extensive information on guitars, with an emphasis on beginners who want to (or have started to) learn about playing the guitar. If you want to learn to play the guittar (or to learn more about guitars), this site will help you in understanding the basics and in selecting your guitar gear. Start by browsing the various Types of Guitars that exist. Some basic guitar playing instructions are also available to get you started. However, once you get interested and want to do more with your guitar - you should consider in-person training from a guitar teacher. Books, videos, and online resources may help up to a point, but there is no substitute for a professional who you can talk to and watch, and thus learn from much faster.

There are numerous variations of guitars. One of the most popular is the twelve string guitar. As the name suggests, the 12 string guitar has 12 strings instead of the usual six. Each of the traditional strings is paired with a duplicate string, so it sounds as though two guitars are being played simultenously. Another popular variant is the archtop guitar, which is has a curved top piece (instead of the normal flattop as normal acoustic guitars have), and an f shaped sound hole (instead of the normal round sound hole seen in normal acoustic guitars). Archtop guitars have a distinctive tone and a louder sound than traditional acoustic guitars.

The guitar creates its music from the vibration of its strings. Each string vibrates at a different frequency based on its thickness and length, thereby making different sounds. Additionally, by pressing down a string at a fret (the metallic bumps that run down the length of the guitar's neck), you effectively shorten the length of that string, changing its vibration and its sound. There are two broad families of guitars: Acoustic guitars and Electric guitars. An acoustic guitar is constructed in a shape that reflects back the sound of its vibrating strings, amplifying them "acoustically". An electric guitar makes no audible sounds, its vibrating strings are detected by electro-magnetic coils called "pickups" - and the electric signal is sent to an "amplifier" (amp) which converts it to sound and amplifies it as well. A hybrid of both these guitar types is the Acoustic-Electric guitar, which is an acoustic guitar with built in pickups. Acoustic-electric guitars can be heard without an amp, but it can also be plugged in if a higher sound volume is desired.

• Guitar Types The different types of guitars that are available, such as acoustic, electric, classical, bass, steel string, nylon string and more.
• Acoustic Guitar Parts The parts of a typical acoustic guitar, with illustrations and pictures to help explain why these parts are needed.
• Electric Guitar Parts The parts of a typical electric guitar, with illustrations and pictures to help explain why these parts are needed.
• Acoustic or Electric guitar (normally having six strings) Choosing between an acoustic or electric guitar as your first guitar or for starting to learn to play the guitar.
• Buy Acoustic Guitar How to select an acoustic guitar to buy, be it your first or your 15th guitar.
• Buy Electric Guitar How to select an electric guitar to buy, be it your first or your 15th guitar.
• Basic Guitar Lessons The absolute basic guitar lessons, just to get you started and to build your interest so you will continue to play.
• Guitar Notes How to play basic guitar notes, an explanation of why there are six strings and which notes each string makes.
• Guitar Chords How to play basic guitar chords, a chord is a combination of two or more notes to produce a richer sound.
• Guitar Tabs Basics on how to read guitar tablature (guitar tab) notation, the quick and easy way to play any music on your guitar.
• Guitar Sheet Music Basics on how to read sheet music, even though guitar tab makes things easy, reading music notation is important as you get better playing the guitar.
• Guitar Techniques Basic guitar playing techniques, such as bends, hammer ons, pull offs, trills, vibrato, muting and alternate tuning information.
• Acoustic Guitar Types Information on acoustic guitars, such as the available sizes, length and scale, wood types, and strings (steel/nylon).
• Electric Guitar Types Information on electric guitars, such as construction, strings, bridges, tremolo, pickups and other features unique to electric guitars.
• Electric Guitar Effects Electric Guitars are usually used with effects pedals, which can produce new sounds such as distortion and wah-wah.
• Electric Guitar Amps Electric guitars require an amplifier (amp), basic information about guitar amp features that you should know about.
• Guitar Care How to care for your guitar, cleaning and storage instructions.
• Child Guitar If you want your child to learn to play guitar, here are some tips and information on how to get started.

