Never played a Guitar but I want to learn

Christian 71

Plenty of 3-500 quid guitars that are sub par, probably as many as 1-200 quid as they are often made in the same factory just with better quality components

Really the big deals we make after a few years playing don't affect new players. My daughter is still fine playing the 35 quid spongebob second I bought her even though she has a 400 quid fender now.

As long as the guitar doesn't have a warped neck, bad fret buzz or a super high action it's good enough for starting out and helps you appreciate what you want on a next step guitar. Even a newbie can spot these and if not it should be come apparent quickly and be covered by the shop gaurentee.

If you start playing Les Pauls chances are they will always feel comfortable. Most decent shops will let you try a few to see what feels comfortable and even a Flying V can be played with a strap. After 6 months if these forums are anything to go by most players will feel they deserve a better guitar and know better what they want.

icemanonline

Just in.....

And step 1 arrived!

                                                                                ICE

Christian 71

A guitar god is born!

Happy new guitar day mate

hyperfish

HNGD icemanonline

Christian 71

Well worth picking up a copy of Rocksmith if you have a console or PC. Really good fun and a great way to learn.

Most of us use the Justin Guitar site as it's free and he has hundreds of videos for all range of abilities. There is an absolute ton of free guitar related material on the internet and Youtube just ask if you need some direction as it can be quite overwhelming. Really is a great time to be learning guitar.

Take it easy the first few days as you will get blisters on your fingers, but they soon harden in a couple of weeks. If it becomes a problem you can always put lighter strings on your guitar. I'd suggest buying a spare pack of strings now as it is very common to break a string the first couple of weeks while you get used to tuning. Watch out on the thinnest strings as they break very easily, but you can buy replacement single strings from most good music shops or on Amazon/ebay.

DodgeTheViper

I'm so confused right now and wondering what I should purchase but once the purchase decision is made, I can get started.

I'm thinking of the style first and as I have no idea as to how to describe them, I'm going to use people's avatars as examples.
Kelvins style, or reevesy's style ? Does this matter or just the style that one prefers ?

As for trying out in the shop first, I can appreciate this but . . . . Is it much like trying on a pair of shoes in a shop ? In the shop they feel ok, get them home and try them on and they can feel very different.
I don't know what it should feel like and would probably get a fair idea of that after having owned one for a while and then swapping/upgrading afterwards. Much the same as anything else that you upgrade, you know what to look for second time round and then further on etc.

So pick a style of guitar, choose the colour and off you go. Then what about the amp ? An amp with a headphone out would be good I think. For those times when you don't want to upset others in the house but you still fancy a little practise time.

I'm still looking and appreciate all the help

reevesy

well 'style' wise....it is a toughy.....hence once you get going you end up with a few of them ...

2 years on I've 6....3 acoustics and 3 electrics

for example I personally love the '335' style (in my avatar).............but Andrew on here...who I bought from couldn't get on with it size wise due to a shoulder problem ........so just picking up and holding it would tell you that straight away without having to play a note.

then there's fender 'strat' guitars...(kelvins avatar)...great sounding but personally i don't particularly  like the look of  them...don't know why.....same with all the 'metal' style guitars.....not my thing.

my 2 pence is start with an acoustic......practically all will be the same size.....maybe slight variation in the neck but not much in my experience ....leave it on a stand in your lounge so it's always there....and you can just pick it ..have a play and put it down again without having to drag an amp out of the cupboard and set it all up.

if you stick at you'll soon be knocking out a few chords and a couple of strumming patterns.....then you'll be in a better position to try out a few electrics and maybe have a better idea what you want.

...think it was probably 6 months before I bought another...which was an electro acoustic.

.....which is another option !

...an acoustic with a pickup which will plug into an amp

KelvinS1965

I know that we're really in an age of buying everything online, but IMHO buying a guitar 'blind' is a dodgy proposition, especially your first: I bought a 1/2 size acoustic as my first guitar (cost about £3.50 IIRC and yes the decimal point is in the right place ). However, I'm left handed but when I picked up a guitar for the first time I instinctively held it as a right handed player would. Holding it left handed just felt wrong to me, even though I'd never played.

If the internet had been invented back in 1972 then I might have mail ordered a left handed guitar...

I travel around a fair bit with work and often call into the local guitar shop where I'm working as there are plenty around, so it shouldn't be hard to find somewhere to go. You can always ask for recommendations in your area too. After all, judging by most of us you'll end up spending more money with them within a short time, so it'll be good to find a dealer you're happy with.

bilbosmeggins

Personally, although I think every guitar player needs an acoustic, I wouldn't buy one as an introduction to playing.  They are a fair bit more difficult to play, physically speaking.  The strings are of a thicker gauge, and the action (height of strings to fretboard) is typically higher.  For a beginner, holding chords can be quite painful.  Electrics are a lot easier to start with.

Regarding guitar/amp choice, I know it can be bewildering.  As others have suggested, maybe visit a music shop and try a few guitars, and single out a shop assistant whose opinion you feel you can trust.  You won't be the first novice to walk through the doors.  Most smaller practise amps tend to have a headphone option these days, so choosing one shouldn't be too problematic.

The biggest problem you are likely to face, IMHO, isn't about choosing the right gear, it's about motivation.  When you first start playing, or trying to play the guitar, you will sound dreadful.  Fact!!  And the typical hurdles you will need to overcome can be mind-numbingly dull.  Learning and practising scales, learning chord shapes and strumming between them almost endlessly, and finger exercises etc.  It's the main reason that so many guitars end up on ebay selling "as new".  It can be frustrating.....

In light of the above I would seriously consider purchasing Rocksmith.  It will get you playing instantly, and for long periods of time, as it is done in such a fun, inclusive way.  It has several "games" in there to get you chasing scales, chord progressions etc, and a myriad of other techniques.  But, mainly, it has a very comprehensive song list with something for everyone amongst them.  And you will be playing them from the off, sitting in the mix with some of your heroes.  There are many, many ways to learn guitar, and lots of them have much merit, but none will pull you in and motivate you quite like Rocksmith.  There are many on theses forums who have used RS to kick-start their guitar playing, and who have used other means to supplement their learning a little further down the road, lessons, youtube, DVD's, books etc.

Oh, and as a bonus, Rocksmith can take the place of a guitar amp so you could postpone the amp purchase until a little later on.  Just a thought............  Check out the thriving RS community within the Xbox One sub-forums on this very site.

And when the guitar grips you, it does so for life

Good luck, and Happy New Year

reevesy

glad this thread has been giving a bump with some new beginners

the one thing I was going to mention in my last post was ...once I'd played the acoustic for a bit the change to an electric was easier ......probably easier than the other way round .

the one thing I had trouble with was power chords.....even the one and 2 finger ones!...ironically the ones that tend to be the first things for beginners to have a go at when it comes to a electric.......I even to use to prefer doing a full barre version.!...most of the time I still do.....just tend to do it without thinking and find it better to the 2,3 and 4th fingers doing an E shape rather than having one finger sticking out plus you don't have to worry about muting a string...

but again that's probably just me.

one of the learning books covers a lot of ground before it got to a proper chord shape......then again that might be the right way to go about it!



but yeah tough going to get a bit of playing under your belt....but I wished I started years ago