roosthrower Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 I was thinking an acoustic would be nice to start out with because you could play it anywhere without the need of an amp. I sort of want to be different though and buy a bass. Alot of people here have acoustics and electrics. Can anyone get me pointed in the right direction? This is going to be my first guitar. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
United Pot Smoker Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 country all the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris642 Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 acoustic guitars are harder to play. the strings are further away from the neck and when you mess up, everyone hears it. on an eletric, distortion can cover up some mistakes. all my friends play the guitar so i pick up things, they said if someone would want to start off, take lessons. You learn sooo much quicker that way. just pick whatever you perfer, i personally like electric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallrat Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 I taught myself on an accoustic. Basically if you can make it past 4 weeks you'll probably keep at it. The first 2 weeks will kill your fingers and everything you TRY to play will sound like shit. It's very discouraging. The next 2 weeks your fingers will still be sore but you'll be able to kinda strum some really simple tunes. Unfortunately, the entire 3rd and 4th week you basically won't see any progress and you'll feel like you've plateaued. After that you'll start learning to actually play. I agree with getting what you like the sound of. Electric's are slightly easier to play but an accoustic with 'light' strings isn't terribly hard either. Unless your a big fan of flamenco guitar, you'll be wanting to get one with steel strings (flamenco or classical guitars have nylon strings). Having an accoustic that responds to every mistake is a blessing IMO, it teaches you to play right and doesn't let you start any bad habits. I didn't take a class until I'd been playing a couple of years, and that was just so I could learn how to read sheet music. The net is full of tablature or 'tabs' for every song you'd ever like to learn. Some sound quite good on a solo guitar, others...not so much (house of the rising sun by the animals and lots of nirvana songs are great for learning). Tabs are the simplest form of writing music. Its nothing like the crap you have to learn for the piano. Tabs have 6 lines, representing the 6 strings of the guitar. If there's a number on the line, you play the corresponding string on the guitar, fretted at the same # fret (just do a search on how to read tablature...i'm a shitty teacher). I dunno about the bass. Its very similar to learning the guitar. In fact I can pick up a bass and do pretty well actually even though I never learned any music specifically for the bass. The only thing I will say, a solo bass just doesn't sound very good IMO. Too 80's for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 country all the way. do you know an australian country singer called lee curgnighan (sp??) he did a song called the outback song. this song will remind me of good times for ever so i need to download it but i cant spell his second name!! any one help?? stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jinx44 Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 I would recommend the DVD titled, "Getting started on Electric Guitar". It is put out by Fender and is absolutely awesome. You can have no knowledge of anything about a guitar (like me) and be playing songs in two days. PM me if you want more info about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 Id think an electric would be easier to play for a beginner. They are so silky smooth, you don't need alot of pressure on the strings and the different tones and sounds you can get from a simple amp make electrics better for beginners. If you want a cheap beginner electric guitar, get a fender squire. they'r cheap'o Fenders, but theyre still a nice guitar. Your fingers will thank you for gettin an electric. If you find that you like playin' the guitar and you keep at it, then in the future get yourself a nice acustic and practice on both guitar styles. I have 2 electrics, 2 acoustics and one classical guitar. I play daily. just fiddlin' around with cool riffs, im not that good, I just have fun with it. Its a great hobby and everyone should learn to play music. Start with learning the basics of the guitar. Learn the names of the strings and how to tune the guitar. Learn all your basic chords until you can switch from chord to chord without missing a beat. Learn your G, C, D and E chords and you can play a thousand songs. Tabulature is the greatest thing since sliced bread. You can find every song ever made somewhere on the net. Solo's from van halen to classical shit all tabbed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Duece Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 also practice your scales......