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Taking up Electric Guitar
JacksNsomnia
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Lately I've been craving a new hobby other than video gaming and I think learning how to play the electric guitar would fit the void perfectly. Despite working part-time and being a full-time student, I have a lot of time on my hands and furthermore a fair amount of disposable income. What I'm looking for are suggestions for a "beginner" guitar and the necessary basics as well. Right now I'm hoping to only spend around $250 for everything but that expectation may change drastically given your suggestions. I don't have the slightest clue about guitars nor reading music, etc. so keep that in mind.
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~ Buckaroo Banzai
If anything limiting your price that much will stick you with a crappy rig that will more than likely discourage you from playing anymore. My suggestion is to go a little higher on the price to make sure you purchase a guitar you will actually like playing.
The best thing to do is find a guitar center in your area if there is one, these stores are a musician heaven as they have a huge number of guitars and amps you can sit down and play. Don't be shy, tell them you are new and are looking for something cheap, if it's a good store they won't try to stick you with some shitty gear just to make a sale. You could even have them play and see if you like the sound and sit down with it yourself to see if you like the feel (the best way to compare that is pick up the most expensive one they got and play around with it, then go back to the crappy ones and see if it feels less sturdy or the neck is sticky or whatever).
And if thats just not an option, stick to the big names, Ibanez Strats or schectors all of which I have owned some of the cheaper models when I was starting out and I can say they do the job. And the amp is a free for all, you're not gonna have anything badass without lookin at spending a few hundred dollars
A little edit note. It says you know nothing of reading music and thats just fine, google "Learn guitar Tab" or something similiar to learn how to read tabs. Then you can pick up a little program called power tab that just puts the tab infront of you (Note Tab is the easier form of sheet music so to speak), and allows you to actually play the song through your speakers in time to the represented notes. It's awesome possum.
Alright then, the bare necessities you'd be looking at would be a guitar, amp, and cable.
Guitar, mainly just look for something whose look is pleasing to you (no one wants to play an ugly instrument) and plays well.
You're going to want to stay away from the majority of the pre-assembled kits like have started popping up at Best Buy, Wal-Mart and other big box retailers. Best advice is to go to a local music shop and ask to see and/or try out everything in your price range.
Picking out an instrument is a very personal thing, because everyone's tastes (both visual and tonal) are different. Main things you're going to want to look for is a straight neck, a slightly curved-in fingerboard (a slight concavity in the fingerboard provideds a smoother feel and makes it a little easier for to execute things like bends and vibrato) and one whose action isn't too high (you shouldn't have to struggle to get the string pressed to the fretboard). Even if you don't know how to play anything, go ahead and strum a few notes and test the sound of it, both with and without amplification and make sure that it's something you'll be happy with. First guitars usually aren't a long-term investment, so don't worry too much about trying to find one you'll be happy to play for years to come, just get one that's in your budget and you would like to learn on.
Next up would be an amp, if you're living in a dorm room or apartment, a practice amp would be the way to go. Again, go to a music store and try out a few to get an idea of the volume and other qualities of the amp and pick one that you like the sound of. A good practice amp should cost somewhere in the range of 40-90 bucks depending on brand, power, and extra features.
Finally a cable will be needed to hook the guitar to the amp. Suprisingly Monster makes some decent guitar cables, but they are a bit much for a first one. I personally like Fender and Horizon cables, but anything that's copper cored with a good strong jacket will do you just fine. Expect to pay somewhere betweeen $10-25 for a good one.
Besides those three things, make sure to pick up a decent transport device for your guitar, either a gig bag or hard-shell case. Obviously the hard case would provide more protection, and it's always something that can be used if you change guitars (unless it's a custom guitar and/or case obviously), but the choice would be up to you.
Training materials would also be a good thing to have. There's a huge market in guitar books and vids anymore, so it really comes down to how/what you want to play when it comes to picking up such things. However a good technique/theory book is a must. Try and find one with as many chords and scales as possible and is written in a way that you understand it (a lot of theory books to a piss-poor job of estabilshing the basics before throwing the extreme stuff out there). Hal Leonard makes some of the better books out there for beginners, their site is a little hard to navigate but you can find some great materials on there.
