How do I know if it's "the one?"

stylo17

I read a lot that people say, "Once you play it, you'll know." but what if I don't know much about playing the guitar?

I play the bass so I have a pretty good understanding of scales (only for 4 strings though) and very few chords but I don't play with a pick so I've gotta get used to that. but when I'm at the music store and I wanna try out a guitar, what should I play to get a good "feel" of it and to decide if it's one I should buy??

jcmark611

The short answer, "everything in your price range".

The long answer:
It depends on the type of music you will be playing and what sounds best to your ear. Obviously Gibson and Fender make the classic rock and blues sounds we all enjoy. If you love Jimi Hendrix then, you'll want a Strat. Like Led Zep? Grab a Les Paul.

Are you a fan of Metal and Modern Rock? Then you'll want to look at PRS (Paul Reed Smith), Jackson, Ibanez or Peavy. Fender is working on a new Van Halen signature guitar that looks like his olf Peavy "Wolfgang" guitar.

Then there is the rockabilly sound. Gretsch is the king of this sound.

If you like Jazz, look at the hollowbody electrics.

Of course you are a fan of Pearl Jam, which complicates matters. Stone mostly plays Les Pauls while Mike plays Fenders but, they change up so often that is hard to chase down a PJ tone with just one guitar. The closest I can think of would be a Telecaster with a humbucker in the neck. You can get some Strat and some Les Paul out of it.

Then again, the next poster may have a much better idea than me.

keeponrockin

stylo17 wrote:

I read a lot that people say, "Once you play it, you'll know." but what if I don't know much about playing the guitar?

I play the bass so I have a pretty good understanding of scales (only for 4 strings though) and very few chords but I don't play with a pick so I've gotta get used to that. but when I'm at the music store and I wanna try out a guitar, what should I play to get a good "feel" of it and to decide if it's one I should buy??

Play what you would normally play! The poster above gave some great advice!

DeLukin

I'm a bass convert as well and I wanted to make sure I liked having all those extra strings, so I bought a cheap acoustic and tried to learn as much as possible. After realizing that I liked 6-stings, learned some basics, got familiar with picking, and built up an impressive set of callouses, I started playing electrics until I found one that felt right. But by then I pretty much knew what I liked and didn't like so it made the decision easier. I ended up getting a Highway One Telecaster and haven't even looked at another guitar since...

So my recommendation would be to start cheap until you learn what you want/need and then take the next step. It sure beats spending too much on a guitar that you find out you don't like and are stuck with...

Guitarhero27

jcmark611 wrote:

The short answer, "everything in your price range".

Of course you are a fan of Pearl Jam, which complicates matters. Stone mostly plays Les Pauls while Mike plays Fenders but, they change up so often that is hard to chase down a PJ tone with just one guitar. The closest I can think of would be a Telecaster with a humbucker in the neck. You can get some Strat and some Les Paul out of it.

Then again, the next poster may have a much better idea than me.

You're not referring to the later years are you? Stone has been almost all strat all the time, while Mike has been mostly Gibson, between the 59 les paul, the lp jr and the lp jr double cutaway.

Never thought I'd see Stone play alive with a fender and mike play it with a gibson...

hell what was it in san fran 06 where mike even used a gibson during even flow????

lucylespian

Hard question.
Basically, it takes some time to develop enough nowledge to be able to evaluate a guitar. So, take a friend.
I disagree with the "buy cheap" idea. You are condemning yourself to crap choices there, and are bound to be disappointed. Spend enough to get some quality or you will regret it.
Good fretwork, straight stable neck, solid tuners, well-cut nut, nice pickups etc are all essential for you to like a guitar enough to want to keep playing it.
Me, I like high-gain stuff, so humbuckers are essential. I play Jimi on a Les Paul, so don't get too bound into a corner over one artist and what they played. Jimi played Strats cos he was flipping right-handed guitars, so double-cut-away was essential. He was moving to Flying Vee's before he died, cos they were the biz for that too, and he also liked an SG too.
If you want to play metal, you want 24 frets, and a stop-tail. Tremolo equipped guitars are too unstable when changing tunings, so go for a stop-tail. Look at Asian made guitars like ESP ltd, Schecter, and a whole raft of others. Carvin, Godin, Michael Kelly do great guitars.
Did I mention, take a friend who knows some stuff ?

