Calling all TTLG Musicians

Paz on 7/3/2006 at 00:23

Get some crappy 2nd hand piece of junk. Learn terrible technique. Buy something better. Maintain your terrible technique, but develop a love of delay effects and suchlike which can hide your sloppiness.

THE ROAD TO SUCCESS!

(Seconding the 'actually play the guitar you're going to buy before you do so' vibe).

Shoshin on 7/3/2006 at 01:22

However it works out, and however much you spend, let me just warn you that you are on a dangerous path, sonny. One guitar will lead to two, then three, and then before you know it you'll be in possession of at least six guitars (2 of which are Rickenbacker 12 strings, for fuck's sake), four amps, more effects than any one person can possibly play, two bands, a wife, and a brand new daughter. All because of the guitar.

Seriously though, start small & figure out a little bit on the guitar, 'cause I can guarantee you that when you get serious about tone, you'll buy a new guitar. So don't blow all your money on the first one.

I'm partial to semi-hollow bodies myself. Epiphone makes a decent Gibson ES-335 knock-off that sells for around $700 last time I checked. And a friend of mine is impressed by the Sammick brand, which are very cheap.

frozenman on 7/3/2006 at 01:48

I'll second Paz's recommendation to augment horrible inadequacies as a player through effects pedal on top of effects pedal. Plus their good fun to fuck around with when stoned.

Stay away from acoustic- fingerpicking is a curse.

Oneiroscope on 7/3/2006 at 03:47

ooh, guitar talk!:D

In general, I agree with Shoshin. If you are just starting out, you probably don't want to drop a grand on guitar. You don't know enough about your own approach and style yet to know what you will really want. Buy a Squier or an Epiphone that feels and sounds good.

That said...

Personally I would avoid buying a new guitar unless you really don't mind paying too much. If you go for a Carvin, you are definitely better off buying one used. The resale value, last I looked anyway, is usually quite low for Carvins. Though they are decent guitars, you will probably want to replace the pickups.

If your budget is $1k, and you want a new guitar, I would go for a Fender. Avoid the "American Standard", but the new American Series are pretty good from what I hear.

Your best bet is to go to a guitar shop, a USED guitar shop, preferably with someone who knows something about guitars.

Any low end model is generally going to present problems with fretwire, tuning machines, and pickups. At my worst I went through 1 or 2 $100-$250 guitars a year for about 3 years (I play hard so the frets, tuners and electronics would crap out on me double quick) before I finally saved up for a $1000 Fender that never gave me a single problem until I had to sell it to pay the rent. Buy a guitar for $700-1000 from a reputable shop and you PROBABLY have a good instrument. Probably.

Anyway, start cheap. When you know what you really want, THEN spend a grand.

PigLick on 7/3/2006 at 14:54

Acoustic guitars are good from a portability point of view, they sound good wherever you take em, without need for amps, leads etc. A steel string acoustic and an electric will pretty much play exactly the same, though most steel acoustics tend to have thicker gauge of string, which is something to keep in mind if you are interested in any kind of bending, legato type stuff, as an electric will be far easier.
DO NOT GET A NYLON STRING ACOUSTIC, YOU WILL BE HORRIBLY DISAPPOINTED.(no offence fingernail)
guitarnoise.com is a good instructional site with lessons graded from beginner to advanced, there are plenty of others, but its not hard to find them.
2nd hand gear can be good, sometimes, but be wary, theres not much point forking out cash for something thats utter shite just because its half the price of a new guitar. With 2nd hand gear, you really have to know a bit about guitars.
So, if you have that kind of cash to spare, I would say go to a few music stores, try out a number of guitars, see what the shop guys have to say, then make your decision. Keep in mind that if you are buying electric, you will need an amp, and the basic rule of thumb is spend half on the guitar, half on the amp. There is no point in getting a shit hot guitar and then buying a shit 10w practice amp, cos its still gonna sound like crud.
Also, do not buy a squier guitar. I have found them to be the most unreliable off-the shelf guitars around. Try the japanese brands like ESP and LTD, they are much more solid, and only for a little extra price.
Most of the guitars you will buy in your price range will be made in Korea, most likely anyway, its just down to the standards of the manufactoring brand.(fenders standards are shit)
Keep in mind that I work in a music store and teach guitar, so I see a lot of students get sucked into the 'package' deals most stores offer entry-level guitarists, such as a Squier bullet strat coy, with a 15w practice amp which sounds like shit, a lead and gig bag. Avoid those.

