If you are looking to buy a first guitar for yourself, or as a present for someone else then the sheer range of different types and styles of guitars may seem overwhelming, not to mention the barrage of jargon and technical know-how that comes with it! The following guide has been written with the first time buyer in  mind to guide you through this musical jungle and help you choose the instrument that suits you best.

The first main decision, (which you may or may not have reached by now) is whether you are looking for an electric, acoustic or bass guitar. Although they all work on the same basic principle of producing sound by plucking or strumming the strings, it is a good idea to take some time to think about what you want out of an instrument.

HOW TO CHOOSE A GUITAR

Five factors will help you decide what type of guitar to buy: Musical preference, performance location, size, price, and branding.

1. Musical Preference: Different guitars produce different sounds so before you start guitar shopping, decide what type of music you want to play.

2. Performance Location: Where you plan to play can have a big impact on the type of guitar you buy.

• At Home: Beginners who are just learning to play at home usually choose a steel string acoustic guitar or an electric guitar. Electric guitars have lighter-gauge steel strings that are easier on a player's fingers. However, they also require amplification to create sounds that can be heard by people other than the guitarist.

• Live Venues: Budding guitarists who plan to play with a band will likely want an electric guitar that allows a musician to amplify sound to fill a large room and use a wide variety of effect pedals.

• Live Acoustics: Guitarists who emjoy the sound of an acoustic guitar and plan to perform in front of an audience should consider an acoustic-electric hybrid. These guitars provide the sound of an acoustic but include a built-in sound pickup for amplification during live performances. Some performers also choose to mike their acoustic guitars.

• Outdoors: Salt and sand can quickly degrade a guitar's finish and metal components. If you want a knock-around guitar to take camping or to the beach, look for an inexpensive acoustic guitar made of hardwood or plywood. Electric guitars contain a lot of metal and make a poor choice for camp fires and cookouts. They are hard to hear unplugged and you probably won't be able to power an amp in the great outdoors.

3. Size: Guitars come in different shapes and sizes. For example, children will find 1/2 size and 3/4 size guitars more comfortable to play than full-size guitars. A guitarist who travels a lot may prefer a lighter-weight guitar. Compare weight and overall dimensions while you shop.

4. Price: Most guitarists, including beginners to live performers, should invest in a quality guitar. Well-constructed guitars made of good tonewoods retain their resale value and can even gain value over time. They also produce rich sounds that improve with age and use. Low-quality woods don't have the same tonal qualities and a guitar with inexpensive construction might not last as long.

5. Branding: You'll find a lot of popular foreign brands on Hamrobazar, including Fedner, Gibson, Ibanez, Yamaha, Samick and Indian guitars like Hovner & Givson.Buying a name brand guitar is like buying peace of mind. You'll easily find replacement parts and advice if you need them. If you choose to buy a private label guitar, ask the seller specific questions about its construction. Some are carefully built by professional luthiers (people who make stringed musical instruments), while others are mass-produced in factories. Ask questions about a guitar's construction, especially its bracing and neck assembly, and the types of woods used for its body, neck, and fretboard, before you buy.

The Acoustic Guitar

The acoustic guitar has been around for the longest time historically (several thousand years in some form) and requires no other equipment in order to play it - just pick it up and strum away! The 6 (or 12) strings vibrate as you strum or pluck and the vibrations are transferred to the soundboard (front of the guitar) which is springy, mechanically amplifying the vibrations through the hollow body of the guitar making the sound. Acoustic guitars are great for beginners to learn music on due to their simplicity, however their larger body and heavier strings can make them a bit more difficult to get started on straight away as it requires some training of technique and finger strengthening. The strings can leave you with sore fingers when you begin playing, but persist and your calluses will soon develop. After proper training and practice you can get an amazing range of sounds out of an acoustic guitar using different techniques and even a lot of songs that you hear played on electric guitars sound great 'unplugged' too!