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasta Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 i have played about three years and the way i learned was on an acoustic. i feel that its better as you will be kickass on an electric when you get one. acoustics are harder at first, but teach you how to play correctly. if you would start on an electric, you might still sound like shit on an acoustic. either way, just keep at it and play what you like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledofthezep Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 (edited) Best thing I could recommend is dedication. I've been playing for 12+years now, kinda hard to believe; but it keeps me sane, but still to this day I play at least 45min to an hour a day--unless I can't obviously. I'm a singer/songwriter; play accoustic, electric, bass, some mandolin,...if it has strings I can figure it out pretty much. Whenever I get time to get a few more tunes laid out I'm actually going to have my very own cd, nothing special...just to send to bars & clubs to get gigs and for maybe a little cash on the side. There's nothing better than playing guitar in a bar, doing what you love to do, drinking free beer, and then picking up $250-400(sometimes less, sometimes more) on your way out for it. Practice man, you will suck...trust me, no one that plays guitar started without sucking ass in the beginning. No matter what, if you want to learn--you will. It just takes practice & dedication. Eventually you will get to a point & the concept of playing guitar will basically 'click' in your head & then you just want more & more. I taught myself how to play, some people take lessons...do what is right for you. It's a great time jamming guitars with buds, I'm primarily an accoustic player--so I say accoustic is easier; but that's my gig, I never had time really to get into my very own band, so I played solo gigs...still do & will. If you want to be a bad ass soloist, like duece said, practice your scales.........but it's not required, if you just want to be able to play, learn & practice your chords--I would do that 1st, then move on to scales myself....but again, it's all in how you want to learn. Do it man, stick with it...trust me if you're a young'n.....when you play the ladies will love it. I got many thanks to give to my guitar, trust me--better than taking an irish setter to the beach. Edited October 18, 2004 by ledofthezep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roosthrower Posted October 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 I just discovered that there was an old acoustic guitar in the attic. I got it down and tuned it using the 5th fret 4th fret deal. I don't really got a clue about chords and scales yet. I have some reading to do. I've been using a nickel as a pick right now lol. I'm on my way to rockin on. I'll probably pick up an electric when I have some money. Rock on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fixitrod Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 How's the guitar playing going. My daughter and I are thinking of trying to learn together. She's 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick302 Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Guitar is cool and and sounds good alone, but bass is awesome, so much more fun. Only bad thing is it sounds so much better behind guitar with drums than alone. Do what you feel you like. Electric is the way to go, get lessons, books, articles, anything within reach. And keep at it. Most of the time bands come out of nowhere rather than actually looking. Hell one of the bands i was in (three out of five original members left) is getting signed. The studio exec is giving them crap about their name so i'll let you know when they get it settled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceman Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 I didnt realize there were so many guitarists in here. I got a squier when I was 11 and I took lessons for about 2 years. I quit for about 6 years and just started playing again. I just got a BC Rich Warlock for 150 bucks at a pawn shop and Im thinking of trading it in for a mexican made strat with a s/s/h pickup set up at another pawn shop. the warlock looks cool but it sounds like crap. Im gonna tell him I paid retail (320) and try to trade it straight up. I really like the mean look of the warlock but Id rather have something that sounds nicer and looks classic than something that looks mean and sounds like shit. I just got one of those new GDEC fender amps too and its amazing. Ill never need an fx pedal because its got so many effects. you can change the amp style, the reverb, you can hook up to your computer and play midi files, and you can hook it up to an mp3 player too. So If your looking for an amp under 300 bucks a gdec is perfect. Im saving up for an acoustic right now though. I play all kinds of metal and rock. Im learning Stairway to Heaven right now. And what kind of acoustic did you find? Thats pretty cool to find one in your attic. Just dont give up. Its worth being able to play guitar later on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BansheeBrian Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 I've been playing for 16 years and it's a kick ass hobbie.When you start jammin for a few friends or a group and no matter what your playing sounds good to them you know all those frustrating years of self teaching paid off. Late night a fieid party with a bonfire and every ones ripped being the one to break out the acoustic and start belting out some framiliar tunes is the greatest.People especially chicks dig that shit. Always expect one drunk,greazy biker dude in the croud to Yell FREEBIRD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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