Buying an electric guitar is a little simpler than choosing an acoustic guitar. Electric guitars always have steel strings and generally have similar features. If you are looking for an electric guitar to learn on, the simple "training" models will probably be the easiest choice. You can click to read the next section on basic guitar lessons. However, if you have a larger budget or are looking for an additional electric guitar, the following information will help you in choosing one.

Always TRY out the guitar before buying it. Try as many guitars as you want to, even if they are outside your budget (so you get an idea of what to look for in your price range). Even if you can't play yet - just sit down and hold the guitar to see if it is comfortable. Electric guitars come in many shapes and sizes. The shape of an electric guitar is purely cosmetic, it does not affect the sound in any way. Choose a shape and size that you find both cool-looking and comfortable when you hold it. Most electric guitars are made of solid wood, with cavities cut out to hold the pickups and bridge. One unwritten (and untested) rule with electric guitars is: the heavier the electric guitar, the better it sounds.

The guitar is a beautiful instrument and comes in a high gloss finish, the electric guitar is a lot less delicate than an acoustic guitar, but it still can be damaged. The neck of the guitar should be straight when you look along the strings, not bowed at all. Check the cosmetics and workmanship of the guitar, make sure there are no visible cracks in the body or scratches that may indicate it was dropped at the store by some half witted customer. You do NOT want to buy a damaged guitar. Check the finish on the guitar (this instrument is used in every form of music, from Classical to Heavy Metal), high price electric guitars will obviously be flawless, but lower priced units may have ugly spots. The most important piece of workmanship to check is the frets. Run your finger down both sides of the neck, the frets are metal pieces that are glued into grooves along the neck, and their edges should be exactly flush with the edge of the neck - NOT sticking out or coming short. Granted, you get what you pay for, but badly installed frets are not good in any price range.

Sometimes finding cosmetic ugly spots, or minor scratches, can help you haggle a better price for the guitar. In a store, you NEVER pay the "LIST" price - always whine, if you have children wave their pictures at the salesperson while bemoaning the high cost of diapers. On high end electric guitars, you can expect a discount upto 30% off the list price (that is, for a $10,000 guitar you would pay $7,000). Lower priced electric guitars will give you less of a discount, but never pay full LIST price, nonetheless.

There are usually two types of bridges (where the strings are connected to the body of the guitar) on electric guitars. The fixed bridge is simple, it is fixed. The other kind of bridge is the floating bridge which is spring mounted. Often a "tremolo bar" or "whammy bar" dangles from the floating bridge, rapidly pushing this bar causes a change in the tone (tremolo). The floating bridge does have maintenance headaches since it has moving parts, it will have to be adjusted periodically (or have the springs replaced), and it may also require more frequent tuning of your guitar. However, many guitar players swear by the floating bridge and would never think of using a fixed bridge.

There are two main types of neck shapes, the V neck and the C neck. The V neck is, obviously, shaped like a V (or rather a sideways < ) and tends to make the neck feel thicker - if you have short fingers (as I do) then avoid the V necks. The C neck has more circular neck shaped like a C which allows smaller hands a more comfortable grip. Comfort is everything, if your hand is not comfortable, you're not going to be happy playing that guitar. Another factor to consider is the width of the fretboard, which affects the spacing between the six strings. Fretboards can vary from 1.3 inches to 2 inches. If you have fat fingers, you will want a wider fretboard, if you have small hands you may find a smaller fretboard more comfortable. Another factor to consider for your finger size is the number of frets on the guitar. Electric guitars have more frets than a normal acoustic guitar, usually 17, 21, or 24 frets. The higher frets are great if you want to play blues or metal, but there is a catch - in order to fit the extra frets, all the other frets along the neck are slightly closer to each other. If you have fat fingers you may want to avoid the 24 fret models, but again, you should try it on for size.

Finally, when you buy your new electric guitar, have the store put new strings on it for you. You don't know how long that particular guitar has been on the shelf at the store, or how many other customers have abused the strings. Always insist on the best quality strings for that guitar, the price difference for strings is miniscule, the lightest grade is recommended for best comfort.

Now that you have your electric guitar, click for your Basic Guitar Lessons, or click here if you want information on comparing acoustic and electric guitars.