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Alright, here's the thing. I want to learn guitar, now I want to get a good acustic to learn with. I am on somewhat of a budget and can't really shell out too much money, but I also don't want to end up with a POS that I won't be able to use either. I know there really probably isn't anyone here that is in my area that can tell me of a good place locally to get it at, but i still want to know of a good guitar to start with if there is anything specific to look for or whatever.
The reason I post here is because I know there are at least two people here with good guitar skills (looking in the direction of biff and dingdong) and was wondering if i can get some help here.
It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
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I actually am in the market right now as well. I just had a buddy who has been playing for 15 years refer me to Baby Taylor's. He swears by them. I've found some on ebay and craigslist for decent prices. Also Seagull makes really good starter guitars.
Well, I guess that we all learned a lesson today. That it's what's inside a person that counts. And that on the inside, midgets are thieving little bastards.
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i appreciate the nod, but i really wouldn't have a clue. the acoustic i have is a beat-up garage sale find with a nut that i had to shim by shoving strips of cut up index card under it so the strings stopped buzzing off the first fret. it's ugly, and i like it.
biff will likely have better ideas, but i say as long as you can tune it, you can learn on it.
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I asked Biff the same question last week and he refered me to a local shop here in West MI. He said I would be better off getting acoustic advice from someone else.
Well, I guess that we all learned a lesson today. That it's what's inside a person that counts. And that on the inside, midgets are thieving little bastards.
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dingdongyo Wrote:but i say as long as you can tune it, you can learn on it.
true but not good imo. if you have to do any mods to it, it prolly as a slight warp along the neck, which won't help it stay in tune or hold the tuning long...also if you try and play on a true POS you will get super frustrated with quickly bcuz its not making the correct tones... but you can learn on it that much is true... just won't be fun imo.
as for the OP i myself love,LOVE pawn shops. first place i go. you can get a pretty decent guitar for about half of what the person before you paid. which means your getting a better quality guitar than what you would pay for a new one. also most guitar store have a used section as well.
as for brands there are quite a few. a very nice inexpensive one is applause. i have that one in the link... i bought mine new for 200 bucks and its awesome. it a thin round back elec./acoustic. they are made by ovation which is their higher end guitars.
but applause, yamaha, fender, ibanez and dean make some nice quality low end guitars.
if you have a guitar center in your area they have a good choice to choose from and awesome ppl to answer your questions. that link has some guitars too.
i don''t recommend one of those guitar kits from wal-mart or target those are pure crap.
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Jiggy Wrote:I asked Biff the same question last week and he refered me to a local shop here in West MI. He said I would be better off getting acoustic advice from someone else.
I am clueless when it comes to acoustic guitars. I have one, a cheap one, and I only use it to play songs for my kids.
Go fuck yourself. Hard.
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well then out of what i see here a cheap one is a good one then lol.
is it better to learn on an acoustic than an electric or is there even a difference?
It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
[spoiler]Shit, you took away the black bar. Put it the fuck back now![/spoiler]
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i found it easier to learn on electric because the action (the distance from the string to the fret board) is a good amount lower. my first guitar was an alvarez acoustic/ electric about 2 years ago and i love it. then i bought a fender strat and it is really easy to play. plus everything you can do on an acoustic you can do easier on an electric but def start cheap like $250
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My learner guitar is a cheap-o that I picked up at Target a few years ago. It's just a step or two above "First Act" (It's built by Washburn) but for about $100, I'm not complaining. I'm still trying to learn the dreaded B and F chords, but the guitar itself has survived 3 years of trying to figure stuff out. I'd also highly recommend jamplay.com for online lessons. About $20 a month for unlimited lesson time, and they're quite good.
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Philly Mike Wrote:well then out of what i see here a cheap one is a good one then lol.
cheap one, no. those are the wal-wart target ones
but on the lower end of inexpensive like the applause in the link is an awesome starter guitar.
