questions regarding guitars...

[COtto1984]

ok i know nothin about guitars but am dying to learn how to play one as well as get one. i know fender is good. what should i get as a beginner and where? i dont want to get ripped off by someone taking advantage of me. and whats the best way to learn? im sure lessons is but i plan to practice a lot if i can find a good tutorial. thanks guys, you may add anythingn that you believe is of importance for me to know.

[pixiefied]

fender,gibson,peavey..their all good electric guitars. start with an accustic from sears or a pawn shop. and get everything online!!( at least the learn how stuff)

[psyfive]

my little brother bought the Crate guitar kit in a box. It works pretty good. It came with the guitar amp cords and all that good stuff... its a good starter kit.

[zootm]

best advice i can give you is to play with others, and play varied kinds of music. doing both these things are the things that elevated my bass-playing the most.

[Atmo]

Originally posted by COtto1984
ok i know nothin about guitars but am dying to learn how to play one as well as get one. i know fender is good. what should i get as a beginner and where?

I'd reccomend starting off with a steel string accoustic from a secondhand store, dont spend too much. That way if you decide a few months later that it isnt for you, you wont have wasted a lot of cash, and you'll probably be able to sell it for close to what you paid for it.

If you do like it, and want an electric, i'd reccomend an ibanez if you're on a budget, or a fender/gibson if you can afford it.

Peavy make some nice practice amps. I used to use a 15"/100watt DOD, but it was huge. I'm using a small 8"/30 watt peavy now.

and whats the best way to learn? im sure lessons is but i plan to practice a lot if i can find a good tutorial.

I've never had a lesson in my life, i just learnt by stuffing around. I'd reccomend getting a few books when you start out though, as you'll be able to correct any bad habbits (like arching your wrist while picking, and dropping your little finger) early.

And get an electronic tuner with a mic built in, they're the handiest things ever invented

[ujay]

If you go for the second hand option then check the neck carefully, make sure it's not twisted or bent. Look for solid construction and quality and condition of the wood, and remember that pearl inlay and decoration are just optional. What you want as a beginner is something that stays in tune.
Make sure it has an adjustable bridge and ask someone with a bit of experience to set it up for you, nothing worse than trying to learn on an instrument that is difficult to play or buzzes all the time.

UJ

[lemon_chicken]

yeah, i found that acoustic is the way to go for beginners.
the nature of an acoustic promotes more practice - as you can just pick it up and play for a few minutes without having to plug things in etc.

setting goals can help, eg. "i wanna learn this song by the end of a month" but the best advice i can give you is to wack on a kiss t-shirt and a headband and pretend to rock out infront of the mirror, it really puts the "fun" in "guifuntar" ;)

[fwgx]

All of the above is good advice. If you do decide to get an electric make sure you get one that suits your sound. Fenders are supposedly easier to play for beginners (although I'm used to a Les Paul and can't play them for shit) and cheaper, but that's not a lot of use if they don't make the sound you want.

Fenders generally use single coil pickups which are more twangy and trebally whereas Ibanez or Epiphone are generally use humbucker pickups. These are essentially just 2 single coils strapped together. That gives a much richer sound, more middle and beefy. I'd go with a humbucker everytime but that's because I love the sound.

Practice amps can be had for about £100 new, 15W is more than enough. Marshall, Peavy and Fender all do nice ones, try them out, or if you can't play anything get the guy in the shop to demo them, or trust his advice.

[ujay]

Originally posted by lemon_chicken
yeah, i found that acoustic is the way to go for beginners.
the nature of an acoustic promotes more practice - as you can just pick it up and play for a few minutes without having to plug things in etc ...

Very good advice, and it's more neighbour friendly too.

UJ

[Xapec]

Originally posted by COtto1984
i dont want to get ripped off by someone taking advantage of me.
look around www.musiciansfriend.com for guitars and shit.