Nylon & Steel Strings

Acoustic guitars can either use nylon strings or steel strings. Nylon strings, used on classical guitars, produce a mellow tone perfect for classical, flamenco, and some folk music. Rock, country, blues, and jazz musicians prefer the loud, clear sound of steel-string guitars. Don't try to throw a set of steel strings on a guitar made for nylon strings. The bridge and neck won't be able to withstand the additional tension.

Body Types

Several pieces of wood make up the back, sides, and top of an acoustic guitar's body. Luthiers use hard tonewoods such as mahogany, rosewood, or maple for backs and sides and a soft tonewood such as Sitka spruce for tops. Laminate tops composed of several layers of wood can also be used for tops. Although laminates offer durability, many believe solid-tops produce a better tone. Finishes also play a part in the overall price and appearance of a guitar. Lightweight satin finishes cost less than heavier urethane gloss finishes, but dent more easily.

Sellers sometime describe body shapes and sizes in item listings.

• Archtop: Archtop guitars have a curved top and hollow body that creates a sound perfect for country music and jazz.

• Flat-top: Flat-top guitars have a similar shape to a classical guitar. If you play rock, folk, or blues, buy a flat-top.

A standard-size guitar with a 24 1/2" (612.5mm) to 25 1/2" (637.5mm) scale length will work best for most adult players. You'll also find small parlor and beginner guitars, large-bodied Dreadnoughts, and larger jumbo guitars on the market.

Necks & Fingerboards

A guitar's neck, usually made of a hard wood such as rosewood or mahogany, has to handle a lot of string pressure and some use a truss rod for additional support. The fingerboard, a piece of wood (usually ebony or rosewood) mounted to the neck, holds frets and inlays. Standard-size or dreadnought acoustic guitars have between 18 and 21 frets overall, with 12 to 14 sitting clear of the body. An item listing can describe these guitars as 12-fret or 14-fret models.

The Electric Guitar

Electric guitars do not rely on mechanical amplification via a soundboard, but instead transfer the vibrations via a magnetic coil into a current down a cable and into an amplifier. They still have 6 strings, so you can play the same songs on an electric as an acoustic. In order to hear the music an electric guitar makes you will need to also get at least a cable and an amplifier, so after choosing an electric guitar you will also need to look into getting some extra equipment. To help you here, we sell guitar accessory kits, with all of the gear needed to get you playing quickly.

Electric guitars are just as good for learning to play music on as acoustic guitars and although you need to plug them in, most amplifiers come with headphone sockets, they can also be played quietly unplugged, and their lower action and slender necks often make them easier to develop your technique on quickly. (If you play an electric guitar after several months of learning on an acoustic it seems to feel much lighter on the fingers and you tend to be able to play faster). This initial difference in playability should not really be the reason for choosing an electric over an acoustic because it works the other way round too!

Body Types

Hardwoods such as maple, alder, ash, and mahogany typically make up an electric guitar's body.

• Solid Body: Solid-body guitars can be made of a solid piece of wood or several pieces of wood glued together and topped with a veneer. These widely-played and popular guitars sound good with loud amplification and effects pedals. The three most popular types of solid body electric guitars are the Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster, and Gibson's Les Paul.

• Hollow Body: Hollow-body guitars, also called jazz guitars, are a couple inches thick and hollow. They almost sound acoustic, but are prone to feedback at high amplification.

• Semi-Hollow Body: Semi-hollow guitars have a design similar to hollow-bodies, but a slab of wood runs through it. These versatile guitars, often with two humbucker pickups, have a more acoustic sound than a solid-body and still sound good with high amplification.

Although most guitars have a stoptail bridge for stable tuning, some have a tremolo bridge perfect for metal. Scale length can also vary from 24 1/2" (612.5mm) to 25 1/2" (637.5mm). Gibson uses 24 5/8" (616mm), Fender uses 25 1/2" (637.5mm), and many others, including Paul Reed Smith, use a 25" (625mm) scale length.

