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Questions from a guitar buying newbie: When am I going to hit diminishing returns in terms of guitar quality as I move through the price brackets? Would an untrained ear be able to notice the difference between a $2500 Gibson ES-339 and the $500 Epiphone equivalent? Is it worth the extra money for a non-professional? Is that extra $2k just a status symbol? Right now I'm playing on a starter strat so I'm assuming an improvement in either case, but I have no problems investing the money if it means I'll be able to grow in to a vastly superior instrument. Is it worth it?
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Aug 31, 2010 21:06
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Story time: I've been learning on an old Yamaha FG-200 and I noticed last week that past the 10th or 11th fret the strings are way above the board and its making me all clumsy. I figured that it just needed to be adjusted, and my teacher agreed so I took it in to a local guitar shop. The guy takes one look at the guitar and shakes his head and says something like "The neck is all wrong, it's in like this and the only way to fix it is to do this and that to the back of the guitar and even that won't fix it totally" and quotes me $150-$200 to do whatever it is. From his attitude I got the feeling he thought it was a lost cause. I took a look at the neck and it's bent forward almost imperceptibly and this is causing the strings to lift that little bit. I'm pretty much clueless when it comes to guitar setups, so I'm wondering if it's as big a deal as he made it out to be or not. I can take some pictures of it once I get home; its a very slight (enough that I hadn't even noticed it before) forward bend in the neck, enough to make the strings lift maybe 1/8th of an inch or so at the highest past where you'd want them to be. Is it as bad as he seemed to think? tl;dr - is a bent neck enough to write off a guitar?
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Sep 3, 2010 20:51
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With the general opinion of my musically minded friends being that the neck on my current acoustic is "straight hosed dude" I've decided to look for a new one. This Ibanez EW40CBENT looks fantastic but I'm wary of how much the preamp is going to effect the acoustic quality. Should I be worried about volume or tone? It would be nice to have the option of electric, but if it's going to ruin the actual sound of the thing I won't bother. Looking around there isn't a single one of these EW models that doesn't have the drat preamp. Lame.
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Oct 6, 2010 16:01
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Help! I feel like I'm being pulled in too many directions. There are different playing styles, types of picking, strumming, sliding, and a billion chords, scales, modes, positions... I don't have a a particular style that I'd like to learn over any other so I feel like I've lost focus. I'm learning a little bit of everything but I don't feel like I'm getting good at anything. I guess my question is; What do I do first? Do I learn to read music? Should I focus on scales? Chords and strumming? Is a particular style of music easier to learn? Is there any one thing that will make the other things easier/clearer or is meandering the best way to do this? EDIT: Zo, are you using razor wire or something? I'm playing songs that consist of nothing but barre chords and doing so for hours and other than the occasional cramped hand I'm none the worse. Something is amiss with your situation. seigfox fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Oct 19, 2010 |
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Oct 19, 2010 01:47
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Thoren posted:I started with simple songs and chords and worked my way up from there. How good are you anyways? I could recommend you a free really really basic beginners book but I don't want to insult you. I'm not sure how basic you're talking, but I certainly wouldn't be insulted by suggestions. If nothing else I'll get a refresher on stuff I probably didn't learn too well the first time around. For the record I can do basic chords and scales (major, minor, pentatonic) and I know a bit of the theory behind them. I can get through simple songs without loving anything up too badly. I'm horrible at reading music on the fly but I know enough to decipher it slowly. I'm not sure where on the scale of guitar mastery that falls, but it seems pretty beginner-ish.
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Oct 19, 2010 16:27
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Dickeye posted:I'm having a ton of trouble playing an F chord... I had this same problem. I think its just a matter of finger strength, when I started practicing barres all of them sucked, I was lucky to get 4 strings to ring in any one chord. I don't think there's any particular trick to it. I'm never satisfied with the "just play/practice more" answer but it seems to hold true in most cases. 
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Oct 19, 2010 17:19
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Lots of people seem to have an issue with the 'starter strat' that comes in those squire kits (with the amp and accessories). Is there any particular reason why? I picked one up just after I started learning and it still seems to be fine. It doesn't sound fantastic but it was also $100 new so... is the build quality poo poo or something? Color me confused.
seigfox fucked around with this message at 15:28 on Oct 28, 2010 |
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Oct 28, 2010 13:45
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Tuxguitar and Guitar Pro, along with more or less every music program I've ever seen seem like they were designed to intentionally frustrate users with lovely, unintuitive UI design choices. I'm trying to recreate a simple song and it is almost impossible to get Guitar Pro to do what I want it to. Programs like this make me want to scream. Is there a god set of tutorials out there for either of these or am I going to have to suffer to figure out all of the little tricks to coax this thing into working?
