For those who want to start playing the guitar

Recommended ways to buy your first guitar.

Since I started working as a guitar instructor, I often get asked, "I want to buy my own guitar, what do you recommend?"

Since everyone has different genres they want to play, different bone structures, body types, and budgets, I cannot clearly recommend one specific guitar like "I recommend the XX model from YY company!" (If I were to push my personal opinion, it would be the B guitar from company S, haha).

Ultimately, you will have to decide for yourself, but I would like to introduce some points so that you can feel at least a little bit like, "I'm glad I bought this guitar!"

Buying at a physical store or buying at an online shop.

When buying your first guitar (or musical instruments in general), you should buy it at a physical store!

Compared to online shops, the price is higher for the same item, but face-to-face customer service is a huge advantage when buying your first guitar.

With an online shop, when you actually get it home and try to play it, it might be heavier than you thought and hard to play, or the construction might be rough, causing your hands to hurt from metal or wood splinters. Being able to actually touch it and check if there is any discomfort in the feel is a major benefit.

Since it is your first guitar, most people cannot play it, so if you ask the clerk, "What kind of sound can it make?", unless they are extremely busy, having the clerk actually play it so you can confirm if it makes the sound you want is also a benefit of a physical store.

※Excluding peak seasons, extremely unfriendly clerks, or cases where it is not done as a store management policy.

Also, if you buy it at a store, you can use point cards, and in some cases, you can negotiate the price a little. Furthermore, guitars bought at a store come with, depending on the music store, warranty services provided at the store in addition to the manufacturer's warranty.

This includes many things that are very helpful for beginners, such as string changes, action adjustments, and the peace of mind that comes with having someone check what is wrong if it stops making sound, which is another reason I recommend it.

※Some manufacturer and store warranties include paid services, so be sure to check what kind of services are available at the time of purchase!

Also, what I often do is, in Ochanomizu, Tokyo, I ask the clerk, "This is nice, but could I look around at other stores to see if there are any other guitars I'm interested in?" This can sometimes lead to price negotiations or getting freebies (like replacement strings or maintenance supplies), so it's one technique to try even if you think it might not work!

As a special case, if you have friends or acquaintances around you who are good at guitar maintenance and customization, it is fine to get their help and buy it cheaply at an online shop, but I cannot take responsibility if the guitar you bought has defects or you are dissatisfied, and your relationship with that person becomes strained...

Of course, if you have already decided, "I want a guitar from this manufacturer and this model!" and you think, "I can manage even if I'm worried about after-sales service!", then buying your target guitar cheaply at an online shop is also one of the optimal solutions.

If you buy the guitar body cheaply and also buy consumables like replacement strings cheaply, it is often cheaper than when you get freebies at a store.

How much should I spend on a guitar?

Regarding this, it seems like it will be swayed by the judgment of each person's "Ministry of Finance," but I recommend guitars in the price range of 50,000 to 100,000 yen (new price).

You might think, "Such an expensive one for a hobby?!", but from my experience, while there are some good individual guitars under 10,000 yen, it is probably as difficult as winning 50,000 yen in a lottery...

If you end up buying a lemon, it will cost tens of thousands of yen to adjust it so it's comfortable to play, or in some cases, to repair or modify it, so you'll end up paying close to 50,000 yen, and it will also take time to get it adjusted.

Also, if you were to pay for a 100,000 yen guitar in installments over a year (12 payments), it would be less than 10,000 yen per month. Combined with the nature of the instrument, where you improve by working at it steadily, thinking, 'I'll do my best while I'm making the loan payments,' you can expect to be quite proficient by the time you finish paying for it!

If this were a 10,000 yen guitar (a guitar that isn't very easy to play), you might think, 'It's hard to play and boring, and since it was only a 10,000 yen expense, maybe I'll just quit,' and your enthusiasm might cool off (though of course, there are people who practice hard even on a 10,000 yen guitar).

It depends on the income of the person purchasing it, so I think it's better to buy the guitar you want within a range that does not interfere with your daily life so that you can enjoy it and improve over a long period of time.

Also, if it's a 50,000 to 100,000 yen guitar, even if you get busy with work or, unfortunately, your interest or passion for the guitar itself wanes and you think, 'Maybe I'll give up on the guitar...', depending on the condition and model, you can sell it for tens of thousands of yen on flea market sites or at instrument stores. If you think of it as having enjoyed the time you played it for the difference in price, I don't think it's an overly expensive purchase at all.

Criteria for buying.

Once you've decided where to buy and your approximate budget, the next step is the criteria for actually choosing a guitar. If there is a guitarist who inspired you to want to play, choosing one that looks similar to theirs is one option.

If you weren't inspired by a specific guitarist and just thought, 'Maybe I'll start playing guitar,' I recommend a guitar with a shape that you think looks the coolest when you look at the guitars lined up in the music store.

Even if you tell the clerk, 'I'm a beginner and I want to start playing guitar, so I'd like to buy a guitar for around XX yen,' they might suggest a guitar that doesn't look very good to you.

No matter how much it's within your budget and feels fine to touch, if you don't like how it looks, honestly, you won't develop an attachment to it... lol

So, search online, save images of a few guitars with looks you like, go to the music store, and tell the clerk, I'm looking for a guitar like this image with a budget of around XX yen. If they have a matching one in stock, they should be able to guide you to it right away, and if by any chance it's not in the store, they should be able to guide you through the procedures for ordering it, even though it will have to be ordered.

If it needs to be ordered, in most cases, they only order it on the premise of purchase, so even if you check the feel after it arrives and think, 'This is a bit underwhelming...', you might not be able to change it to another guitar, so before you have them arrange the order, it's better to confirm, Do I absolutely have to buy it if it's ordered? as well.

If it's something with high market demand, even if you order it and don't buy it, there's a possibility that someone else will buy it, so I think there are cases where cancellation is fine, but to avoid even the slightest trouble, check with the clerk about anything you're concerned about, even small things.

Finally.

I apologize for the length of this text, which has no images or videos...

To summarize each point

・If possible, buy at a physical store with friendly staff.

・The recommended price range is a guitar around 50,000 to 100,000 yen.

・A guitar that you feel looks cool (or cute).

I hope that by using these three points as a reference, you will be able to choose your first guitar in life and enjoy it for a long time to come.