Popular science about folk guitars. Before buying a guitar, everyone must know some knowledge about the guitar in advance, such as guitar budget, material, barrel type and size, etc. If you don’t know how to choose, you can’t know where to start. , as long as you do your homework in advance, you don’t have to worry about not being able to choose a suitable guitar. Here I will give you in detail some types of guitars that are easy to avoid pitfalls.

1. Don’t buy something too cheap, as the feel and sound quality cannot be guaranteed!

Misunderstanding: Buy one that costs 100 or 200 yuan to practice your skills first, and then change it to a new one after you have mastered it.

Many people have this idea, but I must tell you not to choose folk guitars that cost less than 500 yuan. The quality of the raw materials and production process requirements cannot be guaranteed, unless you want to buy it as a decoration. A piano at this price point is completely produced by the manufacturer in accordance with the standards for producing furniture. It can be said to be a toy that can make sounds and cannot be called a musical instrument. There's no guarantee of pitch, and the feel is also inferior. Don't ruin the wonderful journey of learning the piano just for two hundred dollars.

2. Don’t buy something with a gorgeous appearance, try to buy a wood-colored panel!

The wood-colored panel can directly and clearly see the wood grain of the panel, so as to judge the quality of the wood. Some low-priced guitars on the market are often difficult for novices to distinguish after they are sprayed with a thick layer of paint. The quality of the wood inside and the gaudy appearance. The main purpose of painting the guitar body with paint is to cover defects on the panel, and most of the paint used is of poor quality. The evaporation process will cause harm to the human body, and it does not refer to colored guitars. There must be dangers in all of them. Try to choose a reliable guitar brand. At least the paint process meets environmental standards. If you don’t know much about the brand, try to choose a natural wood guitar.

3. Don’t buy unknown brands, choose reliable brands!

The biggest need for most novices on a guitar is that the guitar can maintain correct pitch and a good feel, so that it can accompany the beginner through this period of time and lay a good foundation. The level of configuration is just the icing on the cake. Higher configuration will certainly be better, but it should not be the focus of the novice stage. In terms of the same materials, the real difference between a guitar and a guitar is the level of production technology. Pianos manufactured by major brands have stable quality control and guaranteed after-sales service. This is why we recommend everyone to buy brand-name pianos. 4. Some things to note when buying a guitar for beginners:

1. Budget range

A suitable guitar will provide a good musical enlightenment for beginners. Choosing a guitar with high cost performance, relatively good workmanship, sound quality and feel will not be a disadvantage. I think the minimum budget for a beginner’s first piano should start at 500 yuan, and around 8,000 yuan is enough for entry-level use. If you want to play guitar again, it is not recommended unless your family conditions are relatively good. After all, you are a beginner and you don’t have a clear idea of ??the guitar itself and your own needs, which will easily increase your trial and error costs.

2. Barrel type and size

For those who don’t know guitar, the appearance of guitars seems to be the same. In fact, if you look closely, you will find that folk guitars have different There are various barrel types and different sizes, and they all play different functions. Different appearance structures and different sizes have different effects on the sound and performance. So for beginners, it is very necessary to understand these different barrel types and different sizes of guitars.

1. Barrel type selection

Guitar barrel types

The above pictures are our common folk guitar barrel types. Here we will introduce to you the most popular ones in China. The barrel type. They are 41-inch D barrel type, 41-inch GA barrel type, 40-inch OM barrel type and 36-inch Mini travel piano. Next, we will introduce these barrel types in detail.

D? Barrel type? Dreadnought? barrel type: It is one of the most popular barrel types in the world. Its advantage is that it has a large enough cabinet to support large volume and powerful low-frequency drive. I like it. Friends who strum, play and sing especially prefer this barrel-shaped guitar. These features are also popular with rock, bluegrass and country music players and are highly recommended.

GA barrel type: This barrel type should be the second most popular barrel type after the D barrel type. Its features provide balanced, clear and warm tone, making it versatile. In addition, the GA? barrel type can be well adapted to many playing techniques, and friends who like fingerstyle style usually prefer this barrel type.

OM barrel type: OM barrel type is also the guitar barrel type favored by many guitar players. Compared with the D barrel type, its body is slimmer. It highlights the midrange part and can also provide Clear and grainy tone, suitable for some warm guitar playing and tender fingerstyle style.

