Hi guys, I am a complete novice when it comes to types of guitars and their differences, most certainly i know that there are spanish guitars, there are Hawaiian Guitars, there are Electric Guitars, then there is something called Acoustic guitar, then something called Bass guitar...goes on.. but what are they? and how to differentiate, and which is the best for first time buyer like me, when i want to buy an electric guitar (cheapest please and Brand name!) if you guys know of any known store in and around NYC or NJ then let me know.or an online store where i can buy? and then what are amps? i am confused by the jargon...please help thanks
Brand name guitars are usually expensive. Find someone that can play and ask them tag along when you're going to buy other than that considering your knowledge of guitars I'd say start with an acoustic.
I have heard these, the FJ Folk series, are very good and not to expensive to start with. http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/Catalog/Catalog_GSMFCX/0,6357,CTID%3D220950%26CNTYP%3D,00.html
Hey, a topic I know something about! I play guitar and currently own five electric and two acoustic beauties - all bought online from various British dealers, although one was from ebay. It all depends what type of music you want to play, but if it's basic electric guitar skills you're after, I recommend picking up a stratocaster (strat) and a small amp. I started with an acoustic (non electrical) guitar, but find playing electric guitars a lot more fun! http://www.axetopia.com http://www.ilearnmusic.com
Spanish Guitar - Is just a classical guitar or a Nylon string guitar. These are recomended for beginners even though their neck is wider and harder to reach around. Their strings, however, are softer and their action (the distance between the fretboard and the strings) is lower then regular acoustic guitars. These don't have any fretmarkers (those little dots you see on guitar necks) Hawaiian guitar - I think you mean a Ukalale (spelling?). It's the tiny guitar which produces those cool Hawaiin music sounds. Electric guitar - Is your standard electric guitar. It has very little sound resonance on it's own so it needs an amp (amplifier speakers) to produce the sounds. This category can get daunting because there are thousands of different possibilites when trying to choose an electric guitar. Your more popular brands of electric guitars are Ibanez, Fender, Gibson, PRS etc etc. You don't need a tricked out electric guitar because besides workmanship there aren't too many differences a novice would be able to tell between a $2,000 guitar or a $500 one. Acoustic guitar - Is a regular fat assed guitar you see every country star holding. It is made of wood (different types of woods), has steel strings. I started with a dreadnaught acoustic guitar and it was hard. Since acoustics are harder to play then electrics it is recommended you don't cheap out when buying an acoustic guitar...it can make the difference between playable or completely painful. Bass guitar - Is you standard bass every rock band plays. 4 string is the norm but it also comes in 5 strings and 6 strings. It has it's own special type of amp to put out such low frequencies of sound...a normal amp would would blow trying to put such treble. I got a starter pack from Ibanez as a beginner...it came with everything and after a year and half it still kicks ass. For a value package it actually comes with a pretty decent guitar. I suggest Sam Ash stores or Guitar Center stores in NYC. www.music123.com and www.musiciansfriend.com are two big music sites to buy from also. They usually have pretty cool specials going on.
A novice should start with a acoustic because it will be much easier to play an electric. I however started with an electric and regreted it
Not really. It's an old belief that everyone should start on the acoustic. You DON'T have to but I prefer you do if you're serious about learning how to play. It builds the calouses on the finger tips faster and gets you used to the higher action faster. It's basically a better chops (guitarist slang for technical skill) builder.
I've been playing for sixteen years and own Gibsons, Fenders, Heritage, and acoustic guitars. Get a experienced guitar playing buddy to help you shop for a guitar. DONT BUY A GUITAR ONLINE!!! You need to have someone check it out and play it. The "guitar playing buddy" should help you find a guitar that is lightweight, will stay in tune, and has a straight neck with no cracks or breaks. Look for quality USED instruments. I would buy a steel string acoustic, because when learning a instrument you don't want to have your novice fretwork amplified with a (cheap) amp. It will sound terrible and can discourage you. You'll want to kind of quietly pick and strum when learning and it's tough when someone yells- "Turn that shit off!!" If you really want to go electric, your best bet is a used made in mexico Fender stratocaster or telecaster. Amps are another ball game- Line 6 makes some quality practice amps. Small Fenders and Marshall's are great, too. If I was looking for an acoustic I would look for a used Taylor, Takamine, or Yamaha. I would avoid any Fender acoustic guitar. Buy a guitar tuner and learn to use it. It will save you a lot of frustration.
