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This Instructable will be a guide to what you should look for when buying a guitar. I will address all of the different aspects that you should consider so that you can know what kind of guitar will fit you best. It will be directed towards buying an electric guitar so if you are looking for an acoustic this Instructable isn't for you. Also, I know this Instuctable doesn't cover every aspect of guitar shopping but it covers some of the more important parts.
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Signing UpStep 1A Good Fit for Your Style Of Music
One very important thing that you should consider when choosing a guitar, is the type of music you will be playing. For example, if you play a lot of hard rock or heavy metal, you might want to get a guitar from Jackson, B.C. Rich, ESP or Ibanez. These brands make most of their guitars with thinner necks and lower action (strings lower to the guitar neck). Both of these features allow for faster and easier playing so these are good guitars to shred on. Another example is if you play a lot of blues you might want a Fender Telecaster or a Gibson Les Paul. These guitars are mad with smoother sounding pickup which are perfect for soft rock, blues and jazz. It is also very important the the guitar you choose has the right sort of sound for your preferred genre.
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Hannah
As far as I know most, if not all, short scale guitars are usually cheap, entry level guitars designed for kids. You may want to try going to a music store like guitar center and asking them if they know if there are any mid range or high end short scale guitars. If you don't have any luck with that your only other option (that I can think of) would be to get one custom made from places like the Fender Custom Shop (http://fendercustomshop.com/) or another custom shop from another guitar manufacturer (most guitar manufacturers offer custom order services). What's nice about this option is that you can have your guitar made how ever you want, with everything from the custom short scale to a custom body shape to custom inlays. The downside is that it's expensive but if price isn't too much of a problem then this might be a good route to go.
I've been playing for over 45 years so I pretty much know what I want. I went out looking to buy a Taylor or Guild based on reputation. When I started looking the Guild went off the table. I tried a Tanglewood at about half the price of the Taylor and after trying them both, then having the salesman play them for me across the room so I could hear them better, I got the Tanglewood and saved nearly $1000.
* what sort of wood is the guitar made out of, and why does it matter? When I read that a guitar is made from ash, maple, basswood, etc, what effect does that have on the sound?
* pickups. Whats the difference between a single-coil and a humbucker? Why isn't it always better to have more pickups? (i.e., the difference between gibsons with 2 pickups, or the strat with 3 pickups.)
* scale. Whats the difference between a gibson scale and a fender scale?
* bridge. Why would I want a string-through body? Why would I want a fixed bridge? What's a floyd-rose, and why would I want it? What's the disadvantages of that? Is it good/bad to have an old-school gretsch style bridge?
* what am I looking for? What are desirable qualtiies, I.e., tone, sustain, action, playability? What are the trade-offs? I.e. less action = more tone.
Picking the right guitar comes down to 3 things--how it looks, how it sounds and how it plays. Playing several guitars and comparing them is definitely the best way to go. Once you find a guitar that looks, feels and sounds just right, buy it. You can always replace any troublesome bits like the nut, bridge, tuners, pickups, etc.
On this topic, I think that stating "Fender or Gibson for blues" isn't even scratching the surface of available choices. It actually made me stop reading into it.
Playing a guitar at a store, then buying it on-line isn't actually the best approach. It will surely give an idea of what it's suppose to sound like, but each example is going to be different. You may even end up getting a lemon. Guitars do have issues. I'm not advising against on-line purchases and you can always return it, but it is such an individual fit, it's best to do it in person.
mdog93: you're right on with your points
Anyway I played two yamahas (not the best guitars, but i was surprised at how they sounded) and there wasn't much between them but the more expensive model sounded slightly nicer.
Then I decided to compare it to something more expensive, a tanglewood model, and it was sooo much nicer and before i tried that i would have been happy with one of the yamahas, and yes it was about £60 more. But hell was there a difference.
One more thing, maybe more so for acoustics and electro/acoustic guitars than electrics but it still applies- the best sounding guitars are not necessarily the most expensive. You can find great, really good sounding guitars for very little money these days. Sometimes even better than more expensive ones. But the only way is to play them and find out.
Does anyone else agree with any of those points?