I want to start guitar. So where do I start as I know nothing especially about which guitar to buy and lessons.

Tks

Well, it would help if you knew what kind of guitar you would like to play
eg:
accoustic steel string (the good stuff )
Accoustic gut string (classical guitar)
Electric
Bass
etc..

The type of guitar you'll end up buying depends a lot on what type of music you want to play.

Do you want relaxed, laid-back Sunday afternoon stuff, or do you want the neighbours to think that they're in the back row of a Linkin Park/Megadeth concert?

From my experience, a nylon string acoustic (Spanish guitar) is a really affordable way of learning the basics of guitar playing. Nylon strings are the most gentle on your fingers, and won't hurt nearly as much as steel strings would. If you don't have a lot of cash on hand, consider getting one of these. The price could be anything from about R800, R900 upwards. Just keep in mind that once you have learnt the basics, you're really limited in the sound you can produce. Don't even try playing along to Metallica or Korn or Slipknot (unless you want to go unplugged )

Steel string acoustics have give you an amazing sound, but I found them to be the most difficult to play - especially if you're starting out (this one actually put me off guitaring for a few years, until I decided to give it another go). Generally steel string guitars also feel big and bulky, so I'd strongly advise you to first go to a music shop and try this one out before buying. One of these would set you back anything from about R1200, R1500 upwards.

Electric is the absolute champ when it comes to learning to play. Although electrics also have steel strings, it's nowhere as difficult to play as an acoustic steel string or even a nylon string. The is due to the fact that you have automatic amplification on the sound you produce, which doesn't require you to press the cords down and strum as hard as you would on an acoustic guitar. Simply put, if it’s too soft, turn it up!!

You can also fit a much lighter gauge (thinner) string than you generally would on an acoustic steel string, which makes things easier on the fingers. Keep in mind that the thicker the string, the more difficult it is to play, but the better the sound quality. You should be able to pick up a very basic electric for anything from a R1000 upwards, but this would probably be a no-name brand (Don't expect to be able to sell or trade this in at a music shop either).

You should be able to get a decent, affordable, known brand electric for about R2000 upwards. Have a look at Cort, Squire (owned by Fender), Ibanez, Washburn and maybe even Epiphone (the cheaper version of the Gibson). If you have real bucks to spend, check out Gibson and the American Fenders.

With the guitar, you'll have to get an amp - plan on spending anything up to R1500 for a 10, 15 watt amp. Obviously, if you want more knobs and buttons to give you different effects (channels, chorus, distortion, drive, etc) expect to cough up more.

Also keep in mind that every brand amp sounds different, but if you're after fat, crunchy, distorted sounds, check out Marshall's range (These can be quite pricey though). Also have a look at the Fender amps. There are actually so many different brands of amps, the best would be to browse around music shops, look at the prices and when you have an idea of what you want, ask the sales assistant to try them out for you so that you can get an idea of the sound you can expect.

You can even check the music shops for combo specials, they sometimes do cool deals if you tell them you want a guitar and an amp (they might even throw in a carry bag, strap, guitar cord, a couple of plectrums, etc.) Be sure to mention to them that you want a guitar AND amp!

I would suggest that you visit a few music shops and try out the three different types of guitars. Explain to the sales person that you want to start playing guitar but that you're still deciding which route you want to take (steel- or nylon string or electric).

Even if you can't play two cords in a row, sit down with the different guitars, get the feel of them, feel your fingers on the fret board, etc. Maybe even ask the sales assistant to play something so that you can hear what the guitars sound like.

As far as lessons go, unless you know someone that can teach you the basics, you should really consider going for lessons. This can also be expensive, R100, R200 per (hour) lesson, R300, R400 per month (4 lessons), whatever. Chat to the guys at your local music shops to find out about this, usually guitar tutors leave their details at music shops.

If you are located in the JHB area, I could point you to a couple of good music shops.

Last bit of advise, shop around! Don't buy the first best affordable guitar you see. What you buy now is either going to put you off guitars for a very long time, or it's going to make you fall in love with it forever

Have fun and keep us posted.

Aceius, that was a great post

Thanks

Great post there Aceius!

I wish I knew that much about all the guitars!

What do you prefere to play at the moment by the way? I have found that a gut string-accoustic guitar just frustrates me, because I cant get the sounds I want, so I play with a steel string washburn. I dont think that I will get an electric anytime soon, as I am still very happy with washy!

And yes, the steel strings are very hard on your fingers in the begginging, and it makes learning very difficult, so a gut string would be very advisable for someone just starting out, and wanting to play chords/strum etc, and not just lead-based, power chord churning- metallica imitators.

Once the chord basics are ingrained in your fingers, and playing presents no problems, as well as maybe singing one or two songs if your up to it, then a steel string is a good way to progress, there are many more possiblities. The finges will be a bit tender for a while, but as long as you play regulalry, then they will become rock hard on the tips, and you will not even notice anything!