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Dec 8, 2010 17:53
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Philthy posted:This was sort of what I was referring to when I mentioned smash your guitar. He appears to really not care to treat his instruments with any sort of care. He plays the hell out of them, wearing them down on purpose to give off a different sound than what might normally come from a pristine guitar. It's really quite cool. Maybe it's just your normal punk rock thing to do, I don't know. I remember reading something, either an interview or a bio on him that mentioned he collects lovely guitars for exactly this reason. And does all sorts of non-standard modifications (or just plain old breaking things) just to see what kinds of sounds will come out. I'll try to find the article.
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Dec 20, 2010 23:27
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Falken posted:I have a problem, not sure how to solve it. If you're pressing so hard that your finger goes numb you're pressing way too hard. Try switching the positions of your index and middle finer in the A (I'm assuming you're not talking about barres, right?) If you have larger hands it can be difficult to form an A with three straight fingers without something buzzing, either from not getting enough pressure or from you bumping up against it. Although now that I read it again, if buzzing is a problem all along the fret it seems more like a mechanical issue than a question of technique.
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Dec 21, 2010 20:35
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I have two questions; 1) I was poking around the local shop last night and I impulse bought an Orange CR20LDX amp to replace my crappy practice amp. Does anyone have any opinions on this? It sounds good to me but I'd appreciate an opinion from someone who has owned it for more than a day. I've had Orange recommended to me in the past as a fairly good/reliable brand but that was coming from someone who had only used their larger stuff. 2) I was told that I should add another spring or two to my strat because the bridge is lifting and the guitar keeps going out of tune. Is this something I'd be able to do myself or should I bring the guitar in and have a professional do it?
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Jan 5, 2011 15:45
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Can someone explain to me how the materials used in the body of a solid body electric guitar effect the quality of the sound that the guitar creates? I've been told that a denser material creates more sustain, but I can't find any information so I don't know why this is. Does this hold true for the fretboard material as well?
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Jan 14, 2011 16:58
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I decided to pick up a new acoustic this weekend and ended up with an Ibanez Talman TCY20EVV. But now that I have a shiny new guitar I'm worried about treating it right. My Yamaha is just about the heartiest guitar I've ever seen and it weathered my bumbling mishandling and poor maintenance/storage habits pretty well over the years, but I want the Ibanez to live a more comfortable life. Is there any routine stuff I can be doing to extend its life and prevent future problems? Never clean it with x or always be sure to tighten y and loosen z every two months, that type of thing?
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Jan 17, 2011 22:30
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dark_panda posted:Oh, yeah, they've way overpriced and I hope they get some sanity to them. I mean, they don't even come assembled, although that's supposedly 'cause it gets you to "know the instrument better" or some such nonsense. Uh, putting together my Ikea furniture doesn't help me know it any better, so please, just put the damned things together when you ship them please. Can I offer a different opinion? Putting the price aside for the moment (it is too high, but this is a startup not an established company so they don't have the economy of scale yet) the loog really isn't the same as a traditional guitar or a uke. I started playing around with my grandmothers guitar when I was 6 and at the time it was a giant, scary looking thing that I could barely play. Even with a scaled guitar there was still the confusing mix of fretboard and strings, a complex (to six year old me) arrangement of tunings... and so I got overwhelmed and frustrated and stopped playing for a few years. What this is is a dead simple, easy guitar. To have the colors indicating frets is great, it makes it really easy for an instructor to teach chord positions. Kids are also more likely to gravitate toward something that looks like a toy rather than something that looks delicate in any way. Also three strings means the learner is instantly getting an idea of triads (another thing that confused the poo poo out of me when I was first starting). Putting it together is pretty cool too. If you get it as a parent or teacher you can literally name each part of the kid and have them put it together. They get some guitar knowledge and a fun activity. Is it a bit Ikea? I guess but it also makes it easier to ship, keeps prices down and adds value to people who want to show their kid this stuff. Could a uke do the same thing? No actually, because a uke isn't a guitar. Six year old me doesn't want to play a ukelele, he want's to play a guitar. I know the difference is minimal but a six year old won't care. It isn't a guitar and therefore it is useless trash. Having something like this would have made the jump between complete novice and beginner guitarist a great deal smoother. Given the choice between a scaled guitar or a uke for $150 and this for $250 for my kid I think I'd be willing to part with an extra $100 to give the best chance of success.
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Mar 11, 2011 15:42
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CalvinDooglas posted:Just do G and A barre, then come back to F. It really doesn't come up that often, and when it does, you likely won't need to hold it for long. Counterpoint: Man up and get used to that first barre because you'll eventually want to use it. Took a month of sore fingers and hand cramps for me to finally get it but I have no regrets.
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Mar 25, 2011 02:19
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crm posted:I'm trying to work on transitioning between chords, and I found that playing playing along with a song helped me - if not actually helped my technique, it certainly made practice more enjoyable. If you like Dylan then The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll has a bunch of relatively quick changes to practice with. Christy Moore does a great version of this song as well.
