Part 1 of 3: Beginner Stage
The Guitar Questions We Hear Most (And What We Tell You)
After more than a century of helping musicians in Toronto find the right instrument, our guitar staff has heard just about every question there is. Some come from someone picking up a guitar for the very first time. Others come from a player who's been at it for years and is chasing a specific sound or upgrading their setup.
The questions change depending on where you are in your playing, but the good ones deserve real answers, not generic advice pulled from a forum.
This is the first in a three-part series where we're answering the questions we hear most often, organized around where you are in your journey rather than how good you are. Whether you're just starting out, a few years in, or you've been playing for a while and know exactly what you want, there's a stage here for you.
We're starting where most guitar journeys do: with the questions we hear from people who are just starting out.
Am I too old to learn guitar?
No, you are never too old to learn a new skill. That said, as you age you may find it takes longer to pick things up, and an aging body can take its toll, but all you need is realistic expectations about how long it will take.
What is the best electric guitar to start playing rock?
If you want to start playing rock, or any genre really, the first step is just to start playing your instrument. Don't worry about picking a style right away. Focus on mastering your chord shapes and your timing first. Once you've got those down, you can play pretty much any kind of music you like and lean into whatever style you prefer.
Where the guitar itself does matter is comfort and setup. A rock sound is really about your amp, your pickups, and your playing, not the specific model in your hands starting out. Come in and put a few different electrics through their paces on an amp before you decide. What feels right in your hands will matter more than what's on the spec sheet.
What do I need to play an electric guitar?
All you really need to start playing electric guitar is a guitar, an amp, and a patch cable. That's your basic setup. The guitar should feel comfortable in your hands, and the amp you choose depends on your taste and what you need. As for the cable, around 10 feet is ideal. Too long and it'll get tangled, too short and it'll get in your way.
From there, you can add a few simple accessories, like a strap or a capo. They're both pretty standard, so go with whatever feels right for you.
Do I need to use an expensive electric to start playing?
No, you don't need to buy an expensive guitar right away. Start with something affordable but decent in quality. Don't worry about finding your forever guitar just yet—that comes later. What matters most is that the instrument feels comfortable to play. Every guitar feels and plays differently, so take some time to get used to it. After a few years, you'll probably end up with a few guitars at home anyway.
However, affordable and poorly made aren't the same thing. A cheap guitar with bad action or intonation problems will fight you at every step and make learning harder than it needs to be, which is why we set up and check every guitar that leaves our showroom before it goes home with you. Decent quality doesn't have to mean expensive, but it does mean playable.
Why does my finger hurt when I play guitar?
When you start playing guitar, the tips of your fingers are pressing metal strings against wood, so yes, they're going to feel pretty sore at first. Your skin will be sensitive until you build up some calluses, which usually takes a few weeks. The pain goes away as you keep practising.
To put a number on it: most beginners see real callus formation within two to four weeks of regular practice, with the sharpest discomfort front-loaded in the first several days. A couple of things that help speed it along without overdoing it: start with lighter gauge strings if you're on acoustic, since steel-string acoustics put the most tension on fresh fingertips, and keep sessions short and frequent rather than one long painful sitting. If your fingertips are cracking or bleeding, that's overuse, not progress, so back off and let them recover.
How much do I need to practice to learn guitar?
Little and often is the key, so 20 minutes every day will be far more beneficial than a two-hour binge at the weekend.
Be realistic about how much spare time you have, then look at your schedule and book in your practice time. Literally schedule it into your calendar as an appointment. You will never just find time to practice—you have to make time.
What type of pick do I need?
The type of pick you use really comes down to personal preference. In general, lighter picks make it easier to strum chords and produce a softer, more even sound. If you're more into playing solos, you'll probably want a slightly thicker pick, since it gives you better control, a clearer tone, and a more solid feel when you play.
Our honest advice for someone brand new: grab a few different gauges the first time you're in—they cost next to nothing—and spend a week or two switching between them. Most players land on a preference by feel long before they could explain why in technical terms.