1. A lot of people ask me, "Dean , what kind of guitar should I buy?".

     I think you should take into consideration the type of music you want to play as well as your budget. For example, If you play predominantly punk music you should buy a fixed bridge guitar. If you want to be a metal shredder you will want something a bit different, probably a guitar with a locking tremelo system. I dont recommend specific guitar brands. Everybody makes a decent playable guitar these days. You just have to find the style and look that YOU want.

Heres what I recommend: (Im assuming you are a beginner buying your first guitar)

Take the guitar you are interested in and tune it to concert pitch (if you cant do this a guitar salesman can help). Find a quiet place in the store and play it. What you should do now is play an open chord at the top of the neck (not too hard not too soft). and reach up while holding the chord and pinch the top of the headstock with your thumb and forefinger. Do you feel a vibration?

If you do....good. That means you have a decent piece of wood. If the guitar feels easy to play all the way up to the 20th fret, you are off to a great start. Now play it through an amp. Its should sound almost silent when plugged into a clean channel (no distortion added) and should only have a mild hum when played with a lot of distortion. Is there an annoying buzz even on a clean channel? There may be a problem with the electronics...keep shopping.

When you find a guitar you are happy with buy it.

 

2. What if I bought a guitar and I no longer like the sound. I want more distortion. I want a warmer sound. 

     If you have followed my tips in section 1 you have no worries. You have a good piece of wood. Pickups are the second most important feature in a guitars sound and are easily and affordably replaceable. Talk to me. I can swap out those stock pickups and help you choose the right aftermarket ones for you. Pickups range in price from around fifty dollars up into the hundreds. Now some people might think that you have to spend hundreds to get quality, this is not true. A decent guitar tech will be able to help you choose a pickup that is both within your budget and a sound you want.

 

3. What if something goes wrong with my guitar?

    Everyone has a friend who "knows how to fix guitars". I know its tempting to save a few bucks and let him fix it. But heres the facts. Most guitar malfunctions occur in the wiring. This isnt a car....dont panic.... guitar wiring is relatively simple and inexpensive to fix. Take it to a guitar tech.He has the training and experience to find these problems quickly and easily. Some of the most troublesome problems are found to be a very easy fix. Now once you let your "friend" open your guitar up and "fix it". It makes it more difficult for the tech to diagnose the problem properly and may actually end up costing you more money than when you started.

 

4. How do I take care of my guitar?

     Proper care of a guitar is very important. I have a philosophy about guitars that I feel is appropriate in this area. A guitar is a tool. A tool for making music and should be treated as such. It is a precision instrument. When you are done playing it clean it before putting it away. A quick wipe is all it really needs in between plays. Keep it in a case or gig bag when you arent playing it.

When you replace the strings you should take some time to go over the entire guitar to see if anything is loose or broken. Make note of your fretboard. Is it dry? Lubricate it using any commercially available guitar polish. What about your knobs? Are they getting noisy or scratchy? You can clean them using a contact cleaner (make sure you ask a guitar center or music store employee for the proper cleaner...some may damage the finish on your guitar)

 

5. How do I maintain my guitar?

    Heres where I come in. You should schedule an intonation and string change by a guitar tech every 6 months to a year. Its not expensive and it ensures that you are not overlooking something. At the same time the tech will check and set the intonation, adjust the truss rod if needed and generally give your guitar a once over to prevent surprises down the road. If I havent mentioned it before Im going to mention it now DONT EVER try to adjust your truss rod yourself. You can do serious, permanent damage to your guitar rendering it useless!!!! Let me or one of my colleagues do it for you. I have seen too many guitars killed this way. A bad truss rod adjustment can be fatal to your axe....dont do it.