Help...I'm guitar-stupid

[kat4029]

Hey everybody~
I know that someone else posted a thread sort of like this..but i read through it and couldn't really find the answer i was looking for:

Okay so I'm interested in buying a guitar....to play...
but i don't know anything about the technical stuff of guitars and I don't really want to spend a lot of money because I don't even know how to play YET. But thats the point of buying the guitar.
so i've looked at a few different websites including ebay...and i'm just wondering what I should be looking for in a guitar.
i don't care if its kind of crappy. I just want something to get started on.
but i don't want to buy something that is all wrong and a waste.
please keep in mind that i'm trying to be very cheap here since this is just a starting thing!
p.s. my hands are small..and my parents had a guitar i tried to learn on..but it was really hard because the neck (??) was really wide and hard to get my fingers around...so something that would accomodate that would probably be good...a smaller 'neck'??? is that right?
fill me in. i'm totally stupid :)
please and thank you!

-katie

[AJDMB05]

Well, to start off, if it's got 6 strings, it's really not "wrong". It won't matter on your first purchase really, just buy what's in your price range and sounds good to you. Fender mass produces $200-$400 acoustic guitars, each with their own little differences/nuances that aren't really important, my first one was something like that.

[jamminsun]

Hey Katie,

I know how ya feel! i have small hands too and it was hard finding a guitar that didn't have such a wide neck. the guitar i have is a Ibenez Tallman Acoustic Electric. its a smaller guitar but its got such a huge sound!
This is my second guitar, i started out with a mitchell. which worked out pretty good! i also had a johnson which i purchased off ebay!
if you just want something to try out and bang around i would look on ebay for either a mitchell or a johnson! i got the johnson for like $30.00.

hope that helps :)

[dmb66]

well...it al depends on what you're willing to spend. i started a year and bought a fender DG-11 for 160 from guitar center. if you have one near you it is worth checking out. Simply tell an employee your situation and they are likely to find you a pretty decent guitar at a reasonable price. My fender has a pretty narrow neck which sounds like what you are looking for with small hands, but you don't want it to be too narrow because you won't be able to hit only one string with one finger (i doubt u are goin to run into this problem)

i don't claim to be any expert but i think the main thing you need to look for is the height of the action (how high the strings are off of the fretboard witout being pressed down by you) if the hieght is too high, its going to be a pain to play on the higher frets (closer to the body of the guitar) and its goin to hurt your hands. if they are too low, the string vibrations will bump against the metal frets themselves and cause an awkward buzzing noise. ask the guitar store emplowee about this because many have adjustable truss rods which let you adjust the neck of the guitar so the action changes heights (ask them to do this for you if needed) most importantly though, play many different brands and models and see what feels good to you. each guitar even among the same models many times will have a different feel in your hands and on your lap. good luck and if u have mre questions shoot me an email hockey6866@hotmail.com

i'll do my best to find an answer if i don't know it already and these boards have some people who have been playing much longer than me who know their stuff so you are in the right place

nick

[jrkul393]

i had a hohnewr for my first guitar, served me well for mr first 2 years of playing. got it for i think 150 at my local music store. there nice guitars for a beginner and have a good price for what your getting.

[kat4029]

Thanks everyone ...all is trés helpful!!
(sorry it took me so long to respond..my computer is in the crapper)
:)