What Guitar Should I Buy? (Beginner's Guide)

Looking to buy an electric guitar? Ayla will show you what you need to look for to decide which instrument is right for you!

There are so many electric guitars to choose from and in all prices ranges. But what does your money really get you? Some of the questions you might like to ask would be: Are the pickups suited to your needs? What kind of wood is the fretboard made from? Does it matter? Do I want a hollow-bodied guitar or a solid-bodied guitar? What genre of music is each guitar best designed for? We will answer all these questions. But just as importantly we'll help you get to the bottom of WHY you want to play guitar and how that can influence your decision-making.

So whether you're looking to buy your first electric guitar or you just want to know which is the best electric guitar for you, you've landed in the right place. In this beginner's guide we will help you answer the ultimate question, "what guitar should I buy?"

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Chapters:
0:00 - Video Overview

1:11 - The Fender Telecaster
4:03 - The Gretsch Hollow Body
5:34 - The Epiphone (Gibson) ES-335
8:25 - The Epiphone (Gibson) ES-339
12:02 - The Fender Stratocaster
14:49 - The Gibson SG
16:53 - The Gibson Les Paul
19:32 - The PRS Custom 24 (Paul Reed Smith)
22:33 - Final Thoughts
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ABOUT AYLA TESLER-MABE
Ayla has been making waves in the world of guitar playing as a professional guitarist, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and composer, since the early age of 14. After only been playing for two years, her first YouTube video (a rendition of John Mayall’s “Hideaway”) put her on the map and kickstarted her music career. She has since been featured in Rolling Stone magazine, become a member of both the Ernie Ball and Fender family of artists, and earned various Berklee College of Music scholarships. Musically, Ayla finds great pleasure in exploring the numerous avenues available to her through various styles of music, as seen through her work with Calpurnia and Ludic.

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[MusoraMedia]

Ready to level up your playing? Get personal coaching tips and structured lessons: enjoy your free 7-day trial to Guitareo!

[Bwiser]

The right guitar for me is as many as I can get.

[lowellcalavera]

I actually don't care what part of being a musician she talks about, I click on just to see someone who is intelligent, calm, and musically wise beyond her years sharing her knowledge. Always pleasant and interesting watching Ayla.

[thecaveofthedead]

Just remember folks - these associations have really become clichés now. More than the actual tone differences in guitars, most of it is just fashion. Certain guitars happened to be played by someone influential in a genre and a few decades later it's _the_ guitar to play in that genre. But almost any of these guitars can sound perfect for any style of music. You can get twang out of Les Paul and a PRS and you can get a rock or metal roar out of a Telecaster.

[monaural.]

Amps and pickups are so versatile and advanced in technology now that the most simple guitar can sigh quietly or scream in mean rage. It’s almost about personal choice now. Some singer songwriter could use a Flying V or a doubleneck and get the sound they want.

[stuyvedesu]

Learning about guitar before buying it... Totally recommended

[ivanclarke]

I had to take the low budget option really, at this point in time for my first electric guitar. I have a Squier Affinity Jazzmaster which is proving to be great to start learning properly. This has two humbuckers and 3 way switching, so there are many varying tones available depending on what pedals you include. I also have a Semi Accoustic Washburn and a fairly cheap classical guitar. Great video Ayla.

[roadstar]

I have a Stratocaster, and a Les Paul, and a Telecaster, an Ibanez Roadstar ii, I play classic rock on all of them!

[DeltaDonnaLynn]

Here's my list. My first was a Fender Strat, and I love it for almost everything. I am a Bluesy girl at heart though. My second was a Gretsch 9221 resonator. Then came the Epiphone Firebird, then an Epiphone Les Paul Junior. After that came a Schecter Diamond Series T style, then an Epiphone Les Paul Custom Pro with the coil splits and phase shift. The last 2 in the herd were the Epiphone ES 339 just like the one you showed, and then I decided I needed a really good Tele, so I splurged on the Fender 70'th anniversary Broadcaster, and boy is that one a stunner. Next on the list is an Epiphone Century Olympic acoustic-electric, then a Gibson Korina V, and then maybe the Epiphone Century Deluxe acoustic bass. I think I may need an intervention, otherwise my optimum number of guitars is always going to be X plus 1...

[Joormode]

A Jazzmaster is so fun to play + it sounds awesome with distortion - its a shame you didnt showcase that one !

[hey]

I chose my first guitar based on looks and on who played it. It's a cheap knock-off vintage style yellow Telecaster and I love it.