I have heard that starting on acoustic is better for you in the furture. Fender is a good company. For novice and cheap electric, try Squire it's like the cheap Fenders.
The early eighties (1983-1985) Squier's are quality guitars..i owned one with a birdseye maple neck and it was a stock guitar. The new ones are iffy..but, Ive played a couple that were good starter guitars.
Well, when original Fenders suck mucho you'd expect that from an imitation Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Go with the Ibanez Starter Pack. Forget the Squier. My friend got it and he says that the tremelo bar broke off, the bag broke and the tuner will brake easily.
Sargent: The Hawaiian guitar was the first version of the electric steel guitar. It has one neck, sits in your lap, no pedals, you play it with a steel. I suppose you could think of it as an electric dobro, bridges the gap between the dobro and the modern pedal steel. Hawaiian music is full of its sliding sounds. As for the original question. I'll give you the advice I give everyone who's thinking of learning to play an instrument. DON'T CHEAP OUT! A mediocre instrument will hold you back. The action, intonation, neck thickness, tone... everything about a cheap guitar makes it downright difficult to play and even more difficult for a beginner with weaker fingers. By all means buy a used one and save some bucks, but don't buy a "student" model or a knock-off made in Uzbekistan. Take someone with you who plays seriously and knows axes, let them pick it for you. BTW, all the bars that used to have deejays are slowly switching back to live music. (Thank the goddess! Disco and the whole concept of the "discotheque" is finally, truly, dead!) All of us old-timers who have been playing "classic rock" tunes since they were still on the top forty are dusting off our instruments and getting gigs. It won't be as easy to find one of our old guitars and buy it cheap as it used to be. I don't think any bassists have spoken up here. I'm one. I played guitar for twenty years before I woke up and realized I was born to play bass. Except for the occasional guy like me or Paul McCartney, most bassists were frustrated guitarists who changed instruments because it was easier to find work. If you find yourself paying attention to the bass lines in songs then you might have the soul of a bass guitarist. It didn't use to be easy to learn bass, you almost had to already be a guitarist and figure it out for yourself. (The fingering is the same.) Now you can take lessons. The main problem with being a bass student is that you can't just stand there and play by yourself. You have to play along with recorded music. Makes it tough to use headphones and avoid annoying your family or neighbors. The same rules apply to buying a bass guitar. Don't cheap out. However, I would suggest not going all out and buying one of the new five- or six-string basses. I've been playing a traditional four-string model for thirty years and I find these new ones bewildering. I think it would be exasperating for a student. Buy yourself a really nice four-string--you can't go wrong with a Fender even though I don't have one--and wait for the day when you're so hot that you need the extra strings.
Well a squire still plays and they are good for a beginners, that is what my friend did and he owns now... so
You can find good used instruments at pawnshops for cheap sometimes. Always bring someone with that knows how to examine the instruments for condition. for the type to learn on? electrics with a fender like neck are pretty easy on the left hand, but the body shape isnt exactly ideal for anything but playing with a pick imo. steel stringed acoustics usually have a narrower neck which is nice to learn on, but fingering the strings can be a bit painful until you get callus on fingertips. a nylon stringed instrument usually has the widest neck, and fingering the strings is pretty painless but fingerpicking style is usually used rather than a single pick. if i were going to learn on a nylon string (classical guitar, if i had it to do over anyhow) id get a 3/4 sized guitar or shop around for a brand that has a less wide neck if there is such a thing. in general i think spend as much money as you can afford. A cheap instrument can sound and play bad enuf to discourage learning it! on the other hand, i think many more people who try an instrument and dont stay with it might be far more likely to stay with it if they were given a really high end( high quality) instrument to learn on to begin with.
That package shouldn't be too bad zion, after a few months you wont have lost too much money if you quit playing or you'll know exactly what you're looking for in a guitar. That is a good idea, I have a 3/4 acoustic here for my son and it is much easier on the wrist.
I use custom Mansons... they really are amazing guitars http://www.mansonguitars.co.uk/entry_page.htm my collection is in the artists section.
"id get a 3/4 sized guitar..." i wouldnt. learn how to play a full sizedone, then you wont have to switch later "and then what are amps?" amp stands for amplifier, it is basically just a speaker. except much better quality, so that it can play a guitar through itwithout getting damaged
