Can any Guitarists lend me a wee bit of knowledge
Discussion
I've always wanted to play the guitar and i was on a course a few months ago with a guy who played, he gave me a few lessons and within a week i was picking it up quite quickly. I play the drums so i assume my rythm helps.
Any way my mates all have really expensive guitars and i just dont have the funds for a £200-300 guitar.
I got some argos vouchers from family members but theres nothing i want and then i thought about their guitars. They have a Fender in there and i thought surely this would be good enough for me to learn on and the occasional concert infront of my 2 kids lol.
I'm trying to refrain from asking my mates advice as they will just say "pffft....argos...f**king shit don't bother"
Like i said not intending to wow sell out crowds at Wembley just strum away to myself really.
Would this be OK
clickety click
Any way my mates all have really expensive guitars and i just dont have the funds for a £200-300 guitar.
I got some argos vouchers from family members but theres nothing i want and then i thought about their guitars. They have a Fender in there and i thought surely this would be good enough for me to learn on and the occasional concert infront of my 2 kids lol.
I'm trying to refrain from asking my mates advice as they will just say "pffft....argos...f**king shit don't bother"
Like i said not intending to wow sell out crowds at Wembley just strum away to myself really.
Would this be OK
clickety click
Hard to tell. The Squier 'leccy Strats are just fine for learners - good enough not to hold you back, sound OK, you'll want the real thing after you've learnt how to play it - but that could be a long time...
No idea about the acoustic guitars. The main problem with cheap acoustics is the cheese grater strings and super high action (strings a long way from the guitar neck and very hard to press down). You can fix the strings but the action may not be solveable.
Learners are held back by an instrument that requires ludicrous strength in the fingers to play.
The only way to be sure is to see one. Don't go to Argos. Go someplace where you can hold the guitar and try strumming a bar chord one octave up. If you can do it - it will do - if you can't - it won't.
Take a mate who can play if at all possible.
No idea about the acoustic guitars. The main problem with cheap acoustics is the cheese grater strings and super high action (strings a long way from the guitar neck and very hard to press down). You can fix the strings but the action may not be solveable.
Learners are held back by an instrument that requires ludicrous strength in the fingers to play.
The only way to be sure is to see one. Don't go to Argos. Go someplace where you can hold the guitar and try strumming a bar chord one octave up. If you can do it - it will do - if you can't - it won't.
Take a mate who can play if at all possible.
If you're after an acoustic, it'll do the job nicely...
Whether it is an electric of acoustic, when you're starting out, you wouldn't sound any better on a £5000 PRS than on a £75 second hand yamaha pacifica.
I started out on the Yamaha, and it wasn't until some time after that, that I actually thought I was now limited by my guitar, and the sounds I could get.
Take anything you can to learn with. Keep it cheap, and use it as a tool for learning how to play, and it will give you the knowledge you need regarding what direction & guitar type to move on to, bearing in mind your influences and styles..
You're fooked if you shell out big money on a strat which you later find out isn't what suits your then more accomplished playing style..
HTH.
Whether it is an electric of acoustic, when you're starting out, you wouldn't sound any better on a £5000 PRS than on a £75 second hand yamaha pacifica.
I started out on the Yamaha, and it wasn't until some time after that, that I actually thought I was now limited by my guitar, and the sounds I could get.
Take anything you can to learn with. Keep it cheap, and use it as a tool for learning how to play, and it will give you the knowledge you need regarding what direction & guitar type to move on to, bearing in mind your influences and styles..
You're fooked if you shell out big money on a strat which you later find out isn't what suits your then more accomplished playing style..
HTH.
I know what you mean i borrowed one a while ago and the action was about 8mm with strings to make your fingers bleed. I took the bridge off and filed it down which helped a lot but as soon as i picked a mates up the difference was unreal. They all say that if you learn on a real difficult one then you will play effortlessly on a good guitar.
hackett said:
I've always wanted to play the guitar and i was on a course a few months ago with a guy who played, he gave me a few lessons and within a week i was picking it up quite quickly. I play the drums so i assume my rythm helps.
Any way my mates all have really expensive guitars and i just dont have the funds for a £200-300 guitar.
I got some argos vouchers from family members but theres nothing i want and then i thought about their guitars. They have a Fender in there and i thought surely this would be good enough for me to learn on and the occasional concert infront of my 2 kids lol.
I'm trying to refrain from asking my mates advice as they will just say "pffft....argos...f**king shit don't bother"
Like i said not intending to wow sell out crowds at Wembley just strum away to myself really.
Would this be OK
clickety click
Honestly, its going to be a bit of a lottery but its more than likely to be horrid.Any way my mates all have really expensive guitars and i just dont have the funds for a £200-300 guitar.
I got some argos vouchers from family members but theres nothing i want and then i thought about their guitars. They have a Fender in there and i thought surely this would be good enough for me to learn on and the occasional concert infront of my 2 kids lol.
I'm trying to refrain from asking my mates advice as they will just say "pffft....argos...f**king shit don't bother"
Like i said not intending to wow sell out crowds at Wembley just strum away to myself really.
