Which beginners guitar
Discussion
Which guitar would you choose for a complete beginner priced around £120. I fancy plying blues/folk (Clapton, Seasick Steve)and had been looking at metal stringed acoustics. Had a quick look at a few today and maybe I'd be better of getting a cheaper classical guitar which has a wider neck, less likely to hit duff notes and move on when better. I prefer the sound of the perkier metal stringed acoustic but how much harder is it for a beginner to pick up? Are there any particular brands that offer good quality sound/build for the budget?
I cant be more help than to say buy the one that feels the nicest to use.
Having recently started to learn electric, I bought mine based on this, and also on the fact that as I couldnt play anything at that stage, anything fancy would be a waste.
Dont buy a Ferrari if you havnt yet learnt to drive is how I rationalised it.
Having recently started to learn electric, I bought mine based on this, and also on the fact that as I couldnt play anything at that stage, anything fancy would be a waste.
Dont buy a Ferrari if you havnt yet learnt to drive is how I rationalised it.
If you want to play blues, then don't go for a classical guitar. Steel-stringed acoustics are where it's at. But have you thought about buying an electric guitar? Easier to play than an acoustic, although admittedly not good for fingerstyle. You can get a starter pack from Amazon for within your budget, but better to wander down to your local guiar store, ideally with a guitar-playing mate and try a few out.
Walk into your local guitar shop. Tell them you want to start to play guitar but you haven't got a clue what to buy. Tell them your budget. Let them help you. In my experience, guys who work in guitar shops are all keen players, and are not there to take the piss out of you. More than likely they will be very helpful, very understanding, and do thier best to get you the right guitar for you.
Let them select a guitar, let them tune it. Show some respect by taking your coat off before you try it - no point scratching it with zips or similar. How does it feel in your hands? What's the weight like? How does the neck feel? If you have small hands, go for a narrow neck.
If you want to try playing it, put your index finger on the high 'e' string (that's the thin one on the bottom as you are looking down on the guitar) just behind the 3rd fret. Strum the 4 strings (the one you've just fretted, and the 3 next to it) 8 times. Now move your finger down to the 2nd fret and strum 8 more times. Now down to the first fret and 8 more times. Congratlate yourself heartily, you've just played th opening bars of "Something" by the Beatles.
How does it sound? Good? Then buy the axe, take it home, and practise the thing till your fingertips are pulp.
Lastly, a word on budget. Don't make the mistake of buying the cheapest on offer. Some of the crap that's out there will sound awful and be difficult to play, and will probably put you right off. Buy the best you can afford, then you'll have the best chance. Whether acoustic or electric, you won't go far wrong with a Yamaha.
Let them select a guitar, let them tune it. Show some respect by taking your coat off before you try it - no point scratching it with zips or similar. How does it feel in your hands? What's the weight like? How does the neck feel? If you have small hands, go for a narrow neck.
If you want to try playing it, put your index finger on the high 'e' string (that's the thin one on the bottom as you are looking down on the guitar) just behind the 3rd fret. Strum the 4 strings (the one you've just fretted, and the 3 next to it) 8 times. Now move your finger down to the 2nd fret and strum 8 more times. Now down to the first fret and 8 more times. Congratlate yourself heartily, you've just played th opening bars of "Something" by the Beatles.
How does it sound? Good? Then buy the axe, take it home, and practise the thing till your fingertips are pulp.
Lastly, a word on budget. Don't make the mistake of buying the cheapest on offer. Some of the crap that's out there will sound awful and be difficult to play, and will probably put you right off. Buy the best you can afford, then you'll have the best chance. Whether acoustic or electric, you won't go far wrong with a Yamaha.
Another here for Yamaha!
A few years ago, I went to buy a Gibson acoustic, had the cash for one, I was adamant it was going to be a Gibson, then I played a cheaper Yamaha in the same shop and bought it on the spot.
http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments...
Just to add, your first guitar needs to be out of the case/box all the time, and keep it where you habitat, it will get damaged as a result but if you can't resist but touch, strum, feel and fall in love with the sound of thing, then you're on you're way to becoming proficient.
