going to start playing the Guitar.

mdigenakis · July 2007

Of course it's not that easy. Something i've always wanted to do and i'm starting late in my life at 23, but better than never. Any suggestions on which guitar i should start with? and which lesson book i should buy?

Coachella · July 2007

get one of these guitars. http://www.ariausa.com/titles/as/as.html

Drew263 · July 2007

mdigenakis wrote:

Of course it's not that easy. Something i've always wanted to do and i'm starting late in my life at 23, but better than never. Any suggestions on which guitar i should start with? and which lesson book i should buy?

You're not starting late. I started at 32. It's worth it.

Electric or acoustic?

Jooooosh · July 2007

It depends on how much money you're willing to spend.
You shouldn't invest too much, since it's possible you'll lose interest and won't get much for it used -- but on the other hand, if you spend more on a better guitar, it'll play and sound better and last longer.
Most guitars in the same price range are pretty much the same, regardless of brand -- other people will tell you different because they're biased towards or against a particular brand. Of course there are exceptions to this, but for the most part this is true -- spend a lot of money and you'll get a good guitar, spend a little money and you'll get a not so good guitar.

Now for a guitar suggestion; I haven't the slightest clue what you're looking for (acoustic or electric), nor do I know what guitar shops are around you and what brands they carry, so it'd be pointless for me to suggest any particular guitars. Just go into a guitar shop, and play whatever is in your price range. Ultimately, you should buy the one you like and not let some people over the internet decide for you.
But for a push in the right direction, I've noticed ibanez, washburn, and epiphone make pretty good low-end guitars.

xtremehardy388 · July 2007

DON'T buy a Sam's Club, Target, Meijer, Sears, or whatever department store typer guitar. They're not good.

ianvomsaal · July 2007

xtremehardy388 wrote:

DON'T buy a Sam's Club, Target, Meijer, Sears, or whatever department store typer guitar. They're not good.

Agreed . . . don't get one of these - they suck - go to a real music store, not a pawn shop or crap shack type music store.

Take a look at your favorite bands and see what kind of guitars they are playing.
This will give you a good start since you can typically find a starter version of each of those guitars.

Book-wise, well, what are you looking to do???

- If you want to be able to "Read music, get some music theory, play chords, and eventually be able to solo" . . .
Then Get Mel Bay's Modern Guitar Method-Grade-1, and a small Chord Book to start with.
Then eventually graduate yourself to a beginners song book from one of your favorite bands.

- If you're just looking to play a bunch of songs without theory knowledge then:
Just get a Chord Book, and maybe a beginners songs book of your favorite band.
Also, hang around with others that are newer to the the instrument, they'll supply a lot of the encouragement you need.
And maybe take a guitar class at College for an elective credit, that can get you in touch with other newbee players.
Cheers . . .

- Ian C.T. vom Saal

satansbedbugs · July 2007

ianvomsaal wrote:

Agreed . . . don't get one of these - they suck - go to a real music store, not a pawn shop or crap shack type music store.

Take a look at your favorite bands and see what kind of guitars they are playing.
This will give you a good start since you can typically find a starter version of each of those guitars.

Book-wise, well, what are you looking to do???

- If you want to be able to "Read music, get some music theory, play chords, and eventually be able to solo" . . .
Then Get Mel Bay's Modern Guitar Method-Grade-1, and a small Chord Book to start with.
Then eventually graduate yourself to a beginners song book from one of your favorite bands.

- If you're just looking to play a bunch of songs without theory knowledge then:
Just get a Chord Book, and maybe a beginners songs book of your favorite band.
Also, hang around with others that are newer to the the instrument, they'll supply a lot of the encouragement you need.
And maybe take a guitar class at College for an elective credit, that can get you in touch with other newbee players.
Cheers . . .

- Ian C.T. vom Saal

Takemine makes awesome inexpensive guitars. Go to guitar center or accent music. If your budget is high, get a taylor

xtremehardy388 · July 2007

Yeah, for acoustics, there's the Fender starter pack and the Jasmine(by Takamine). The Jasmine is a GREAT guitar.

Cantrell Is God · July 2007

The best budget guitars, bar none;

http://www.rondomusic.net

Just get one of the $100 Stratocaster copies.

Or, you could see if you have one of these close by;

http://www.musicgoround.com

I buy ALL of my gear from Music Go Round. They're so great.

First post, w00t!

Snake · July 2007

My first guitar was a Squire strat, and though alot of people say they suck i've had nothing but a good expirience with mine (until my friend returned it to me all bashed up and smelling like smoke, but i'll get to that later lol). I still play mine every once and a while, but you might want to get an Ibanez starter kit. Thats all just for electric and I know nothing about a good beginner acoustic.
And speaking about books: Mel Bay is good, and you can pick up spare lessons off the internet, Ultimate-guitar is pretty good depending on the lesson.

Thank you for letting me waste your time lol

Snake · July 2007

Oh and Wikibooks.org has a very good book on music theory (you can read it all online if you didn't know)

brain of c · July 2007

get a rick.

samquigley · July 2007

Don't get an electric. Sure, they're easy on the fingers, but you're going to sound like arse for a while and an amplifier's not going to help matters any. Remember when Bart got a guitar and sounded "Polly Wolly Crappy"? You will sound like that. Either get a cheap nylon string like a Yamaha or a Valencia or, if you must have a steel string, get a Washburn D10s. Best value starter acoustic ever, no question about it.

xtremehardy388 · July 2007

biffhardon wrote:

Don't get an electric. Sure, they're easy on the fingers, but you're going to sound like arse for a while and an amplifier's not going to help matters any. Remember when Bart got a guitar and sounded "Polly Wolly Crappy"? You will sound like that. Either get a cheap nylon string like a Yamaha or a Valencia or, if you must have a steel string, get a Washburn D10s. Best value starter acoustic ever, no question about it.

+1000000000000000..

I learned on my strat squier which I love more than anything. The downfall? I could cover up my mistakes with overdrive. I WISH I would have learned acoustic. My fingers would be stronger, I'd have better technique...man, I could go on and on for days. THe Fender acoustic pack includes a DVD and book.

keeponrockin · July 2007

I'd reccomend an Art and Lutherie for acoustic. I've been playing for 5 years, and that's my main acoustic. It's been beat to shit over the last 2 years I've had it, but it still sounds good.

Bendingrooms · August 2007

I would definitely recommend starting out with an acoustic to learn the basics. I learned on a strat (electric), and if it wasn't for my very experienced friends I would have been overwhelmed, I still was a little. Along with an electric guitar you will have to have knowledge about amps, pedals, cables, and the like. But if you just buy a quality acoustic you only have to concentrate on technique and practice. Plus as mentioned earlier, your fingers will be stronger than if you started on an electric. So when you do pick up an electric, you'll be suprised at how easy it is to play.
As far as a quality, affordable guitar, only one brand comes to mind... Seagull. They are made in Canada, and the quality is amazing. I picked up a Seagull S6+ Spruce for $249 about two years ago. If you look around you can get a Seagull S6 for about $300 pretty easily.

going to start playing the Guitar.

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