Learning Guitar

LAG

I have a piece of shit acoustic guitar and I've been trying to teach myself how to play for the last month or so. Anyway, is it easier/better to learn on a quality guitar? Should I get a new guitar?

Oh, Jimmy

Make sure the intonation is good. make sure the 12th fret is the same as the open note. That may be your problem. If you get that taken care of it will be more pleasurable to play. If you want a guitar that has better playability, then you may need to upgrade. The Ibanez starter packs arent bad, and I know Alvarez makes some solid affordable acoustic guitars.

LAG

so if I hold the string in the 12th fret it SHOULD sound the same as playing the open string? and does this apply to all strings? Thanks

moster78

It'll sound the similar, it'll just be one octave higher in pitch. If you have a tuner use that and make sure they stay at the same pitch and that one isn't too sharp or flat in relation to the other.

Oh, Jimmy

The same note will ring out, but it will be an octave higher. If you have a tuner, tune the string to the desired not. Then, play the 12th fret note. It should show that the string is in tune. If the note is to high, the bridge or nut needs lowered, and if the note is low or the strings buzz, they need raised. To figure out whether the bridge or nut needs adjusted, figure out if the intonation problem is closer to the nut or bridge. I am pretty sure that whichever one the problem is closer to is the one that needs fixed.
Since you are a beginner and it is an acoustic, if the intonation is off, then take it to a qualified luthier to work on it.

who's_pearljam?

If it's a really crappy guitar that's unplayable, and you're serious about playing, maybe a starter one like the Ibanez starter pack, like Oh Jimmy said. That's a pretty nice guiitar for not much cash!

What's crappy about the guitar? The intonation is one thing, like Jimmy said.

One of the things that makes guitars hard to play is a neck that bowed out or a top that bowed upward. This makes the strings way high off the fretboard and hard to push to the frets. That's probably the thing that makes guitars the hardest to play. If it's a decent guitar in the first place that needs adjustment and set up, it might be usable, but if it's a really crappily built guitar, it might be better to get a new one.
The neck may have a truss rod in it that can be adjusted or the bridge saddles, (the white thing that the strings rest on on the top of the body) might be able to be shaved to bring the strings closer, if that's a problem.

It IS better to learn on a decent guitar! You're more likely to stick with it and enjoy it if you're not wrestling with it!

Have fun!

enharmonic

You should learn on an instrument that you enjoy playing. It doesn't have to be expensive, but it should feel good in your hands and you should be able to tolerate putting in practice time on it. If your current guitar is driving you nuts, that doesn't mean that you need an expensive guitar...just a different guitar.