Can you get semi-acoustic guitars?(i.e. Acoustic but you have the ability to plug an amp in)

I am not looking at playing heavy metal rock 'n roll stuff, more chilled songs like Eagle Eyed Cherry, Eric Clapton and maybe a few pop songs like Oasis - Wonderwall. The only metallica song I would like to play would be Nothing Else Matters.

I live in JHB so Aceius could you point me to a few good music shops.

In terms of price I want to make this a long term investment so I am prepared to pay around R3500.

domnus, i've got a semi-acoustic... its a phil pro something or other not sure how much it cost cos it was a birthday present but i'd guess R3500 would be about right

Thanks hunter, w2dmb.

w2dmb: At the moment I play a Cort Stellar electric fitted with .10 gauge D'Addario strings, plugged into a Marshall MG215RDC amp.

I'll now and again pull out the nylon string or my Aria steel string, but I'm not as fond of them as I used to be (the luxury of an electric I guess )

Yes, playing a nylon string can be frustrating at the best of times, especially if you can't get it tuned in correctly. Another bit of advice - Get an electronic tuner! It will take you 2 minutes to have your guitar tuned 100% correctly. Maybe the best invention since the guitar itself


domnus:

You don't get 'semi-acoustic' guitars per say, but what you can do is get a pickup that is fitted into the sound hole of an acoustic guitar. Not recommended though, I've tried one on my steel string and the sound quality was appalling to say the least. Maybe I just bought a crappy pickup (damn thing cost me around R300).

It seems like you’re kinda leaning towards getting an acoustic guitar, yes?

Even if you don't want to play the heavy stuff, my advice would still be to get an electric, because electric guitars give you a 'clean' channel, ie. exactly the same sound as a steel string acoustic, and allows you to fully regulate the volume you're playing at.

Turn the sound down a bit to create the flowing melodies of Nothing Else Matters and crank it up for Save Tonight and Wonderwall.

Also, do yourself a favour and listen to Clapton's 'Layla' from the MTV Unplugged cd, and then listen to the studio version. You'll hear what the same song sounds like on acoustic and electric.

Electrics allow you many different sound options, for example, a 'clean' setting so pure you can just about play classical, right up to the distortion of the Limp Bizkit's and Linkin Parks, all with the flick of a switch. Then you can add on distortion, drive, wah-wah, chorus and a million other effects pedals for even more sound options.

The most important reason is that an electric allows you the freedom to change your style and music type a 100 times over. An electric is basically an acoustic and a full-blown electric in one.

As you have a budget of around R3500, you should be able to get just about everything you need to get you started, either a classy acoustic or a decent electric and an amp.

Once you've decided what type of guitar you want, it's all up to you in choosing the one for you. As you can see, I'm leaning heavily towards the electrics, purely because I was in exactly the same situation as you about 7, 8 years ago, and I made a choice to go electric. So far, I haven't regretted my choice for one second.

As far as music shops go, you can try a) Andy McGibbon's Guitar World next to Investment Cars, Jan Smuts Avenue, Randburg, b) TOMS, cnr Melle & Juta St, Braamfontein, JHB or c) Music Man, Wilro Gate Shopping Centre, cnr Ontdekkers & C.R. Swart Rd, Wilro Park.

There's another music shop, also in Jan Smuts Avenue, Randburg, driving towards JHB (The name slipped my mind now, the guys at Andy McGibbon's should be able to direct you). Check the Yellow Pages for more shops.

As you've said, you want to make this a long term investment, and I cannot do anything else but to urge you to seriously consider getting an electric.

Go try out all three different types, and you'll just know when you pick up the right one.

Good luck!

You do get semi-acoustics with good qualty pickups built in plus volume control and some even have treble, bass and mids but they're quite pricey. Check out the Ovation range

I have a bootiful Washburn Jazz guitar with f-holes which you can hear unplugged as well. Maybe another option...



Music Connection

i was wondering what he meant when he said u dont get semi-accoustics... cos i have one with bass, treble, mids, and volume control too

Oh ya, thoose ones. My apologies - partial memory loss.

The problem is that sometimes I would like to take my guioar with me and play when I am with my mates around the fire or whatever and when I cant cart around my amp.

k, soz for the slight hijack of the thread domnus but i'm sure that the replies to my question should help you as well. What i want to know guys is after you buy the guitar where to then? Do you teach urself, if so, then how do you teach urself? IF not then where do you get good lessons? I live in durbs so if anybody knows then pls tell me, and domnus for whichever area he lives in!

