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Wastednigh
I want to learn how to play the electric guitar, but I have never played an instrument before, just the piano, but for about 1 year. I have no experience in the electric guitar, whats a good brand and model for a begginer? and what is a good price for a new one and a used one? any tips on buying one?
Answer
Hello there,
For lots of reasons, keep your first guitar purchase simple. Fact is you do not know what to look for in a guitar yet. Your are not going to learn that in a few minutes at a web site. You don't know what style of playing you will develop. You do not even know if you will still want to play a year from now. So, just keep is simple.
Two of the oldest guitar makers are Gibson and Fender. Both have made great guitars for decades. I have played both Fender and Gibson guitars for over 40 years. They were around before I started playing. Also they make the two most popular styles of electric guitars. The Gibson Les Paul and the Fender Stratocaster. Those two guitars have been copied more times than any other guitars. Why, because each is a great guitar. They are both different. So the represent to two most common (general) styles of electric guitars.
Go look at each. If you can, try them out. What you are looking for is which feels more comfortable to play. The necks are slightly different. The body shapes are a lot different. Whichever, you like best, for what ever reason, go with that style guitar.
Now about actually buying the guitar once you have decided which style to get. I always suggest you buy a used guitar for a starter guitar. You can buy a used good quality guitar for about the same price as a new lesser quality guitar. More bang for your buck. You can check your local want ads, the Trader, Craiglists and things like that. eBay also has a lot of good used guitars listed there. How much is in your budget will determine the brand you will most likely get. Most beginners are not going to spend $700 to $1500 on their first guitar. So, Gibson and Fender brands are out of your budget. However, both companies has less expensive brands with beginners in mind. Gibson has the Epiphone line and Fender has the Squier line. Both make good starter guitars. If you decide you like the Strat, you will probably be looking for a Squier Strat. If you decide you like the Les Paul you will probably be looking for an Epiphone Les Paul.
All that is keeping things simple. Instead of learning what to look for in a good quality instrument, you are trusting the two best know names in the business. All you have to do is decide whether you like the Les Paul or the Strat style better.
Do not blow you entire budget on the guitar. You are going to need an amp. I recommend staying away from the beginner packs (amp and guitar in one deal). I do not think the amps are very good in those. The amp is an important part of your sound. Give it as much consideration as you do the guitar. A great guitar played through a poor amp will sound lousy. I mediocre guitar played through a very good amp will sound fairly decent.
You will find very fast that you will want an effects pedal. To start with, plan on getting a distortion pedal. Danelectro makes all right distortion pedals that are inexpensive. Boss makes good distortion pedals. Check eBay, you can usually find a deal on a used one and not blow your budget. While you are on eBay, plan on getting an electronic tuner. That makes life a lot easier. I like the Qwik Tune. They are cheap and easy to use. Here is a link to one I found at eBay so you can see what I am talking about. I just pulled this one randomly. I did not search to see who has the best price.
http://cgi.ebay.com/QWIK-TUNE-QT-11-QT11-AUTOMATIC-GUITAR-AND-BASS-TUNER_W0QQitemZ310198204873QQcategoryZ0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m506QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DNGRI%26its%3DI%252BC%252BS%26itu%3DUA%26otn%3D10%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7624633880011564631
You can also plan on buying a gig bag (soft black case) to carry your guitar in. Those are not expensive. You can usually pick one up for around $20.
Now to get you on the road to playing. Save these links. When you get the guitar you will already have the resources to start learning.
Here is a link to a video lesson at Youtube. This guy has a series of 12 lessons available there at Youtube. You can find the other lessons in the related videos section. He covers the basics very well. You can learn a lot from him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxhxIV0I5T8&feature=related
Next is an article about how to read tabs. The more common way of writing guitar music these days is in what is called tabs.
http://www.jazzguitar.be/how_to_read_guitar_tablature.html
Here is a link to a chord chart. It is several pages long. You can look up how to finger various chords with this.
http://www.guitarnotes.com/guitar/notes2/ultimate11.shtml
When you are ready to start learning some songs, you can search for the tabs. Just Google the name of the song and the word tabs. A common site you will see with guitar tabs is 911 Tabs. There are many, many others. Also, at Youtube search the song name and the words lesson or how to play. There are a great many good video lessons on songs there.