For any beginners looking for advice, I'd recommend to get the guitar you think looks the coolest to you. You won't know enough yet to buy guitars based on their sound and by getting a guitar you like the looks of, you'll be more encouraged to play it. At least this worked out for me :)

[BaronsDuju]

I really enjoy your channel. I’m quite a bit older than yourself and usually the guitar channels I watch are hosted by men much older than you. Yet you present so well, deliver quality, teach me more about guitar, and do it in a really likeable way. Well done. Just had to finally comment and complement your channel!

[shawnbell]

Another good video, thanks! I'd recommend beginners look at the top end of the Squire range and Epiphone for humbucking guitars. Remember components such as tuners and switches can be upgraded if need be. And if you just bond with a particular, individual guitar and feel it is the one, that is entirely valid.

[MAGirlable]

Mustang and Duo Sonic deserve to be in this video. Perfect for younger players or people with tiny hands. I’m learning on a $135 Squier Bullet Mustang HH and had so much fun learning Nirvana’s entire catalogue. Really great sounds and a comfy neck to play on.

[KUM]

The Telecaster has to be the most versatile guitar ever, I just hate seeing it as the "country cliche" instrument. I play in metal bands as well as indie and pop projects with mine and it just cuts trough the mix sounding amazing.

[sujayanarula]

So lovely to listen to you dear 😊now I get it, why most Guitarists end up having a Guitar store in their houses! It's really difficult to pick one that's enhances the sound expected of a particular genre of music but also aesthetically appealing, comfortable to hold and play! If that's your collection they all look and sound amazing, thank you so much! 😄

[ih]

Great video, as always! Thank you for helping me become a better player.

I bought my first guitar 15 years ago with lawn mowing money. It was a Squier Strat, and I bought it because it was cheap and I liked how it looks.

I sacrificed that Squier to make myself a new one with some parts of the old one - the neck, the bridge, and a 250k tone pot and cap live on in the new guitar, as do a few pieces I cut out of the pick guard to mount the output jack and cover the electronics cutout. I modeled the body after the Dean Dimebag Razorback and cut it out of a large piece of basswood from a specialty wood supplier in my area, doing it all on our table saw, finishing cuts with a coping saw, and made the cavities needed in it with a chisel. Painted a checkerboard pattern on it with Rust Oleum spray paint with the help of much masking tape, and made sure it had knobs that went to 11. Bought a Seymour Duncan SH-6 pickup for the bridge, and used a cheap Powered by Lace humbucker for the neck. That guitar got me through many years, and still enjoy playing it. I still have the receipts and money order stubs from the parts for that - and get a kick in today's online shopping world, that everything was ordered with mailed in order forms and money orders, long before I had a checkbook or any payment cards.

More recently, I had been thinking of venturing creating other sounds, and I recalled how when I was in middle school and we'd go to the music store to get things like slide oil for my trombone, how much I had always adored the hollowbody guitars that were hanging on the wall, and how I had always wanted a hollowbody. I didn't want to go full hollowbody, and didn't have much to spend, and I ultimately bought myself a Harley Benton Aeolus. It is a mighty nice guitar. It now has an SH-5 neck pickup and SH-6 bridge pickup, and it also a joy to play.

Been though a nice journey with amps too. My very first wasn't a guitar amp at all - but rather, a Pioneer stereo system I had bought at a garage sale. It had a turntable, a tape player, AM/FM radio, and importantly - a 1/4" mic in jack. I figured out how to make the signal from that mic jack play out the speakers, and found that it had a nice crunch sound when the volume was turned up, and played on that for a long time. Then I got a Marshall MG100HDFX and a MG cab. Sold it, got a Marshall TSL100. Wanted something more classic, so I supplemented it with a JCM800 2205, which is my current big rig. I built a 2x10 cab out of scrap wood to use with the 2205, and used the TSL100 through the MG cab (how sinful). I later sold the TSL100 because I needed the money. Later, bought a Marshall Haze 15 head and a 1x12 Peavey cab as a practice amp, and I use the 2205 on top of the 2x10 and the MG cab.

I figure that is all that I need, and that I shouldn't spend any more money on buying any more gear. But we'll see how that goes - because I would really like to have an acoustic guitar someday to play for my family around the bonfire - they don't jive so well with the whole electrified thing.

I am not a good guitarist, but enjoy it very much, and find a lot of joy in every new thing I learn how to do with those six strings.

[santhoshsubbiah]

This is so insightful for me... As I've started learning electric Guitar.. and I love classic rock

[MarioRossibless]

Thank you Ayla for show the different guitar use and sound.

[redfit]

I always love Ayla's videos, and I always enjoy the comments because I learn so much from all the musicians who weigh in. Thanks to all!