Selecting a Guitar by Skill Level & Experience

Beginners, we offer you some critical items to look for in any acoustic.

Experienced Players, we explain why you should own an Ayers Acoustic Guitar.

As a beginner you probably have a lot of questions and aren’t always sure what’s important.   We’ll do our best to cover the things you should consider when selecting an acoustic guitar

Comfort in Playing
If you’re just starting to play, comfort, more than anything can make or break your committment to learning and especially practicing.

So, what dictates comfort?

1.   String Height and Action
One of the hardest things for a beginner to overcome is the pain on your finger tips (called String Bite).  It can take 3 or 4 months of playing to get past this.  The fastest solution is to simply lower the string height or what’s called the action or setup.   With the strings closer to the frets you have less travel and subsequently less tension to make contact with the frets.   Most acoustic guitars come with a medium to high setup from the factory.   A luthier can lower the setup of any guitar you purchase.

Our Guitars all come with a low setup from the factory and are naturally easier to fret.

2.   Frets
Poorly installed frets from poor construction can result in continuous pain while playing.   Correcting poorly done fret work is expensive and time consuming. Any acoustic guitar that has sharp, uneven or uncomfortable frets should just be avoided.

3.   Neck Size, Shape & Finish
When it comes to neck size and shape, there is no one right size or shape and each player will eventually find the size and shape that feels most comfortable to them.  But, when it comes to finish, satin finishes play faster than gloss.  The sweat from your hands tends to make you hand sticky and drag along the neck with a gloss finish.

4.   Body Size
Smaller body sizes are easier to hold and typically they a have narrower waist which allows the guitar to sit in your lap and remain steady.   While the dreadnaught (the typical large western style acoustic) is the preferred guitar of most American players.   Consider choosing an Auditorium, Small Jumbo or Orchestra size when you’re first learning.   The smaller sizes may also benefit you if you find it difficult to get your arms around a dreadnaught acoustic.

Click Here to see our Body Size Chart and Pictures

5.   String Size
Along with setup and quality fret work, smaller string gauges help playing comfort.   A lighter set of strings will require less tension to be in tune.   This decreases the force required to make contact with the frets.

Construction

Construction matters.   If you’re making an investment in your first acoustic guitar you will find greater comfort and more resistence to damage from better constructed instruments.   Under even the slightest adverse conditions, poorly made guitars can start to show effects.   For example, dry conditions will accentuate any fret problems and wet conditions can cause inexpensive woods to twist, bend, warp and delaminate.

Additional Things to Purchase

Picks, Tuners & Stands.

As a beginner it’s good to try a variety of picks. There are many combinations of shapes, size, thickness, material and surfaces.   And what you like at first wil probably change later.   You may even find that you like different picks when playing different songs.

Tuners are a great tool to have, especially as a beginner.    You can use a pitch pipe to create the different notes then tune your guitar to those notes.   But it requires some skill and a good ear.    In today’s digital world you can purchase a digital tuner for just a few dollars.    Some of the most basic show the note you are closest to on an LED diode and whether you are sharp or flat.   Today, for under $20 you can buy a digital tuner with an LED screen that will work on either sound or vibration.    Having a tuner that works on vibration is fantastic when you’re in a noisy space.   And for all you iPhone users, there are plenty of tuning applications and they all work great.

Finally, stands are really important tool, yes tool, for the beginner.    Yes, the case is the best place to store your acoustic guitar but the stand is the place to have it if you really want to play more often.   For some reason, there’s a big difference between pulling the guitar out of the case vs. grabbing it off the stand.   Seeing the guitar in the open and just grabbing it feels so much easier.    So if you’re just learning, keep that guitar out where you can see it; guaranteed you’ll play more.   Note, it is still your responsibility to keep your acoustic guitar out of direct sunlight and at safe temperature & humidity levels.

Keep these things in mind and you’ll really enjoy your guitar playing much more.

How does Ayers Help you the Beginner?

1.   You’ll find quality craftsmanship in every guitar, as well as sizes and shapes that will help you while you’re learning.   Our guitars are easy to learn on.
Buying an Ayers Acoustic Guitar gives you the opportunity to own an affordable 100% Handmade guitar.
Why does this matter?   It matters because with over 160 hours of personalized hands-on attention our guitars are continually observed for any potential problems.   In addition, we start with quality woods and components.   Gotoh tuners, for example, are some of the most highly regarded tuners in the industry.

2.   Customer Service
If you call or email us we will walk you through every step of the way.   You’ll get sound advice to help you select the right acoustic guitar; whether it’s an Ayers guitar or another brand.

3.   By purchasing directly from us you get information directly from the source.   Whether it’s availability, questions about our models, order tracking or post-sales support, you call one number and we are there to help.   You will not have to worry about getting tired and frustrated because you don’t know who to contact or whether you’re getting accurate information from a retail store.

4.   Our Pre & Post-Sales Programs are unmatched.

Test Drive one of our acoustic guitars for three full weeks.

60 Day Money Back Guarantee - Because you deserve the right guitar.

100% Trade In Value - Your investment is protected.

So you guys own an acoustic guitar or maybe 20.   As we discuss with our beginners, there are a lot of reasons why an Ayers Guitar is the right choice.   We won’t go into all the detailed explanations because you guys know the pitfalls of buying a crap guitar.   But, we’ll highlight all the same items

Playing Comfort

Ayers Gives you the following:

1.   Low setups for easier / faster play

2.   Fret Work – 100% handmade means lots of attention to detail and our fret work clearly shows this.

3.   Neck Finish – Satin’s faster and smoother.

4.   Body Size – 7 acoustic body shape choices to accomodate your playing style.

Construction

You know construction matters.   With 160 hours of hands-on attetion and quality materials you get a guitar that is going to give you years of playing pleasure right from the start.

Price

This ain’t your first rodeo.   You know how to shop and compare.   Look at our Comparison pageand you be the judge.

Call ONE Number
By purchasing directly from us you get information directly from the source.   Whether it’s availability, questions about models, order tracking or post-sales support, you call one number and we are there to help.   No more worry about the “dudes” at the retail stores.

Check out these Programs

Test Drive one of our guitars for three full weeks.

60 Day Money Back Guarantee - Because you deserve the right guitar.

100% Trade In Value - Your investment is protected.