[Nilwort]

Well, I've been messing around with an ancient acoustic guitar for a few months and I'm looking for a basic and cheap electric guitar+amp setup to learn on. I've played one of my friend's guitars and it's so much better than this guitar I have, the strings are so old and are hard to fret without getting your fingers all chewed up after playing for a while. I'm not really looking for anything serious or anything to play in a band with, just something that I can noodle around with for a while and get a feel for playing.

Anyway, have any of you out there had any experience in buying this sort of stuff? Know how much an extremely basic setup would cost? Any estimates or links would be great.

[Impaler]

Check classified ads, pawn shops, eBay (especially) and used instrument stores. They're all full of aspiring musicians' guitars, forsaken out of neglect and boredom.

A general rule of quality for electric guitars is the better they sound without an amp, the better they'll sound with one.

As for brands, it doesn't really matter. They're all pretty much the same quality when you're at the entry level. If you go to a used instrument store, which is what I suggest if you have the time, ask a clerk. It's a guarantee that they're an excellent musician, and should be able to set you up with a good guitar.

Amp doesn't need to be that big. A small 50 watt will still be really, really loud.

I would go for an acoustic, personally, if you're not going to get into performance or anything. You don't have to buy an amp, and you can play them anywhere.

[Lunatique]

I would suggest an acoustic too for entry level. The steel strings will build up your fniger strength and resistence. After acoustic, classical and electric would be a breeze.

But if you really prefer an electric, I'd suggest getting a new one instead of a second hand, since you have no idea what the past owner did to it. He/she could've been a tempermental rockstar type who tossed his guitar when ever he gets pissed. Also older guitars tend to go out of tune faster.

As far as amps go, if you don't want to piss off your neighbors, get someting like the Pandora, which is a tiny efx processor that you can just jack your headphone in, and it's got tons of effects.

[Impaler]

Making music with a guitar is like corn on the cob.. with butter. All the kernels are notes that come together to form a fantastic ear of corn, and the butter is the sweet musical expression that comes on top. Yes.

You could ALSO just use your computer as an amp, sound card permitting. There are some pretty good guitar ports available, with a huge array of effects that come with.

I should also clarify; if you're just getting a guitar to tool around on (no pun intended), then I would say used, from an actual music shop. It'll cost less that way if you change your mind.

If you want something that you're going to have for a very long time and not kick out on you in a few years, then, yeah. Go buy something new, so you have actual quality assurance, and you get to break it in yourself, so you KNOW you've broken it. heh.

[pixelsoldier]

<brag>
<asshole>

I own a Les Paul.



</brag>
</asshole>

[Lunatique]

pixelsoldier- you elite bastard

I have a Fender Strat, except I'm not even a Strat fan. It was cheap, and I needed one for a gig. I had played classical up till that point.

My dream guitar is the Parker. OMG that guitar makes me horny. Especially a nice, deep red one. . .. That, plugged into a Line 6 vetta amp.... wow. Orgasmic.

[Nilwort]

Lunatique: that Pandora amp sounds tempting...I'll see what I can find out about it on the net.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I was considering looking into a new acoustic guitar, but as Impaler mentioned earlier I'd also like to play around with recording on my computer and it's always nice to be able to turn up the volume and go crazy if you're in the mood, which you can't really do with an acoustic guitar if you aren't very skilled...

As far as my neighbors go, who cares! they're constantly using electric saws, sanders, and air compressors right in the backyard and our houses are separated by only a few feet...It'd be great to get some sonic revenge on the bastards!!!

quote

Quote:

if you're just getting a guitar to tool around on (no pun intended)

heh heh, no, I won't be bringing that up again

[ June 16, 2002: Message edited by: Nilwort ]

[Lunatique]

Your neighbors sounds like assholes. I say you buy the biggest amp you can afford, and tear some shit up.

[zak]

beast setup for beginners is probably the squier stratocaster. it comes as a begginers kit and is a good guitar. quite cheap too

[[Shizo]]

Brian May let me borrow his Special Red. I painted it green with yellow stripes, i think he'll be surprised!

