How do you choose your first electric guitar and amp?
An electric guitar is a system: guitar, cable and amp. What to look for in each, what to try before you pay and why pedals can wait.
To start, look for a solid-body electric guitar with a fixed bridge or a simple tremolo, a neck that feels comfortable in your hand, and a small practice amp with a headphone output. Add a good cable and a tuner, and you have everything you need for the first few months. Pedals can wait.
An electric guitar setup is a system: guitar, cable, and amplifier. If one of the three fails, the whole thing sounds bad. Here is what to look for in each part and what to try before buying.
In short
- A good guitar through a poor amplifier sounds bad: assess the whole setup.
- For home use, a small practice amp with a headphone output is more useful than a large one.
- Single-coil pickups sound brighter; humbuckers sound thicker and cancel hum.
- Avoid a double-locking floating bridge on your first guitar: it makes tuning and changing strings more complicated.
- Buy pedals when you know what sound you are missing, rather than on day one.
Body types: solid, semi-hollow, or hollow
| Body | What it sounds like | Advantages | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid | Clear and defined, with plenty of sustain | The most versatile; handles high volume without feedback | Some are quite heavy: try it on a strap |
| Semi-hollow | Warmer and more airy | Widely used in blues, jazz, funk, and classic rock | Can feed back (squeal) with heavy distortion |
| Hollow | Rounded, almost acoustic | Designed for traditional jazz | Large, delicate, and impractical for beginners |
Among solid-body guitars, you will see double-cutaway bodies with two “horns” that give access to the upper frets, and single-cutaway bodies that are more compact and often heavier. Choose for comfort: sit down, then stand with the guitar on a strap. If the headstock drops toward the floor when you let go, the guitar is unbalanced and will tire your left arm.
Neck, scale length, and size
Pay more attention to neck thickness than to the name of its profile: hold it at the first and fifth frets and see whether your hand wraps around it comfortably. Small hands benefit from a thin neck and a slightly shorter scale, which leaves the strings a little less taut. For children, 3/4-size or short-scale electric guitars are a good option if a full-size guitar is too large or heavy.
Pickups and bridge: sound and stability
Pickups are magnets with coils that detect the strings' vibrations. Their type defines much of the guitar's character:
| Pickups | Sound | Where they shine |
|---|---|---|
| Single coil | Bright, clear, and punchy; some hum is normal | Funk, pop, blues, classic rock |
| Humbucker (dual coil) | Thick, warm, and hum-free | Rock, hard rock, metal, jazz |
| Combination of single coils and a humbucker | From bright clean tones to thick distortion | If you have not settled on a genre yet |
Passive pickups, which do not use a battery, are standard and sufficient for learning. Active pickups are associated with high-gain styles and are unnecessary at the start.
The bridge
- Fixed: the most stable option. Easy to tune and simple to restring. Ideal for beginners.
- Simple tremolo with a bar: lets you vary the pitch. Properly adjusted, it holds its tuning; use it sparingly at first.
- Double-locking floating bridge: clamps the strings with screws at the nut and bridge. Very stable in experienced hands, but tuning and restringing can be a nightmare for a beginner.
The amplifier: small, with a headphone output, and thoroughly tested
You do not need much power at home. A small practice amp easily fills a room; what matters is good sound at low volume. Wattage does not tell you the quality.
| Option | What it's for | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Practice amp with effects | Home and lessons: clean tones, distortion, reverb, delay | Look for a headphone output and an auxiliary input for playing along with songs |
| Headphone amp | Plugs directly into the guitar; for nighttime practice or travel | A useful complement, but not suitable for playing with others |
| Audio interface and computer | Recording, using amp simulators, and sounding good in online lessons | Requires setup and headphones or studio monitors |
| Tube or high-power amplifier | Band rehearsals and stage performances | Unnecessary at first; you cannot make full use of it in an apartment |
Kits with a guitar, amp, cable, and gig bag are convenient, but the amp is often the weak link: test it as carefully as the guitar. If you are taking online music lessons, connecting the guitar to an interface greatly improves what your teacher hears at the other end.
Cables and accessories for day one
- Instrument cable: about 3 meters long, with 6.3 mm connectors (the 1/4-inch plug). A right-angle end is less likely to snag. A cable that crackles when moved is damaged.
- Tuner: a clip-on, the amp's built-in tuner, or our guitar tuner.
- Strap: padded if the guitar is heavy. Adjust it so the guitar sits at the same height when you are seated or standing.
- Picks: buy several thicknesses; a thin or medium pick makes strumming easier at first.
- Strings: gauges 9 and 10 are very common; gauge 9 strings are easier to press down.
- Padded gig bag, stand, and closed-back headphones: a guitar visible on its stand gets played more than one put away, and headphones let you practice at night.
What about a pedalboard?
Wait. In the first few months, the amp's clean channel and distortion are enough to learn chords, riffs, and rhythm. Once you know what sound you are missing, such as delay for ballads or a different distortion, a multi-effects unit is a practical way to explore before buying individual pedals. Your teacher can help you avoid spending on effects you will not use.
What to try before paying, new or used
- Tune it and play each string open and fretted at several positions: there should be no fret buzz.
- Try every pickup-selector position. Each should sound different, without cutting out.
- Turn the volume and tone knobs with the guitar plugged in. If they crackle, the potentiometers are dirty or worn.
- Gently move the cable at the guitar's output jack. If the sound cuts out, the jack is loose.
- With distortion, some noise is normal with single coils. If the hum is very loud or changes a lot when you touch the strings, there may be a grounding problem.
- Run your hand along the edge of the neck: fret ends should not feel sharp.
- Compare the harmonic at fret 12 with the fretted note at the same fret. If they differ noticeably, the intonation needs adjustment.
- If it has a tremolo bar, use it and check that the guitar returns to pitch.
On a used guitar, also check fret wear under the higher strings and ask whether the truss rod still has room for adjustment. A luthier can assess that last point. Find more advice in new or used instrument.
Frequently asked questions
Is electric guitar easier to start on than acoustic?
In some ways, yes: the strings are thinner, the action is usually lower, and chords are easier to fret. But it requires extra equipment and has its own techniques, such as muting strings you are not playing. We compare them in acoustic or electric guitar.
Can I practice electric guitar without an amplifier?
You can work on fingerings unplugged, but you will not hear the guitar's true sound and may miss problems such as buzzing strings or notes you have not muted. A headphone amp or interface lets you hear everything without disturbing anyone.
Is an electric guitar suitable for a child?
Yes, if the size and weight are suitable. There are 3/4-size and short-scale models. Check that the guitar on its strap does not pull on the child's shoulder, that the child can reach the first fret without stretching the arm, and that the volume stays low to protect their hearing.
What should I do if my guitar hums when plugged in?
First, try another cable to rule that out. Move the guitar away from the computer, LED lights, and voltage regulators, which introduce noise into single-coil pickups. If the hum continues, a loose ground connection may be the cause: a luthier can check it.
Sources
We checked the facts in this article against these sources on October 22, 2026.
- Yamaha Music: guide to electric guitar pickups (single-coil, humbucker, active, and passive)
- Yamaha Music: how to choose an electric guitar, hollow body versus solid body
- Taylor Guitars: acoustic or electric, tips for beginners
- Wikipedia: electric guitar (bodies, pickups, tremolo bridges)
- World Health Organization: deafness and hearing loss (safe listening)