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If you want to sound exactly like Mick Ronson, he used a Les Paul, and probably heavily customized.
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Apr 11, 2011 20:59
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Strats are pretty sweet guitars, and are a fine choice of first guitar. I can't comment on their suitability for Bowie particularly, though. Go ahead and get the guitar now. If this is your plan, you'll need one eventually, and honestly the mechanical skills of fingering chords and scales are rather apart from music theory and general musicianship skills. I'd probably recommend learning them in tandem. I started mostly playing strumming chords and learning songs, which is fun/rewarding and builds a solid base to build on at the same time. Go ahead and learn theory, sightreading, musicianship, etc at the same time though. Your previous musical experience will certainly be helpful, especially if you remember about chord formation and voicing from keyboard.
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Apr 12, 2011 00:01
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It looks like you've already basically done this, but: Go to Guitar Center and try a bunch of stuff out. Especially as a starter, don't worry about playing what your favoritest guitarist in the whole world played, and instead play what is comfortable for you (for me, this is a Strat). Nothing will suck harder than trying to learn the guitar on one that you find uncomfortable. Then don't buy it from Guitar Center. If you have a personal friend who plays guitar, ask them for advice to make sure you don't buy a guitar with a bunch of defects or whatever. Or join the Musician's Lounge lovefest of Rondo guitars. They're nice. edit: As far as theory and stuff goes, worry about that once you have the guitar. With an actual background in music, you'll probably find that applying theory to the guitar is really easy, since the neck is very uniform (especially compared to brass instruments, ugh)
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Apr 12, 2011 01:17
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MurraneousX posted:drat, I gotta thank this thread. I had originally tried to play the guitar some 12 years ago. Unfortunately I was stuck with the school music teachers, feebly twanging my unamplified electric guitar in a room full of acoustic players, one of whom actually had some great musical talent. Unsurprisingly it turned out to be quite the disheartening experience. That's honestly ridiculous - I don't know how some people end up as music teachers when they don't seem to care about people's enjoyment or the experience. I got told I wasn't allowed to learn how to play chords on the keyboard and I should stick to the way we were taught (Auto-Chord mode, press a low key for a chord). The best music lesson was when the P.E. (gym) teacher had to look after us and just sat on a stool in the middle of the room reading and ignoring everyone, while we went rampant grabbing The Forbidden Instruments and actually enjoying music. I ended up doing a piano duet with a girl who could play clarinet  A lot of people suggest getting a decent amp before worrying about your guitar, just because a crap guitar can still sound good through a great amp, but not vice-versa. My other recommendation is to try and play whatever you'd like to be able to play, any songs you love, and get as much enjoyment out of it as you can! Millions posted:I went to Guitar Center and plucked around on a few guitars as per this thread's recommendation, and found that the thin neck of a Stratocaster feels pretty comfortable in my hands. I've gotten big into David Bowie recently and am hoping to play some Ziggy Stardust era music, is a Strat the right guitar for this? Honestly worrying about the tone of a guitar is probably way down your list of priorities, you probably won't even be able to tell the difference between the sound of a Strat and a Les Paul for a lonnnnng time (and sound is heavily influenced by the rest of your equipment anyway). If a Strat-style guitar feels right, go for it
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Apr 12, 2011 01:59
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No guitar/amp combo from Guitar Center will replicate a sound you hear on an album, especially not one that production-heavy. In a dense classic rock mix, the guitars often have really thin, wimpy parts when you separate them out. I can tell you right now that guitar tones on Ziggy Stardust, at least the radio singles, will sound awful on their own. If you're really a fan of thin, tinny tone, though, get a Vox or another "vintage British" amp. Something like the setup on "White Room" is a more realistic version of that same classic Brit sound. All that in mind, you'll probably really like the sound of a basic Fender through a Fender. It's a warm, full sound with some versatility. CalvinDooglas fucked around with this message at 04:59 on Apr 13, 2011 |
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Apr 13, 2011 04:55
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What do people think of Fender's new Pawnshop series of guitars? It's being marketed as "guitars that never were, but should have been." Personally, I've never been a huge Fender guy, but I recognize and respect their worth, and I think this seems like a very cool idea. Having a series of guitars dedicated to weird variations is...kind of awesome.
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Apr 13, 2011 16:52
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Manky posted:What do people think of Fender's new Pawnshop series of guitars? It's being marketed as "guitars that never were, but should have been." Personally, I've never been a huge Fender guy, but I recognize and respect their worth, and I think this seems like a very cool idea. Having a series of guitars dedicated to weird variations is...kind of awesome. I do like these a lot, when are these going to hit stores I'd love to give that 'Stang a run around.
