Just like any other instrument, electric guitars are produced at many different quality levels. I’m sure that you have seen guitars that sell in large department stores – these are usually the lowest quality. Then there are high end guitars that can cost as much as $10,000 or more. Of course, you don’t need to spend $10,000 to get a good electric guitar. Let’s looks at some of the ways that you can tell the difference between a good electric guitar and a cheap electric guitar.
First of all, you should be able to tell by the price. A lower end brand is called ‘First Act Instruments’ and they can be a good choice for the parents of young beginners who are not looking to spend much money. But, these are not high quality instruments. They are often priced at under $100 and are considered cheap electric guitars with good reason. To find a good electric guitar, you should expect a price tag of at least $200 brand new. Quality used electric guitars should run you at least $120.
Next you can tell by the brand. This isn’t true all of the time, but you can make general assumptions that Fender and Gibson makes better guitars (on average) than brands that you have never heard of. Of course, even good brands make lower end models that may not be as good as an unknown brands high end models.
You will be able to tell a lot from looking at the pickups of an electric guitar. The pickup is the raised surface under the strings with the six metal dots that pickup the sound. There are two basic types of pickups – single coils and humbuckers. Single coil pickups are the basic style while humbuckers look like two single coils meshed into one. Humbuckers pick up sound much better than single coils. As a general rule, most good electric guitars will have at least two single coil pickups – and most will have three. Guitars with only one pickup are almost always of lower quality. On the other hand, a guitar the uses a humbucker pickup is (almost) always of higher quality.
The final way that can tell the quality is by playing the guitar. Are the strings easy to push? Is the fretboard smooth? Is the body light enough for you to easily hold? Is the body heavy enough so the guitar is NOT top heavy? You should be able to answer ‘yes’ to all of these questions if you are playing on a good electric guitar as opposed to a cheap one.
Article Tags: electric guitars cheap
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