I've just heard that there are some beginners group guitar lessons starting in my village next Saturday. I've always fancied learning and being laid-up on crutches with my Achilles now seems like a good time. One snag ... I don't have a guitar so I'd need to get one next week ... plus an amp. I've emailed the teacher for his thoughts but I know a few people play on here so I wonder what you would advise? This is my local guitar shop, the only place I'll be able to get to try some out ... Hartnoll's Guitar Shop | Plymouth | Taunton | Torquay | Gibson, Fender, Marshall & Blackstar Main Dealers Also ... which is the best electric guitar web forum to sign-up to?
I did something similar Dave. Always fancied learning the guitar so bought an acoustic while i was in Cyprus for 6 months last year. Managed to teach myself with the help of Youtube! There is a guy on there called Marty Schwartz who is a very good teacher. If I was to say one thing, i would say that it is better to learn on an acoustic first. I bought an electric at xmas and struggle to get on with it,but i suppose you should be okbif you are going straight in with an electric! Enjoy those barre chords!!
Dave, dont go electric, buy a steel strung acoustic, explain to your local dealer what you want to acheive, Funky and Glidd will be along shortly with advice, but as I say go acoustic first then go leccy when you can play a bit.....hope the A T is not too sore, did mine playing cricket took 6m to heal properly!!! Oh and btw did you buy your D16 from Martin at DG? Cheers Twang
Thanks Mr T Sad to say these local electric lessons are the only thing that will prompt me to start learning - I know myself well enough Perhaps I should get an acoustic as well :wink: I go back to hospital with the Achilles tomorrow - see if they are going to put me in plaster :frown: Yes - the D16 came from Martin at DG - here he is with the bike and Debbie Evans (stunt rider from The Matrix would you believe?)
Aye Dave, thought it was you, Martin is one of the worlds "good guys" ......still think acoustic first but hey I've only been in bands for 40 years!!! Good luck mate in all areas!!!
my personal advice is, if you want to learn the electric guitar then buy one. Firstly, the electric is easier to learn one as they typically have thinner gauge strings and a lower action (the distance between the strings and the fretboard), meaning that less finger pressure is required. Also, common guitar playing techniques such as string bending etc have more scope on the electric guitar. advanced techniques on the acoustic are often percussive in nature, whereas the electric tends to be more melodic, which is probably the direction youre headed. If you just want to strum a few chords at parties rather than improvise then an acoustic is fine, unless you want to play modern acoustic styles (Andy Mckee, Preston Reed etc) Acoustic can be great for delta blues, slide, as these styles developed before the electirc guitar..the choice is yours ultimately, but if you want to play electric guitar music (blues, rock etc) then because they are electric styles, using electric techniques, that is the way to go imho.. its not essential to buy an amp in the early days. The best starter guitars IMO are the yamaha pacifica and then the squire strat in that order..they will cost around £150 to £200 but are far superior to guitars that are even just £30 cheaper..the yamaha will also take a fair while for you to outgrow, and has a wide range of tones, is very playable and versatile with decent hardware and made from real wood..most starter guitars are made from plywood or compressed wood pulp (not good)... Buy the best you can afford..I would avoid anything made by Elevation, Vintage, Encore and such like as they are bordering on toys and will most likely cut your fingers to ribbons on the sharp, unfinished fret ends, they will not stay in tune, have thin sounding cheap pickups, and i guarantee that the neck will warp in a couple of years as they are made from immature wood, usually several pieces glued together... best of luck should you decide to go for it. Guitar playing has been my career for over 20 years with all that entails, and i have taught over 6,000 students from kids to pensioners and everything in between from primary school, to the London College of Music. you will find it the most frustrating but the most rewarding thing you ever did..and the better you get, the more fun it becomes!
Thank you Mr Funkster. I've looked and listened to a whole bunch of of clips on YouTube and had a chat to my soon-to-be guitar teacher. I like the twangy sound of the Telecaster, and as I'd rather buy from a friend I'm going to go for the one that Viv is selling. Just got to work out how to get my hands on it before next Saturday now :biggrin:
Well done Dave, whilst I said acoustic you will not go wrong with Viv's tele and a nice wee vox amp, good luck and remember practice, practice and more practice!!!!
Good choice - I'm surprised it didn't sell on here last year when a 600ss was thrown in - must be tele-pathic
