Guitar beginner

[mart_haj86]

Im looking at learning to play the guitar but I have a few questions...

1) Whats a good acoustic guitar to get for a beginner? (budget around £100-£150 - ish)

2) What are good books to get to learn? or should I just use the tinternet?

3) Cant think of mkuch else to ask but any other recommendations/suggestions would be great.

Thanks
Mart

[Colossous]

It might be worth seeking out a guitar tutor, it'll accelerate your playing and he'll likely have guitars for you to try and good advice on buying !!

[IBM]

You can pick up a cheap beginner's guitar from any decent guitar shop for anything between 70 and 200 quid...or if you've got a mate who plays, ask them if they've got one they'll sell you (or ask them to come with you to buy something second hand in your budget).

[Colossous]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjA5faZF1A8

Heres someone to aspire too !!!!!

[IBM]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjA5faZF1A8

Heres someone to aspire too !!!!!

With his FEET man!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSnUwA6c67k

[Fabula]

If buying a beginners guitar, don't get one that is too cheap. £100 is certainly fine to get you into the hobby, but some cheaper guitars can have problems. I saw a cheap guitar that had no heel on the neck, so would probably start to warp under the tension from the strings after a while.
If you don't have a mate who plays guitar, find a guitar shop where people seem to know what they're doing, and investigate. Don't buy on first visit, but come back later having thought about things, and gone to another shop for a comparison.

[Knoxville]

Fender, Yamaha and Tanglewood all have resonable acoustics for under the £150 mark, go to a shop and try them out because for all the reccomendations you might be given it's you thats gotta be comfortable playing it and every guitar is different.

Personally I just use the internet although if you want to learn to read proper music instead of tabs then you would probably be better off starting with a book, you can pick them up in most music or guitar stores and theres a huge selection out there, it may also be worth noting that in this months Total Guitar magazine there's a free chord dictionary with a guide to playing about 260 of the most common chords on guitar and an explanation of how to create your own chord progressions.

[99Flake]

I have a Tanglewood which is my first guitar, it was a bit more than £150 but I wanted an electro-acoustic and it was a limited edition in piano laquer black. However the one thing that a decent guitar will give you is a better action on the strings. This means that applying pressure on them to the fret board is much easier so actually playing a chord is far easier, especially barre chords!

My mate had a cheapish £100 Yamaha and the amount of travel was huge and it was a lot harder to play. As everyone has said go to a shop and try them out. If possible take someone who can play to help you. £150 should get you a pretty nice sounding first guitar.

As an aside I can wholly recommend putting Elixir strings on it at the earliest possible point. They feel nicer than the standard ones and sound far better (mine was pre-strung with them so you might find others like that).

[mart_haj86]

I have actually been looking at the Yamaha APX 500 Electro-acoustic. Has anyone tried this? any good?

[Peach]

Depends what it is you're actually wanting to play - chords or actual finger playing? If its just chorded songs, i reckon the internet is good for a lot of that stuff, and as people have said, u can pick up good cheap books with all the chord formations. If ur wanting to work on finger technique however, i do recommend getting a teacher. Look for one that works both with chords and finger playing tho. I played guitar for 10years at school, but never really got anywhere with chords because my teacher was obsessed with finger playing!

[Colossous]

A simple tip is to buy a good tuner too ! If your just starting you need to be in tune !!

[99Flake]

A simple tip is to buy a good tuner too ! If your just starting you need to be in tune !!

Never a truer word spoken. A good tuner is vital!

[Stig]

When I started I got a Fender Squier acoustic guitar pack for about £50. I found it really quite hard to get on with and eventally one of the tuning keys came loose and ratteled. Fortunately I suppose because it meant I could get a refund.

I used this refund to by a Norman B18 from guitarzone.co.uk. Normans are hand made by Godin (a Canadian company) and this one costs about £170. It is a beautiful sounding instrument and a quantum leap from the Squier.

I then saw a second hand Seagull S6 Folk (also made by Godin) on eBay for £150. I got it and that really is a fantastic guitar. I cannot do it justice.

All I need now is new fingers...

[Bazzlad]

Tips:
Buy a cheap Yamaha Guitar, or a fender squire. £80 - £100.
I can find actual models if you want.

Check the neck. (look down it one end from the other - if it has any bend - reject it)

Check the action - how high are the strings off the neck? How much effort does it take to push one down and play a clean note. The less effort the better.

Check for "fret buzz". Play each note on each string on the guitar, one after the other, if at any point you can't get a clean note - you get the note and a buzzing - reject it.

On your first guitar price isn't important, I bought a £10 acoustic from a car boot, and my first electric was a £20 Japanese piece of crap which didn't work in the electrics - and I can play well

Find a guitar shape, size and look your comfortable with, don't be rushed/hassled by sales people and as stated, buy a GOOD tuner, and ask the assistant how to use it.

Good luck.

As for books, my advice is get a chord book, and a play "10 songs in 5 chords book" (make sure you know the songs!) and then get one lesson, from a friend, or a tutor, so that you know how to play properly.

Always keep your thumb behind the neck facing upwards, try and bend your playing hand sufficiently not to mute strings by accident, and take your time. Make the notes sound pure and true, as opposed to playing quickly.

Above all, Enjoy.

[Gerschwin]

If you went with a Yamaha or Squire and tried to follow your tips - he'd spend an eternity trying to find one.......


Looking down the neck is practically useless unless you really know what your looking for (apart from major twists)

Fret buzz and action - may need setup from factory standard

[skuzgib]

Always keep your thumb behind the neck facing upwards, try and bend your playing hand sufficiently not to mute strings by accident, and take your time. Make the notes sound pure and true, as opposed to playing quickly.

Above all, Enjoy.

I disagree about the thumb thing tbh, yes strict classical technique says keep it behind the neck all the time but things like bends are a hell of a lot easier to do with your thumb over the neck. Also when playing open chords you can mute unwanted bass strings with your thumb.

I even tend to play barre chords with my thumb fretting the low e string (not recommended for beginner).