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Apr 13, 2011 17:32
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Those are some beautiful looking guitars IMO. Man that 72' Strat would be a hell of a pairing with my 72' Thinline Tele   
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Apr 13, 2011 19:41
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I like them except for the '51 that you used to be able to get as a squire for under $100. Just don't see how putting Fender on the headstock justifies a $700 price increase.
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Apr 13, 2011 20:33
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Isn't there a difference in the quality control and parts used? Whenever I shopped around my guitar playing friends would all agree that an american made fender was vastly superior to whatever squire knockoff version.
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Apr 13, 2011 20:40
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Pawn Shop Guitar: $800
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Apr 13, 2011 20:48
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 Squire '51  Fender '51 What I'd be curious about now is someone that owns a Squire one to play the Fender one side by side.
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Apr 13, 2011 20:58
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Thumposaurus posted:What I'd be curious about now is someone that owns a Squire one to play the Fender one side by side. There should be a pretty big difference in quality of wood, hardware, and especially pickups between MIA Fender and any kind of Squier. Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of Fender, but there's a reason I have one of their deluxe jazz basses. But yeah, maybe not $700 worth of difference. Depending on how big the production run of these things are, that might add into the cost as well. e: VVVVV Haha, seriously? Forget that, then. At least they're pretty! Manky fucked around with this message at 23:22 on Apr 13, 2011 |
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Apr 13, 2011 21:07
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Manky posted:There should be a pretty big difference in quality of wood, hardware, and especially pickups between MIA Fender and any kind of Squier. Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of Fender, but there's a reason I have one of their deluxe jazz basses. The new series isn't MIA, they're made in Japan. A fender employee confirmed this. Personally, I don't really see the appeal of the Fender version of the '51. You could get the Squier, upgrade the pickups and hardware, and still be way under half of the Fender version. That Mustang looks drat sexy though.
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Apr 13, 2011 23:14
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Side Effects posted:The new series isn't MIA, they're made in Japan. A fender employee confirmed this. except the finish, wood, and switches. Squiers are covered with opaque, plastic-y stuff, and nice guitars are finished like a car, with several layers of lacquer and paint. CalvinDooglas fucked around with this message at 03:27 on Apr 14, 2011 |
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Apr 14, 2011 03:24
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CalvinDooglas posted:except the finish, wood, and switches. Squiers are covered with opaque, plastic-y stuff, and nice guitars are finished like a car, with several layers of lacquer and paint. Like I said, I don't personally see the appeal of them for the prices Fender is charging. They both use polyester finishes; lacquer (such as nitro) finishes are the ones that require much more attention. Switches I file under hardware and can be replaced. The only real difference is whether or not you really care if the body wood is poplar or not. But, that's just me.
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Apr 14, 2011 06:01
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Along with bottom-of-the-barrel electronics, the really cheap Squiers also tend to have plywood bodies. Like construction plywood. Pulling the pick guard off a Bullet series guitar should only be done while wearing chain mail gloves and with a really powerful vacuum cleaner on hand. You'll probably still end up with splinters. (edit) That's not to say they can't still sound good - the first guitar I ever bought for my son was an $89 Bullet Strat, and the thing absolutely screams. Nice fast neck too. We both still play it a lot. Acid Reflux fucked around with this message at 17:28 on Apr 14, 2011 |
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Apr 14, 2011 17:22
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Incredulous Dylan from last year posted:I've never played the guitar before. I recently sort of remembered that my ex had given me this Ensenada FG-43 and I had it re-strung (though I've learned to do it myself since) and started strumming around. It was really a bitch to play and learn with because it was so old and lovely, so I sunk a little money last night into a new Martin DXK2AE. I was fooling around with a bunch of different steel string guitars and I just ended up loving that one. Woah - update on my progress from page two of an excellent thread! I now play twice a week with a mixture of very skilled and beginner musicians who are also my close friends. We all meet at my buddy's house, and his father has been in a million bands and has tons of equipment (awesome living room setup) and he jams on keyboards while we all play old songs, and he teaches us as we play. In the beginning I only really "practiced" while jamming, but now I practice all the time and have learned all the usual music theory for my level. The "band" even gifted me with a nice keyboard for Christmas, which I use to compose after I've thought about it for a while. I now own two guitars, the Martin above and a Fender 72' Telecaster Thinline. I bought a Fender Blue Jr. III amp with the Tele, and the combo I found to just be amazing. I sort of ignored the Martin for a few months while I played the Tele, but recently I have come to have a real appreciation and love for my acoustic, especially after playing so many others at the jams. There's really a universal love among all the musicians there for that Martin, and I can't recommend it enough for a beginning guitar player who wants a quality acoustic that will likely hold a lot of its value and keep you wanting to play. My guitar playing has really satisfied the creative side of me and I don't think that from this point forward I could go without being able to compose and play on my guitar. I love the Tele and have babied it like nothing else, but I plan on selling it soon and grabbing either an american standard Tele or Strat - I'm going to play a lot of both and decide which. It's all pretty exciting! Actually, does anyone have any recommendations on the best way to sell my Tele? I'm guessing maybe Craigslist will have to do - I don't want to pay for auctions, etc.
