Hey,
Welcome to Cheap Guitars UK!
I’m Richard Blackburn, I live in the north of England and I’ve been playing the guitar for something approaching 20 years now (but I’m not ‘that’ old!).
About 18 months ago, I started a general website talking about some of the things that I’m interested in, but without much focus. After a while I noticed that I seemed to be writing about guitars quite a lot, which is understandable because music is a massive part of my life. So it only seemed fair to start a new site focusing only on guitars!
Although I love all guitar styles, my real loves are acoustic, jazz and funk based. I’m not a bad singer either!
Hello and welcome to Cheap Guitars!
As a guitarist and songwriter I’m always on the look out for new equipment, even just out of sheer interest. Over the next few months this site will develop to be a premier resource of all things guitar-related, but particularly details on the various models out there, where you can get them and how much they cost. It will be particularly from a UK perspective.
One thing to remember is that, whether you are looking for acoustic, electric or even bass, the idea of buying a cheap model has both drawbacks and benefits. For example, a cheap model is advisable if you are not sure if learning and playing the instrument is just going to be a ‘fad’ or not. Playing a musical instrument takes a lot of time and dedication, something that some people literally don’t have the time for because of other commitments. Similarly, children are notorious for being desperate for something – that is until the next shiny toy rears its head!
It’s also worth realising that the word “cheap” does not necessarily imply poor condition. These days of internet marketin mean that many people are selling their guitars at whatever price they can get, often because they need the money quickly or just want to clear space in their home. So you can quite easily get a perfectly playable second-hand guitar for a fraction of the price of a similar new one. Especially if the guitar was bought on a whim and the owner doesn’t care about the original price and just wants to get rid as quickly as possible.
A final thing to remember is that all guitars are different and no matter what the price, there is no substitute to actually trying it out yourself to see if it suits you. Beware of paying for something that is delievered to your door without the recourse of sending it back – especially with second-hand guitars.
I hope to gradually develop this site to cover most of the main topics on cheap guitars, perhaps through the medium of articles that give a fresh perspective. In the meantime I hope that you find something useful and to make you return soon.
Richard Blackburn
Stockton on Tees, UK
November 1st, 2011