Neck

Most manufacturers use maple, mahogany, rosewood, basswood, or pau ferro for necks. Most have 22 frets, but if you want to play the higher register you'll need to buy a guitar with a 24-fret neck. The neck and body can connect in several ways:  

• Set-In: Neck glued to the body. It almost always uses dovetail joints and some believe it offers better sustain. Gibson's Les Paul guitars have set-in necks.

• Bolt-On: Neck connected to the body with bolts or wood screws. The Fender Stratocaster and many other solid-body guitars have bolt-on necks.

• Neck-Through-Body: Neck runs the length of the body. A lot of solid-body guitars have neck-through-body style necks.

Sellers may also describe a neck's profile in terms of width (regular, narrow, wide), depth (regular, thin, fat), or by its shape.

• C: Rounded C shape

• Oval: Rounder than a C, but with a less pronounced curve

• U: Almost rectangular and good for players with long fingers

• V: Has a groove down the middle

Pickups

Pickups sense different tones produced along different lengths of a string. Most guitars have two pickups but some can have three or more. In a two-pickup setup, one pickup sits close to the neck and the other sits close to the bridge.

• Single-Coil Pickup: Produces a bright sound, but may experience some interference in concert venues.

• Humbucker: Produces a darker sound than a single-coil pickup, cuts down on hum, and works well in concert venues.

Make sure the guitars you look at include a switch as well as a volume and tone control for each pickup. The switch allows you to choose between pickups or blend them.

The Bass Guitar

Bass guitars are a bit different in that they tend to only have 4, much fatter strings, and tend to be bigger and heavier than electric guitars. They also need to be plugged into an amplifier in order to work, but the equipment needed is usually designed specifically for bass guitars and the low frequencies that they make. Bass guitars tend to be associated mostly with rhythm playing and for this you must build up a steady right hand technique, along with the ability to reach down the longer necks and grip the fatter strings. Bass guitars are also great for learning to play music on, but the approach you take may be slightly different as you will have to concentrate on the bass lines of songs which can be a bit less obvious than lead guitar parts.

If you aren't too sure what sort of music bass guitars are used for then go to your record collection and put on any song - listen carefully to the different range of sounds going on and more likely than not the bass will be there at the lowest of the frequencies steadily plodding along! Almost all songs in modern music use bass for some parts. There are also parts in many songs that can only be properly played on a bass and these solo parts can be a great way to start having fun with your bass. By choosing a bass guitar you won't be limiting yourself as to what style of music you play and electric bass guitars are a vital part modern music from Rock to Jazz to Funk and beyond.

Strings

Bass guitars typically have four strings tuned to G, D, A, and E. Five-string, six-string, eight-string, and 12-string versions are also available. Look for a bass with a bridge that allows you to adjust the length and height of each string individually. This type of bridge gives you more control over string buzz, tone, and adjustments you may want to make for comfort.

Body Types

The guitar industry hasn't set a standard for bass guitar construction yet and options abound. Like any guitar, you want quality materials, construction, and sound as well as comfort. Bodies can be made of woods such as maple, ash, alder, mahogany, and walnut or a hard synthetic material. Exotic wood veneers are also available as laminate tops, but these specialty woods add to the cost of a bass. For comfort, you'll want a bass with a 34-inch (850mm) scale.

Neck & Fingerboard

Basses usually have a bolt-on neck and a maple, rosewood, or ebony fingerboard. The fingerboard can be fretted or fretless. On a fretted board, metal frets mark each half step on the fingerboard, which make the instrument easier to play and tune. Fretless boards create a tone closer to an acoustic bass (often used in bluegrass music), but are harder to tune and play with accurate tone.

Pickups

Depending on your shopping priorities, you may have the opportunity to choose between bass guitars that use single-coil pickups and humbuckers.

• Single-Coil Pickup: Produces a bright sound, but may experience some interference in concert venues.

• Humbucker: Does not produce as bright a sound as a single-coil pickup, but does not often experience interference.

If the bass you want has more than one pickup, make sure you'll have the ability to switch between them. The bass should also have tone controls and a volume knob. Some bass guitars use active electronics to help you amplify sound and shape tone. Active electronics add to the cost and weight of a bass.