Mini barrel type: The 36-inch Mini barrel type is mainly suitable for children or friends who like to travel with their guitars. It is also called a children's guitar or a travel guitar. These guitars are also basically equipped with a standard fretboard, and the playing experience is the same as that of a larger guitar. Compared with guitars with larger barrels, their volume will be relatively smaller, but manufacturers with excellent craftsmanship can still make them have a high-power tone. These guitars are small and cute, but they don’t come cheap just because they’re smaller, in fact, some of these travel guitars cost more than regular larger guitars.

2. Size selection

The size of the guitar is calculated by the overall length of the guitar in inches and is not determined by the size and thickness of the barrel, so choose the size of the guitar. Also consider the size of the barrel. When purchasing a guitar, the size should match your height and arm span. Otherwise, if the size of the guitar is too large, it will be particularly difficult to use, especially for beginners. If you practice for a long time with an unsuitable size, it will not only be difficult to achieve results, but also It is easy to cause deformation of playing posture, which is difficult to correct later.

Size selection

Guitar size selection suggestions?:

●For heights below 110-130CM, choose a 36-inch guitar or a 38-inch guitar with a larger barrel. Inch guitar;

●If you are between 130-165cm tall, choose a 38-inch guitar or a 40-inch guitar with a larger barrel;

●If you are 165cm tall or above, choose 41 ?-inch guitar. If you want to choose a ?42-inch guitar, it is recommended that your height be at least ?170CM?.

3. The choice of rounded and notched corners

Many beginners may have encountered the same problem when buying guitars. What is the difference between guitars with rounded corners and notched corners? the difference? Does a cutaway guitar affect its tone? How to make a choice?

Rounded corner and cutaway guitars

1. What is the difference between rounded corner guitar and cutaway guitar?

It can be seen intuitively from the appearance that the biggest difference between the two is that the cutaway guitar has a small notch design on the sound box compared to the rounded guitar. This is for better sound quality. Does it look good or is there some secret in it? In fact, it is not the case. The reason is that the rounded guitar has certain restrictions in playing in the high position, that is, the position close to the sound hole. This is why the design of the cutaway guitar, cutaway guitar and rounded guitar The main difference in function is that cutaway guitars are easier to play in high positions, while rounded guitars are relatively difficult to play in high positions.

2. Does the cutaway guitar have any impact on the tone?

That’s for sure. If there is no impact, then just design all guitars with cutaway corners. We all know that the guitar vibrates through the strings and then drives the box to chime, so the size and shape of the chime box will definitely affect the volume and tone. Cutaway guitars have a certain subtraction in the box capacity. Then the timbre will be more or less affected.

Is this impact particularly obvious? Not really. As a beginner, you don’t have to worry, because the difference in timbre between the two is so subtle that you can’t even tell it with your ears.

3. How to choose between rounded corner guitar and cutaway guitar?

Theoretically, guitars with rounded corners are more suitable for singing or song accompaniment, while guitars with cutaway corners are more suitable for lead solos and fingerstyle solos. But as a beginner, if you don’t have a certain style, you can choose whichever look you like. The functional and tonal differences between the two are negligible. 4. Choice of acoustic and electric guitar

(Left) electric guitar and (right) acoustic guitar

The electric model has a pickup added to the acoustic model. It is equivalent to installing a microphone on the guitar, plugging the speaker plug into the pickup of the electric guitar, and the sound can be transmitted through the speaker, which plays the role of amplifying the volume, increasing the tone effect, etc. When the speaker is not connected, it can be compared with ordinary folk songs. The guitar function is the same.

If you are a beginner and do not need to perform, and often just use it for practice. The usage scenario may be mostly in bedrooms and dormitories, so there is no need to choose an electric guitar. An acoustic guitar is enough. Occasionally in the classroom or in It is also sufficient for small parties. If you often need to perform on stage or perform live broadcasts and recordings, then you should choose an electric acoustic guitar, which will be more convenient for you. So you can choose and buy according to your own usage scenarios and needs.

5. The difference between plywood, veneer, and full veneer

What is plywood? What is a veneer? What is a full order?

