guitar yamaha image
RISA
Ok. Absolute newbie to the guitar world. Just got my acoustic guitar (Yamaha FG700S) today and while I was trying to tune it, it broke a string. <-- Just learned afterwards that you aren't supposed to tune it too high ugh.
Anyways, the strings on my guitar aren't carried in my local guitar store. So I was wondering if I could just replace that one string I broke with a different brand one.
Sorry if this is a stupid question.
Answer
Wow, NOT a stupid question at all! I've been playing guitar for years and I can never remember the "rules of the road".
You didn't say which string you broke, though I'm guessing it's the high E. You can buy single strings at your local guitar store for super cheap ($1, maybe less if you're lucky, maybe more if you're like me).
Don't go out and buy a whole new set, that's stupid and a waste of money. Do what you want when you're a good guitarist, but when you're starting out, all you need are the basic strings. And besides, the last two strings (B and high E) are basically the same across the board, minus gauge size and all that, but who cares about that (again, advanced stuff).
That totally sucks you broke a string. Very frustrating. In the meantime, just start picking away with a pick or finger-picking if you're keen on learning that.
If you take your guitar into the store, they should replace it for you for free, hopefully. Changing/replacing strings on your own is a bit tricky if you're brand new at it.
Good luck! And I have a similar guitar myself. You've got an amazing instrument in your hands. Just take your time and play. And btw, it'll hurt, getting callisuessuaiussd (sp) on your fingers, but give it time.
Edit: Now that I think about it, guitar shops are supposed to string, tune, and tweak your guitar for you right out of the box. Your guitar should be in tune. If you're already goin' nuts and trying to play along with Drop D songs or something, fine, but you should get yourself a tuner.
You can tune down. Never up. Never tune higher than E :)
And ask the guitar store to make sure they stretch the string too so you don't have to go back and re-tune it later on (aside from normal re-tuning every so often).
Oh, two more things... sorry for loadin' you up here. Get yourself a humidifier!! Something as simple as a sponge thingy that hangs inside the guitar (that's what I use). You HAVE to keep your nice Yamaha humidified. Trust me, you don't wanna see your $200 go down the gutter, I mean unless you're, like, loaded.
Two, you can learn soooo much on YouTube. Anything and everything. From pinch harmonics (whoah, slow down cowboy!) to chords to songs to whatever. If you have a song you listen to on your ipod that you wanna play, the secret magical word is "tab" and you can Google any song on earth with that word. Like, say, Bach Bourrée in E minor tab, or Metallica's "One" tab!
Whatever it is, the Internet is now your best friend. If you had another best friend irl, too bad!!
ok, good luck!
Edit 2: Ugh, if you want to play higher than E, you need to get a capo. I bought one, $20, get the nice one that's with a screw, don't do the spring-loaded one, and you'll play anything and everything with that, no joke. Simon and Garfunkel, Kingston Trio, folk music, even non-folk guitarists use it. All it does is pushes your chords up by however many frets. (Chord positions with your hand remain the same.)
I'm done!
Wow, NOT a stupid question at all! I've been playing guitar for years and I can never remember the "rules of the road".
You didn't say which string you broke, though I'm guessing it's the high E. You can buy single strings at your local guitar store for super cheap ($1, maybe less if you're lucky, maybe more if you're like me).
Don't go out and buy a whole new set, that's stupid and a waste of money. Do what you want when you're a good guitarist, but when you're starting out, all you need are the basic strings. And besides, the last two strings (B and high E) are basically the same across the board, minus gauge size and all that, but who cares about that (again, advanced stuff).
That totally sucks you broke a string. Very frustrating. In the meantime, just start picking away with a pick or finger-picking if you're keen on learning that.
If you take your guitar into the store, they should replace it for you for free, hopefully. Changing/replacing strings on your own is a bit tricky if you're brand new at it.
Good luck! And I have a similar guitar myself. You've got an amazing instrument in your hands. Just take your time and play. And btw, it'll hurt, getting callisuessuaiussd (sp) on your fingers, but give it time.
Edit: Now that I think about it, guitar shops are supposed to string, tune, and tweak your guitar for you right out of the box. Your guitar should be in tune. If you're already goin' nuts and trying to play along with Drop D songs or something, fine, but you should get yourself a tuner.
You can tune down. Never up. Never tune higher than E :)
And ask the guitar store to make sure they stretch the string too so you don't have to go back and re-tune it later on (aside from normal re-tuning every so often).
Oh, two more things... sorry for loadin' you up here. Get yourself a humidifier!! Something as simple as a sponge thingy that hangs inside the guitar (that's what I use). You HAVE to keep your nice Yamaha humidified. Trust me, you don't wanna see your $200 go down the gutter, I mean unless you're, like, loaded.
Two, you can learn soooo much on YouTube. Anything and everything. From pinch harmonics (whoah, slow down cowboy!) to chords to songs to whatever. If you have a song you listen to on your ipod that you wanna play, the secret magical word is "tab" and you can Google any song on earth with that word. Like, say, Bach Bourrée in E minor tab, or Metallica's "One" tab!
Whatever it is, the Internet is now your best friend. If you had another best friend irl, too bad!!
ok, good luck!
Edit 2: Ugh, if you want to play higher than E, you need to get a capo. I bought one, $20, get the nice one that's with a screw, don't do the spring-loaded one, and you'll play anything and everything with that, no joke. Simon and Garfunkel, Kingston Trio, folk music, even non-folk guitarists use it. All it does is pushes your chords up by however many frets. (Chord positions with your hand remain the same.)
I'm done!
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