Have a look to the cash converters shop on Rue de Carouge in Geneva. They usually have guitars which are not bad and cheap. You could also try the flea market in plainpalais on Saturday and Sunday...

A beginner guitar is probably anywhere between 50 to 300 CHF. Actually Yamaha makes very good quality guitars these days for extremely cheap! I bought one once for my nephews for something like 300$ and it sounded and felt just great! Hard to beat really... but if you're looking to spend less than 100CHF, then probably you will get something crappy.

Main things to look out for when checking a guitar (especially second hand) is that the neck is not twisted or broken. The strings should be reasonably close to the fret board and not like 1cm away... this is usually because the neck is bending a lot under the tension of the strings and makes it a nightmare to play and will never be in tune.

A couple things to do... hold the guitar so you can sight along the neck and see that it's fairly straight. A slight bend upwards at around the 4th or 5th fret is normal.

Then, you can try to play a note at EVERY fret, on each string... one by one. If things are set up right, you should have no buzzing notes. Of course, for 100CHF, you might expect to have some. But it should not be horrible otherwise, don't bother.

Then in general, you should enjoy playing the guitar, it shoudl sound more or less nice. Also check that the tuning pegs are not blocked, rusted, etc.

Another thing to consider is do you wnat a classical/spanish guitar, or a steel string. The difference is mainly in the type of strings you use, and the shape and thickness of the neck. And in my opinion, strumming nylon strings with a pick is a cardinal sin! Anyways, depends on tastes perhaps, and on the style you want to play...

Hope it helps!!

D.

Thanks David

I'll go have a look soon, and look out for the things you've told me :)
I'll mention your name when I'm rocking on stage one day.

Get in touch with   ALguitar , he teaches guitar, and can give you pointers on what to look for in a beginner guitar.

His n° is 079 554 3067

tell him mr.jaz told you to call.  :)

HI there, I am selling the guitar below

Ibanez AS73B hollowbody guitar for sale

Its a good quality guitar but at the cheap end of the market and it has the added advantage of being semi accoustic - so you can play it unamplified and still hear it, as well as being a good quality electric guitar. If you are interested you can give it a try, and we can talk about a price.

Thanks and good luck.

sorry, that link doesnt work - if you go to classified, goods for sale and type in search 'guitar' its there.

Cheers