What else can supplement your learning process with an acoustic guitar, something like a software proggie or music book?

btw i have a starsound acoustic guitar, i think its crappy since my uncle gave it to me for niks! After i learn on this one, i will get a better one, maybe even an electric one!

k what i did was pull chord charts off the net, and then some easy songs i wanted to learn to play... and then sat with them until i could play them, and then moved on to the next song... so basically self-taught... not that i'm very good or anything.

if you want to go the self-taught route, get yourself some chord charts - these tell you all the different chords, and how to play them. then think of the easiest song you want to learn. look for a tab/chord for it on the net. download, mebbe print if its awkward playing in front of your pc (use courier, not ariel to view and print)
most tabs/chords on the net start off with a list of all the chords used in the song, and the fingering for those chords... play around till you're able to play those chords comfortably, then attack the song... you'll find that once you're able to play the chords themselves, playing the song isnt as easy as you'd think, cos your fingers wont be used to changing from chord to chord very quickly... so play the song over and over and over and over and over until you're able to change between chords easily... as you learn more songs, you'll be familiar with the fingering for the chords, and you'll get better and be able to move on to more complex songs

That is a way but not the best. Rather get lessons and then you will be able to play songs much easier as you will have a better understanding of your guitar (I Think).

Fishzn: Just ask at your local music shop where you can get lessons.

My washburn has a built in pickup, bass, trebel, volume, middle, and presence adjusters. It cost close on R2000, and I love it.




I have one an electric tuner by the way:) I cant tune my guitar without it
My washburn has a built in pickup, bass, trebel, volume, middle, and presence adjusters. It cost close on R2000, and I love it.
Nice collection of guitars dude.



Well, in that case I think that an accoustic would be best, steel or nylon stringed. I play with my dad, and we take it to the bush, and friends houses and wherever they ask us to take it! Its dam loud enough to play wherever you want really, except in like a hall, where the built in pickup comes in handy



Well, I have had my dad to help, but I started with a basic clawhammer (fingerpicking) teach yourself book, and learnt a few chords from there, I found it really helped me to get familliar with the possitioning of the strings, and the changing. Because its fingerpicking, it also forces you to play the chords almost perfectly, because a mistake, or duffed string is immediatly apparent, unlike strumming, where one finger slipping isnt a biggie.

Ok well, Im 15. I bought myself an Aria AK20 Nylon Acoustic guitar to learn on before I go to Electric. I basically self taught myself.

I got chord charts and help from the net then I get tabs from guitartabs.cc and I play them till I get them right now that I no the principles Im getting a lot better. Just look at forums ask for advice.

Learn Power Chords is important
Get some chord charts or I can post a simple one for you.

Important: www.mxtabs.net is a great tabs site and it has LESSONS - check it out

k, scuse the ignorance here guys but wtf is a tab and how do you read em?

Oh and whats a good site for d/ling chord charts? I will try it out and tell you guys where it gets me!

OH some more ignorance on my part here, power chords? what is that?

Thanks for the help! And has anybody heard of a startsound guitar, is it worth it learning on it or should i go get a better one?

I dont know any sites where you could get chord charts but...

TABS is short for tabulature, not sure after that...
but It is basicaly a map for where to put your fingers:

That is an example of TABS.

It reads like this: E,B,G,D,A running along the left side is the string, in other words, the top E, is the bottom string on your guitar, the smallest, highest pitch string, which progresses B,D,G,A strings, up to the Bass E, which is the thick string on the top.
The numbers along the lines are what frets you place your fingers on that string, so for the first chord, the

bottom E would be left open (0)
B would have a finger on the first fret (1)
G a finger on the second fret (2) etc...

That chord happens top be A minor.
While the second chord is E minor, and the third chord is E

Understand? I hope this helps. Its simple shit, but I couldnt think of any other way to explain it..
ps: I need a fixed width font, anyone know one that I could use for the tabs?

OK, thanks alot man, ur explanation is clearer than any i've found so far! I went to the site that spoono provided and it is cool but i found a really great link for a beginner, its the one with Dansm's guitar.... he has a great site with all the chords in detail and shyte, domnus maybe you can use this, really helpful!

now i just have to get my guitar re-strung as i am a left-handed person! Shyte i hope it isn't harder for a left-hander!

If anyone reading this post is keen on going electric check this out

nice, not a bad set up.
I know a guy who is building himself a fender. sounds pretty fun, although expensive.

just be fucking careful if you buy anything here. Shops called Music Connection, its definately the seedier end of the market. i dont recommend shopping here if you are a n00b of guitar things

however, if u have ur head on right and u check everything u buy before u buy it, u can pick up some real deals here. i got my Hughes & Kettner Basskick 313 amp from them for 2/3 the price of the next cheapest outlet

just byyyy the way, how much should a decent tuner cost ?
i am not too sure of these things yet

blood105: A decent electronic tuner should cost you in the order of about R200 - R250 (I think). Mine was R180 about 3 -odd years ago.