Hope that's enough to get you started, and sorry if I'm not too specific. I've found that with something as personal as music and musical instruments, getting too exact can end in frustration for both parties.
~ Buckaroo Banzai
There are two trains of thought on first guitars: 1) Get a cheap one to learn on and upgrade OR 2) Get a nicer, higher quality one and keep it a bit longer. I'm of the latter. A quality instrument is going to be MUCH easier to learn on, so you'll actually have fun learning. Also, what genres of music do you like? There are lots of different guitars for each, so be sure and tell the GC guy what you like.
On amps, I hear Roland Microcube's are great, and not terribly expensive. Crate and Fender(or maybe Marshall?) Make good practice amps for 40-100 bucks, so that's always a possibility. Then there's Line 6. I have a Line 6 Spyder 15 amp, and it's okay. It sounds kind of digital. The amp is going to be important, so if you can, be sure and plug in the guitar you want into lots of different amps to see how they sound.
I also second the tab motion. Tab's great, easy to learn, easy to read, etc. If you get really serious, you can always pick up theory later. To start learning, I recommend just finding a song you like, and learning to play it. You'll probably pick up a lot of techniques just from the one song (power chords, chords, chord changes, yadda yadda)
And remember, have fun. If you're not having fun learning guitar, why bother?
I like all types of music. My favorite bands at the moment are "Chromeo", "Daft Punk", "Muse", "The Mars Volta", "Depeche Mode" and "Vampire Weekend". In the future I might end up recording songs (as a lot of people tell me I have a good singing voice) but I'm not really sure how that would affect my guitar purchase.
Doesn't hurt to try them out. What guitar/amp would he be lending you? You can always take him up on the loan, play around, then go play around at guitar center. You don't need to waltz in and pick up a guitar in the same day. I went to three different Guitar Centers 2-3 times each, and did boatloads of research before I picked out my guitar. While you have his guitar, you can be looking around, and doing research and stuff, all the while learning riffs and songs so you have something to play when you walk in.
The Roland Microcubes are fantastic. I would stay away from Marshall as I've seen more than I'd have liked to die out.
For tabs you're going to want to remember a little program called "Power Tab". Pretty much lets you play along with the song, and you can hear what sound you're supposed to be making.
Steam | Live
Pffft. Not everyone knows everything about the guitar. Don't be afraid to ask questions! There is only one way to find this information out, and one of the more reliable sources are probably working in a music store. Ask them what guitar and amp the they would recommend based on what kind of music you would like to play. Amps vary in size, sound quality and sound-changing options, so don't hesitate to ask about the ones that interest you. It's a pretty big investment, so don't make the wrong choice because you're embarrassed to ask questions.0
You have your strings. I don't know the order, it's late. But top to bottom. Then they tell you in order what fret to play (metal bars, hold the string, higher note, you get it)
--0
--2
--2
--1
--0
--0
0 = open. No frets held down. This little tab would be an E minor chord. Hope that helps.
Steam | Live
uh, im pretty sure this is NOT an Em chord. an Em chord in tabs would be shown as
0
0
0
2
2
0
it has the High E on top, Low E on bottom, the way you'd see if you were holding a guitar and looking at it upside down.
edit: use this
http://jguitar.com/
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Yeah, wtf are you talking about man.
"Dominant 7th b5 b9 (no 3rd)"
Edit: To add something to the thread, if it hasn't been said before: when you purchase your guitar, invest in a metronome and most importantly start slow, steady, and correctly. If you start with bad technique (lazy fingering, wrist bends too much or too little, not pressing strings down with the balls of your finger, etc.) it'll hinder you in the long run.
Remember that what seams impossible at first will become easy with practice. When I started I was convinced I would never be able to do a bar chord, or even switch between a couple of simple chords. These things are second nature to me now.
I don't think it's the best idea to try to learn songs you like right away. Not being able to play them at all can be discouraging. For the first few months that I was learning I just switched between a couple of chords, back and forth on every 4th beat or whatever, for hours at a time.