As can be seen from the picture above, the guitar barrel is composed of a panel, a back panel and a side panel. A plywood piano refers to a piano whose top and back and sides are both made of synthetic boards. A veneer is a piano whose top is made of solid wood and whose back and sides are made of plywood. It is also called a single-sided piano or an all-single piano. The panel and back and side panels are made of solid wood.

Usually the price is all single > single > plywood, and the same is true in terms of sound, but this is not absolute. Different brands have different production standards. Some manufacturers use this concept specifically to disrupt the market for their own interests. , which produces low-priced so-called single pianos, but their quality and sound may not be as good as those of regular brands of single pianos or even composite pianos. Therefore, the above ranking of prices and sounds is relative. When purchasing guitars, please keep your eyes peeled and don’t be greedy for small gains.

●The advantages and disadvantages of plywood and veneer

You may be wondering why cheap plywood pianos are not easily affected by the temperature and humidity of the environment and are easier to maintain, while more expensive pianos Boards and full-single pianos are more fragile and more difficult to maintain. First of all, as a wooden instrument, guitars are of course made with sound as the main focus, not durability.

How to distinguish between veneer and plywood guitars

Due to the use of artificial laminated wood, plywood guitars have great limitations in vibration and sound, and the tone is always unsatisfactory, but It is made of multi-layer boards and is structurally more stable, so it is not easily affected by temperature and humidity. The natural solid wood used in single-board guitars has uniform wood fiber directions, which is more conducive to sound vibration and conduction, so it will have better timbre. However, because of its uniform wood fiber direction, it is more likely to expand or crack when temperature and humidity change too much, so it requires more careful maintenance.

6. Purchasing channels

What novices consider most when buying a guitar are the two aspects: tone and feel. Friends with a small budget can also choose mainstream brands of plywood as an entry-level guitar practice. For friends with sufficient budget, based on personal experience, it is of course recommended to choose a single-board guitar to get started in terms of comprehensive feel, sound quality and cost-effectiveness. For purchasing channels, try to choose flagship stores or official websites of large music stores and e-commerce platforms. Do not go to small music stores and do not buy products that are not even available on the official website or flagship store, otherwise you will be like a plump leek. 5. Which guitar brands are worth recommending

1. Reference price of VEAZEN VZ200 veneer series: starting from 999

Another hot-selling model from VEAZEN is also Fezon VZ200 is the earliest classic model launched in the price-cutting series. It has been 6 years since its launch. It is a piano with a good reputation in the entry-level veneer circle. It is made of spruce top with sapele back and sides, mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard. It has a full and full sound. The sound has distinct layers, the timbre is clear, the workmanship is fine and rigorous, and every detail is paid attention to. It has a rounded and notch design, and an electric version is also available. It is a good value for money for a single-board guitar at the same price, and it has good tone and feel.

VEAZEN VZ200

2. Reference price of SAGA SF700 veneer series: starting from 998 yuan

It is also a thousand-yuan single-board guitar , despite its configuration using a mixed-material fretboard and matte paint, it is also a strong contender among single-board guitars priced at a thousand yuan. The officially displayed configuration is Engelmann spruce veneer with Sapele back and sides. The tone is brighter than Sitka spruce, and the high frequency is more obvious, but the bass and explosive power are relatively weaker. In terms of workmanship and feel, the SF700 is also a qualified single-board guitar. Some people say it’s good and others say it’s not stable, but it’s still worth recommending.

SAGA SF700

3. Reference price of VEAZEN VZ90 veneer series: starting from 1,580 yuan

If the top price of about one thousand yuan is many guitars If you are a novice trying out your niche, the price range between 1,500 and 2,500 can be considered a relatively reliable entry-level and advanced price range in the domestic mainstream. As a direct sales model from the manufacturer, the VEAZEN brand seems to have a crushing advantage in terms of product competitiveness. The 90 series has more advantages than competing products at the same price in terms of workmanship, feel, tone, and overall performance. , since its launch in 2020, sales have been rising steadily, and its reputation is also obvious. If you want to choose an advanced single-top guitar at a price of less than 2,000 yuan, then the VEAZEN 90 series is a good product that you cannot miss.