Good luck and have fun.
Later,
Hello there,
For lots of reasons, keep your first guitar purchase simple. Fact is you do not know what to look for in a guitar yet. Your are not going to learn that in a few minutes at a web site. You don't know what style of playing you will develop. You do not even know if you will still want to play a year from now. So, just keep is simple.
Two of the oldest guitar makers are Gibson and Fender. Both have made great guitars for decades. I have played both Fender and Gibson guitars for over 40 years. They were around before I started playing. Also they make the two most popular styles of electric guitars. The Gibson Les Paul and the Fender Stratocaster. Those two guitars have been copied more times than any other guitars. Why, because each is a great guitar. They are both different. So the represent to two most common (general) styles of electric guitars.
Go look at each. If you can, try them out. What you are looking for is which feels more comfortable to play. The necks are slightly different. The body shapes are a lot different. Whichever, you like best, for what ever reason, go with that style guitar.
Now about actually buying the guitar once you have decided which style to get. I always suggest you buy a used guitar for a starter guitar. You can buy a used good quality guitar for about the same price as a new lesser quality guitar. More bang for your buck. You can check your local want ads, the Trader, Craiglists and things like that. eBay also has a lot of good used guitars listed there. How much is in your budget will determine the brand you will most likely get. Most beginners are not going to spend $700 to $1500 on their first guitar. So, Gibson and Fender brands are out of your budget. However, both companies has less expensive brands with beginners in mind. Gibson has the Epiphone line and Fender has the Squier line. Both make good starter guitars. If you decide you like the Strat, you will probably be looking for a Squier Strat. If you decide you like the Les Paul you will probably be looking for an Epiphone Les Paul.
All that is keeping things simple. Instead of learning what to look for in a good quality instrument, you are trusting the two best know names in the business. All you have to do is decide whether you like the Les Paul or the Strat style better.
Do not blow you entire budget on the guitar. You are going to need an amp. I recommend staying away from the beginner packs (amp and guitar in one deal). I do not think the amps are very good in those. The amp is an important part of your sound. Give it as much consideration as you do the guitar. A great guitar played through a poor amp will sound lousy. I mediocre guitar played through a very good amp will sound fairly decent.
You will find very fast that you will want an effects pedal. To start with, plan on getting a distortion pedal. Danelectro makes all right distortion pedals that are inexpensive. Boss makes good distortion pedals. Check eBay, you can usually find a deal on a used one and not blow your budget. While you are on eBay, plan on getting an electronic tuner. That makes life a lot easier. I like the Qwik Tune. They are cheap and easy to use. Here is a link to one I found at eBay so you can see what I am talking about. I just pulled this one randomly. I did not search to see who has the best price.
http://cgi.ebay.com/QWIK-TUNE-QT-11-QT11-AUTOMATIC-GUITAR-AND-BASS-TUNER_W0QQitemZ310198204873QQcategoryZ0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m506QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DNGRI%26its%3DI%252BC%252BS%26itu%3DUA%26otn%3D10%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7624633880011564631
You can also plan on buying a gig bag (soft black case) to carry your guitar in. Those are not expensive. You can usually pick one up for around $20.
Now to get you on the road to playing. Save these links. When you get the guitar you will already have the resources to start learning.
Here is a link to a video lesson at Youtube. This guy has a series of 12 lessons available there at Youtube. You can find the other lessons in the related videos section. He covers the basics very well. You can learn a lot from him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxhxIV0I5T8&feature=related
Next is an article about how to read tabs. The more common way of writing guitar music these days is in what is called tabs.
http://www.jazzguitar.be/how_to_read_guitar_tablature.html
Here is a link to a chord chart. It is several pages long. You can look up how to finger various chords with this.
http://www.guitarnotes.com/guitar/notes2/ultimate11.shtml
When you are ready to start learning some songs, you can search for the tabs. Just Google the name of the song and the word tabs. A common site you will see with guitar tabs is 911 Tabs. There are many, many others. Also, at Youtube search the song name and the words lesson or how to play. There are a great many good video lessons on songs there.
Good luck and have fun.
Later,
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