You’ll be very happy with a Pacifica. Highly regarded, they used to be the go to recommendation for a first electric – until the squires and epiphones started to get good again. Pacifica’s are still a real bargain and good quality guitars.

Be aware that the entry level Pacificas (012 & 112, at least) have quite narrow necks. May be an issue if you have sausage fingers, like me.

(112 is a superb guitar for not too much money)

Hi Matty, we’ll both post a vid of a song with lots of one step and two step bends in the first three frets and see who has bleeding fingers at the end. I’ll do Telephone’s Cendrillon using 9-46 and you use medium 12-something. I can’t do two a two-step bend second fret b-string with custom light 11-56 without risk of cutting my finger.

As I said, horses for courses, you could set up an acoustic with electric style action and strings but it would sound bad, and an electric would still be easier on the fingers to play if you’re doing lots of blends on the first 3 frets.

It’s like saying that mountain bikes are better than road bikes, they share many common features but are very different animals with different applications.

The only sensible answer is to buy a vintage telecaster and les paul, and a vintage Martin D28 and a Gibson hummingbird. That should cover most bases hahaha!

Get that Pacifica, lovely guitars

A Pacifica in good condition is a fine guitar. A lot are now worn out though.

Check:

the frets, if they have notches under the strings or seem very flat and low (which means they’ve been dressed/filed) then it’s worn out.

the neck isn’t twisted by looking along it. The bass strings are always a little higher but the neck itself should have no twist.

Press the fat E-string down on the 22nd fret and look how much gap there is between the string and the 9th fret. A small gap is good, more than 2-3mm you need to check the truss rod is working.

Measure the “action”, the height of the strings above the 12th fret. 2mm for the thin E to 3mm for the fat E is typical, then play each string gently all the way down the neck and listen for buzzing, there shouldn’t be any.

plug it in and check the pickups and switches work and it sounds reasonable.

Evening all.

Well I went to see the Yamaha Pacifica and I bought it 🙂

It’s not been used much and is in great condition! I’ll post a pic later. Everything works as it should, it feels really nice and sounds good too. The kind chap also gave me a soft carry/storage bag, a strap and a 10w Yamaha amp which whilst it won’t set the world on fire is plenty good enough to get me going. Got it all for £70 so pretty chuffed with that.

Thanks for the info there Edukator, I’ll check all these things this evening 🙂

Now time to bully the families ears haha!

Bargain

When I see the prices of second-hand guitars in the UK I’m tempted to buy a boot load.

Here we go

Now I need to attempt playing it hah!

ooooooooooooookay…. so rather than start a new thread I’ll just keep going with this, hopefully.

Right, I have a guitar.

I went to the guitar shop and bought new strings. Was interesting, I asked for some help as there are so many! I was told

him: “these D’Addario NYXL are the best”
me: “I was thinking something like these Ernie Ball? as I’m a learner and don’t need 15 quid fancy dans yet”
him: “but these are the best, you can bend them further, they sound amazing”
me: “mate, I suck! I don’t even know where to start never mind bend strings”
him: “yeah, Ernie Ball are cool man”

Anyhow, I’ve not re-strung it yet. I’m told it’s not a good idea to whip all the strings off as the neck won’t take kindly to it. So, replace one at a time?

Also, where to start? I thought ‘I know, I’ll start with learning scales’… *googles guitar scales*… ‘hmmmm there are a lot of guitar scales’…
lol

So, where to start?

Justinguitar? buy Bert Weedon’s book? youtube? Something else?

This will take me a while I think. But that’s okay. I gave up alcohol and fags a while ago so I need something to occupy myself. 🙂

The neck won’t mind at all. But it’s always easier to change one string at a time on a guitar with a tremolo as it’s quicker to get back in tune. Fit sting – tune, fit next string – tune. I’d block the tremolo with a couple of pieces of wood initially (Google it). You’ll have enough to worry about without using the trem.

What sort of music do you like? What artists/bands do you like. Big Country guitar work is quite complicated but there’s probably something you like you’ll be able to play.

Edit: I wouldn’t restring it yet, wait until you break one – possible the first time you try to tune it 😉

Strings, nah, just unwind them all, it’s nonsense to do them one at a time(can if you want though, but there’s no benefit to it).

No need to tie knots in them either(some of the videos on the web are overkill.). Strings just need 3 or 4 wraps and they’ll hold, 4 in the B string and on the thin E maybe 5/6. basically, range something like 3 to 6 winds from thick to thin.

When you wrap them around, make sure it’s all nice and tight and even. And make sure they’ll wind down, should look some like this.

you can stretch the strings manually just pull them up in the middle of the fret board, with steel strings it’s less crucial than with nylon, but they’ll still settle better if you stretch them. (you’ll know if they need stretch if strings keep going out and need tuned up.)

