So, I’ve always wanted to learn to play guitar. I know how to play piano - I’m no Chopin, but I can bang out a tune with sufficient confidence if I’ve got the sheet music. And I’ve composed a few of my own little tunes for my own enjoyment.
But it’s hard to strap a piano to your back, so I’ve always envied guitar players. After 30 years, I finally broke down and bought a second-hand guitar. The only problem is - It’s a 12-string that I’ve converted to a 6-string and the strings a little too far apart for my hands.
So now I’m back looking for a good guitar. So - do you have an advice? What is the best way to learn?
It’s got a narrower neck like an electric guitar, and you can play it as both an acoustic and an electric (ie, it doesn’t need an amplifier to play, but you can plug it into one).
I’m no expert, just like to strum a bit, but I just like this guitar.
(Apologies for the German website, it was the first Google hit I found.)
Not to be flip, but asking what’s a good guitar is almost like asking how long is a piece of string.
There are lots of good guitars available through quite a range of prices. Of course, there are also lots of crap guitars available, especially in the lower price ranges that appeal to beginners.
My advice is to find a good guitar store in your area. Ask around to find one that offers good service and advice, with personnel geared toward helping you rather than toward making a sale. Virtually any store is going to have good products, what you want is guidance to finding the right product consistent with your needs and budget, along with follow-up help if needed. This is where your local store can offer good value.
For lots of discussion about various specific brands and styles, try the Mudcat. In the upper left search window (Lyrics & Knowledge Search), enter a phrase like “Seagull guitar,” “good guitar,” or “beginner guitar.” You’ll probably find enough advice and opinions to make your head spin.
It just occured to me that this would be more suitable to the Cafe Society forum (and may get moved to there). You could also search that forum’s archives and probably find some previous threads on the topic.
Here’s a place to start if you already have seen it.
If you want to read some Doper discussion on guitars you might start with a search on a member named Wordman. He and a few others here are very much into the mechanics of guitars. I’ve learned a lot about guitars just by reading their discussions on this board.
Without knowing your budget I hesitate to offer any targeted advice. Some people consider starter range to be below $150; others below $500.
I have a 12 string, a cheap squire electric strat knockoff that plays well for its price range and a 6 string Alvarez electro-acoustic that I rescued from a local pawn shop. All of these were purchased not for their make or model number but because they played well and sounded good.
If you are new enough to the game to not have an opinion on feel or sound then your best bet is to read the reviews, pick a few models and then either drag a knowledgeable friend to the music store or walk in and ask for mercy. I chose the mercy route on my last purchase and found the guitar store employee to be a tremendous help. Don’t be intimidated by the skill level of the guy showing you the guitar and don’t be intimidated when he hands you the guitar and say try it out. Play what you know how to play or simply pluck the open strings and listen to see if you like the tone. You’ve already declared yourself to be a beginner so you really have nothing to lose.
My next purchase I’m targeting is a Martin 0000X1. Some purists may dislike this guitar because Martin concentrated on the structure and sound of the guitar at the expense of the artistic design. Its a no-frills high quality sounding guitar. Being a musician already you may want to start out with a quality sound and I offer this as an example of a mid-priced bargain.
I’ve just recently “continued” my guitar education after putting my guitar down for 25 years to raise kids. Even though I played regularly before my hiatus I still consider myself a “new” student as there is so much to learn. The guitar is a fascinating instrument.
When I was 19 I bought a used, reconditioned guitar for $120 and on and off over the span of 20 years I went through phases of trying to learn on my own and taking lessons. I never make much progress.
Then last year I spent some time researching guitars and time in the Guitar Center trying various guitars, I consulted the Guitar Gods here at the SDMB, and I consulted a guitar teacher, and I ended up spending $500 on a new guitar. In the past six months I have made more progress than I had in the prior 20 years.
Picking up my old guitar, I see now that it is simply unplayable. I took the old guitar to the shop and to my teacher (who owns dozens of guitars and has been playing for 40 years) and no one was able to play it.
Now, I don’t know that you have to spend as much as $500. But you do need a good, playable guitar. Signing up for guitar lessons and consulting your teacher might be a good first step.
**ascenray **- you have some deep truth in your post. Start with the right tool, properly set up to play, and at least you have a fighting chance!
**melodyharmonius **- I would search in Cafe Society - I can think of a few “guitar for beginners” threads that have been started (and if you find them, post a link - I did not know how to subscribe to threads back then!!).
I noodled around on the Martin **BubbaDog **links to in his thread - I was very impressed by it for the price point. Smart guitar. But there are other makes by Taylor, Seagull, Gibson, Yamaha, Tacoma, etc. - each of which can be a good value. You need to decide what type of music you want to play and match your guitar choice to that, along what your preferences for looks, price point, etc.
In terms of how to learn - bottom line: the ONLY thing that matters is doing whatever KEEPS YOU PLAYING. There is no “should” when it comes to learning guitar if that “should” makes the process something you don’t enjoy. For me, when I just got started, I would work on chords or scales for 15 minutes, then play Smoke on the Water on 1 string for 15 minutes and bask in the roar of the imaginary crowd - the fantasy made the learning parts a bit easier going down. Get on line - there are TONS of YouTube videos, music sheets for songs you’d like, free and paid online lessons for beginners - pick whatever works for you, inspires you and KEEPS YOU PLAYING. Oh - and don’t sweat it if you play a steel-string guitar and your fingertips hurt - that’s just what happens…you get over it.
Visit lots of guitar shops, play lots of guitars, keep an open mind until you find one that suits you. As far as learning, take a few lessons maybe, and take advantage of what’s on the net. There’s tons of excellent sites with free lessons and many more with lyrics and chords to just about any song ever written.
I’ve never been very successful at playing guitar, so Wordman or Dio can smack me down any time. But I’ve observed that, overall, electric guitars tend to have a very narrow fretboard and fairly small radius (i.e., curvature of the fretboard). Classical guitars have a wide and quite flat fretboard. Steel-string acoustics are halfway in between. Variation in fretboards exist, but you might have to do some digging.
The point being, you want a fretboard that’s comfortable for you, and that’s going to make a big difference.
Get a classical guitar, nylon strings. Buy the entry-level Yahama. You can’t go wrong.
My first classical guitar was a Yahama CG100MA, bought about 15 years ago for ~150 or so. It’s a very good guitar for the money and I still use it. It’s right here at work in my office. I have much nicer guitars at home, but I still play the Yamaha.
That guitar is one of the few instruments that you can buy without concern of outgrowing it too quickly; it isn’t fancy, but it isn’t junk either.
<mod hat on>
Since this is a music-related thread, I’ve moved it to Cafe Society.
<mod hat off>
My opinion, based on personal experience: If you decide you want the sounds of a steel-string guitar, start with electric guitar strings even if you have an acoustic guitar. They hurt less until you build up the calluses, and they’re generally easier to play.
Obviously a subjective choice, but in acoustic guitars, nothing beats the quality of a Martin. The cost may be more than you wish to spend right now, though. In terms of value, good quality for lower price, I have always endorsed Yamaha. It has been a while since I have played any new models, but if the quality hasn’t dropped, a Yamaha would be my choice on a budget. Not cheap, but good quality and affordable. No matter what you get, old or new, or what brand or model, find a local luthier to take it to to get it properly set up.
As I just started learning the guitar (well, re-learning it 34 years after giving it up), I thought I’d chime in.
I think that’s very good advice. I’d suggest finding someone who can shepherd you through the selection process, based on what you want to play, and what you’re willing to spend.
I went into the process knowing that (a) I wanted to learn electric guitar, and (b) I liked the looks of a Les Paul (and I admire the man personally). I did a little research online, and wound up buying an Epiphone “starter pack” at Guitar Center, which contained an entry-level Les Paul guitar and an amp.
In retrospect, I wish I’d done some talking to experts first (even here on this board). It’s not a bad guitar, but, even after having someone set it up for me, the low E string buzzes, and the overall tone just doesn’t sound quite right to me. As a result, I feel that I’ll wind up buying a better guitar before the year’s out.
Absolutely. When I first got the guitar, back in February (it was a Valentine’s Day present from my wife), I got a “teach yourself guitar!” book and DVD. I found it boring, and didn’t work with it much.
After about 2 months of not playing or practicing much, I called a local music school, and signed up for lessons. They asked me, “what kind of music do you want to play?” When I said, “classic rock”, they paired me with an instructor who specializes in it.
The lessons are great: each week, he shows me some chords or an exercise, then asks, “tell me a song you want to learn.” So, in a month, I’ve learned the basics of AC/DC’s “Back in Black”, ELO’s “Do Ya”, and Tom Petty’s “Running Down a Dream.” I’m not good at any of those yet, but I’m having a blast, and am very motivated to practice (I try to practice for 30-40 minutes, most days).
I just learned bar chords this week, and it’s a struggle; my hands aren’t tremendously flexible, and I know it’s going to take me time, and a lot of work, to be able to pull these off (right now, I simply can’t press my index finger across all six strings, and simultaneously finger any other strings). But, I really want to work at it.
Ain’t that the truth. Once I started the lessons, and practicing more, the fingertips on my left hand ached for about 2 weeks. The calluses have started to build up now, and they don’t hurt as much.
Guitars come from the factory set up for the strings installed at the factory, and may need a readjustment to compensate for a different gauge. Putting on lighter gauge strings, especially electric guitar strings (= much lighter), is likely to result in significant buzzing and lousy tone.
Quite true, but for the learner who’s still figuring out how to make a chord, that’s not going to be a big deal. Once the calluses are built up, you can switch it back to the original strings.
Take a friend with you - not just a friend who plays guitar, but somebody who plays the kind of stuff you want to play. When you find a guitar in your price range that you think feels right, ask your friend to play something you like, and make sure it sounds good to you. Bear in mind that you’ll probably have a new guitar (or six - GAS is a very real phenomenon) by the time you can play like that, but you want to make sure you’re buying something that can do what you’re buying it for.
I don’t know about Guitar Center or the like, but the locally-owned guitar store near me will set up any (new) guitar you buy from them as part of the deal and offer a one-time adjustment in the future. If there are guitar-playing dopers or friends in your area, they may be able to steer you towards that kind of shop.
