How to Select a Guitar

Selecting a guitar can be a challenge.  There are many manufacturers and many different models.  One of the first things you need to ask yourself is "what will I be playing with this instrument".  Of course if you are on this site you are probably going to be answer that question with "old time music", or "bluegrass".  With that in mind you need to go to the next step.  Do I want an instrument for its historical value, beauty, tone, ease of playing, cost or wow factor?  All of these are legitimate questions.  Lets break these down.

• Historical Value
I'm not going to go into depth here.... there are much better authorities on this subject than myself (ea. George Gruhn), but one thing I do know is pre-war instruments are highly sought after.  Wood, scales of production and designs in the past are things luthiers try to duplicate in the present.  Many people will look to a pre-war Martin as the apex of guitar ownership.  There were other makers out there though, Gibson, Fender and Washburn and many more were produced with the tolerances and materials that make vintage guitars valuable.  Just know if you are buying a guitar for its historical value you really need to do your research, and find a trusted source to guide you.  Instruments do not age well if they aren't taken care of, and most instruments that haven't been in a showroom for 50 years probably haven't been taken care of that well.  The forces of humidity, heat and cold can be ruthless on wood.

• Beauty
I personally think guitars are as much works of art as they are tools to make sound with.  I grew up on a farm and we dealt with wood and logging from time to time.  I was always fascinated with different types of wood.  The patterns you can have in wormy wood or root balls can be beautiful once they are finished and lacquered.  Wood is a natural material so it brings that beauty with it when it's shaped and formed into an instrument.  You'll see a wide variety of woods used to make guitars including; maple, walnut, bubinga, spruce, rosewood, mahogany, cherry and more.  Many of these wood types will have another name attached to them like Sitka, Engelmann spruce, Brazilian Rosewood, East Indian Rosewood, etc.  These additional names can denote where the wood was from and could denote a period of time it was harvested in.  Appraisers and buying guides can tell you which regions produced the most desirable wood patterns, types, etc.  This also figures into the wood's tonal properties.  Wherever wood is harvested it will have different characteristics (looks-wise and tone-wise).  Keep that in mind when making a decision on beauty.  Usually guitars bought solely on beauty will be some of the most expensive.  Usually they'll have excellent tonal properties because the best artists are often times the best luthiers who have gotten "bored" with making standard instruments.

• Tone
Books could be written on this topic.  But here is the nitty gritty..... Rosewood generally has lower bass tones and mahogany is more suited for high tones.  Now I'm sure I'll get flamed over that statement, but if you plan on doing more lead picking you might want to go with mahogany.  Rosewood is excellent for rhythm playing but depending on bracing used can be extremely versatile for all types of playing.  Volume will be largely dependant on the size of the guitar, sizes include 0, 00, 0M, 000, Dreadnought, Jumbo, Auditorium.  By far the most frequently used size in bluegrass is the dreadnought.  It's about the only size that'll compete with the banjo and all the other instruments.  The nature of bluegrass almost dictates you have to have a dreadnought, though with electronics the smaller sizes can compete.  The bracing inside of the guitar can greatly change the complexity of the sounds an instrument can produce.  I've found the most highly sought after bracing pattern is the forward shifted X bracing.  This is a throwback to the bracing in pre-war Martin's.  "Pre war bracing" in a guitar will guarantee it has the ability to generate good highs and good lows.  The top of the guitar is extremely important.  Spruce is the most valued wood in guitars right now and currently Adirondack spruce tops seem to be the best wood on the market, but many varieties exist.  Many people will bet the bank on bridge pins made out of Tusq, Bone or Fossil Ivory, and nuts made out of the same materials.  I believe they can influence sound, but I'm not sure if its to the level the people who market those products report.  In many ways I think they influence the beauty more than the sound.  Some other things that influence tone are the size of the soundhole (some instruments have an oversized soundhole... look for the bottom of the fretboard extending over the soundhole... a sure sign the instrument has an oversized hole... or possibly a screwed up installation on the neck!).  Strings contribute greatly to tone.  Most bluegrassers prefer phosphor bronze, though many options exist.  On top of all that whether or not an instrument has solid wood or not is the single most important factor.  Make sure your instrument has all solid construction (if cost allows) and there is no lamination (pieced together wood or microfiber).... though Martin offers a line of instruments made from laminated material that sounds quite good (the DX series).  Usually if you are buying on tone, play several instruments in a soundroom in a guitar gallery.  Bring a friend along to listen to the different ones, or let another musician play them for you.  Take your time to make a choice on tone.  Many times unless you play the instrument several times you won't get a good indicator of its tone.  The longer you hear the instrument being played the better choice you'll make when buying on tone.