Just picked up tthe HiFi Corp ad. They advertising a Behringer combo. Guitar, amp, cord and other misc stuff for R999. What you think for a total newbie!! Just to learn.

yeah, im keen on going electric
what would you guys recommend ?
i've been told a les paul would be ideal for a beginner/intermediate player compared to a strat
but because im a total noob i dunno how seriously to take that
budget - anything from 1k to 3k
thanks

buy cheap = buy twice

get a decent guitar that stays in tune, is properly intoned, sustains nicely. for beginner n00bs a squire strat seems to be a popular choice

Last night I dreamed I won a Les Paul Custom worth R120 000 with gold trimmings and get this... 8 strings

I won by playing a the worlds best solo ever

Ooh, i can't wait to start having guitar dreams!!! LOL, oh and just to keep you guys posted, started playing guitar for over three weeks, learn open chords, then realise that i'll have to re-learn them when i get the guitar re-strung as a left-handed one! Shyte, anyway i've started to play the chords with the bass strings so i can adjust to the change in direction!

btw. thanks to all the guys that helped me get the basics down! Hope you win the guitars of your dreams!

thanks! Good luck with it man, maybe one day when I get home, we can all meet at a LAN and gather around a 3D image of a campfire and jam. Play a little kumbaya as Rush would say.

Id love to get involved with some guys that play, must be really good exchanging ideas, techniques and stuff, Im sure everyone would learn stuff!

fishzn: lots of left-handed guitar players actually play right-handed guitars, cos thats how they learnt it if you're comfortable playing right-handed, then why not stick with it

Ok guys, time to dig up some ooooold topics.

How's everyone's guitar playing going?

Are you still sticking to it or have you given it up?

wow i have come a far way since then
although i am a slave to tabs, i'm not doing too badly
i plan to go for lessons at the end of this year, i could do with a bit of polishing...

going strong with my ibanez gsa60 since last june

how you guys doing ?

you must be doing really well to post 3 times

Fixed

Having some trouble uploading there Blood?

I have my lovely new yamaha electric
Loving it, still playing my washburn acoustic though, cant seem to leave it alone for too long.

Wow, this is the first time I've seen this thread
Thanks for digging it up.

I've been playing for 8 years now. Started on a crappy Hondo Les Paul ripoff, then moved onto an Epiphone Les Paul imitation, then an Ibanez AX7 7-string electric, and then onto my current Ibanez S470 floating bridge electric and Cort jumbo-body semi-acoustic.

I've found that lately my playing hasn't progressed. It happens often when you don't put the effort in - you kinda plateau. My work is kinda hectic, and I just dont seem to make the time to play.

I've played some gigs though, and that's probably what keeps me playing.

How you all going? noosh, fishn, beuges?

I have played as much this past year as I have played before I started playing guitar

I just don't get (or make) time to play anymore, a shame really.

Maybe one of my New Year's resolutions should be to play at least an hour or two per week...

Still going strong here too. I've abandoned electric guitar for the time being to work on my acoustic skills, but I still don't practice as often as I'd like.

University also means I have not had as much time to play bass as I would have liked, but I plan to remedy that in the end of year vac.

Hehe, nice to see this thread after a while!

Anyway i've come quite a way from the time i posted here. Been playing for 1 year 5 months now. I'm a fully fledged left-handed player now. Got myself a Washburn semi-acoustic, its in my blog if you guys wanna check it out.

Started of strong with tabs but then realised i'm not gonna get anywhere if i continue like that. So i've just started playing by ear and boy is it a rewarding feeling when you figure out a song, or riff or progression for yourself. Also dipping my fingers in a bit of classical playing, i want to be able to vary my acoustic style as much as i can. Its all rather interesting. The sound of my guitar is getting richer as it ages, and i've just fitted a set of Dáddario EXP's and its sounding a lot lighter and brighter, i love it! Hopefully i can get myself a quality left-hand electric and amp at the end of the year, i've just started with lead playing on my acoustic, so i can't wait to do it on a electric!

One thing i would like more of, is time, with Varsity i'm only able to play every 2nd to 3rd day and sometimes go a week or two without playing. Play on guys! The geeetar is an awesome instrument!

hi if i wanted 2 play punk music such as Green day and blink 182 what time of electric guitar who be the best. Atm i have a a Epiphone sg-400 but am only 13 lol so can u help me plz

You'd probably want to go for something with double humbuckers, but basic pop punk stuff only really requires one. Also, don't go for an SG or any solid-body guitar, as you need something light to pound the crap out of when you're playing punk.

Your current guitar should be ok if you're still a beginner though, but look into a more advanced model when you start to outgrow it. Your choice of amp is also crucial for the right sound.