by Philip Dewhurst

Created on: January 04, 2007   Last Updated: April 02, 2007

Buying a guitar is a tricky business. It's a wilderness out there! But, happily, with the current upswing in manufacturing quality across the board from budget to boutique, it's becoming increasingly difficult to buy a "bad" instrument.

For starters, you must ascertain whether you are ostensibly an acoustic or electric player. If your favourite bands include the likes Slayer, Napalm Death and Slipknot, the chances are that you'll soon tire of working out "Leaving On A Jetplane" on a big old dreadnought! Likewise, if you can't bear to live a day without spinning the best of Vashti Bunyan, Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, the prospect of sweating over a pointy Ibanez electric mastering the finer points of "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love". Have a think about what genres you want to cover in your playing, and choose accordingly. Unless, of course, you're loaded-in which case, why not buy both!

Okay, so we've worked out whether you're a folkie or a rocker-either way, read on, as we're going to cover all options, both acoustic and electric, to help you make an informed decision on what guitar is right for you.

Let's cover acoustic guitars first. Historically speaking, the lineage of the acoustic guitar can be traced back to two major manufacturers-Martin and Gibson. Martin's most famous guitar is the "D" series dreadnought acoustic-when asked to draw a picture of an acoustic guitar, most people would pen a Martin D-Series. They are big, relatively plain looking blonde boxes, made famous by players such as Don McLean, Johnny Cash, Neil Young and many, many more. On the other hand, Gibson guitars are generally more ornate than Martin's output, ranging from the smaller J45 (also known as "The Workhorse" for its straight-ahead tone and durability) to the big, fabulous top-of-the-range J200. Gibson's guitars often feature ornate pickguards (the plastic plate just below the soundhole on the front of the guitar, placed strategically to avoid damage to the wooden top by vigorous strumming with a plectrum or "pick" as they are known) and mother of pearl or abalone inlays, and are available in a range of natural finishes or lustrous sunburst paintjobs. Gibson players include Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor and countless others.

Body shape is a crucial factor in your decision-making process when buying an acoustic guitar. Body shapes range from the "Parlour" style, which is a very small guitar favoured by blues players for its snappy, barky tone and relatively quick note decay,

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