Guitar Gear: The Ultimate FAQ
Your Complete Guide to Guitars, Amps, Pedals, and Software
This guide breaks down the essential guitar gear you need to know about.
We'll cover the key things to consider when buying your first guitar, and also explore amps, pedal effects, live streaming tools, and crucial accessories like tuners and metronomes.
Finally, we’ll introduce you to powerful software for recording, teaching, writing tabs, transcribing music, and improving your practice sessions (in addition to our free guitar learning software).
This is a living resource that we'll continue to update over time.
If you don't find the answer to your question, feel free to send a message and we'll do our best to help.
Table Of Contents
Guitars FAQ
What are the top tips for buying a guitar?
Buying your first guitar can be overwhelming, especially for beginners or if you're purchasing one as a gift.
With so many options, it's hard to know where to start.
Our guides will help you choose the best guitar for your budget, covering a wide range of prices and the most popular brands on the market.
Whether you’re looking for an acoustic or an electric, we cover the basics of each, including guidance on tonewoods, body shapes, and electronics.
You'll also learn how to check important technical aspects like action and intonation.
- Electric Guitars: 30 Best Electric Guitars by Price Range
- Acoustic Guitars: The Best Acoustic Guitars by Price and Brand
Which guitar brand is best for my favorite genre?
While a great player can make any guitar sound fantastic, it’s true that some brands are better suited for particular genres.
Fender and Gibson are excellent choices for blues, country, and rock.
If you're into shredding and metal, you might prefer Jackson or Ibanez.
Find the best brand for your style in our guide: Best Guitar Brands by Genre.
How do I choose the right guitar strings?
This guide to guitar strings will explain everything you need to know about strings for both electric and acoustic guitars.
What are guitar pickups and why are they important?
If the strings are the soul of a guitar, the pickups are its voice.
These small magnetic devices sit under the strings of an electric guitar and convert their vibrations into an electrical signal.
That signal is what your amplifier turns into sound, which means pickups have a massive impact on your tone.
The two most common types are single-coils and humbuckers.
Single-coils (found on Fender Stratocasters) produce a bright, crisp tone, while humbuckers (found on Gibson Les Pauls) deliver a warmer, thicker, and more powerful sound.
Changing your pickups is one of the most effective ways to upgrade and customize your guitar.
Read the guide: A Complete Guide to Guitar Pickups
How do I set up my guitar?
Basic maintenance is about more than just keeping your guitar clean—it’s about getting the best possible tone.
A major factor in your guitar's sound is its intonation.
Proper intonation ensures that every note you play on the fretboard is in tune.
While an acoustic guitar's intonation is difficult to adjust, an electric guitar's can be fine-tuned.
Our guide walks you through the steps to achieve perfect intonation.
Read the guide: How To Intonate Your Guitar
What are lap steel guitars?
Beyond acoustic and electric, don't forget about lap steel guitars.
These instruments are perfect for slide guitar, blues, and country music.
They range from simple 6-string models to complex setups with multiple tunings and pedals for string bending.
Learn more here: An Introduction to Lap Steel Guitars
Can you explain common guitar jargon?
Like any hobby, the guitar world has its own technical language that can confuse new players.
We break down common slang (axe, gig, shredder) and explain the technical parts of the guitar and its electronics.
Learn the lingo: Electric Guitar Parts Explained
What is the best guitar for a child?
Most guitars are too big for young kids, which is why Loog Guitars are such a great solution.
Originally a Kickstarter project, Loog guitars are designed with three strings tuned like the top three strings of a regular guitar.
This allows kids to start learning real guitar chords and skills on an instrument they can actually hold.
Read our complete Loog Guitar Review.
What about ukuleles?
The ukulele is an incredibly popular, affordable, and fun instrument to play.
It's a great addition for any musician, and our guide will help you pick the perfect one to compliment your musical journey.
Check out our Ukulele Guide.
Amps FAQ
How do I find the right guitar amp?
Finding the right amp is a balance between killer tone and your budget.
While there are some amazing high-end amps out there, you don't need to break the bank to get a great sound.
Even a small amp can be a lot of fun.
Check out our Guide to the Best Guitar Amps.
How can I make my amp sound better?
You can improve the sound of any amp with a few simple tricks.
Common sense advice, like using shorter cables, and simple add-ons, like an effects pedal, can make a tremendous difference.
Read our tips: How to Make Your Guitar Amp Sound Better.
Pedals and Tools FAQ
Where can I learn about pedals and effects?
Your sound is shaped by more than just your guitar and amp.
Effects pedals like chorus, phaser, flanger, overdrive, and distortion can dramatically enhance your music.
Learn more in our Guide to Guitar Effects Pedals.
What is a looper pedal?
A looper pedal is a powerful tool for practice and performance.
It allows you to record and layer riffs, licks, and basslines on top of each other, letting you become your own one-person band.
Learn how to use one in our Guitar Looper Pedal Tutorial.
How do I use a tuner and metronome?
A tuner is essential for staying in tune, but a metronome is even more important for developing your timing.
Whether you're a beginner or an advanced player, practicing with a metronome will dramatically improve your rhythm and overall skill.
Read the tutorial: How To Use a Metronome With Your Guitar.
Recording and Practice Software FAQ
How do I record my guitar?
Whether you want to track your progress or record your next hit song, you'll need a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).
A DAW is software that lets you record, edit, and export audio.
Audacity (Free)
This is the most popular free DAW and a great place to start.
It works on both Mac and PC.
Read the full review of Audacity.
Steinberg Cubase (Professional)
For more features, a paid DAW like Cubase is a great choice.
It offers powerful tools to compose, edit, mix, and master your music, though it has a steeper learning curve.
Read our complete article on Cubase.
What are amp simulator and effects software?
Years ago, getting different tones required a room full of expensive amps and pedals.
Today, amp simulator software gives you access to a huge array of digital versions of the most popular gear, right on your computer or tablet.
IK Multimedia Amplitube
This is an awesome guitar amp and effects simulator that gives you tons of different tones and gear.
Read the complete review on Amplitube.
What other software can help me improve my playing?
There is a huge variety of software available to help you practice and learn songs.
Song Surgeon
This amazing software allows you to slow down songs without changing the pitch, detect chords and BPM, and isolate parts of a track.
It's a fantastic practice aid for dissecting a song and understanding its moving parts.
Read the complete Song Surgeon review.
Guitar Pro
This is the industry standard for creating, editing, and playing guitar tablature and standard sheet music.
It uses MIDI instruments to play back what you've written, making it a great tool for composition and learning.
Read the complete Guitar Pro review.
ChordPulse
This software acts as a "virtual backing band," providing tracks in various styles for you to play over.
It's a great way to practice scales, chords, and improvisation in a musical context.
Read the complete review on ChordPulse.
Transcribe!
This software is designed to help you figure out music by ear.
It analyzes audio and provides information on keys, notes, and tempo.
While it won't do all the work for you, it's an excellent tool for training your ear and learning new songs.