I bought my first guitar today! I ordered a Rogue RG-624 Left-handed from Guitar Center. It’s going to take a little time to get to me, but I am SO EXCITED! I can’t wait for it to get here!
I’ve been researching acoustic guitars, and I picked the Rogue because it was one of the cheapest left-handed guitars available. The reviews seem pretty good for a starter guitar. I don’t have very high expectations. Guitar Center offers a 45 day no questions asked return period, so if I find out that I hate guitar, I can return it and get my money back.
I’ve ordered a guitar learning book from Amazon. It should be here in a couple days. I guess there isn’t anything else I can do but wait.
Hindsight Notes: Buy the Best Guitar You Can Afford
Looking back on that day after a little over a year of my guitar journey, I’d tell myself to invest in a better guitar starting out. I know that a lot of people are worried about investing too much money into a new hobby when they’re not 100% sure that they’ll stick with it. I totally understand because, as you can see, I was that guy.
When I bought my first guitar, I picked the cheapest acoustic guitar I could find. I wasn’t sure that I’d stick with guitar, so i minimized my investment. I love that cheap Chinese guitar. It opened up a whole new world of music discovery for me. Because of that, that guitar will always have a special place in my heart. However, it hangs on my wall and I don’t really play it much anymore (That’s a whole other story). Moneywise, it wasn’t a great investment and I feel that I’d be better of if I had spent more and bought a better guitar to begin with. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Buy the best guitar that you can afford.
Buy the Guitar You Want to Play
Buy the guitar for the music you want to play. If you really want to play electric guitar songs, buy an electric guitar. If you want to play acoustic guitar songs, buy an acoustic guitar. You DON’T have to learn acoustic guitar before learning electric. I mistakenly thought, and was told by people, that I should learn acoustic guitar first. Nothing could be further from the truth. I listened to those people and spent my first few months learning acoustic guitar, all the time wishing that I could learn electric songs. Don’t make the same mistake. Buy what you’re going to play. You won’t regret it.
Don’t Buy a Dreadnaught
Watch this first, if you’re thinking about buying an acoustic guitar as your first guitar.
I bought a dreadnaught size guitar as my first guitar. I still use it today, (kind of… read the story here). That Rogue has a deep sentimental value to me, but if I had it to do over again, I would not have bought a dreadnaught. The guys in this video hit a lot of the points that I’ve learned.
- Too Big: I’m 6 ft tall with pretty long arms and I find the dreadnaught awkward to hold. It’s big and not as comfortable as I wish my guitar could be.
- Too loud: I’ve got a family. A lot of times, I’m practicing in the evenings after dinner. The guitar is often too loud and disturbs other family members in the house.
What Should I Buy?
Consider getting a smaller guitar. 000, 00, and smaller size guitars are available from many of the popular guitar manufacturers. If you can’t find them in the stores, look online. Guitar Center, Sweetwater and many other online retailers have generous return policies. If you have a Guitar Center nearby, you can even return them in-store. Guitar Center will take returns up to 45 days after your purchase.
Resources
- Music Stores: Guitar Center
- Music Stores: Sweetwater
- I DON’T Recommend Cheap Guitars BUT if you’re looking for the one of the cheapest guitars you can find, here it is: Rogue RG-80 Dreadnaught Guitar
- DON’T RECOMMEND: Rogue RG-624 Left-Handed Dreadnaught Acoustic Guitar