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Apr 14, 2011 18:57
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So I did go out and get a Strat after all - Fender Billy Corgan. What a beautiful sounding guitar - no hum whatsoever and just incredibly clean and bright tones. The guys at Best Buy all begged me to take turns playing some solos on it before I left, since it was the last in stock and their favorite on the wall. Did I mention this was Best Buy? Their music store here really owns - all the employees are musicians who don't work on quotas or commissions, so they are really cool and laid back and just want to help you find the best sound you can. After this guy I know there spent almost an hour and a half asking me all sorts of questions while adjusting the heck out of my new guitar, the manager offered to buy my old one.
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Apr 15, 2011 03:17
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Im going to get a Fretlight Guitarto start off with and learn. I'd be able to get $100 off the web price. The question is whether the Standard guitar is worth it over the entry level one for an extra $130? Or just get a Squire or Strat and screw the light-up learning guitar?
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Apr 15, 2011 04:51
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Screw the light up guitar, it's just a gimmick.
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Apr 15, 2011 05:11
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Incredulous Dylan posted:So I did go out and get a Strat after all - Fender Billy Corgan. Hahaha, I didn't even know he had a signature one. No Lace Sensor pickups though 
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Apr 15, 2011 09:08
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Y2J posted:just get a Squire or Strat and screw the light-up learning guitar Screw the light-up guitar. It's totally unnecessary, way overpriced, and you'd be embarrassed to take it out in public.
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Apr 15, 2011 13:05
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Y2J posted:Im going to get a Fretlight Guitarto start off with and learn. I'd be able to get $100 off the web price. The question is whether the Standard guitar is worth it over the entry level one for an extra $130? Or just get a Squire or Strat and screw the light-up learning guitar? And from a guy who's only two weeks ahead of your learning process, yes, screw that, get a real guitar. It's a lot easier to start off than you might think!
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Apr 15, 2011 15:09
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Fret light will help your guitar playing as much as LA Lights helped kids learn to walk
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Apr 15, 2011 16:49
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But did it make them better at basketball?
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Apr 15, 2011 16:51
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CalvinDooglas posted:Fret light will help your guitar playing as much as LA Lights helped kids learn to walk Let's not sully those LA Lights that's a low blow.
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Apr 15, 2011 17:17
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Looking for an acoustic electric as an upgrade. I've got a Seagull S6 right now, and its a pretty fine guitar. I want electric capabilities, and maybe something a bit nicer (although I've probably not reached any limits on the S6). Budget gets up to around $700-1000, any suggestions?
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Apr 18, 2011 13:52
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RiggenBlaque posted:My neck pickup on my strat stopped working, and I can't figure out why. To be more specific, as far as I can tell, it still kinda works but its just extremely quiet - I have to turn the volume up to insane levels to hear anything out of it. The electronics are setup in the normal strat configuration, and nothing seems wrong in any other switch position than neck-only, so I'm having a tough time figuring out what is wrong. Does anyone have any ideas? It's probably a broken solder joint.  Heat each joint related to that pickup with an iron until it flows, then remove the iron from the joint. Start with where the neck pickup connects to the switch, then the pickups ground connection (likely on the back of the volume pot). If that doesn't work, do the connections on the neck tone pot. If none of that works, you may need to replace the switch. If you still have problems at this point, check the pickup itself with a multimeter and compare the reading with what Fender says is should be (bear in mind pickups can vary a little).
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Apr 18, 2011 23:03
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Anyone have a recommendation on a really good, pointy iron, that could be used to build pedals with? ... yes cheap is better. Edit: Nevermind, educated myself. Wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered things being. Warcabbit fucked around with this message at 02:22 on Apr 19, 2011 |
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Apr 19, 2011 02:10
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This one is probably good enough. http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/6438 It's nice to be able to adjust the heat so you can turn it down when doing IC's and transistors, and be able to crank it up to solder grounds to the back of pots and jacks. I have a Xytronic 379 I paid about the same amount for 7 or 8 years ago, but I think it has been discontinued.