A few years ago, I went to buy a Gibson acoustic, had the cash for one, I was adamant it was going to be a Gibson, then I played a cheaper Yamaha in the same shop and bought it on the spot.
http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments...
Just to add, your first guitar needs to be out of the case/box all the time, and keep it where you habitat, it will get damaged as a result but if you can't resist but touch, strum, feel and fall in love with the sound of thing, then you're on you're way to becoming proficient.
Bebee said:
Another here for Yamaha!
Just to add, your first guitar needs to be out of the case/box all the time, and keep it where you habitat, it will get damaged as a result but if you can't resist but touch, strum, feel and fall in love with the sound of thing, then you're on you're way to becoming proficient.
Yup, definitely. Your guitar should be in reach at all times - ideally propped up next to your favourite armchair/sofa. Then you can reach for it, do 15 minutes of practice, and put it back down again. Regular intensive practice in short bursts is much better than not touching it for a couple of days and then trying to spend 3 hours at it all in one go.Just to add, your first guitar needs to be out of the case/box all the time, and keep it where you habitat, it will get damaged as a result but if you can't resist but touch, strum, feel and fall in love with the sound of thing, then you're on you're way to becoming proficient.
Jump on Youtube & look up Justin Sandercoe - Justin guitar. He's an aussie shredder. He's a bit windy, but his lessons are good & comprehensive & much better than dry scale books.
However...it's a good move to have a decent reference book handy for scales, chords & other basics. Ideally, you want something that's easy to follow, even better if it comes with a playalong cd, covers chords, scales, finger positions, barre chords, progressions, theory - all that stuff. There are dozens out there - have a flick through & find one you like. As others have said, your local guitar shop is a great place to start.
Good luck & remember the biggest lesson of all is it can't be learnt in a week. You must persevere to progress and whilst it seems impossible at first, it will get easier with time & practice.
However...it's a good move to have a decent reference book handy for scales, chords & other basics. Ideally, you want something that's easy to follow, even better if it comes with a playalong cd, covers chords, scales, finger positions, barre chords, progressions, theory - all that stuff. There are dozens out there - have a flick through & find one you like. As others have said, your local guitar shop is a great place to start.
Good luck & remember the biggest lesson of all is it can't be learnt in a week. You must persevere to progress and whilst it seems impossible at first, it will get easier with time & practice.
I'd also recommend justinguitar and a Yamaha FG300, 310 or 320. They're pretty much the same but with different levels of decoration. Don't make the mistake of buying a classical guitar, they have a totally different character, and a cheap guitar will go out of tune, and won't help you learn.
king penny. Also buy a chromatic guitar tuner too, nothing like an out of tune guitar to put you off.I bought a Yamaha Pacifica, very nice to play in my limited opinion. Wish I had time to practise more. I would love somebody who could play to show me what it could do...
As an aside, I went to see Matilda in the West End the other day - there was a picture of the band in the programme, guitarist had a Yamaha Pacifica
If it's good enough for a pro to use for work... 
As an aside, I went to see Matilda in the West End the other day - there was a picture of the band in the programme, guitarist had a Yamaha Pacifica
If it's good enough for a pro to use for work... i think there has never been a better time to buy a decent guitar for not much money. As said previosuly, it depends on your preferred style, but check the out the low end of the range axes from any of the following and you will get a decent axe - Squire, Yamaha, Epiphone, Ibanez to name but a few.
Gaspode said:
Walk into your local guitar shop. Tell them you want to start to play guitar but you haven't got a clue what to buy. Tell them your budget. Let them help you. In my experience, guys who work in guitar shops are all keen players, and are not there to take the piss out of you. More than likely they will be very helpful, very understanding, and do thier best to get you the right guitar for you.
Let them select a guitar, let them tune it. Show some respect by taking your coat off before you try it - no point scratching it with zips or similar. How does it feel in your hands? What's the weight like? How does the neck feel? If you have small hands, go for a narrow neck.
If you want to try playing it, put your index finger on the high 'e' string (that's the thin one on the bottom as you are looking down on the guitar) just behind the 3rd fret. Strum the 4 strings (the one you've just fretted, and the 3 next to it) 8 times. Now move your finger down to the 2nd fret and strum 8 more times. Now down to the first fret and 8 more times. Congratlate yourself heartily, you've just played th opening bars of "Something" by the Beatles.
