Time for a new guitar
- Thread starter schimmel
- Start date
I truely have seen this happen to my friend's guitars. Sorry, I don't like Epiphones. I love Gibson, just not their off-name brands.
MikeyVassallo
Regular
Your friend should take better care of his guitars.
MikeyVassallo
Regular
But... its his FRIEND!
maca2kx
Rookie
I may as well ask here. I'm thinking of taking up the guitar, I've already got an acoustic kicking about but it's very old (belonged to my grandfather) and I'd like to buy a nice electric guitar for a beginner player. I've got a friend who owns a guitar place so once he gets back from his holiday I'll be going there to see if I can get a good deal from him but I wouldn't mind a bit of information as to what sort of things I should be looking out for.
Sam
Sam
schimmel
Rookie
^ Well Washburn makes good guitars for all levels of experience. My WI14 was perfect for me when i was starting out. It costs about $150-170 somewhere around there, it has dual humbucker pickups which are awesome for a cheap guitar to have (even though these dual humbuckers are just cheap ones). It also has a volume and a tone knob for each pickup which is a rare feature in cheap guitars.
If you want a direct package (comes with guitar, amp, chord, cheap strap, gig bag, tuner, and usually a CD or book that has beginner lessons in it) Squier by Fender makes a good pack called the Stop Dreaming Start Playing pack that runs about $200, The guitar will be good for about six to eight months and then you will feel the need for a new one, or you could just replace the pickups and the tuners and you should be good with it.
If you're more of a Gibson freak and don't mind going to Epiphones they make a pack similar to the Stop Dreaming Start Playing pack. Ibanez does too.
If you want to browse through a bunch of different kinds and see what there is to choose from (I would say spend about $150-$250 on your first) go to www.musiciansfriend.com, it's helped me find things easily and it ships all over the US and Canada. I don't know if you live on this side of the world but if you do they're reliable to browse on, and buy from. If I'm shopping for a guitar online they're the only site I buy from.
If you want a direct package (comes with guitar, amp, chord, cheap strap, gig bag, tuner, and usually a CD or book that has beginner lessons in it) Squier by Fender makes a good pack called the Stop Dreaming Start Playing pack that runs about $200, The guitar will be good for about six to eight months and then you will feel the need for a new one, or you could just replace the pickups and the tuners and you should be good with it.
If you're more of a Gibson freak and don't mind going to Epiphones they make a pack similar to the Stop Dreaming Start Playing pack. Ibanez does too.
If you want to browse through a bunch of different kinds and see what there is to choose from (I would say spend about $150-$250 on your first) go to www.musiciansfriend.com, it's helped me find things easily and it ships all over the US and Canada. I don't know if you live on this side of the world but if you do they're reliable to browse on, and buy from. If I'm shopping for a guitar online they're the only site I buy from.
Grey
Rookie
Might help if you looked at Maca's location.
Sam, Fat Strats are the best guitars to start out with, as they have the widest tonal varieties available at an entry level. I'd list websites, but since you don't have much of an idea of what you're looking for, I'd suggest heading into a shop and asking for any entry level Strat style guitar to test out, preferably Fat Strats.
Don't worry about what other people in the shop may think about a beginner trying out a guitar, you're there for yourself. Just hold the guitar, see how it feels in your hands and against your body. Ask yourself these questions;
Does the neck feel right in your hands? Is it too thin? Is it too chunky? Can you hold it comfortably and get a nice grip around it without straining your hand?
Does the weight of the guitar suit you? Is it too heavy? Is it too light? Guitars are made with a variety of different woods, each with different weights. If it feels too heavy and you feel a strain on your shoulder and neck from the strap when standing, try out another guitar. Even though most entry level guitars are made from plywood, the weights will still vary slightly.
Do the contours of the body suit you? Are the edges jabbing you in the ribs? Is the lower horn in the way of your hand when trying to access the upper frets?
Play something, don't worry if you don't know anything and just plink out random notes, just see how comfortable the instrument feels while trying to use it.
Don't worry about the tonal qualities, as you've said you wanted a starter kit, the tone from the guitar and amp aren't going to sound all that great, you can make modifications to your equipment or buy a new, better guitar at a later date if you want to start improving the sound, but remember that a huge part of the sound comes from your fingers. If Eddie Van Halen picked up the worst built guitar in the world and plugged it into a beat up amplifier, he'd still sound like Eddie Van Halen. (And I've seen him do that.)
Talk to your friend while you're at his place. You guys are friends, so its not likely he'd try to screw you on the sale. Maybe even ask him to give a short demo of the guitar you choose, so you can get an idea of what someone is capable of producing with it.
Sam, Fat Strats are the best guitars to start out with, as they have the widest tonal varieties available at an entry level. I'd list websites, but since you don't have much of an idea of what you're looking for, I'd suggest heading into a shop and asking for any entry level Strat style guitar to test out, preferably Fat Strats.
Don't worry about what other people in the shop may think about a beginner trying out a guitar, you're there for yourself. Just hold the guitar, see how it feels in your hands and against your body. Ask yourself these questions;
Does the neck feel right in your hands? Is it too thin? Is it too chunky? Can you hold it comfortably and get a nice grip around it without straining your hand?
Does the weight of the guitar suit you? Is it too heavy? Is it too light? Guitars are made with a variety of different woods, each with different weights. If it feels too heavy and you feel a strain on your shoulder and neck from the strap when standing, try out another guitar. Even though most entry level guitars are made from plywood, the weights will still vary slightly.
Do the contours of the body suit you? Are the edges jabbing you in the ribs? Is the lower horn in the way of your hand when trying to access the upper frets?
Play something, don't worry if you don't know anything and just plink out random notes, just see how comfortable the instrument feels while trying to use it.
Don't worry about the tonal qualities, as you've said you wanted a starter kit, the tone from the guitar and amp aren't going to sound all that great, you can make modifications to your equipment or buy a new, better guitar at a later date if you want to start improving the sound, but remember that a huge part of the sound comes from your fingers. If Eddie Van Halen picked up the worst built guitar in the world and plugged it into a beat up amplifier, he'd still sound like Eddie Van Halen. (And I've seen him do that.)
Talk to your friend while you're at his place. You guys are friends, so its not likely he'd try to screw you on the sale. Maybe even ask him to give a short demo of the guitar you choose, so you can get an idea of what someone is capable of producing with it.
vinkrukken
Rookie
I always wanted to learn how to play guitar.
