Hey, looking to get some help form the STW crew. Ive been telling myself i’ll take up guitar for the past while and want to make the plunge and get one. Any advice? The saying of “If it looks too good to be true it probably is”, i’m guessing thats the way it is with guitars too?

My favourite guitarists are Jack White and Tom Morello, I hope to be able to play some of their stuff some day, I know it will probably be a long road though!

Will a basic 2nd hand electric guitar and amp be ok? I don’t really know anything about guitars but I know the makes Fender and Gibson.

Thanks!

Make sure the neck is straight and the frets haven’t lifted and of course the pickups work..

ANd it isn’t pink or have that “hello kitty” face on it.

2nd hand guitars are often better than new as the owner may have paid for it ‘setting up’. This can range from a proper pro setup to some kid in band having a fiddle with it. However, as long as it can stay in tune whilst you are playing it, you’ll be fine at first. Just look for any obvious problems and ask the seller to play it for you or take someone who can with you.

You should be Jack White in 6 months but Morello will take a few years maybe.

I bought my first guitar last year – and in the end it was a simple punt on ebay.

The bit I found REALLY difficult was the standard “get advice” and “try before you buy” guff that we always spout about bikes…

Guitar shops all said start with acoustic – I had no interest in acoustic 😡

Try before you but just makes you feel like a xxxx when you can’t actually play 👿

So, as above ^ neck straight, frets all there etc. I picked up an Epiphone Les Paul for cheap as chips money. It’s one of their base models, so pick ups sound quite dark unless the tone is turned up, but sustain is really good.

If I were buying again I’d perhaps be a bit bothered about the fret wear on the common open A, C, D, E, G chords – at first I found it difficult to fret these out. Partly being a newby, partly worn frets, partly fairly high strings / action. Used to it now though.

A fellow novice here (acoustic though).

I think the most important thing is to find someone who can give you lessons, for me it was the manager of my local bar, my daughter it was a friend’s son. Then get advice from them. They may have a spare guitar you can practice on a bit first. Small practice amps are cheap and all you need to start.

FWIW I think trying to learn from dvd’s etc is massively inferior. Find someone who likes to play the sort of music you want to learn. It much more fun that way and much more productive.

Have you seen “it might get loud”

There are some good smart phone apps which let you download chords and lyrics – amazing how many songs you can play with a few chords (like G, Em, C, D)

Guitar shops all said start with acoustic – I had no interest in acoustic

They were right. 😉

You really should maybe think about acoustic 😀

Any way, what’s your budget? 2nd hand is prob the best way to go, but go to a shop and ask and try. A decent one will be used to people like you coming in. ( everyone has to start somewhere) there is great online stuff from you tube to justinguitar.com, for chord shapes and strumming and techniques but best thing is a teacher.

Don’t worry too much about stuff like string height or pick ups. Make sure it’s straight, and will stay in tune.

They were right.

Quite possibly – but I had no interest in learning to play acoustic.

Wasn’t much point in buying an instrument I had no interest in picking up

michaelmcc

Whereaouts are you?. I have a Fender Squier Stratocaster which I dig out once a year, get frustrated, then put back under the bed. Has practice amp and decent case.

Plays very well according to those who advised me when buying. No idea what it’s worth or exact model (not one of the USA megabucks ones though). If interested let me know and I’ll get some pics and a price.

Will a basic 2nd hand electric guitar and amp be ok? I don’t really know anything about guitars but I know the makes Fender and Gibson.

They’ll be fine.

Main things to watch out for are really cheap tat, and badly set up guitars.

Electric guitars tend to be quite flexible in how they can be set up. And the vast majority of reputable brands will do just fine (very much like bikes), but get a BSO (or GSO?) and it’ll never be quite right.

Once you’ve played it for a while you’ll get a better idea of what you want, and as with bikes, you’ll be plagued by the equation n+1.

I rarely play these days tbh (I never really had the talent unfortunately), but out of my 4 remaining guitars, the one I play most is the one I paid a fiver for nearly 20 years ago.

All the best guitarist can play both ( and you’ll need to know when you do your unplugged sessions LOL.

Bet you get one eventually

Only bit of advice I’d offer would be

Electric are generally easier to play as they have lighter gauge strings & less tension and typically a lower action. This means that you don’t need to press the strings down as far to fret them and probably they won’t bleed as much at first.

