Guitars

Nylon, steel and electric guitars:

the three share six strings and very little else. A classical guitar takes nylon strings on a wide, flat neck, which is kinder to new fingertips and the reason most teachers start children on one. A steel-string acoustic has a slimmer neck and a louder, brighter voice for strumming; add a pickup and preamp and it becomes an electro-acoustic that plugs straight into a sound system. Electric guitars need an amp and split into single-coil designs like the Stratocaster, bright and clear, and humbucker designs like the Les Paul, thicker and heavier for rock. Bass guitars belong here too. Never fit steel strings to a classical: it is built for far less tension, and the bridge can tear loose. An electro-acoustic or an electric will run through the same powered speakers and small mixers listed under DJ equipment, and a family weighing up a child’s first instrument can compare the learning curve with pianos and keyboards.

Solid tops on the Caribbean coast and in the Central Valley:

the top is the soundboard, and it decides more about an acoustic than the name on the headstock. A solid spruce or cedar top sounds fuller, but it moves with the air. Months of Caribbean humidity swell it and lift the strings off the frets, and a day in a parked car in Guanacaste can dry it until it splits along the grain. A laminate top sounds flatter and shrugs off both. For a guitar that will live in Limón or ride to the beach, a laminate acoustic or an electric is the low-worry choice; a solid top wants a hard case and the steadier air of the Central Valley. Children under about ten manage better on a 3/4 size.

Costa Rican-built classicals, Squiers and what each holds:

classical guitars have been built by hand in Costa Rica for generations, with the Guzmán workshops in Tibás the best-known name, and a well-kept older one is sought after in a way an imported student model never is. At the other end, an entry-level electric such as a Squier or a Yamaha Pacifica is around ₡200,000 to ₡250,000 new with a small practice amp, while the guitar alone, used and playing well, changes hands for around ₡100,000. The gap is wide because the same model is always on sale new and buyers price against that. Solid-top Taylors and Martins and Mexican- or American-made Fenders lose far less.

Necks, frets and bridges on a used guitar:

sight down the neck from the headstock. A slight forward bow is normal and adjustable; a twist is not. Deep grooves under the strings on the first few frets mean a fret dress or refret is coming. On an acoustic, slide a sheet of paper under the back edge of the bridge: if it goes in, the bridge is lifting. Look for cracks along the grain and a bulge behind the bridge. On anything electric, plug in, turn every knob and flick every switch. Crackle is usually a dirty pot or a loose jack and cheap to fix; a dead preamp is not. Fakes target Gibson and Fender above all, so check the serial number with the maker, and treat a Les Paul at Squier money as a copy.

Listing a guitar with its serial number in shot:

buyers want the brand, the model and where it was made, because a Mexican Fender and an Indonesian Squier are different guitars to them even when the shape matches. Photograph the front, the back, the headstock with its serial number, the frets and the bridge in daylight, and say plainly whether it takes nylon or steel strings. List what goes with it, from hard case or gig bag to strap and lead, and disclose any crack, repair, pickup swap or refret. Most buyers want to play before they pay, so have an amp ready for an electric and put fresh strings on first: a guitar tuned that morning sells itself better than one with dead strings.