Guitar advice (just starting)

Yeah, I hope you didn't take my comments the wrong way. You have a long road ahead of you, and a basic guitar (decent action, plays in tune) will suit you well. I have a friend, who owns a music store, so as far as the package deals go, I'd recommend the Yamaha (I've played many of the other starter kits).

You could also bring your dad, (or someone else that plays), to try out a couple of low-line guitars and choose the best guitar for you, and buy an Ibanez amp (with effects; Tone Blaster, I think) for less than $300 total ($200 for the guitar, $100 for the amp).

Good luck, and let us know what you bought.

[TStoneMBD]

ironically, ive recently considered taking up guitar as well but havent gone out and purchased one. (i might)

i stumbled across this website www.guitartricks.com that you might be interested in. internet lectures on how to play guitar.

[SammyKid11]

Adam...

This all depends on your budget. I am a professional musician, record producer, and record company owner and have played guitar, drums, bass, piano, Hammond organ and sung professionally for the last 7 years. You don't have to start out with crap -- it's all a percentage thing. Of course you're going to really love a Les Paul custom and dual rectifier boutique amp with a sophisticated pedal board. It'll sound great...once you learn to play it. But, gear like that will also cost you somewhere in the 8k range. If you make 200k/year, that might not be that big an investment to you. If you make 30k/year, then you'd be unwise to spend that much before you know whether you're going to stick with it.

For lower-end gear that still sounds good, you can get a Mexican made Strat or a low-end LP for decent money. For smallish/cheapish self-contained amps (that don't need cabs), I think Fender has a good product. Personally, I think Yamaha makes crappy guitars and I wouldn't go that route...but in this people have their own opinions. No serious players that I know, however, would be caught dead with anything Yamaha (at least in guitar, in keys they're one of the standard-bearers).

Hope this helps.

Let's keep it in perspective... he is just starting out. Nowhere did I say Yamaha makes a great guitar for 'serious players'. I merely said that of the STARTER kits, the Yamaha is the better guitar. If you don't believe me, go to your local music store and play the starter (package kits) Fender, Gibson and so on, and tell me which one you think is the better guitar; it's not even close.

The Fender has to be the absolute worst (of the name brands)- impossible to get the action low (even with neck adjustments), when you do get it lower, the adjustment screws stick out to the point where they chew up your right hand. The fret-wire sticks out past the neck and needs to be filed. The nut is too high and needs to be sanded or the slots cut deeper. Intonation? Forget about it. My nephew bought one, and I had to rip the frets out, re-plane the neck (yes, the radius of the fingerboard was incorrect and uneven), install new frets and a nut. I would charge $400 to do that work. Yes the Yamaha is a piece of [censored], but it is the best piece of [censored] for the price. Go play a few, especially the Fenders.

No serious player I know would be caught dead with a Mex Strat (ah, you see the point, yes? We are talking about someone who’s just starting out).

To a serious player, I could not recommend a Fender or a Gibson (unless it is from their respective custom shops). They haven’t made a real guitar in about 15 years. Twenty years ago, you could pull a Les Paul Custom off the shelf, and it would be a killer guitar. Now, you have to order a ‘custom shop’ Paul Custom for $5k, just to get the same guitar. So yeah, if he’s got around a $10k budget, then I would recommend what I did in my first post, and if he doesn’t stick with it, well, he can sell it to his dad for 75% off.

[MrTrik]

My advice:

Go to a good guitar store. Some place that employs musicians and serious guitar techs rather than high school kids. Take your dad with you or another knowlegable guitarist.

Buy a used Fender or Gibson. A used Stratocaster or Telecaster for instance.

This should be inexpensive, just make sure a tech will check it out and set it up.

Next, buy a cheap amp. Something from Crate works fine. Maybe $80.

Next get a multi-function box like a Boss-90. This will give you way more sounds than you can imagine and you can easily set it up to sound like anyone you like. Setups are freely available all over the net to get you the exact sound you want. This unit should be around $80.

You'll need some funds for a few books, but work the internet first. Chord charts, lead tabs are all over the net and free.

You need to buy this cheap gear with the understanding if you stick with guitar you'll upgrade down the road. If the guitar is an American made Fender though, you may never need to upgrade that. But you will probably buy more guitars down the road if you stick with guitar.

Now, go play until your fingers bleed.

[SammyKid11]

I will admit, Mitch, that I know nothing about the current status of starter kits. I've played on nothing but Taylor acoustics and Les Paul custom electrics for 10 years, and the lead guitarist I use for most every project is a Fender guy. I do know he would take serious issue with your comment that they haven't made a real guitar in 15 years, as he's a top-shelf working studio pro who uses nothing but strats and teles...some of them are older, some of them are from the Custom Shop (especially since his dad used to be the vice-president of sales for Fender), but some of them are newer guitars he's picked up and liked. He has more technical guitar knowledge than I do...but I'd trust him to the moon and back to not play shite on serious-level sessions.

IMO, a Mexican strat is superior to a Yamaha starter guitar. And I agree with the above post as well...pick up a used American made strat and you'll be in better shape as long as it's been setup properly.

But in my first post, I wasn't even necessarily responding to you...just that I'd go somewhere higher than a crappy starter axe. You can do that for a very reasonable amount of money.

Plus, I like advising new musicians to spend a bit on their purchase (not a ton, but more than bare minimum)...I find it causes them to work harder out of the gate and stick with it longer...precisely because they've made a significant (even if not pricey) investment.

[MrTrik]

[ QUOTE ]
Plus, I like advising new musicians to spend a bit on their purchase (not a ton, but more than bare minimum)...I find it causes them to work harder out of the gate and stick with it longer...precisely because they've made a significant (even if not pricey) investment.

[/ QUOTE ]

I used to have this attitude as well. But I've coached so many people and very few actually take to guitar. So I say get in cheap and see if it sticks. Spending more money up front will pay off in the long run, but that's only true if you stick with the guitar. I've taken one on one lessons at various times. A good guitar player can make cheap equipment sound awesome. So I say save the money until you are sure you want to invest bigger bux.

Of course a mex strat is better than a Yamaha starter guitar; that's why it's $200 more.

Taylor, well, now you're talking. I have not played a Taylor I didn't like.

Don't get me wrong, I like Fender and Gibson, but only the good ones (I have maybe twenty of them). Occasionally, you can yank a USA made Fender off the shelf and it has a quality feel to it. They certainly sound good but don't play nearly as well as their upper-line stuff.

What city do you work in? I was a session guitarist for nearly 20 years; I might know your friend.

[KungFuSandwich]

get a decent tuner (~$50) and tune your guitar every day. I like the ones that can stay on your guitar.

If you dont your guitar will sound like crap, no matter how good it is, and it will take much longer for you to develop relative pitch. (playing by feel)

[ChipWrecked]

If you want to copy licks from recordings, remember that when Gilmour was starting out, those guys were trying to sound like the old blues players.

So go to the source and pick up licks from B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and so on.