Also, you should borrow the guitar from your cousin first. Biggest reason being that committing to learning the guitar is pretty huge. I for one have picked up and put down the hobby twice so far. I like playing with friends, but find it hard to keep concentration playing alone. So yeah, borrow one first and see if it's something you can get into.
Guitar - I like 'em pointy. Love the guitar, friends who have played for years have been pretty impressed with it for the price (or too nice to tell me otherwise). IF you don't like pointy guitars they have an Explorer shape and a regular strat shape in the same series.
amp. The Roland Cube series are the only practice amps that I have yet to hear anyone say anything bad about them. They come in a variety of sizes and prices - I went with the 20x for the convenience of the built in tuner and ability to get just a bit more volume than the cheaper 15x.
Were I to do it again I would probably swap the guitar for this one. Basically the same as what I got but, as I learned after the purchase was done with, the body is mahogany instead of basswood which tends to have better tone and sustain. I have no idea why most dealers don't bother to mention the body wood for this axe.
As Nitsuj82 says, $250 is just barely enough to get what you need unless you go used. Even going used it can be rough, especially if you're being a bit picky. Beginner stuff is so inexpensive (compared to mid range and high end gear) that even used it generally just isn't a big discount over just buying it new. When it is an especially good deal it gets snapped up quickly and so can be hard to find used beginner gear at a price that is worth going used, having no warranty, etc.
A month or so later and I'm playing simple yet cool sounding songs from the book I picked up (Troy Stetina's Metal Rhythm Guitar Volume 1) and bits and pieces of real songs - the main riff from Smoke On the Water, the beginning of Thunder Kiss '65, and the main riff and (sloppily) the lead in to the chorus of Symphony of Destruction. They're all simple, but certainly more than I felt like I'd be able to play at this point after my first week, and even with simple songs, when you first start out it's fun to be able to play something and have someone else recognize an actual song in there instead of just a bunch of noise.
Oh shit yeah sorry. I'm left handed and I got the chord wrong. Embarrassment ensues.
Steam | Live
I've played on a single humbucker style pickup equipped peavey rockmaster, and it has one of the most natural blues sounds I've heard.
$250 is pushing it, but $300 is more than enough, for that, you can get a Dean Vendetta or flying V, and a Line six amp, and still have enough left over for a tuner, new strap, and maybe one of the following (headphones, extra amp cable for the tuner so you're not using the mic, or a travel bag). I'd reccomend the headphones. Sony makes a decent pair for $20, and a more cushioned pair for $30.
Buy a guitar with what you've got, or if you can get loaned one, all the better, don't let everyone here tell you to but some five or six hundred dollar setup man. You don't need that to learn to play. My first electric setup when I was 13 was some cheapass Kramer with a five watt amp for like $90 and I've still got that damn guitar today. It play just fine for a learning student.
I'm not too sure. My Microcube (the smallest one) sounds ok, but pretty mediocre. I'm using a Line6 GuitarPort and some Sennheiser HDR 140 headphones, and it's much nicer (plus doesn't annoy neighbours). But you get what you pay for (headphones alone nearly cost as much as the cube does, really went overboard on the headphones).
Also, I second a tuner. Nothing quite like out-of-tuneness adding that extra element of horror to newbie guitar playing.
I will definitely be on the lookout for this DVD.
I plan on borrowing my cousin's guitar, sans amp and chord, today after I see him. I've also decided that it would be very unwise to spend 500+ on a hobby I was unsure of, so I am certainly going to mess around with the borrowed guitar for at least a month. It sounds like the going rate for a "decent" setup is around 500 dollars, which, in my case, is a fair amount but its not too much either. Again, that won't matter until I decide whether I want to take up guitar.
Tab looks fairly easy to learn so I don't think I will have any trouble in that department. On the subject of playing songs I liked, I sort of figured I wouldn't be able to for awhile anyway...
Once I pick up the guitar tonight I'll update with its make, model, etc. and then perhaps you guys can recommend some easy songs/chords to practice with.
Thanks again for all the help, I greatly appreciate it.
