By Rob Watson
So you’ve been playing classical guitar for a number of years. You perhaps began with a basic ply-top guitar, something like a Yamaha CG series. You progressed, and at some point you or your teacher decided that you needed to upgrade to a proper solid top guitar, and you moved on to something like a Cordoba C5. That was a major upgrade, the C5 has a great, full sound and excellent playability.
Now you’re playing intermediate / early advanced repertoire. You start to feel like that C5 may be a bit limiting, that there is more out there, you’ve read things on the internet, been to concerts, talked to other players. You understand that handcrafted instruments exist, and that there are also “high end but factory” instruments that are also worth checking out. On top of that, there are used handmade instruments, and even used examples of the “high end but factory”….
The decision is made, you’re going to find that next guitar, and you’ve set your budget to 2k and above, which is proper place to be if you’re going to upgrade. If those funds aren’t yet available, it’s ok to window shop, but be aware that that’s the entry point for a semi to actual professional instrument. At this price point, you can have access to the high end factory instruments, or used handmade instruments.
The key thing here is that you need to take time and physically play every instrument in consideration. This is the most crucial part, do not trust internet descriptions or hearsay. You need to physically play the instrument for at least 10-15 minutes. This means that you will be going to guitar shops, or perhaps a location that is agreed upon by the seller and you.
If you live near a major metropolitan area, there will most likely be a high end acoustic / classical shop that you can visit, do a search and make that trip. Now, I’m not knocking Guitar Center, and you should definitely check them out as well, just be aware that their inventory will tap out at “high end factory”, and the sales staff may or may not be helpful about the particulars.
Play the instrument carefully, listening with your ears and with your heart. Play different pieces, in different locations on the neck. Play harmonics. Feel the playability, go inside the tone of the guitar and really, really listen. Assess all aspects of the experience with the instrument in order to arrive or not arrive at the most important thing: falling in love.
Yes, you need to fall in love with the instrument. The sound and feel need to grab you in a way that none of the other instruments do, and this is after hopefully trying at least 5-7 instruments, if not more. At risk of sounding cheesy, yes it is like a dear friend or partner that you meet for the first time and you know that either they’re “the one”, or in the case of a friend, you will surely know them for a long time and enjoy their company.
That is how you choose a guitar.