Fingernail on 7/3/2006 at 17:16

Start with the blues, that's what I did. I remember the very first time I played an F chord in first position. It's a landmark because the frets are at their widest and you really need a bar to get the bass F, so your hands have to be large and strong enough to manage this, and when you're only 7 or 8 that's quite a moment.

Then I progressed to the Beatles songs, via a "Six Chord" songbook. Of course by this time I was probably having classical lessons and playing such choons as very dumbed-down Bach, or In the Hall of the Mountain King (similarly skeletised).

First guitar I laid hands on? I really can't remember, but it was probably an Epiphone (pre-Gibson buy-out) Casino. Either that or the Fender Stratocaster, but I seem to have an inkling that my dad wouldn't let us use that at first, you had to graduate to it.

Always used to have Marshall amplification, but I got my own amp a few years ago and it's Fender, and pretty awesome, although not a valve amp. My brother has a Marshall valve amp, which has a great sound, but it's less boomingly loud.

Yes, don't get a classical guitar unless you're planning on playing lots of classical or flamenco music.

Para?noid on 7/3/2006 at 17:26

Quote Posted by OnionBob

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.

This is a good point, but an acoustic will bring instant results in a way that electrics don't. They are easier to learn on, and you'll be strumming out a few songs and getting into stuff after a few weeks.

SO IMPORTANT: Get a good guitar. Don't go too cheap! If you have any guitarist friends, take them with you to the shop and ask them what they think of the action, intonation and shit like that. Learning on a crap guitar is not fun and they don't last.

The Alchemist on 9/3/2006 at 19:06

Thanks for the help guys.

Still not sure what to do though, as most of you gave me contradicting advice. :P

I'll figure it out though, I appreciate the input.

Aja on 9/3/2006 at 20:45

There's no right or wrong, it depends on what you want.

If you go acoustic, you'll be able to play at parties, you won't need an amplifier, and chances are, you'll spend less.

If you buy an electric, obviously you'll need the amp, but you'll be able to play certain kinds of music that are not really suited for acoustic guitars (ie, anything with distortion, bends, etc).

You said you prefer to learn with an electric - if that's the case, go out there and buy either an (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Electric?sku=518341) Epiphone, a (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Electric?sku=510000) Mexican Fender, a (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Electric?sku=511393) Peavey, or an (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/home/navigation?N=100001+304262+10&Ntk=All&Ntt=ibanez&Nty=1&page=1) Ibanez for around $500. Whoever advised not to spend $1000 on your first guitar was right, because if you really get into it, you're tastes will become more focused, and chances are you'll want something else. $500 just pretty much ensures that you won't get a piece of garbage. Don't buy anything with a Floyd Rose tremolo though (ask the salesman); it'll only cause you anguish. If you buy a $150 (new) guitar, it will most likely be terrible, you won't enjoy playing it, and it'll end up in a closet. I went through this whole thing myself a few years ago. The most important things are comfort and build quality; how it sounds can always be changed by replacing the electronics.

As for an amplifier, the general rule is that tube (valve) amps sound better than solid-state ones. A (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Amps?sku=480491) Fender Blues Junior, (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Amps?sku=481755) Crate 1512T, or (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Amps?sku=481442) Peavey Valveking 112 will all sound good, and keep up with a drummer at a jam session. Look for used amps too - if something sounds good to you, then get it.

Well I think I've met my quota for this week, so I'll stop now.

The Alchemist on 10/3/2006 at 00:04

Well I'm saving up for a trip to Brazil so I'm gonna go with an acoustic for now. Cause really im not interested in just "RAWKING OUT" like Bob said an acoustic would be perfectly fine for me, and far more pratical. I was thinking about this one but you warned me against cheap guitars so yeah: (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Acoustic?sku=519621)

Dunno? My budget just went from 1k to like 300 bucks if I plan on going to Brazil any time soon.