Guitar Experts

iohkus · Post by **iohkus** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 8:39 am

people have told me if i want to play electric guitar that it's best to first learn from acoustic, my paycheck is coming in soon and first thing i'm going to do is probably get an acoustic

what i want to know is what price range should i be looking at for an acoustic that i'm just going to use for learning and practicing?

someone told me art and lutherie was a good brand for newbies

SuperH · Post by **SuperH** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 8:54 am

I donno I play electric and always have, acoustics are big and I hate country music so, no. Then again, I don't think I play very well, so yeah. You don't need to play well with distortion though, GO HORROR RAWK :-! :-!

Wolfman Walt · Post by **Wolfman Walt** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 8:59 am

Acoustics aren't bad as they play a specific way that electrics can't, but I see no reason why you can't start with an electric. Infact, I personally would suggest going the other way around and starting with an electric to an acoustic if you're practicing on you're own. The reason is because you can hear your mistakes better since you have an amp. Also, when you're just starting, it's easy to get some pretty good sounds with just a pedal and a whammy bar. If this is for a class though, I suggest getting an acoustic. With an acoustic you blend in more readily with everyone else and thus no one can really say anything about your mistakes. Ofcourse, it also depends on what guitar company you're going to purchase from. There is actually some differance in sound from company to company. Regardless, go with the electric I say.

iohkus · Post by **iohkus** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 9:32 am

this isn't for class, my highschool taught with classical guitars and someone told me that it was useless

i'm afraid if i go straight to electric now i'll end up getting screwed over with a low end crappy guitar and an equally crappy amp

if i get a shitty acoustic beginner guitar i can atleast learn all strings and whatever with minimum investment and know more about guitars in general so when i've got the money for decent guitar and amp i can get one that will last, and if i just practice in my room then i should be able to hear my mistakes? hmmg.

Wolfman Walt · Post by **Wolfman Walt** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 9:42 am

I got my electric for 20 dollars and my amp for 50. They've lasted me for about 8 years and still play very well. I used them up until last year to play concerts and that went well actually. Even the most generic $100 electric will last a long time if treated right and will sound good even if maintained properly. Amps tend to go out faster, but a good vox will last you for atleast 5 years.

If you're buying an acoustic just to learn and practice then that classical guitar class should help. It should teach you basic chords, strings, scales, and etc. As for price range....I got my acoustic for free so I can't really say for sure, but a generic one sells for 80 dollars on up. Depending on the company prices vary, though a Yamaha should work for you. Their cheap and reliable. Plus their good for beginners.

I still suggest an electric, even if you're just practicing in your room.

iohkus · Post by **iohkus** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 10:00 am

hmm, well when i go out to shop around i'll keep an eye out for both

thx Wolfman Walt

Forty-six & Two · Post by **Forty-six & Two** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 10:52 am

Wolfman Walt wrote:I got my electric for 20 dollars and my amp for 50. They've lasted me for about 8 years and still play very well. I used them up until last year to play concerts and that went well actually. Even the most generic $100 electric will last a long time if treated right and will sound good even if maintained properly. Amps tend to go out faster, but a good vox will last you for atleast 5 years..

Where did you buy that electric and amp? If thats shop prices, guitars are either alot cheaper where you come from or just cheap crap, hehe. 150kr for a good electric guitar is crazy talk in Denmark. Unless you trick it out of someone who knows jack.

Calal · Post by **Calal** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 2:51 pm

Indeed that' s really cheap, almost unbelievable.

Well, it depends on taste too you know. If you feel more like learning to play something like Radiohead (plucking) you' re better of with investing some money in a cheap acoustic (not to cheap neither since you' ll be having problems with harmony and accoustic sound and it wears and tears very easilly). But if you decide to play powerchords and put a bit of distortion in it, well then electric is the preferable. Both are actually suitable to learn to play, it all depends on style really. I know a lot of people that learned from different manners and the difference is hardly noticeble.

Pick an accoustic in the price range of about 50-100 dollars to begin with and all should be fine. For electric; 100-200 dollars should suffice. As for the amp: 20-30 Watt should be enough if you' re planning on playing in your room. Pick a decent one though. You don' t want to be spending 150-200 bucks every two years. :/

And ever considered a semi-accoustic?

Mandalorian FaLLouT GoD · Sun Nov 16, 2003 3:52 pm

Wolfman Walt wrote:I got my electric for 20 dollars and my amp for 50. They've lasted me for about 8 years and still play very well. I used them up until last year to play concerts and that went well actually. Even the most generic $100 electric will last a long time if treated right and will sound good even if maintained properly. Amps tend to go out faster, but a good vox will last you for atleast 5 years.

holy shit you must have garbage. it costs a shitload for a guitar in canada.
my buddy payed 700 for a bass a couple months ago and 300 for an accoustic.

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 4:35 pm

Wee, my bud's buying an electric guitar that costs almost 4 grand

So, needless to say, I was kinda surprised to find out there are good guitars out there for 20 bucks.

SuperH · Post by **SuperH** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 4:36 pm

I wonder if maybe he bout it USED and not new? I got my geetar for 300 from my neighbor, it's a mexican stratocaster, but it's got american pickups. Definately sweet deal, and it's a nice guitar. Only thing is, playing with my leather jacket on scratched the finish :-! oh well.