Would this be OK
clickety click
The best thing you could do to get a reasonable quality instrument for the lowest possible price would be to buy one second hand. So e-bay or, alternatively, keep an eye out in the local papers & small ads.
Primarily you are looking for something that will be easy to play. That means it will have a fairly low action (means the distance between the strings & the neck) which in turn means it needs to have a decent-ish neck that is "straight". In fact a guitar neck is neither straight nor flat, (it should curve slightly forward & the fingerboard will have a radius on it), but it needs to be not warped & it needs to be curved in the right way by the right amount. Also the bridge and the nut need to be set up correctly in order for it to be playable.
The chances of you buying something from Argos that is close to right & that won't shred your fingers when you try & play it are somewhere between slim & none I'm afraid.
£150 should buy you something sensible to learn on that won't see you tempted to set fire to thing after an hour...
I.
I'm 9 months in, have weekly lessons and a couple of mates with 20 years experience giving me advice. I went to a few guitar shops, saw what's out there and then followed a friends advice and bought a Yamaha. gak.co.uk have a couple of FG700's for £118/119 or the FG720 is 145, I have an FG730 which is the 720 with a bit more fancy inlay. 30% of my class have Yamaha's.
They're well made, very easy to learn on, nice looking. There is a price premium for anything with Fender on it, I also looked at Crafter, Vintage etc, but didn't like the build quality. You definitely should go to a shop, they're easy to find on Yahoo/Google, because you need to pick them up and strum them to know which is right for you.
And, as the last post said, I can't imagine an £80 squier will be easy to play which means you'll struggle to improve.
They're well made, very easy to learn on, nice looking. There is a price premium for anything with Fender on it, I also looked at Crafter, Vintage etc, but didn't like the build quality. You definitely should go to a shop, they're easy to find on Yahoo/Google, because you need to pick them up and strum them to know which is right for you.
And, as the last post said, I can't imagine an £80 squier will be easy to play which means you'll struggle to improve.
Fender do not have a good reputation for acoustics. Squier is Fenders cheap brand so I'd steer well clear. A crap acoustic is far more noticable than a crap electric.
Steer well clear of Argos! Go to a music shop and try a few and see what you like. If you have mates who play, you would be mad not to take one of them with you for advice when you look.
Have a look on the music forum at the recent discussions on this subject. Personally, I'd go for a decent second hand Yamaha.
Steer well clear of Argos! Go to a music shop and try a few and see what you like. If you have mates who play, you would be mad not to take one of them with you for advice when you look.
Have a look on the music forum at the recent discussions on this subject. Personally, I'd go for a decent second hand Yamaha.
hackett said:
I know what you mean i borrowed one a while ago and the action was about 8mm with strings to make your fingers bleed. I took the bridge off and filed it down which helped a lot but as soon as i picked a mates up the difference was unreal. They all say that if you learn on a real difficult one then you will play effortlessly on a good guitar.
That's not quite true, as it will slow your progress initially. As people have said Yamaha do some very good guitars for the price, as do Tanglewood.Dude - looking at another thread it seems we might share the dubious pleasure of working at her Majesty's most northerly (well, almost) airbase
Anyway, I digress (kind of) - the best thing to do is go round a couple of guitar shops and try a few models out - you'll quickly get an idea of what feels right to you. The music shop in Elgin has a good range, HOWEVER their prices seem a little on the piss-take side so beware. I bought a Tanglewood acoustic recently from a shop just off the high street in Aberdeen - they have a good range and friendly staff - worth a look if you're round that way.
Ed i asked you where you worked on the aircraft thread but you didn't reply. Tis true i work there lol infact i somehow got dicked for new year guard.
Anyway i've heard the one in Elgin is expensive thing is i never go to Aberdeen (only when i need to speak to Bank manager lol)
I don't know what to do surely though those argos ones must be playable?!?! I must stress this is just a starter to see if i stick with it, also my £500 cambelt replacement in January is restricting the amount i can spend.
Cars huh, who'd have them....oh yeah this is PH so all of us
Anyway i've heard the one in Elgin is expensive thing is i never go to Aberdeen (only when i need to speak to Bank manager lol)
I don't know what to do surely though those argos ones must be playable?!?! I must stress this is just a starter to see if i stick with it, also my £500 cambelt replacement in January is restricting the amount i can spend.
Cars huh, who'd have them....oh yeah this is PH so all of us
It's difficult enough to play (=practice practice practice) with an easy to play guitar, the first acoustic I had was expensive but uncomfortable (bad setup) and it hurt my fingers. It also went out of tune quickly.
You have to like the guitar, to force yourself to pick it up and play it every chance every day. So no, cheap guitar is not a good starter guitar.
I think someone told me Acoustics start at £100, anything less is not going to work, even for an experienced guitarist. Goo on Yamaha's website, find the nearest dealer, go and see an F700 and F720!
You have to like the guitar, to force yourself to pick it up and play it every chance every day. So no, cheap guitar is not a good starter guitar.
I think someone told me Acoustics start at £100, anything less is not going to work, even for an experienced guitarist. Goo on Yamaha's website, find the nearest dealer, go and see an F700 and F720!
Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff