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| Your guitar guide |
| Aabhas Sharma / New Delhi Jan 10, 2009, 00:54 IST |
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Serious about learning the guitar? Aabhas Sharma, who has recently started plucking the strings, does a comprehensive recce to find out what to buy and for how much.
If you had to pick a musical instrument to play, chances are that you would pick a guitar. The keyboard? That may be good too, but doesn’t give you the whole rock-star feel. Drums are too bulky, difficult to manage, and the neighbours will be knocking on your door to keep noise levels low at night. So, it has to be a guitar, right?
Need more proof? Try naming a famous drummer or keyboard player of any band? You can rattle off names like Slash, George Harrison, Kirk Hammett or Keith Richards easily because they have been lead guitarists of famous rock bands.
If you aren’t convinced even now, here’s what Jimi Hendrix, one of the greatest guitarists of all time, had to say about the guitar: “Sometimes, you want to give up the guitar, you’ll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it,you’re gonna be rewarded”. Hendrix stuck with it and was, of course, handsomely rewarded.
There’s a host of guitars available in the market to choose from — acoustic, semi-acoustic, classical and, of course, electric. For beginners, semi-acoustic ones are the best. Brands like Kramer, Ibanez, Fender, Pluto and Hofner are among the best-known available in the country.
For beginners, a basic semi-acoustic guitar starts at Rs 2,000, which is ideal when all you need to do is to get the hang of one. But the trouble with these is that they don’t last long. So, it’s always better to pick up a better guitar — provided that you are serious about learning.
On Stage, one of the best-known shops for guitars in India, in Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi as well as in Noida, houses guitars of all kinds and prices. According to their sales manager, one should not go for the cheap versions as they won’t last. There are guitars which are of Chinese make that are slowly catching up. Santana and Pluto are two common brands from China. “They start from Rs 3,500 and go up to Rs 5,000, and are ideal for any beginner,” he says.
Electric guitars are the ones that look absolutely stunning and come in different colours, shapes and sizes: black, silver, red or triangular, as well as the usual oval shaped ones. Ibanez is one brand which sells the maximum number of electric guitars. Starting at Rs 15,000, prices for high-end electric guitars go up to Rs 1.5 lakh. At On Stage, there is a guitar by the German brand Line 6 that retails for Rs 1.25 lakh. One look at the guitar and you will see what makes it so special. Forget the sound for a second, because, in a dark shade of red and a triangular shape, the Line 6 is a collector’s item. On Stage, in fact, keeps guitars for kids as well, and these start at just Rs 1,500.
Furtado’s in Mumbai is one of the oldest musical instruments shop in the city and sells all kinds of guitars. Fender electric guitars are among the most popular here and are considered top-of-the-line. The price range for Fender electrics starts at Rs 18,000 and goes up to Rs 80,000.
Fender also has to its credit the “sexiest guitar on earth” — the Stratocaster — which legendary artist Buddy Holly first made popular almost 50 years ago. The Strato, as it is known, is not available in India, though.
Sahil Makhija, product specialist at Furtados, says that they keep “each and every guitar possible”. He lists Greg Bennett, PRS and ESP as the most popular brands, along with Fender and Ibanez. “The sky is the limit if you want to spend on guitars,” he says. An ESP at Furtado is one of the costliest acoustic guitars, and retails at Rs 2 lakh. Similarly, a PRS electric retails for Rs 1.15 lakh. Though Makhija says they have sold even more expensive guitars, “that’s only for special orders”.
Taylor is a brand that starts at Rs 10,000 and is quite popular with most guitar-lovers. Almost all brands have guitars that are available in different price brackets. A basic electric guitar starts at Rs 4,500, as does a classical acoustic one. “If you are serious about playing, then invest at least Rs 10,000 to begin with,” advises Makhija. And, of course, there are accessories like a guitar box or cover or picks in different shapes and sizes. But that’s another story.
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