Learn E-A-D-G-C-and B (or F) as your first six chords. Learn them to the point where you can play them without looking at your fingers on the neck. Learn them until your fingers are hardened and callous from the making of said chords. Learn them until you can switch between them on the fly with no problems. Do this and you can play just about any song, strumming along with it.
Then move into scales, pentatonic scales in E and C are good for a beginner. These are the basic scales for all modern rock and blues, classical, whatever.
From there, if you don't want to learn traditional sheet music, that's fine, you can now move onto tab, and learning to play songs. Honestly, your first four to six months of playing guitar should be half an hour a day, five to seven days a week, just making chords. IT sucks, it can get boring, it's tedious, and your fingers are going to bleed if you do it right. But when it's all said and done you'll come out a lot better.
Also, I have to recommend getting a teacher out of good conscience.
If you can afford it, then it's the way to go. I was self taught, but it took a lot longer for me to learn stuff because I'd get aggrivated sounding like shit, and not want to pick up the guitar for a while.
I have a pretty nice acoustic, and a mexican strat hss (one humbucker 2 single coils). I recently won a lot of money and I'm thinking about getting an american made fender. After hearing a guy play the other night I thought I might get a telecaster. I want it to be an american made because they're just so much nicer.
What would that set me back? I have a few grand after my tax return waiting to get burned, and if I don't spend it on something I'll save it (fuck that I make enough working to pay the mortgage).
I started playing guitar somewhere around July of last year, and didn't seriously knuckle down until the very beginning of January. Now although I already owned an electric guitar (I got one of those cheapo ones with the pack-in tuner and amp), I stepped up to an acoustic before taking my first lesson due to the fact that I was interested in learning Flamenco style guitar.
Honestly, learning how to play acoustic guitar is a much better move to do for a beginner than skipping straight to an electric. I'm completely serious here.
The thing about acoustic when compared to an electric is that it's much more difficult to play than an electric, and you'll improve fairly quickly compared to if you just stuck to an electric. You really have to put some pressure on those strings to get a clean, resonant sound, otherwise it's going to sound like shit when you strum it. This is actually a good thing, because once you move up to an electric chords/bar chords/whatever are going to be a breeze.
On a side note, will you be playing with a group of friends by any chance, or just by yourself? If you really want to get the most out of an electric, find some guitar playing buddies and schedule a couple of jam sessons with them during the week. You can only get so far by yourself with an electric, and if you're not into the whole band thing an acoustic might be a better choice for you.
Although i've been playing for quite a few months, i'm still stuck around getting clean bar chords. It's mainly because the style of music that I play calls for complicated melodies instead of dominant chords like many electric guitar songs have. Look up the song "Classical Gas" by Mason Williams and you'll see what i'm getting at.
If you're really set on electric (and from the looks of things, you are) then there really isn't much I can do to change your mind, but if you haven't commited yet look into trying out/possibly picking up a decent acoustic to start with.
EDIT: By the way, quite recently I started playing my electric with my teacher and ended up putting it aside in favor for an acoustic. Nothing really wrong with it, but my acoustic is much better to play with.
godfather: it's not easier to learn to play an electric than it is an acoustic, or the other way around. It all boils down to what kind of sound you want to make, period.
Try not to spend a ton, I know countless people who bought an expensive rig only to never really play it at all.
I read at least one post that said if you buy a crappy guitar it will discourage you, but I'm gonna kind of argue that point. If you get a FUNCTIONAL guitar, and maybe a decent little effects pedal to help you get a good set of sounds out of it, you should be on your way to figuring out if it is the right hobby for you. If you love it, go crazy, buy a stack, get an axe Kirk Hammett would be jealous of. Just try not to spend a fortune on your first rig. Me and almost all of my friends started out with cheap Lotus guitars, loved it, and went and bought Fenders/Les Pauls a year or so later.
Nonsense!
I spent a little over $400 but could have gone even cheaper. I had a specific guitar shape I wanted, the Dean ML, which significantly reduced my guitar options - especially for used ones. I also was not patient enough to wait around for a used amp at the price/features I wanted, so I went new there, and got a slightly bigger amp than I really need for just making some noise in my house.