Calling all TTLG Musicians

The Alchemist on 6/3/2006 at 18:46

Alright, for whatever reasons I have a phat bank account atm. At first I was going to use that money on furnishing my apartment, a plasma tv, and an xbox 360, but I figured I'd put the money to more constructive use.

I want to learn to play guitar.

So what I need from you guys is advice and some information.

I prefer to learn with an electric, but if it's better to learn with an acoustic then so be it. I intend to teach myself so if you know of anything I should read please fill me in.

So yeah, what's a good acoustic or electric guitar to start off with, and where can I get one for cheap. I was gonna just drop by Sam Ash but I was told that they're a bit pricey. If there's some place I can just order online that would be choice. And what else might I need to start off with (an amp for an elec guitar and whatever else) and where can I get one for cheap.

Also, my roommate wants to learn to play bass. So any input on that is appreciated as well.

BlackErtai on 6/3/2006 at 18:53

Can't help with guitars, but a good starter bass is a Fender P-bass or a Jazz Bass (the pickups are situated differently. A jazz bass looks like an equals sign, whereas a p-bass is like two smaller really close lines, one under the 1st two strings, one the 2nd). Personally, I like the jazz bass because I hold the bass a certain way when I'm plucking, and I hit the pickups when I pluck that way on a p-bass. But, this is highly subjective, as many of my friends enjoy combo basses with both styles of pickup. I'd say that Fender are the cheapest starters though, and if you want REALLY cheap go with their cheap-o line. I opened one of those up and compaired to my actual fender and the only difference is pickup and the number of ground wires inside.

Nicker on 6/3/2006 at 19:14

What part of the galaxy are you in?
How much of what sort of currency do you have to spend in total.
Consider that some of your money should be spent on lessons.
Can you rent gear to try it out?

I know it is tempting to rush out and grab some flash piece of gear but it is pretty certain you will make a less than stellar choice. While the consistency of quality within a particular brand or model is much better these days, there are many factors to consider, mostly relating to your playing style, which you don't have right now.

If you can resist the buy now urge, seek out some mentors and teachers to befriend who you can actually go shopping with and can share their hand's on experience.

If you just HAVE to buy electric right now, get a red guitar or a white one. Black seems like a versatile fashion choice but tends to get lost on stage and shows fingerprints like you wouldn't believe.

The Alchemist on 6/3/2006 at 19:17

I'm in Miami Florida in the USA and I'm willing to spend like 1k USD on this. Mebbe 1.5... I can rent gear but I cant take lessons. I work fulltime and I'm supposedly going to college, I dont have time/dont want to have to go somewhere or be on someones schedule. I dont -need- to buy something, hell I could just use the money on something else, but I dont really have time for lessons, so I figured I'd pick something generic up and see what I can learn with that.

Music elitists can go elsewhere. I'm interested in learning, on any level. I'm not just hellbent on spending money and RAWKING OUT YEAH ::THIMB::

TenTailedCat on 6/3/2006 at 19:22

Quote Posted by The Alchemist

My mate swears by learning acoustic before picking up the electric. I never touched one and I play ok, nothing incredible mind you, and I've heard the opposite statement from other players, so that's probably not much help.
Learning yourself is not too difficult, you can practice your finger placements without a guitar, but you will look like a spastic to anyone watching, so perhaps best to avoid it on the bus.

From the begining you should practice all your chords and scales until you have arthirits in all of your fingers.
practicing your picking (up and down) is important too. It can be frustrating at the begining when your picking is dreadful and all you want is to be an axe-machine but good picking is what is going to make the most difference in the long term in my opinion. That's probably the best advice anyone can give - practice. It can get monotonous, frustrating and even painful, but that's about all you can do.

I presume you'll want to be reading music too? That's another thing to put on your list, but you can do that while you're learning to actually play, so it's not too bad.

A good lot of practice will allow you to be (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1491516901670441597&q=canon+in+D) This awesome and thus you will get laid, which is about the only reason anyone learns guitar in the first place.

Good Luck. :thumb:

SlyFoxx on 6/3/2006 at 20:46

Well with a 1k budget you are in pretty good shape!

What kind of music do you want to play? Heavy rock...blues...jazz....country? The choice of music you want to play will figure heavily into your choice of guitar.

For a standard rock and blues set-up..

