There are no rules to follow when choosing your perfect guitar, and finding one that suits you can be hard. There are so many different shapes, styles and woods available today. So at the Musicians Centre we decided to make a handy guide, to make picking your guitar a little easier...



Body Shapes
Below are the four main body shapes that you will see in our shops and on this website. Click on any of the images to see the guitars we stock in that particular shape:
 

	Dreadnought Shape Bass heavy, great for strumming. Suits all styles of playing, even tone on all strings.		Jumbo / Super Jumbo Shape Lots of bass, tone and susstain. Really good for strumming the blues.
	Grand Auditorium Shape Medium body, good all-rounder. Similar to dreadnought but slimmer body in the middle.		Parlor or Parlour Guitar Great for finger picking and classical styles, even balance between bass and top end.

Tonewoods
Once you have an idea of the shape you would like to go for, you will find some of the guitars are wood, some are laminate, and some a mixture of both. All laminate guitars are generally cheaper to produce whereas an all solid guitar will usually be more expensive. In the mid range you will find guitars which use a solid wood top, then laminate backs and laminate sides. Compared side by side you should hear a solid wood top guitar gives you warmer, more full bodied all round tone. There are exceptions, but this is generally the case.

The body of an acoustic guitar has a sound hole through which sound is projected. The sound hole is usually a round hole in the top of the guitar under the strings. Air inside the body vibrates as the guitar top and body is vibrated by the strings, producing the guitars unique characteristic sound.


The Top: When you pick or strum the strings on your guitar, the top is the part which produces the sound. You will usually find the wood used is Cedar, Spruce or Mahogany. These are considered the best tonewoods for the top of a guitar, as they produce the best tone.
Click here to view all our Solid top guitars

If you would like to learn more about tonewoods, there is a very good article on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonewood


Back & Sides
The back and sides are made out of a variety of timbers such as mahogany, Indian rosewood and highly regarded Brazilian rosewood. Each one is primarily chosen for their aesthetic effect.




Into the Future: Strings & Accessories
Now that you are up and running there are some accessories which you will need for the journey. First of all strings. 


Elixir Coated Strings:  Elixir strings are noted for their patented coating that extends the strings' life and tone by blocking damage from elements like skin oil. They are available in all guages and we highly reccomend them, great tone which lasts longer than other strings. Elixir strings are available in store, starting at £10.50 for electric guitar, and £14.50 for acoustic guitar.


Chromatic Tuners: Keeping your guitar in tune is essential. We have done all the hard work for you and brought some of the best gig worthy tuners available today, to the Musicians Centre. Click here to view our range.


Gig Bags: It's important to keep your instrument protected. A gig bag will also keep unwanted moisture and dirt from the strings when you are not playing. Our gig bags are all padded and offer great protection while getting from A to B. Click here to view the padded gig bags.


Capos: Some songs require the use of a capo. Capos are used to change the key and pitch of the open strings of a guitar without having to adjust the strings with the tuning keys. The pitch of fretted notes does not change; only the open, unfretted strings are affected. This lets you raise the pitch of the piece you are playing, while playing the same chord shapes. Click here to view our capos.
 

We hope our guide has helped you, and don't forget, if you have any questions you can contact us on 01535603136, or if we are open now, just click on one of the Live Chat buttons, on the left of any page, to speak to us directly.