Guitar Center

A Good Guitar Almost Plays Itself

I’m a keen amateur guitarist having played for well over thirty years. Since the early nineties I’ve gotten into music production using computers but my real love is the guitar.

As a keen guitarist I have a growing collection of guitars both old and new. My favourite is a genuine 1931 National Triolian that has clearly been well played in its near eighty years of life. The paintwork on the body is almost all chipped off and there are deeply worn grooves in the fret-board where many fingers have held the same chords and played the same notes over and over again. But all I need to do is strum a chord and slide up the neck with my bottleneck and I am in the Delta with Robert Johnson looking over my shoulder.

But this fantastic vintage instrument would have been way out of my price range when I was first learning to play. Back then I could only dream of owning a real Stratocaster or Les Paul. Then Japanese manufacturers Tokai and Squier started to produce guitars. These were well made Japanese copies of outstanding Fenders and Gibsons. I managed to buy myself a nice black Squier Telecaster that was excellent to play. A guitar playing friend once told me that a good guitar can nearly play itself and this is almost true.

My Squier Telecaster served me well for many years when I was playing in various blues bands. Then I managed to save enough to buy a genuine Fender Stratocaster. But, to be totally honest, I preferred my old Squier telecaster which I’d sold to a friend.

There aren’t many young people who have the cash to buy a top of the range guitar. These days there are some excellent alternatives that are equally as good as the classic guitars that they are based upon. Epiiphone, for example, is just one excellent manufacturer who makes great guitars that play beautifully and don’t cost a fortune.

if you are out looking for a first guitar always get the best you can afford as this will inspire you to play. There are many guitar stores that offer sometimes unbelievable deals so look out for these. Always look at a few second hand guitars as these can often be setup really well but cost you only a fraction of what a new one would cost. Its always a good idea to shop around and then take a guitar playing chum along when you go to check out a guitar. And remember that a good guitar can really help to make it easier to learn to play.