How does it sound? Good? Then buy the axe, take it home, and practise the thing till your fingertips are pulp.
Lastly, a word on budget. Don't make the mistake of buying the cheapest on offer. Some of the crap that's out there will sound awful and be difficult to play, and will probably put you right off. Buy the best you can afford, then you'll have the best chance. Whether acoustic or electric, you won't go far wrong with a Yamaha.
All of this, but do it on a weekday, not on Saturday afternoon when the shop is packed.Let them select a guitar, let them tune it. Show some respect by taking your coat off before you try it - no point scratching it with zips or similar. How does it feel in your hands? What's the weight like? How does the neck feel? If you have small hands, go for a narrow neck.
If you want to try playing it, put your index finger on the high 'e' string (that's the thin one on the bottom as you are looking down on the guitar) just behind the 3rd fret. Strum the 4 strings (the one you've just fretted, and the 3 next to it) 8 times. Now move your finger down to the 2nd fret and strum 8 more times. Now down to the first fret and 8 more times. Congratlate yourself heartily, you've just played th opening bars of "Something" by the Beatles.
How does it sound? Good? Then buy the axe, take it home, and practise the thing till your fingertips are pulp.
Lastly, a word on budget. Don't make the mistake of buying the cheapest on offer. Some of the crap that's out there will sound awful and be difficult to play, and will probably put you right off. Buy the best you can afford, then you'll have the best chance. Whether acoustic or electric, you won't go far wrong with a Yamaha.
Funnily enoiugh, if I was considering an acoustic guitar I would be unlikely to look at new, I would be looking for a decent second hand ones.
Two reasons, partly I prefer the sound, but the main reason is that acoustics, especially the less expensive types, can get qute distorted in the region of the bridge. The cause is the constant pull of the strings wheich can cause the area behind the bridge to lift, and the area in front of the bridge (between the bridge and the soundhole) to dip. This doesn't usually affect the sound, but can mean the bridge rising overall and raising the action.
If a guitar is a few years old, and doesn't have that or any other problems, then it's a pretty safe bet to last for a few decades yet, whereas a new guitar may develop problems over the next few months that aren't apparent at the time of purchase.
Two reasons, partly I prefer the sound, but the main reason is that acoustics, especially the less expensive types, can get qute distorted in the region of the bridge. The cause is the constant pull of the strings wheich can cause the area behind the bridge to lift, and the area in front of the bridge (between the bridge and the soundhole) to dip. This doesn't usually affect the sound, but can mean the bridge rising overall and raising the action.
If a guitar is a few years old, and doesn't have that or any other problems, then it's a pretty safe bet to last for a few decades yet, whereas a new guitar may develop problems over the next few months that aren't apparent at the time of purchase.
OP, I've made this offer before and it was treated with meh.
I have a perfectly serviceable Yamaha FG410 you can have for free if you can pick it up from either Leicester or Rickmansworth.
Only condition is you pass it on when you've done learning. I don't seem to be getting PMs atm, so answer in the thread and I'll contact you if necessary.
I have a perfectly serviceable Yamaha FG410 you can have for free if you can pick it up from either Leicester or Rickmansworth.
Only condition is you pass it on when you've done learning. I don't seem to be getting PMs atm, so answer in the thread and I'll contact you if necessary.
NiceCupOfTea said:
I bought a Yamaha Pacifica, very nice to play in my limited opinion. Wish I had time to practise more. I would love somebody who could play to show me what it could do...
As an aside, I went to see Matilda in the West End the other day - there was a picture of the band in the programme, guitarist had a Yamaha Pacifica If it's good enough for a pro to use for work...
The greatest guitarist the world has ever seen, (and I won't be argued with) Francis Dunnery, used as his fav guitar, a cheaper version of the Fender Strat, the Fender Squier, It was 'played in' well to his hands.As an aside, I went to see Matilda in the West End the other day - there was a picture of the band in the programme, guitarist had a Yamaha Pacifica
If it's good enough for a pro to use for work... You don't need the most expensive to play/sound better but one that fits you and your hands, it still needs to be of fair quality, and Yamaha do that very well but with a fair asking price to boot.
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