You’ll end up with bit long bits that’ll need cut off (you can just wiggle them to get them off aswell mind, cutting is nicer). but don’t do that till the strings are fully stretch, but do do it, nothing worse than a guitar with string bits all over the top.

btw if you’ve got a floating trem, they can seem like voodoo trying to tune them at first, but it’s just a case of tuning a few times, till the floating trem is balanced, as a beginner, this will puzzle you, but you’ll eventually be able to tune it pretty quickly, and if you ever develop to alt tunings, you’ll get how it all works.

As for scales, well aye they’ll puggle the hell out of you. 😆

Start with simple chords, your goal in the first 6 months is to learn your basic minor and major open position chords, and get good at them, and promote strength in your fingers(and learn how to hold a guitar properly, that’s crucial) and then move onto barre chords.

That’s not to say you can’t do scales, go for it if you’ve a natural affinity for them, but I think you’ll get more satisfaction to begin with getting to know the chords and learning a few songs.

Your ultimate goal is to get strength into your fingers.

One thing I would say about intervals/chords/scales/arpeggios/modes/etc is that they are all the same thing. That’s no use to you right now, 😆 but just remember that for the future.

basically, learn chords > arpeggios > scales in that order imo. (The theory side is not a replacement for learning songs though, you can get trapped in theory, songs will mix it up a bit for you and introduce you to theory concepts with you even knowing it.)

One more thing to add is that don’t spend weeks learning one thing, learn multiple things, and if you feel you’ve plateaued with one thing, leave it for a week, try something else and go back to it. Learning the guitar isn’t linear in that sense, learning one thing helps you in another etc.

I don’t know the theory of muscle memory, but it’s like exercise, a wee bit at a time of each thing, consistently over a period of time, is better than tiring yourself out on one thing intensely over one day..

power chords,

Power Chords

then ultimate guitar . com and search for green day
play boulevard of broken dreams within moments, it’s an electric guitar, keep things simple

Many thanks! (Can we have a guitar thread on here?)

My musical taste is varied. I like most things. Happy Mondays to Pearl Jam, Jane’s Addiction to Daft Punk.
Not into pop, but everything else I’ll give a listen

Right now, placing my fingers in the correct place is what I need to learn haha! And I have large fingers. I press one string and the ones either side are squished and sound terrible…

ps, guess I should also mention, that learning how to strum and use a pick go hand in hand with you first 6 months goals! 😆

If you’re going to make progress, you need structure.

At the very least follow Justin’s beginner’s course:

Beginner’s Course

Personally, I would (and did) buy the accompanying course book and song book:

Course Book

Song Book

Without a solid foundation of chords under your fingers, progression will be petty hard and sooner or later you’ll realise you need to start again and learn probably. Do yourself a favour and do it right the first time.

Better still, get a teacher.

Zedsdead – Member

Right now, placing my fingers in the correct place is what I need to learn haha! And I have large fingers. I press one string and the ones either side are squished and sound terrible…

this is a classical position, so you don’t need to do it exactly like this. but note the angle of the fretboat, pointing up! That makes it easier. also notice the straightness of the back of the guys hand, that is crucial, the strength doesn’t just come from the fingers. the straighter the wrist, the more strength you’ll get(this is dynamic as you change position, but it’s a good thing to keep in mind to begin with.)

No need to play more than three strings at a time on an electric, “power chords” will allow you to play the rhythm part on many rock tracks with two chord shapes that you just slid up and down the neck.

Have you got some picks? The right hand has much more to learn than the left hand. Just holding the pick and moving it around between you finger and thumb will take a while to master. Think about strumming patterns right from the start. The start of “Whatever”: Down, blank – down – down, up, down, up, down – down, up, down

Edit: play an electric like the guy in that photo and it’ll sound like all hell has let loose. You need to put as much effort into stopping the strings you’re not playing ringing as picking the ones you want either by resting your palm/thumb on the strings not needed or the fingers/thumb of your left hand.

That’s interesting Edukator – I’m right handed but have always had a guitar resting on my right leg, the opposite of that chap. It feels odd right now but I can see/feel the left hand is in a good position…

I picked up some picks too 🙂

Van Halen here I come lol

To begin with I’d concentrate on making a sound that you recognise. Forget learning proper chords for now, they are hard, require several fingers and hurt, both in a sharp on the fingers way and also in a muscle achey way.

5ths or power chords only need two fingers and are the same shape all over the fretboard, just moved up or down a bit.

Slide the selector switch on the guitar to the back or second from back position for a meaty rock sound and let the fat of your hand rest on the strings, damping them, you’ll be a rock god before you know it.

https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/n/nirvana/smells_like_teen_spirit_ver3_tab.htm

However you sit with the guitar, your nose looking straight down the 12th fret is a good place to start.