VEAZEN Feisen VZ90

4. The reference price of KEPMA Kama F1 single board series starts from 2,200 yuan

The Kama F1 series is a standard single board series. As one of the representatives of domestic standardized production factories, Kama has experience worth learning from in terms of product appearance and detail processing, and its market share has also been improving. As an entry-level single-top guitar, the F1 adopts the standard configuration of Sitka spruce and mahogany back and sides, which has good feel and tone. However, due to Kama's expensive production costs and in order to ensure considerable profits for intermediary dealers, F1's final sales price of 2,200 yuan is not very sincere in my opinion.

Kama F1

5. The reference price of YAMAHA Yamaha FG800 single board series starts at 2,099 yuan

The FG800 series can be regarded as Yamaha’s classic model and has always been There is good popularity and the price has been rising year after year. How can a piano that has been criticized by many piano shops for having poor tone and feel still maintain good sales? I have to say that this is due to Yamaha's strong brand awareness. Many friends who don't know guitars often have the illusion that Yamaha is a well-known brand, and a well-known brand equals a good product. Indeed, the FG800 series still has a certain degree of competitiveness among advanced single-board guitars, but as domestic brands have continued to improve their technology and products over the years, they will gradually not be replaced by other excellent and more cost-effective products. gained some market share.

Yamaha FG800

6. The reference price of EASTMAN PCH2 veneer series starts from 2,750 yuan

The design style of Eastman guitars and With reference to many international first-tier brands, EASTMAN still cannot be denied its position in the mid- to high-end domestic guitars that should not be underestimated.

The entry-level veneer model is PCH2. The spruce top veneer is matched with rosewood back and sides. Rosewood focuses on balanced clarity and ringing power. The layering and clarity of the sound are very obvious. Compared with PCH1, the sound is richer. Explosive.

Eastman PCH2

7. The reference price of the entire VEAZEN S88 series starts at 3,580 yuan

Every guitar lover should want to own one An all-single guitar, after all, an all-solid wood folk guitar will have a better explosive sound and a more delicate tone. Ten years ago, people without tens of thousands of dollars would not have dared to buy a single guitar. But it is completely different today. China's rapid development of light industry has ushered in a new era of consumption. The material configuration is more high-quality, with Sitka spruce veneer, and two back and side panel configurations of mahogany or rosewood veneer are available. Made from wood that has been naturally dried for many years, the workmanship is exquisite, and the sound is full and feels good in the hand. The whole series is equipped with vibration pickups. The material selection and configuration are relatively cost-effective at the same price. If you have a budget of over 3,000 and want to buy a full single guitar, then I will It is recommended that you have an in-depth understanding of this Faison S88 series.

VEAZEN S88

8. The price of KEPMA Kama A1/B1 series starts from 5,050 yuan

A1 and B1 are currently the highest price of Kama Models, both models are all single guitars. The A1 configuration is Sitka spruce with mahogany back and sides, and the B1 configuration is Sitka spruce with rosewood back and sides. Both guitars are equipped with original The factory's ABS piano case and electrical box need to be installed by yourself at an additional price. Although Kama Guitar started out by producing low-end guitars, it is not what it used to be. Today, Kama has also gained a foothold in the high-end guitar market. If you have sufficient budget, you can also consider Kama's high-end series.

Kama A1

9. YAMAHA Yamaha LL16 full single series price starts at 6,499 yuan

LL16 is a full single guitar produced by Yamaha’s Chinese factory, there may be many People mistakenly think that Yamaha is imported from Japan. In fact, this is not the case. Most of the world's current guitar brands are produced in China, and Yamaha is no exception. LL16 is the entry-level all-single guitar series produced by Yamaha's Hangzhou factory. It is made of Sitka spruce and rose. The configuration of the wooden back and side panels, the original factory is equipped with a thickened gig bag and a built-in passive pickup. The price starts at 6,499 yuan. Among the recommended selections, the price is slightly higher. Students who like Japanese brands can consider it if they have enough budget.

Yamaha LL16

The above is a guitar brand recommended for beginners through personal testing. The feel and sound quality are very good. Novices can choose according to their own budget. Novices who want to buy a piano must go to a regular store to buy it. The after-sales guarantee is more reassuring. I hope it will be helpful to everyone.