The first thing that I will point out is that even if a guitar costs $5,000, it may not be better than a $2,000. The first rule when buying a new guitar is…

No Matter how good you think the guitar is, how much you like the guitarist/band or are told how good the guitar is. DO NOT buy a ‘Signature’ guitar.

What a ‘Signature’ guitar is a guitarist’s guitar. E.g. Zakk Wylde, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughn all have signature guitars. The biggest difference (Other than the price) is the looks. The thing about signature guitars is that they are very over priced, and only cost a lot because they have a guitarists name on it. So DO NOT buy one, you will only waste money.

Now another thing, you can buy a $100 guitar, or one that costs 10 times the price at $1,000. But the $1,000 guitar will not be the same value as the $100 guitar. Why? Because the $1,000 guitar is not 10 times better than the $100 guitar. It has strings, a bridge, a neck, machine heads etc. Once you realize this you find that you don’t have to spend a lot to get a good guitar.

Secondly the brand. Brands are really just the little stamp that appears on the headstock and of course the body shape. This may shock you but if you have ever said that Cort make bad guitars, you are also saying that Fender, Ibanez, Jackson and more make bad guitars because they are actually made in the Cort factory! So Cort take the best parts out of all the Guitars, so Cort could really be the best Guitar brand! But many people (including myself) prefer other brands. Personally I use Fender, but only because the specific guitar I play feels better than guitars 5 times the price!

Now, once you play through a lot of guitars at all different price ranges and have found a guitar you like the feel of. Play through every note on every string. Don’t play hard but just as you usually would pick a note, this is done to make sure there are no problems with the fretboard. If there is a buzz on any string, make sure you ask the shop assistant if they can get it fixed for you.

Also, when you buy a new guitar, make sure you ask the shop too get a professional setup done on the Guitar. What this is, is setting up the action correctly, adjusting the truss rod, the bridge, the nut and fixing up anything else that will be wrong with the guitar.

Now you should be ready to make an informed decision when buying a new guitar, so good luck!