Acoustic Research
should i buy a ukele, banjo or a steel stringed acoustic guitar?
i play the electric guitar already and i wanted something a little less metaphorically heavy to play outside in the summer and i have done some research and narrowed my options down to ukele, banjo or steel stringed acoustic. please give experience on the sound of a banjo as i know little of it but im quite experimental so intrigued at the possibility of learning it... thanks in advance for the help!
UKULELE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Buying Gibson Acoustic Guitars Safely Online
If you're looking for Gibson acoustic guitars online, you want to walk a fine line. On the one hand you want to get the best guitar at the best price to suit your needs and tastes. On the other hand, you sure don't want to get ripped off.
Generally speaking, you want to follow the rule that you don't pay less than $400 for Gibson acoustic guitars if you buy from the usual retail dealer. "Beginner" and "student" guitars are made by Gibson to satisfy market demand, but you need to be a more intelligent guitar buyer and never pay for such junk. You get what you pay for, and those and other cheap guitar models cost only a couple hundred dollars or so because you are not getting a great-sounding instrument that has been built to last. Gibson acoustic guitars can, needless to say, be very high quality, but in order to get that quality you have to be willing to pay the price. Having said that, if you are uncertain as to whether you will continue playing, you could of course start out with a cheap student guitar and upgrade as you see the need.
But, what if you just don't have the budget? Yes, there are ways of getting quality Gibsons for less money--such as going to online auctions. But, here is where you must be very careful not to get ripped off. Rules of thumb for the online auctions such as eBay:
*If you see any Gibsons that you think look really good, research them before you place a bid. You can contact Gibson's customer service and you can research online as well.
*If it says vintage, you should check if it was a good model. A vintage poor model is no better than any other. You see, all guitars are by definition vintage of the year they were made.
*If it says it wasn't played much, try to find out why not--and, what was it used for then? Also, check the seller's rating. Don't buy from a seller with a consistently low rating. However, if the seller has a high overall rating, you are highly unlikely to get ripped off.
*If it says "antique", so what? Is it antique quality or antique garbage? Again, do your research, and you will find whether it is a good model. It may be as simple as typing the model name in your favorite search engine and read the first few hits on it.
Now, as I've mentioned, Gibson acoustic guitars tend to be very high quality--and what this means for you is, if you insist upon getting a Gibson, you should be ready to lay out some good money for one. The majority of Gibson acoustics are "high end" and will cost far in excess of the $400 minimum rule that you should abide by. You have to be pretty serious about your playing if you want one of these.
There are sites that will give you information and good deals on new Gibson acoustic guitars. Musician's Friend is one such site. If you are looking to buy used or cheap, eBay is still going to get you a better deal, but Musician's Friend is worth a try just for doing your research. Also, you may find eBay affiliated auction sites such as http://gibsonacousticguitars.usacousticguitarstore.com, which trade only in Gibson Acoustic Guitars. US Acoustic Guitar Store also has at least one article useful to you if you are researching Gibson Acoustic Guitars.
About the Author
Fred R runs several online auction based web sites.
Acoustic Research