Quote:is it better to learn on an acoustic than an electric or is there even a difference?
yes there is. with a full body acoustic the neck is a bit fatter and a little harder to form cords for a beginner. where as the applause in the link has a nice thin neck closer to an electric. which makes playing it a little easier imo.
also, when learning on an acoustic is the best imo. bcuz you have to learn to press down on the strings just a little more than an electric to make the notes or chords.
a acoustic will let you know if your not holding the notes correctly or with enough pressure, whereas an electric is slightly more forgiving. but if you start on an electric in some cases in can lead to sloppy playing form.
thats whats also nice about that applause it is an electric as well. if you plug into an amp you can get a nice clean tone or even a slightly chunky rock sound out of it... depending on the type of amp you have that is... or you can run sound pedals too.
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It is easier to learn on an electric. Start with a mid-level epiphone (around 300-400 bucks). They're pretty good guitars and they look nice too.
Go fuck yourself. Hard.
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did you read my post!?!
epi's are nice tho
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imatoolhed Wrote:did you read my post!?!
epi's are nice tho
No, I have you on ignore.
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:-[
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I'd still recommend that you start with a cheap guitar. The reason is simple. You may find that you don't like it, don't have the necessary time to put into it, or just don't play as often as you'd like. If that's what unfortunately happens, you've got either a $400 conversation piece or you've got to try to get rid of it and hope to make a decent return on the resale.
If you have an inexpensive starter guitar, and that's what happens, you're only out a hundred bucks.
Then, down the line, if you decide it's something that you really want to pursue, you can always upgrade.
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hotzester Wrote:I'd still recommend that you start with a cheap guitar. The reason is simple. You may find that you don't like it, don't have the necessary time to put into it, or just don't play as often as you'd like. If that's what unfortunately happens, you've got either a $400 conversation piece or you've got to try to get rid of it and hope to make a decent return on the resale.
If you have an inexpensive starter guitar, and that's what happens, you're only out a hundred bucks.
Then, down the line, if you decide it's something that you really want to pursue, you can always upgrade.
I understand that one  .
As far as electric vs acoustic goes, that's what I figured. I just needed to make sure.
I guess I should look at it more like getting a first car. You don't want something new. You need to get an old crappy POS to get used to the worse things that can happen, then go for the better newer cars which you can probably take better care of and even handle better after dealing with something that is constantly on the verge of breaking down.
Acoustic sounds like the old car, more difficult to work with but you become better because you dealt with the more difficult one.
It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
[spoiler]Shit, you took away the black bar. Put it the fuck back now![/spoiler]
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If it helps any, I opted to go acoustic because it's the style of music I prefer. Technique or ability had little to do with my decision. If you want to rail on your axe and play the real rock stuff, then I'd suggest an electric. But personally, I prefer a good acoustic jam, so that's the direction I went.
Whichever you choose, stick with it. You've gotta get past the soreness on your fingertips to build the callouses, and from then on it's a lot easier.
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wait, what? guitars don't have plastic bright colored frets? we ARE talking about guitars here, right guys?
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hotzester Wrote:If it helps any, I opted to go acoustic because it's the style of music I prefer. Technique or ability had little to do with my decision. If you want to rail on your axe and play the real rock stuff, then I'd suggest an electric. But personally, I prefer a good acoustic jam, so that's the direction I went.
Whichever you choose, stick with it. You've gotta get past the soreness on your fingertips to build the callouses, and from then on it's a lot easier.
Well I wanted to go for the best of both worlds there. I want to learn how to play being able to pick out good notes and give a good sound, but on the same note you can do some amazing things with an electric especially if you have the training with the sound of the acoustic.
and
Jo Wrote:wait, what? guitars don't have plastic bright colored frets? we ARE talking about guitars here, right guys?
Exactly. I started to get confused when they were talking about these "string" things and all that.
I did some research on google, turns out they actually have ones made of wood. I saw this and was like "HOLY SHIT". I couldn't believe my eyes. There are even wikipedia entries about this stuff, and we know only the truth is put on wikipedia.
Kind of blows my mind the same way it did the day I found out will smith was dead, and that the show was losing a member.
It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
[spoiler]Shit, you took away the black bar. Put it the fuck back now![/spoiler]
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Keith Richards said it best:
Every guitar player should play acoustic at home. No matter what else you do, if you don't keep up your acoustic work, you're never going to get the full potential out of an electric, because you lose that touch.