Learning on an acoustic may give you an iron grip on the neck which is not good for speed when playing an electric. It may take some time for you to relax when you move to electric.

Tend to agree with you that if you have no affinity wiyth an acoustic it’s pointless buying one though you’ll likely change your mind later if you stick with it.

You can get a second hand, Indonesian built Fender strat for around £250. Though the squire range is a good place to start if you don’t want to spend that kind of money. Might be worth talking to the poster above.

Advice above is all good as well, straight neck stays, in tune, get a decent tutor etc. The acoustic will force the discipline of correct posture, which will make you a better in the long term. If you want a recommendation on an acoustic, buy a Sigma. Used to be the Martin equivalent of Squire, a really good Sigma will be somewhere in the £2-300 range, but the £99 guitars have a good sound and tone. Top end Sigmas play like a Martin you’d pay £6-700 for!

If you’re anywhere near Berkhamstead in Herts I can recommend a tutor (not me but the one I use) and a decent guitar shop.

Played live for the first time on Saturday in front of about 100 people at my mates 50th, lordy I was scared lol

Last bit of advice, don’t get hung up on the names Fender and Gibson (says the man with 2 Strats) There are better guitars out there for less money than a mass produced Les Paul. Not as Iconic though…. 😕

You should be Jack White in 6 months but Morello will take a few years maybe.

haha

I was in this position a while back, everyone tell me to learn on an acoustic but I had no interest like you, so I bought a Variax. Its about 15 guitars in one. 6 string acoustic, 12 string, strat, les paul, the lot. Love it!

I encourage you to learn on an electric. It won’t do you any harm in the long run, plus you’ll get to experience the joy of picking up an acoustic for the first time after you’ve got some playing ability. I’ll never forget that.

Keep an eye open for fretwear (fretwires have little dips in them where the strings hit them)
Also check for dodgy electronics (twist the knobs & flick the switches when it’s plugged in, listen out for any crackles, [hisses and hums are fine on singlecoils]).

If you fret the 12th fret and then pick the harmonic directly above the 12th fretwire on the same string, while tilting your head to one side as if you’re listening intently to the difference in intonation, you’ll look like an expert to the untrained eye 😉

If you fret the 12th fret and then pick the harmonic directly above the 12th fretwire on the same string, while tilting your head to one side as if you’re listening intently to the difference in intonation, you’ll look like an expert to the untrained eye

and an idiot to the trained one

and an idiot to the trained one

May I ask how you test your saddle intonation?

Sorry I wasn’t saying you were wrong…just that if the intonation is way out and he doesn’t react accordingly then he’ll look an idiot 😳

http://www.sevenzen.co.uk/Rocksmith-Epiphone-Paul-Guitar-Xbox/dp/B007KGI9E6?traffic_src=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=froogle

What’s think about this? Learny game, usb lead and epi les paul jr for £150. Might do it.

Depends on the size of the horse, idiot!

Anything by Squire will be fine.
Anything by Yamaha will be fine.
Anything by Epiphone might be fine.

The thing with guitars is, if you can play a bit you can get a feel for the set up straight away (the key issues are the neck being straight and the strings being positioned above each fret at the right height). It is hard to get if you don’t know how a nicely set up guitar feels and have played some good ones and some bad ones.

A guitar shop will set one up for you with a bit of a service for c£25. Factor that in the price and also that if you are going to get it sorted out nicely then it is worth getting something half decent (spending £25 to set up a £80 guitar is a bit of a waste).

Try looking for a respected but less well known brands i.e.Ibanez, Farida or Yamaha. A good one of these will be much cheaper than a Fender/Squier or similar well known brand.

Sorry I wasn’t saying you were wrong…just that if the intonation is way out and he doesn’t react accordingly then he’ll look an idiot

High five, I owe you a drink! 😀

listen out for any crackles, [hisses and hums are fine on singlecoils]).

Unless thy’re noiseless single coils….. But now we probably need to explain the difference between single coils, hunbuckers and P90’s

Yamaha are bloody good guitars for the money. 6 guitars in the house and 2 of them are Yamaha, 1 Semi Acoustic and 1 Bass

Hey thanks for all the replies so far. All the music I like is edgy electric stuff so don’t think I’d have the same motivation for learning on a acoustic! I have picked up a few guitars a few times and tried to make some kind of sounds that are somewhat coordinated with each other, don’t know any of the right notes or frets though.

