Three Very Important Tips to Consider While Buying a Guitar

If music were the food of love, play on. A cliched concept today, but the fact is that music still plays a central role in life. Some consider music to be something that de-stresses them, while others actually are so passionate about music that they pursue it as a serious hobby or even a career, and they all have a favourite musical instrument. For some, it is the flute, for others it is the piano, but probably the most famous one would be the guitar.

While most intend to one day take guitar lessons and buy a guitar, few actually go to the rigmarole of learning a new skill, investing money in a device, so on and so forth. If you are one of the few who wish to put down some money and buy a guitar, it is important that you know exactly what kind of guitar you should buy, and here are some tips that will help you do just that.

To begin with, though you might be able to spend a fortune on buying just the right guitar to make awesome music, many would suggest you to start small. Just like how a photographer first invests in a digital camera and then goes upwards to learn every trait of cameras and photography, a guitar player should buy the basic guitars, spend some time learning them and then invest in one of those more expensive models. One disadvantage of this is that you might end up paying a tad bit more than you'd pay for one of the higher models in the end, but you do get a lot more experience when it comes to playing as well as managing and maintaining guitars.

Before you finally buy a guitar, start with renting or using one of your friends, so that you know what goes into maintaining and owning a guitar. There are different types of guitars today, and you would not know which suits you the best, unless you use them for a couple of months. Right from the electric ones to the traditional, acoustic ones, you need to spend time playing one them to know which is right for you. The brand and the model also play a major role in deciding which one to buy. Some might be heavy, some might be light, and yet others would need additional, different props for playing.

When you finally decide on the manufacturer and the model that you wish to buy, take some time out and research both, and find out whether they have good after sales service, whether they are easily maintainable and whether spare parts for them are available easily or not. You could even go online and browse through any of the music and music instrument-centric websites to find this information and more. In some cases, you could even buy these instruments online for a much lesser price that what they are available in the brick and mortar shops.

Always go for guitars manufactured by well-known companies such as Gibson, Ibanez and others for superb sound quality. Visit this website to know more.

Buying a Secondhand Piano

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I live and work in Dublin, Ireland, where a lot of the pianos I tune are antique, haven't been tuned in an age and are falling apart. If you have recently bought one of these pianos, I hope you have a good technician that is up to the task. If you are in the market for a secondhand piano, please read on.

Ask the seller to remove the front panel and key cover of the piano. This will reveal the action, strings and keys, which you will need to inspect. The problem I run into the most with old pianos is loose tuning pins - these are the protruding parts at the top where the strings are attached. Loose pins often means that the piano won't hold its tune and will just keep falling flat. Usually, this means that the pins have to be replaced, or at the least, hammered in further the holes. It can mean a lot of work and a higher bill. If you see a good bit of space between the pin and the pinblock (what they sit into), beware - it could mean a lot of unwanted hassle.

If you see any cracks, either around the pinblock or the on the body, do not buy! It will only get worse and could also mean that there is damage to the soundboard.

Sticky or "dead" keys aren't as serious as they sound, and can be easily fixed by any piano tuner. Do, however, look for missing hammers or wippens (the parts below the hammers that connect with the keys when played); if the piano is antique, it is likely that the parts are not made anymore and a part next to the missing one will have to be sent off to a piano parts supplier to be duplicated - this is as expensive as it sounds. Don't be afraid though, you may meet a piano tuner in your area with an old piano lying about that might have parts for you.

See if there are any strings missing. It is the same with strings as it is with parts, and will have to be sent off to a manufacturer. Also check the condition of the strings - if they are dull-looking or of a rusty colour, then it is possible that they will break when tuned.

See if there is a lot of dirt and dust in the piano. Dust gets into the moving parts of the action and makes them stiff.

Also, on a general note, overstrung pianos are better than vertically strung pianos. In other words, look to see if the strings are going diagonally or up and down.

There are other minor things to look out for but can be easily fixed by an experienced piano technician. If you keep these things in mind whilst shopping, you will get a better quality piano that will last you for years to come.