Well, I guess that we all learned a lesson today. That it's what's inside a person that counts. And that on the inside, midgets are thieving little bastards.
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Get a Martin or you could get a cheaper guitar and put good strings on it.
Hey doc, do you know the address of that place?
Oh, you know, I do know the address. It's at the corner of go fuck yourself and buy a map!
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Jiggy Wrote:Keith Richards said it best:
Every guitar player should play acoustic at home. No matter what else you do, if you don't keep up your acoustic work, you're never going to get the full potential out of an electric, because you lose that touch.
Gotta agree with Keith on this one. If you keep your skills up and are technically precise with your acoustic then that can translate into smoother playing on the electric from my experience.
You should be able to find some really nice guitars out there at some really cheap prices in pawn shops or consignment shops considering the economy. Shop more for the sound right now and not so much for the name. I've played some mid ranged martins that while expensive, really didn't have the sound I wanted. I'm looking at my $250 Fender Gemeni II that I bought 17 years ago and it sounds just as good (if not better IMO) than many guitars that people payed 4X as much. All that being said....stay away from the K-Mart blue light specials....
If you find $5k and want a spectacular guitar go to http://www.robinsonguitars.com/ This guy and I learned guitar together and he actually went somewhere with it!
Quote of the Day:
"I'm here working for the people. I'm causing dissent, stirring the pot, getting people to question the whole rotten system." - George Costanza
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dino Wrote:Jiggy Wrote:Keith Richards said it best:
Every guitar player should play acoustic at home. No matter what else you do, if you don't keep up your acoustic work, you're never going to get the full potential out of an electric, because you lose that touch.
Gotta agree with Keith on this one. If you keep your skills up and are technically precise with your acoustic then that can translate into smoother playing on the electric from my experience.
You should be able to find some really nice guitars out there at some really cheap prices in pawn shops or consignment shops considering the economy. Shop more for the sound right now and not so much for the name. I've played some mid ranged martins that while expensive, really didn't have the sound I wanted. I'm looking at my $250 Fender Gemeni II that I bought 17 years ago and it sounds just as good (if not better IMO) than many guitars that people payed 4X as much. All that being said....stay away from the K-Mart blue light specials....
If you find $5k and want a spectacular guitar go to http://www.robinsonguitars.com/ This guy and I learned guitar together and he actually went somewhere with it!
I like the pawn shop idea, never thought of that.
It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
[spoiler]Shit, you took away the black bar. Put it the fuck back now![/spoiler]
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Philly Mike Wrote:I like the pawn shop idea, never thought of that.
Better hurry before people get their tax returns and go reclaim their guitars.
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Admin Wrote:Philly Mike Wrote:I like the pawn shop idea, never thought of that.
Better hurry before people get their tax returns and go reclaim their guitars.
meh, they will all go back when people spend all the return money and realize they need more.
It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
[spoiler]Shit, you took away the black bar. Put it the fuck back now![/spoiler]
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I learned on a Alvarez accoustic. I am REAAALLLYYYY glad that I started on an accoustic b/c I think that accoustics are slightly harder to play (for me anyway - I have little girl hands). Once I could get the chord changes down on an accoustic - then i could get used to an electric. Get something that is comfortable for you to hold, and that is not very expensive. I agree with Ding Dong - if you can tune it - you can learn how to form chords and do changes, play scales. Good luck! Oh, and PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE - practice until your hands cramp.
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yeah I know it takes a lot of work, the only other problem I have is something I discovered while messing with a friends guitar and I was shown the proper way to hold it and how to hold the strings. That problem is my fingers are kind of fat so I have to work on being somewhat more precise when I am trying to strum a chord.
It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
[spoiler]Shit, you took away the black bar. Put it the fuck back now![/spoiler]
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I don't play but there is a maker 1/4 mile away from my house in Wartrace, Tn. Its called Gallager guitar. (Don't think I spelled that correct) the guy that owns the place is the mayor of the town. Don Gallager is his name. They are very nice. A lot of singers come there to buy guitars. Just a couple months ago Kenny Chesney filmed a video there on the square (if you can call it that) in Wartrace. I have gotten to see and meet a few singers because of those guitars. Pretty cool.
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