I’m a keen amateur musician, playing guitar for over thirty years. Since the early nineties I’ve gotten into music production using computers but my real love is the guitar.
As a keen guitarist I have a growing collection of guitars both old and new. My favourite is a genuine 1931 National Triolian that has clearly been well played in its near eighty years of life. This old guitar has clearly been well played with deep grooves worn into the fretboard and all the paint chipped from the body. But all I need to do is strum a chord and slide up the neck with my bottleneck and I am in the Delta with Robert Johnson looking over my shoulder.
But this fantastic vintage instrument would have been way out of my price range when I was first learning to play. Back then I could only dream of owning a real Stratocaster or Les Paul. Then Japanese manufacturers Tokai and Squier started to produce guitars. These were Japanese copies of the great Fenders and Gibsons. I managed to buy myself a nice black Squier Telecaster that was excellent to play. Someone once told me that a good guitar almost plays itself and there is a great deal of truth in this statement.
My Squier Telecaster served me well for many years when I played out in several blues bands. Then I managed to save enough to buy a genuine Fender Stratocaster. But, to be totally honest, I preferred my old Squier telecaster which I’d sold to a friend.
There aren’t many young people who have the cash to buy a top of the range guitar. Luckily these days there are plenty of alternatives many of which are equally as good as the guitars they are copying. There are manufacturers, like Epiphone and Squier, who make some great guitars that play really well, sound great and don’t cost a fortune.
if you are out looking for a first guitar always get the best you can afford as this will inspire you to play. There are many guitar stores that offer sometimes unbelievable deals so look out for these. Also, do consider buying second hand as you can often find a really good guitar that has been set up brilliantly for a fraction of what it would cost to buy new. Its always a good idea to shop around and then take a guitar playing chum along when you go to check out a guitar. And remember that a good guitar can really help to make it easier to learn to play.
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