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Apr 19, 2011 02:24
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http://www.guitarfetish.com/Xytronic-Nichrome-Pro-Solder-Station-Worlds-Best-Guitar-Soldering-Iron_p_1020.html This sort of thing?
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Apr 19, 2011 04:06
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I'm pretty loving pissed. I just bought a Parker PDF100 (dragonfly) and a week later there is already some sort of loving wiring issue. The tone is very muddled and unclear, unless I push on/wiggle the input cable and hold it in a certain position. I am afraid to open the guitar up because I am not knowledgable on the inner workings, and I don't want to void the warranty, but does this sound like a simple fix? I don't really want to send it off to Parker for something that could be fixed at a local guitar shop quickly.
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Apr 19, 2011 05:32
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Most likely you can repair it by bending the contact of the input in so it touches the cable's output more cleanly. I certainly wouldn't send it back to them.
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Apr 19, 2011 05:54
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Paramemetic posted:Most likely you can repair it by bending the contact of the input in so it touches the cable's output more cleanly. I certainly wouldn't send it back to them. No way send that poo poo back. Especially if it was ordered from Parker rather than online. Unless you've damaged it in some way, exchange it. Parkers are every bit as fancy and expensive as PRS and G&L, and you should not tolerate crap right up front. If it's under warranty I don't see why this is even a question. I mean $100 vs free? If this were your beater axe or you'd already made a return impossible I'd say to thriftily fix it yourself. You're certainly welcome to and you'll probably succeed, but if you've already had quality control-type issue it does not bode well for the longevity of the instrument. If it turned out to be a systemic issue, such as if a whole run of guitars received incomplete solder or poor wiring, you could be looking at a series of repairs down the road. As a consumer, you are safest to take advantage of whatever warranties or exchange options are available until you void it when you get a huge ceiling-colored dent in the headstock. CalvinDooglas fucked around with this message at 06:32 on Apr 19, 2011 |
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Apr 19, 2011 06:27
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CalvinDooglas posted:No way send that poo poo back. Especially if it was ordered from Parker rather than online. Unless you've damaged it in some way, exchange it. Parkers are every bit as fancy and expensive as PRS and G&L, and you should not tolerate crap right up front. If it's under warranty I don't see why this is even a question. I mean $100 vs free? Well, I got the guitar through Amazon, through Dancing Dragon music. Thanks for the advice though. I thought it was completely unacceptable as well. My 250$ LTD lasted for years without a problem. Parker should still take the guitar regardless of which vendors I got it from, right?
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Apr 19, 2011 06:45
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This is probably a stupid newbie question but how different is a humbucker pickup opposed to two single coils engaged simultaneously? And out of pure curiosity, is there a huge quality difference between a regular double slot humbucker and a single slot humbucker?
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Apr 19, 2011 10:13
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Walked posted:Looking for an acoustic electric as an upgrade. Anyone? How's the Taylor 114ce? I'm willing to extend up to $1500ish if itll make a big difference even. (obviously I'd prefer to keep it under $1k). Looking for a warm(ish) folk tone. edit: I'm going to try to get to the store to play a bunch of course, but it helps to have suggestions.
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Apr 19, 2011 13:10
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Taylors are wonderful guitars. I don't know how you could be less than happy with one.
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Apr 19, 2011 13:26
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Manky posted:Taylors are wonderful guitars. I don't know how you could be less than happy with one. Thats what I've heard. I guess my biggest quesiton is: is the gap between the Taylor 114ce and a higher end taylor worth the extra $500 - 700? Probably not for me, at this stage, buuuut I dont know either. Bonus questions for you guys, on a more theory standpoint Can I get some insight as to how to expand my songwriting? I've got a pretty fundamentally good understanding of at least basic theory, chord progressions, and why standard (I-IV-V, etc etc) progressions sound good. ..How can I expand on this to be more "interesting" (noting my interest is in folk, but this could be useful for everyone). I mean, for example I know that the V7 pulls to the I. I know you can substitute the vi for the I in many situations. But... what about these suspended chords? Or Maj7 chords? Where are their applications and how can I bring them in? Its great that I can just grab them as they sound good (which I do regularly), but I'm trying to figure out more of a theory half of WHY and when to start using other chord qualities. Does that make sense? Any help would rule. Also, variations to spice up chords? I like do to a lot of: (Bass note - strum - hammer on the third - strum) patterns of chords; but what other just little tidbits like these can I play with? I dont have enough longterm experience to just grab stuff I've run into yet, but i like to experiment with stuff like this. Walked fucked around with this message at 13:55 on Apr 19, 2011 |
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Apr 19, 2011 13:52
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