Oh, and take a friend !!

IDgotI

Good questions... and I hear ya about how it's hard to know when you'll know... but... if you just make a point of trying a lot of guitars... once you've gotten used to having a bunch of them in your hands... then when you do indeed find the right one... the cliche really really holds true...

You'll know... Trust us... you'll know.

stylo17

thanks everybody!! just one question, what's does "double cut away" mean??

and I guess I should've been more specific on what I like/dislike. of course I love Pearl Jam. don't really like the whole metal/shredding thing, just not my style. and I guess I would be more of a rhythm player, I LOVE Stone's riffs (and Neil Young too). so I hope that helps.

oh, and on Les Paul's, what does that toggle switch that says "Rhythm/Treble" do??

Novawind

On a Les Paul, that is a "3-way" switch that selects your pickup configuration. "Rythym" denotes your neck pickup, which is located closest to your guitar's neck. Because its closer to the middle of your strings, the sound developed from it is thicker and deeper, albiet a little less sharp. "Treble" denotes your bridge pickup, located closest to your bridge. They call it treble because the bridge pickup outputs a much more sharp and twangy sound since it's closer to the end of the strings vibration, and therefore the tension is a bit higher. The option in between these two selects both the neck and bridge pickups, and then you can adjust the volumes and tones accordingly to a sound that you like.

Also, double cutaway means something like a strat body- the wood above and below the upper part of the neck has been "cut away". Conversely a single cut guitar would just have the lower part of the wood next to the upper neck missing, just like a standard Les Paul.

who's_pearljam?

To add to what everyone said above,,,
1) I think that one of the first things to consider is the neck. If you have smaller hands or shorter fingers a thick neck might be hard to handle, or long fingers on a small neck, so that's a major consideration.
Play some chords and make sure you can access the strings. Try thick 50's style Les Paul necks to slimmer ones on other guitars. Stratocasters and Telecasters have a wide variety of shapes on the necks, too, so spend time trying out different ones and picture yourself playing for a long time on it.
How does it feel in your hands when you're sitting down, standing with a strap? Balanced, can you reach all the frets up to the top tiny ones?

2) Strum that thing with maybe just an E chord and not plugged in. Even with no chord playing, if you go down the line of guitars on a wall, you'll get to hear the diff. Some resonate WAY more than others. One that resonates nicely has a better chance of sounding good than a "thudly one".

3) Stratocasters and Telecaster style guitars have a 25 1/2 inch string length from nut to bridge. Les Pauls have a 24 3/4 inch scale. It doesn't seem like much, but this contributes to tone differences and feel between the two. More tension on the strings on a Strat means a cleaner tone and more defined ring when you play. (Haha,,,, shows mistakes more!)
It's a little harder to bend strings on a Strat than a Les Paul because of the string length, but you get used to that.



Just because I say Strat or Tele or Les Paul doesn't mean you should only stick with those brands because there are a LOT of well made and great
brands out there now. One thing that IS good about something like a Strat or Telecaster, though, is that they're like the workhorse guitar for years and years and there are so many parts and pieces that fit on them, and they're easy to find. They can be a great first timer guitar, because you'll get better at playing and you can tweak them and upgrade things and then branch out from there, to you collection of toys, (Haha, I mean, tools!)

Allllllso, Plug that thing in and play some stuff, or have a friend play some stuff on it and see how it sounds. You may not have an ear for the differences yet, but there is a general "sound" you'll hear. Hard to explain. As your ear gets better, you can always change pickups to tweak what you want.

Good luck!