(http://prsguitars.com/showcase/current/sestandard.html)

(I'd go with the hard tail and not the tremelo bridge...less hastle for a beginer)

(http://www.carvin.com/products/single.php?ItemNumber=VINTAGE16&CID=VINT)

(I've played Carvin amps for some time and they are a great deal for the money.)

Those two pieces will set you back about 900 USA total and until you are a axe wielding god you won't outgrow them.

That leaves you an even hundred for a good instruction/theory book, a decent electronic tuner and a quality cord, strap and a few picks.

The Alchemist on 6/3/2006 at 21:38

Hum. Not country. But I'm interested in playing quite a range of stuff...

From Jesse Cook to Opeth...

I'll probably try and master something typical at first... like Good Riddance.

I'm probably better off with an acoustic for learning. And there's plenty of acoustic stuff I would like to play.

Havvoc on 6/3/2006 at 22:25

I'm with SlyFoxx on this one. Carvin is definitely one of the better companies for the money, but not for beginning. If you want to be cheap, get a (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Electric?sku=510423) Squier Stratocaster. It's what I started out on, and it doesn't play all that bad. Just a good price for a mediocre guitar. They've got some with neat "Obey Propoganda" graphics on them now, I can't remember where.

For better quality, I would go with an (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Electric?sku=519964) Ibanez or (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Electric?sku=516643) LTD. They have a general $400-600 range, and they play well enough. Also, the (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Electric?sku=510000&c_tid=topseller) Fender Stratocaster (the higher grade of Squier) can be as low as $400. I don't particularly care for the Fender brand, but that's just my preferance. (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Electric?sku=518341) Epiphone Les Paul guitars are nice, and they're about the same price,

If you want to get an acoustic to start on, I suggest (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Acoustic?sku=516298) Takamine. Easy to play, good quality. Just don't get one with gold tuners on the head, or they'll rust after you handle them for a while, like mine did, unless you furiously wipe them off every time you touch 'em.

Amps are a different story. I suggest a small practice amp with decent distortion until you get good enough to have to use a larger amp for gigging or practicing with others. A good amp for this would be a (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Amps?sku=483188) Fender MG. If you like metal or hard rock, this has distortion you'll like. (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Amps?sku=480730) Behringer amps are also very nice and easier on your wallet, but some of them have crappy distortion, as they're solid state amps.

As for basses, the Fender P-Bass or Jazz Bass are nice, but Carvin basses are a lot better. You can buy a Carvin bass kit for about $400. If you take your time with it, don't screw anything up, and follow the instructions, you can have an excellent bass that will last a long time. It helps if you have someone nearby that can help you out with it if you're having trouble, but it's fun to put it together and not all THAT difficult. If you don't want to bother with it, just get a Fender. Of course, you'll need a bass amp to play it on, and I suggest the (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Bass/Amps?sku=480675) Behringer Ultrabass. It's a good amp and it's only $200.

Take note that this is all based on personal experience, so do as you wish with your money. Hope that helps a bit.

OnionBob on 6/3/2006 at 22:40

Don't start with an acoustic if you definitely want to get rockin, because you'll get frustrated when you're not ROCKING OUT like you might be able to. I started with an electric.

The squier strat has already been mentioned but it's a fine starter guitar, although a bit 16 year old ish - if you're willing to drop a thousand dollars then just get a mexican fender telecaster or stratocaster (3 to 400 bucks), a decent combo amp (same) and save the change for leads, picks, strings, and some books or dvds that can teach you just a few songs so that you can get started PLAYING instead of learning, and enjoying playing, because if it's a chore with no reward you won't carry on.

If you're going to start with an acoustic there's no reason to spend more than a hundred and fifty bucks. Just get a Yamaha F-310. Comfortable, cheap, doesn't sound half bad and is more than enough to learn on. In fact if you can spare the cash get one as well as the electric, they're great for carrying around and taking to parties because they sound good, but are cheap enough that it's not the end of the world if it gets damaged or whatever.

Aja on 6/3/2006 at 22:52

Peavey makes great gear, both guitars and amps. If you go electric, definately look into them - the quality will be equal or better than a Mexican Fender. Epiphone is decent too.

I wouldn't order online though, it's always best to play the guitar yourself. Even with the big-name companies, quality can vary from guitar to guitar.