• Ease of Playing
The size of the guitar, the shape of the neck, the body, frets and strings all contribute greatly to ease of playing.  Look for a neck that will fit your hand.  Some vintage necks have a V shape that some people find enhances their playing.  Some guitars have a wide neck, that make them harder to play for some folks but are a god-send for others.  If you are gearing up a younger player look into 3/4 size or 000 size guitars.  Younger players don't have to play a dreadnought!  If you have a hard time fretting the instrument a luthier can install different types of frets to make this easier.  Don't be afraid to customize an expensive or even a cheap instrument.  If you've bought a cheap instrument you can afford to customize it.  If you've bought an expensive instrument why not go ahead and go the extra mile to make it personal.  Different types of strings can greatly effect the ease of play.  There is one major string manufacturer who has a line of strings that literally murder my fingers, but when I play another major brand that has the exact same specs, they feel great!  Try out lots of different strings and see what suits you best.  Just like buying on tone its great to play the guitars before you buy them.  That's the only way you'll know if you can play them easily.

• Cost
This is a huge consideration to most of us (besides the nearly extinct group of people who don't have to worry about money).  Many factors go into guitar price like historical value, wood quality, construction quality, beautifications, who played it before you, etc.  Generally the better constructed a guitar is the more it will cost.  Stripped down versions of instruments (without fancy inlay and highly figured woods) are available that have the same specs as the prettier ones.  There comes a point where instruments are all built with nearly the same tolerances and you begin to pay for the name on the headstock, the inlay patterns, or the expertise of a skilled master luthier.  I warn everyone to disregard the name on the headstock on cheaper guitars under $500.  Many are built cheaply in Asia and a different name is slapped onto the headstock as an afterthought.  Remember though, just because a guitar is built in Asia doesn't always mean its no good.  Saga instruments caused quite a stir in 2005 win it started selling its Blueridge series of instruments that were pretty much duplicates of the Martin guitars they were modeled after.  Since then the price on these instruments has went up considerably, but you still can buy one and have the quality of an American solid acoustic guitar for a much lower price.  Many large production luthiers have custom shops, but remember you can always buy a standard production guitar and go to a local luthier to customize it too.  I generally tell people that instruments under $500 are going to vary greatly in terms of quality.  Look for at least a solid top and a good set of tuners.  Try to get a wood that fits your style.  Instruments from $500 to $1000 are going to be much higher quality with all solid instruments, better quality tuning machines, some inlay and better fit and finish.  There are thousands of options in this group.  Sometimes for the bluegrass guitarist the choices are limited though... especially if you want a Martin or a Gibson.  Over $1000 opens up a whole new world where makers compete on specialty woods, bracing patterns, tone and beauty.

• Wow Factor
Bluegrassers tend to be pretty sane folks.  They normally don't throw money away if they can help it.  But when it comes to instruments sometimes it's fun to get outlandish.  Guitars can range from having unbelievable amounts of inlays, to being so beat up people wouldn't think you could even play them anymore.  Most guitar models offer a "cadillac" version and a "nissan sentra" version.  If you want to get outlandish you can probably pull it off.  Just be careful though... remember if you are jamming with an outlandish guitar you have might be out in the elements which could mess it up.   You may just raise too many eyebrows or might make people think you can play better than you really can!  If all that fails they may just look at you and say "why"!

• Summary
I know this is a lot of information.  But hopefully it will educate the readers and allow them to prioritize their selections. Just for quicks I've put together a list that embodies these different categories.

Historical Value - Martin D18 prewar 1942, Gibson HG-24 1929
Beauty - Martin D-50 Koa Deluxe
Tone - Huss & Dalton TD-R, Bourgeois Vintage D
Ease of Playing - Marin D28 Marquis (modified V Neck)
Cost - Blueridge BR160, Guild D50 Bluegrass Special
Wow Factor - Composite Acoustics Vintage (yeah I dare you to take this to a jam, though in reality carbon fiber is probably more suited for the elements than wood ever will be!)

- SD