Btw, left or right leg is irrelevant, just showing you that to show you the wrist, ie the hand coming around the guitar(promotes strength), which is easier with the neck angled up(you’ll find your own natural position, and will lessen it as time goes on, but trust me angled is easier. ).

That classical guitar doesn’t have the neck sticking way out left. I play an electric on my right leg and classical on my left leg. I play better standing up with an electric.

At the very least follow Justin’s beginner’s course:

Beginner’s Course

+1000 (As somebody who tried to learn guitar off and on for 20+ years.)

Just work your way through it, in order, and do the things he tells you to do (practice schedule, etc.) Expect the whole course to take 6 months if you’re keen, or a bit longer if you’re time-pressed. (The “beginner” bit undersells it, I think – it is a solid foundation that covers a lot of ground.)

Some of the things may seem a little odd, but there’s a purpose to everything, and it all builds together to get you playing as soon as you can, and to lay a foundation for the intermediate course, and beyond.

Oh, and it is all free.

Like mattrgee I bought a couple of books, and made a few donations, but there’s absolutely no expectation that you’ll do this, or any sort of sign up / tie in.

Just click on the first video and get going. /Justinevangelist 😉

thanks seosamh77, I really appreciate all the advice you’ve given.

It’s a bit daunting as there is so much but that’s part of the appeal. I want to keep myself occupied and I’ve always wanted to learn properly.

The guitar shop was amazing! So many cool things and I could spend a fortune. But that’s for a few years down the line…

no worries, it’s really just about sticking with it. And avoiding frustration, if something’s too hard, leave it for a week, don’t struggle with it forever.

Once you’re by the 6 months, there’s a good chance you’ll never give it up.

Work your way through that justin guitar stuff, a lot in it, which will take much longer than 6 months to get down properly imo.

YEah, just having a read of Justinguitar and it looks well laid out and easy to follow. The books look like a good investment.
So now the kids know what to get me for Christmas… 😀

Slight deja vu here…

Also YouTube ‘rumble’ by link wray guitar lesson. Easy peasy lemon squeezy as Negan would say:)

That is a good buy, into the game for £70 plus some new strings – happy days

Note the footrest … see how it feels with some books and if you like it buy a little rest. Also another good tip I got was to buy a stand as the Guitar is out and visible and “asking” to be played.

Justin Guitar course – try a few videos from the website and if you like them buy the books.

Curse these large fingers and hitting the other strings…

Practise, practise, and more practise!

Although not too much. You want calluses, not blisters!

If it’s your left hand try using other fingers. I play a lot of things most people play with index, major and ring fingers with major, ring and pinky. Just as well you bought the Pacifica rather than an Epiphone – the 25,5″ scale has a bit more room for your fingers.

That’s interesting Edukator – I’m right handed but have always had a guitar resting on my right leg, the opposite of that chap. It feels odd right now but I can see/feel the left hand is in a good position

Put a strap on the guitar then hang it over your shoulders. Let your right arm drop with a nice relaxed bend in it. Position the guitar so the heel of your right hand is just resting on the bridge. Then sit down. You’ll find the guitar in your lap hanging between your legs probably much closer to a classical style position than a “cowboy” position with it resting on your right leg. Means your guitar will be in the same position whether you are sitting down or standing up. I can never understand players putting the guitar on their right thigh. When I try it it means my right arm and shoulder are bent too much putting a load of tension into my hand and fingers. Lots of people who play sitting down with the guitar on their right thigh find they can’t play properly standing up because the guitar doesn’t hang in that positon.

I presume you have a tuner or a phone app so you can tune up properly

If you are looking online for lessons pick a decent course like JustinGuitar and stick to it. Jumping around various YouTube teachers will just get you confused.

You could do a lot worse than start with the blues and learn a simple E or A blues progression and the respective pentatonic/blues scale.

Sorry, but don’t listen to the pish people are talking about position and shit.

Adopt this, you know it’s right….

1, 2, 3, 4!

😉

Three pages of very useful advice but not a single mention of the most important learners song – smoke on the water. One power chord in 4 positions. Rock basics. And of course wild thing.

Decided to treat myself yesterday. Had a craving for something quirky. I’d tested some Reverend guitars. Played well and the Billy Corgan signature model was lovely but pretty ugly.

Popped into a different shop yesterday and spied the reissued Fender Duo-sonic. Half an hour messing around with it and I was sold. Sounds fantastic, feels great and the 24″ neck is so smooth. Only had a brief play last night at home but it sounded just as good.

that is a very pretty thing

this is mine, now with more suitable tone and volume knobs

.