Negadas · Post by **Negadas** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 4:44 pm

I got my Peavy electric guitar and a good size amp for $300 and its lasted 8 years and it works just as well as it did when i first got it.
I started playing on acoustic, the only thing i can really see that doing is, you learn to hold down the strings harder since thats one thing you dont have to do on an electric.

InvisibleMonkey · Post by **InvisibleMonkey** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 4:46 pm

I am learning guitar at school, we have to use acoustic. But I don't think it really matters what you use to learn, just as long as you learn. Any clas you take is gonna make you learn on acoustic.

Negadas · Post by **Negadas** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 4:53 pm

Yeah my guitar teacher made me learn how to play the song Classic Gas before i could play on my electric.

SuperH · Post by **SuperH** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 4:54 pm

My guitar teacher didn't care. He was like "play from this learning book" I was like "OK." He was like "now practice" and I was like "...OK (no)"

That's why I don't play great

InvisibleMonkey · Post by **InvisibleMonkey** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 4:56 pm

Your teacher sucks.

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 6:47 pm

Well... My friend just got this Ibanez for something like 1000$... But his Squire Strat cost him like 100$.

Wolfman Walt · Post by **Wolfman Walt** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 8:59 pm

Forty-six & Two wrote: Where did you buy that electric and amp? If thats shop prices, guitars are either alot cheaper where you come from or just cheap crap, hehe. 150kr for a good electric guitar is crazy talk in Denmark. Unless you trick it out of someone who knows jack.

Actually I got the guitar from a friend. Its kinda old and beaten up, we can't even identify what company it came from. The friend sold it to me because he got a new snazzy one, so I took it for twenty, refurnished it and its in good condition now. It used to have some problem with amps where it would give static, but I just cleaned out all the parts and its fine. Alls it needs is a new pant job and allitle sanding to get rid of all the knicks and dents and it'll be a damn good almost new guitar. As for the amp, I bought that from a store. 80 DM AKA $40. It was only 13 inch so don't expect I used that at most concerts. Just small ones and personal practice. Since Iohkus isn't really going for concert play at this moment, a small 13 inch will last him for like 4 or 5 years.

Edit: Even though I got a cheap price, Walmart sells uber cheap generic guitars that are actually of a good quality and are brand new for $120 for an electric, $100 for an aucoustic and like $140 for a bass. Used guitars can sometimes get you a real deal, but sometimes they involve alot of work in order to fix, so its not for anyone who doesn't plan on spending some time opening their guitar and getting to know their parts and how to handle/replace/whatever. Guess thats one real advantage of an acoustic, it has no real working parts so theres not as much you have to know if you yourself wish to fix it. Even if you don't buy a used guitar and buy a new one, a good basic electric guitar shouldn't run you more then $200 (maybe 250 with a small 13 or 15 inch amp). That way you're not investing a life fortune into a hobby that you don't even know you're going to stick with.

Mandalorian FaLLouT GoD wrote: holy shit you must have garbage. it costs a shitload for a guitar in canada.
my buddy payed 700 for a bass a couple months ago and 300 for an accoustic.

Either that or I can get a deal where I can repair my shit and you can get ripped off for something you could probably buy and import for less.

boywoos · Post by **boywoos** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 9:13 pm

I just got a Californian Stratocaster recently for Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£700 and its fucking awesome. I have an Epiphone Les Paul as well which isn't as good.

BTW iohkus, start on an acoustic, the reason for this is the action [the height of the strings from the fretboard] is bigger as well as a wider neck which means it is more difficult to play. Initially this may piss you off but it's better in the long run. And don't buy a classical just buy a generic acoustic with brass rather than nylon strings.

The problem with starting on an electric [which I had] is that it is far too easy to simply distort the guitar and just play really shitty punk-esque music. If you do start on the electric make sure that you always use a clean setting on your amp which will greatly hone your skills as you'll hear the mistakes distortion disguises. The other great advantage with playing clean or through an acoustic is the skill you'll gain with your playing hand. With distortion is is mainly sucessive downstrokes with the occasional palm muting. However with an acoustic you will discover that the most subtle picking and strumming techniques will add many dimensions to your playing.

Wolfman Walt · Post by **Wolfman Walt** » Sun Nov 16, 2003 9:30 pm

Just because its worth mentioning, and boywoo's made a good point. Always stick with metal strings. Through my experience with nylons, they suck. I seriousily hate all nylon strings. Also, you may wish to buy yourself an electric tuner (runs about $10-20 for a basic one) until you can tune by ear. It'll be indefinetly helpful.

Also, really it depends on how you're going to practice when you're learning if you're going to buy an electric or a acoustic. If you just play an electric clean then you should be able to avoid and habit to constant down stroke and with the distortion. Distortion is great if you want a certain sound, but if you want to really learn guitar, its having to put up with your mistakes and keep on practicing.

As for the acoustic stuff. Yea, an acoustic has all these weird differances like a thicker neck and stringers slightly higher from the fret board (Builds finger strength?) but in my experience it hasn't really changed much of my playing style other then expecting a thicker neck and such. If you're going to do strumming songs though (Like Eagles stuff) I suggest the acoustic though. Even though, I'de buy an electric personally, acoustics seem to be built more for strumming. However, at the same time, electrics are better built for certain things as well, not to mention that certain techniques can't really effectively be done on an acoustic....but those come later so there of no worry for now.

Really Iohkus, it depends on the type of music you're going to play and the playing style you'll prefer. I personally suggest an electric to start off with, but acoustics are perfectly reasonable as well.