Top 10 Tips For Buying A Guitar

View the full lesson at Top 10 Tips For Buying A Guitar | JustinGuitar

Avoid 3/4 size guitars

Had i taken this advice i would be back to where i was 30 years ago. Not being able to fret with my broken pinky and struggeling really hard on barre chords. This would have most likely led to me giving up again. Personal motivation to play only goes so far but when your fingers and instrument are fighting you the whole way this could lead to people giving up. Like i did.

I bought a small scale electric because it felt right. You mention that we should get a guitar that feels right and wants to make you play. And then you go on to say to avoid short scales outright.

For people like me who have broken fingers or worse such out fingers missing outright, a shortscale scale should be a viable alternative to try.

Thought id give me two cents on this matter as the shortscale transformed me from a person struggeling to play stuff, to being able to play without many of the issues i previously experienced.

1 Like

That’s reasonable. Always exceptions. My old boss would say, great thing about advice is you don’t have to take it.

Good on you too be able to play with some hands limitations!

1 Like

I remember, when first starting out playing guitar, I got a full size classical guitar, but played it with a capo for the first couple of months. After some practice, I moved the capo up one fret at a time until I didn’t need it anymore. This saved me (or better say my parents back then) having to buy a new guitar. I still have that first guitar actually, after 30 years. It’s definitely not a great guitar, but knowing it was the guitar that made me play my first notes, I will never get rid of it.

I can’t see Justin saying anything about avoiding “short scale” guitars. He owns several Gibson guitars that are all short scale.
What he does say is to avoid 3/4 size guitars which are a totally different thing.
3/4 size guitars are usually junk and sold as beginner guitars. Short scale guitars are high quality full size guitars. Even a Fender Jaguar with a 24 in scale is a full size guitar professional grade guitar.

@pinkyisbroken was it like this one with a 20" scale length: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M8IL1R3/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=guitarlobby04-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B01M8IL1R3&linkId=99504a3c489bf6b5d0db774cc24890ca

or was it like this one with a 22.75" scale length: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/StratMiniDR--squier-mini-strat-electric-guitar-dakota-red-with-laurel-fingerboard

or like this one with a 24" scale length: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MustP90SG--fender-player-mustang-90-seafoam-green

3 posts were split to a new topic: I bought a new guitar and it sounds tinny … is this normal?g

Isn’t Taylor GS-Mini 3/4 too? And it isn’t cheap and it isn’t bad, and it’s also legendary well-selling.