Looking for a beginner's guitar...

[TSaxMan113]

I've decided that I'm bored with the sax. I've played for years. I had given myself a break from the thing for a while to try to rekindle my interest in it, but it's just not happening. I played the thing for an hour yesterday and just wasn't having any fun.

Anywho, my new interest is guitars. I'm wondering if anyone has a good recommendation on what a good, beginner's instrument would be. I'd like to play electric, but it seems like an acoustic guitar would be the better way to go. It would cost less, I think, and that way if I sucked and hated it I wouldn't be out too much money.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Decapitated]

Well, if I were going to start playing sax, I would probably buy the least expensive one I could find and try it out for awhile to see if it was something I wanted to continue to pursue. I personally don't enjoy playing acoustic guitar, but I am sure you could pick an inexpensive one up either through a music store or a pawn shop. Best of luck to you and hope you enjoy playing!

 

[TSaxMan113]

Thanks... With some help I've managed to narrow my selection down to an assortment of Yamaha acoustic's selling for around $200. That seems to be a fair price and if I end up not liking it, I could always pawn the thing off onto someone else. There's a few people that play in my family, but no one with an extra guitar.

After thinking about it, I think I might like to play electric at some point, but I'd hate to buy all the equipment only to find out that I suck.

 

[Chris]

You don't need to buy top end if you're just getting started, but as with anything else it's worth spending the coin to buy midrange _decent_ gear. If you buy cheap, you'll get cheap and it'll only make it harder to learn in the long run.

If you're going Electric, the lower end Ibanez (RG270ish) are great. I have a 6 that I picked up brand new for somewhere around $275, and despite the price the thing plays like butter and holds intonation really well.

Acoustics - Alvarez has a whole bunch of really great intro priced acoustics from 200-up. I have an elec/acou and I absolutely love it.

The biggest bitch about starting out, at least for me, was that I had a crappy guitar (hey, I was 12) that would never stay in tune. And of course, I wanted to shred like Steve. After awhile, having to retune every 5 minutes or deal with playing out of key gets really, really frickin' old. It's worth the extra few bucks to save your ear and your patience by starting off with something that'll work well for you.

You don't need to spend a ton, but a few extra goes a long way.

My .2c. Good luck!

 

[Digital Black]

I always suggest the used market..

I use www.musicgoround.com a lot.. Never had any problems as long as you ask al the important questions to know what you are getting...

 

[TSaxMan113]

I wasn't planning on going totally cheap for my first instrument. I learned my lesson the hard way with the sax. I bought some off-brand thing that cost about $700. The pads were crap, the keys bent with the constant playing, and the metal was of such poor quality that you couldn't hold a tune. I still have the sax somewhere. I tried playing it about a year ago and even with years of experience I couldn't make it sound good. Anyway, I then I bought a Yamaha sax and it was infinitely better.... And now I'm on my Vito. I love my Vito.

As for the guitar, I think I wanted to play electric for a while, but now I'm on to acoustic. It seems more fitting to my personality, so Chris, I'll check into the Alvarez and see what suits me.

Thanks, all, for the help.

 

[Vince]

pawn shop...pawn shop...pawn shop

Some of the best deals can be found there. Get a $200 acoustic for $100 or $150 in most cases. I found a sweet Ibanez S-series electric guitar in a pawn shop a few years ago selling for $350. What the store didn't know is that's the cost of the guitar's bridge alone. The retail on the guitar was in the $1000-$1200 range and the guitar was in (still is, actually ) mint condition. It just looked terrible in the shop from all the dust on it. I took it home, cleaned it, and it's been one of my favorite guitars for years.

Pawn shops rule for cheap gear.

 

[Chris]

Heheh I tend to troll the shops around here as well. I haven't stumbled upon anything like that yet, but I'm hoping to.

 

[Vince]

yeah it was a funny story actually. An old drummer friend of mine was interested in learning guitar. He comes to me one day and says, "Hey Vince, I found this Ibanez in a pawn shop for $500, but I don't know if it's any good, will you come check it out for me?"

I went to the pawn shop and looked at the guitar, it was covered, I mean COVERED with dust, dirt, grime, and the strings had to have been a few years old (they were black). No wonder they never sold the thing. Anyway, after inspecting the guitar, I told my friend no way in hell he was getting it. He understood and differed to me. I talked the shop down to $350 because they hadn't sold the guitar in years and just wanted to get some money for it. They even threw in the case for free Took it home, cleaned it up, and uncovered the beautiful cherry red translucent paint job buried under the dust on it. The guitar rules.

 

[Leon]

it would definitely be cheaper to get a cheap guitar that you can chuck if you don't enjoy it. but, if you get a good, decent electric, one without problems (like an Ibanez RG270 as mentioned before) then you might have more fun with it.

i was lucky. when i wanted to start playing guitar, all i had to do was dig out my dad's old trusty guitar, plug into his vintage fender 100watt tube amp, and play. all i had to do was buy a new strap and a steady supply of picks and strings.

i suppose, if you got a crappy guitar, found yourself fixing it all the time, and enjoyed THAT, well, perhaps you've found your calling as a guitar tech/repairman

 

[Metal Ken]

i reccomend a RG350, they're cheap and now that they have a better bridge, the value is greater. The only reason why idont have mine is cause i traded it in for an RG1527 downpayment.

 

[Virtue]

i reccomend a RG350, they're cheap and now that they have a better bridge, the value is greater. The only reason why idont have mine is cause i traded it in for an RG1527 downpayment.

They are great looking, and they have the always-cool sharkfin looking inlays too. I've seen them as low as $279 new, very nice guitars to be sure.

 

[Metal Ken]

i got my new for 220$,it was on sale at the music shop (they had this once a year big blowout thing goin on)

 

[Chris]

That's a hell of a deal. What's the major diff between the 350 and 550? I've been contemplating another 550 for a solid utility axe (really can't beat the 550 as far as reliability). I like the look of the white 350's - and for that price.. Hmm...

 

[Metal Ken]

I cant say, i've never played a 550..but judging by what i read, The 550 has a wizard neck, the 350 has a wizardII, and an edge. I think the pu's are different. not sure what else

 

[Digital Black]

I cant say, i've never played a 550..but judging by what i read, The 550 has a wizard neck, the 350 has a wizardII, and an edge. I think the pu's are different. not sure what else

Pickups are differnt. Cheap powersounds for the 350, a Vinatge seires for the 550..Big factor though..

 

[Goliath]

Is there a difference between the Wizard and WizardII?

I have a beat up old 550 that I could take the pickups out and put into one of those. A brand new almost-550 for $350 is a pretty great deal.

 

[Metal Ken]

Wizard II is 2 MM thicker than Wizard.

 

[Goliath]

Front to back, or across the frets? (sorry if that's a bad question, i really dont know much about the mechanics of it all)

 

[Metal Ken]

like the thickness of the actual neck, not the width... um, front to back i guess