Why You Shouldn't Buy an Entry Level or Beginner Instrument

Our first impulse when we are trying something new is to start with the least expensive option. That way, if we don't like what we're trying, we're not out too much money for nothing. Buying musical instruments is no different.

I strongly advise you not to think this way when you start thinking about and looking to buy your first musical instrument. Entry level, cheap instruments simply are not worth the money and time that you spend on them, for several reasons.

If you love the sound of your instrument, you're more likely to play it regularly.

Beginner musical instruments do not have the tone, warmth, crispness, or feel of their intermediate-level and above counterparts. What many people don't understand is that one reason great musicians sound great is because they have really good equipment. A great musician with a mediocre instrument will always outplay a mediocre musician with a great instrument, but an average musician with great equipment can actually sound much better than they actually are.

There comes a point with entry level instruments in which you outgrow them.

There are a variety of factors that affect how long you'll be comfortable with your instrument. Sometimes its just the sound of the equipment. Other times its the features that entry-level instruments lack. Sometimes its the "feel" of the instrument. A few examples of this are in order:
• The way the wood is prepared, crafted, and sealed on acoustic guitars makes a big difference to the sound of the instrument.

  Many acoustic guitars feature low quality wood or plastic exteriors that restrict the tonal range of the guitar. To an experienced ear, they sound more like plastic than like wood; it doesn't take long for you to play before your ears can hear this. Imagine being excited about playing your instrument only to find out that it doesn't sound quite right.

• Electric guitars come with a variety of electrical components that affect what sounds they can make.

  Many entry level guitars only come with one humbucker, which is the piece that picks up vibrations and translates them into notes. You can't alter their sound that much, and that's one of the distinguishing features of electric guitars. More feature-packed guitars have more humbuckers, allowing you to get that "just right" sound that many electric guitarist spend a while honing.

• Entry level drums usually are both smaller and made of lesser materials, with the net effect that they don't sound quite as full as their intermediate counterparts.

  In addition, entry level drums are not as responsive as their intermediate level counterparts, meaning that they only respond correctly to certain forces of drum strikes. Drummers spend a while tweaking and individuallizing their sound, and you just can't do it with entry-level drums.

• The sound of keyboards, as well as the feel and response of the keys, vary immensely.

  Intermediate level keyboards are better able to replicate the sounds of pianos, organs, and the other instruments they are emulating, and the feel and responsiveness of the keys is vastly superior.

Entry level equipment does not age well

First, Most musical equipment requires periodic maintenance. For instance, you have to occasionally change the strings on guitars. Entry level instruments, however, require you to do these tasks more often. If they're strings, you'll have to replace them more often. If they're drum heads, you'll have to replace them more often.

Secondly, every so often you'll have to get the components of your equipment repaired or readjusted. Many people get frustrated to find out that the biannual tune-up of their acoustic guitar costs two-thirds the cost of their guitar and they don't have it done. Then there instruments either break or do not perform properly because they haven't been adjusted.

Finally, entry level acoustic instruments do not mature over time. Instruments made of quality wood overtime sound better than when they were first bought. This is due to them being better cared after and their wood being more malleable. They begin to carry the sound of the music you routinely play better because the wood's characteristics change to adjust to your music style.

Entry level instruments have marginal resale value

The manufacturers of this equipment use a model called "planned obsolescence." They create the instrument well enough that it'll last long enough to outlast their warranty or your interest in that piece and not a day longer because they know that if you keep playing music, you'll be buying another instrument.

People shopping for instruments generally know this and won't pay very much for your equipment. Music stores will not offer much for your instrument because they have to make something off of them, but their new beginner equipment may only be $30 more.

So you end up either stuck with the instrument or basically have to give it away. You'll have some psychological attachment to it, though, so you won't want to give it away and you won't want to play it.

Which explains why so many instruments find their resting places in addicts, closets, and under stairs.

All that said, buying a beginner instrument may work well in the following situations:

• The instrument will be owned by children under 9 or so. It's unlikely that they'll reap the rewards of better equipment, but highly likely that they'll break it.
• The instrument will be a "beater" instrument. "Beaters" are instruments that people take camping, traveling, or other such places where the instruments longevity is questionable.
• You're buying a used beginner instrument from someone else. You can find really cheap beginner instruments from people because they don't know what to do with them but are tired of hanging on to them. Buying a decent beginner instrument for $30-$50 can be cost-effective, especially if you are using them for either of the two points above.