Have many people here tried to teach themselves from youtube clips and other stuff online?? I prefer the idea of teaching myself rather than getting lessons. Might do if I find I think I’d have fun with though.

And forgot to mention my budget is about 150-250 quid max.

Also, what about all those fancy looking foot pedals etc, any need for those when starting out? Do you need them for certain sounds I’m guessing?

You should be Jack White in 6 months but Morello will take a few years maybe.

I thought Jack White’s stuff would be harder!! Unless you’re being sarcastic 😉 .

@michaelmcc – I tried teaching myself from DVD / YouTube – resulted in frustration and zero progress and me putting the guitar down for a year. As an absolute minimum you need to find some players who will show you a few pointers in return for a beer or three. Sitting in front of YouTube or a DVD isn’t much of an inspiration either, watching someone play something then have a go yourself is so much better.

It’s chords you need to learn to start with by the way not notes 😉

Have a look at this link for some motivation Love Interruption

It’s just a few chords E, G, A, D

It’s chords you need to learn to start with by the way not notes

Yeah, of course, I knew that! 😛

How much would you pay for this;
http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/epiphone-les-paul-special-ii-electric-guitar-marshall-amp-and-accessories/109815168

Is it worth it? Should I make an offer?
Come on, decide my life for me!

Been out of the market for a looooooooooonnnnng time, but I’d say £160 is very good for all that, assuming it all works/is in good nick. 10w is a pretty weedy little amp, but it’ll be fine for learning on (and annoy the neighbours less…).

One word of caution would be that Les Pauls don’t suit everyone. They have pretty chunky necks and if (like me!) you have girly hands and stubby fingers, then playing one is quite hard work.

Thanks steve. I have big (clumsy) hands so it could be just the ticket.
I’ve really struggled to contort my left hand around the little neck on the ukelele.

Teaching yourself is fine, but you don’t know what you don’t know( if that makes sense 😆 ) teacher will give you a good head start, and don’t be afraid to say what you want , ” teach me blues and rock but no travis picking thanks” that sort of thing.

Another recommendation for yamaha, they are really good for not much money.

For learning, have a look at this guy’s site:

http://www.justinguitar.com/

It’s a superb resource for learning and imo it is delivered really well. Goes right from the basics and keeps on going to some pretty advanced stuff. Can’t get over how much info there is on there.

Have many people here tried to teach themselves from youtube clips and other stuff online?? I prefer the idea of teaching myself rather than getting lessons.

Youtube?? Online??? I only wish all that stuff existed when I started.

Haha. Course you can. As with anything, it’s a big help to have someone around to show you a few things, but there’s loads of resources available these days.

Have a look at some guitar tablature and get your head around that. It’s very simple, basically the view of the fretboard, so shows you exactly where to put your fingers, rather than in traditional music notation where you have to figure that out! Learn a few chords first and get Jammin’.

I have bought 2 E series made in japan strats (made 85 and 86) this year off ebay – 230 and 270 respectively – possibly the greatest guitar bargain ever – just as well made and as my US strat and any other strat i’ve played including some custom shops

For cheap pedals I am going with JOYO at the moment as completely servicable and £30 a pop in the main range – JOYO american is an absolute steal

LW and TM are poles apart in terms of approach to guitar/gear so choose one if you must or better still learn to play like yourself as thats much easier.

If OP is interested I’m going to try giving a few skype guitar lessons free – email in profile

Plum

Have to agree the Japanese strats for that money were a real bargin. Whoever was selling them didn’t know what they had I suspect.

Also agree that [/url] is well worth a visit, many visits actually.

just get a guitar and get on with it, doesn’t matter what you buy so long as it works. in the fifties and sixties everyone started with whatever was around, some of them became ok players…
best thing you can do is practice scales. for hours.

Ok would someone be able to tell me if this is any good/too good for a 1st guitar, and also what the hell a Humbucker is?!?! 😕

Stellah Electric Guitar

humbucker is the pickup. (interesting right?)

how about this: Les paul Special II