[Dr.Squirley]

www.rondomusic.com

[elam]

My first electric(about 5 years ago) was a Fender Squire and a cheap ass Crate amp.
Total was around $200.00.

If your gonna buy and electric I highly recommend getting a wah-wah peddle and an amp with effects built in. Just makes for a lot more fun.

I ditched my electric cause I got tired of plugging it in all the time. Acoustic is the way to go, bro.

[zak]

i donmt agree. dont bother with the built in effects. theyre crap. if you wanna get a pedal get an overdrive pedal first. cost about $100 but you really get what you paid for. a whammy pedal is a bit hard to get used to. especially if youre a beginner. not very advisable

[Lunatique]

Yeah, built in effects(I had a small Crate practce amp too)can be really sucky. You're better off just buying a basic effects processor. Even the most basic ones will have overdrive, chorus, flange, reverb...etc.

As far as the wah pedal goes, you can hold off on it, since your playing will only benefit from it when you've gotten over the novice stage. It IS damn fun to play with though.

Other misc. things you should get:

*String winder(it's a bitch to do it by hand).
*Picks(try different shapes/hardness, and get used to a few you really like)
*Tuner(I've never met a newbie that can tune a guitar accurately. Sometimes even regular players have a hard time doing it without a tuner)

On a side note--I highly reccommend you learn more than one way of tunning. It is far more effective than usings just one method. Learn to do it at the 2nd/3rd frets, 7th/9th frets, 12th fret, harmonics tapping..etc. They can check and balance your typical 5th fret tunning method, which is not the most efficient way in my experience.

*extra strings(nothings sucks more than when you feel inspired, and your string snaps and you have no extra strings. Someone once said that until you've had your first bruise from a snapped string whipping your face, you aint a real guitarist. )

*A few good guitar tableture books to learn from.

[Tom Luth]

I've been playing for way too long (about thirty years - never got much better...) and own a handfull of various guitars. My most recent last year is now one of my favorites, in spite of it being one of the cheapest I ever bought. I confess, it is a cheap guitar in many ways, but I believe still good. A Jay Turser JT135 (a 335 knock-off) I got on ebay for $250, including shipping. They make many other models, including Les Paul style gold tops that ebay near $200, and strat styles from $119. I am very pleased with mine. Play thru a Carvin Sx100, and a Digitech Rp200 pedal; get a wide range of sounds... Hope this is of some use.

[zak]

run a search on a piece of software called powertab. youll love the dqamn thing. its a tab you can listen to.

[Impaler]

I just bought an Ibanez fretless bass. It's a smoove mutha mutha.

[ June 23, 2002: Message edited by: Impaler ]

[el scoono]

I really think you should start out with an acoustic. You can get a decent beginner acoustic in the $250 - $300 range. It will be considerably less expensive than a decent beginner set-up with an electric. Electrics are so much more expensive because the amp is just as important as the guitar itself. If you get one of those little practice amps you won't be satisfied with the sound, even if you have a $2000 guitar. Those practice amps may be loud, but they have terrible tone, no depth on the bass end, and the effects are usually super cheesy. With an acoustic you can simplify your life and just focus on learning guitar.

I think someone said earlier that once you learn acoustic guitar, playing electric is easy. That's a common misconception. It's true the strings on acoustics are thicker, so the action of the guitar puts more stress on your fingers and it's more difficult to play quickly. However, anyone who's ever played electric at a high volume knows that muting technique and picking precision are much more important and challenging on that instrument. You also must have a great sense of pitch and vibrato if you're going to bend strings correctly on an electric. Someone with a poor vibrato will kill your ears with an electric guitar. Well, that's enough guitar-nerd babbling for now...

[Nilwort]

el scoono: Yeah, I just played an acoustic yesterday that was in *gasp* nice condition, it sounded so much better than the guitar I use...I may just borrow an acoustic for a while untill I get comfortable with the basics before I jump in and buy all the gear for an electric. Thanks for the advice!