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Mar 30, 2011 20:46
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CalvinDooglas posted:Feh, learn by ear. I'm lucky if I hit one out of ten on Ultimate Guitar that is actually correct. This has had the effect of training my ear though, because whenever I want to quickly look something up I have to go through and add a 7 here or drop a 9 there to fix things.
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Mar 31, 2011 18:33
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I'm shopping around for a fairly good twangy-country sounding electric guitar, something that I can use for learning bluesy jazz, folk, rockabilly and some 50's style songs. Right now I'm looking at the Gretsch G5122 (from the Electromatic series) and I like the sound and the look, especially the Bigsby trem. Am I making a horrible mistake? Is there something better/cheaper out there? Is something horribly wrong with the Gretsch offerings? Is the floating bridge really annoying? I'm looking around for other options but my experience with electric guitars is pretty low so I'm not sure which brands/models are trustworthy.
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May 12, 2011 16:49
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Rolo posted:Guess this is bad and I need to start over? Hendrix would disagree, I think.
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Dec 24, 2011 17:26
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notZaar posted:I need some help identifying this guitar. I went through Epiphone's website, and it seems pretty close to a LP100, except the headstock is different. Any help would be appreciated. I own that guitar. It is indeed a LP100, mine has that same headstock.
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Dec 30, 2011 20:58
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As frustrating and boring as scales can be, it's nice when things finally come together and you discover that noodling around up and down the scale actually makes music and not just well-organised noise.
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May 29, 2012 23:24
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Most of the time the lowest note is the root. There are inversions and other things that mess with that but those will have names that tell you what the new bass note is.
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Jul 6, 2012 17:50
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If I wanted to get a "standard" Strat single coil sound and I had around $500 to spend, what would you all recommend? Is there a super secret brand/model that will get me an amazing guitar for my money? Or should I just find a reasonable MIM Strat and call it a day?
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Jul 10, 2012 20:54
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Revvik posted:Anyone have any experience with one of these? I've got a Talman TCY20. It has great tone for a thin body but it's still a thin body, so if you play it acoustic you're going to lose the bass end and it's nowhere near as loud. The electrics are good and the EQ fills in nicely when you're plugged in. For such a delicate looking thing it's built like a tank; I've had it fall out of its case/stand a few times and hit the floor hard and I can't find a scratch on it. Also mine smells like whiskey for some reason. I have no idea why (I didn't buy it used, no stains on it anywhere) but I consider it a bonus.
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Aug 27, 2012 22:18
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Does anyone have any experience with Breedlove guitars? I was trying out acoustics at the local Guitar Center and happened on a Passport C250. It sounded way better than it had any right to for its price. Maybe it was the cedar.Warcabbit posted:Martin Backpackers: Good idea, horrible idea? They don't sound all that great, but you'll get away with playing them around a camp fire and you'll save yourself having to lug around your dreadnaught while hiking. I can't think of a situation other than camping/hiking/long walks where I'd prefer a backpacker to a regular guitar. Bonus: Backpackers tend to be fairly sturdy, good for fending off wolves/bears in a pinch.
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Aug 29, 2012 22:33
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If the concern is noise more than space you could also grab a soundhole mute and use a regular acoustic. If you're going to cart it back and forth I'd go for a traveler or backpacker though.saganite posted:Air travel. It'll fit in the overhead compartment if you want to bring a guitar on a trip. That's an excellent idea, I'd never even thought to try that.
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Aug 30, 2012 18:35
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I'm a big fan of Breedloves. I tried some Passports (their budget series) the last time I was there and they rivaled Taylors that were twice the price point. I grabbed a cedar topped one for just under $500 and I'm loving it. If they have any in stock you should try them.
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Oct 1, 2012 17:57
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Business Raptor posted:I love the open b nestled into the G chord sometimes... is that a crime!? I'll allow you your b if I can play a C chord with a g on the e string. Don't judge me! Actually, knowing how different shapes/fingerings will flavor a chord is really useful. Ideally you would know which to play to suit the song, the mood, and the tone of whatever other instruments you're playing with. The only way to learn that is experience and experimentation (and ideally a good grasp of theory).
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Dec 3, 2012 21:32
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12 string guitar question! I got a Martin D12X1AE and I'm getting flip-floppy advice on wether to downtune it a half or whole step to relieve tension on the neck. Some people say to leave it, some people say downtuning is the only way to go. I have no idea who to trust.Kilometers Davis posted:I use elixirs. They sound fine and can easily last a year. Works flawlessly for my beater acoustic since I'd rather have it ready to go for any time I'm in the mood to play it than deal with changing strings often for a better tone. This situation is pretty much the only one I'd recommend elixirs for, although it's mostly a preference thing. They last forever, but the chimey sound that they make and the feel of them drive me crazy. I also use elixirs on my beater acoustics, but I wouldn't use them on anything you're going to be playing regularly or for an audience.
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May 6, 2013 14:59
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Declan MacManus posted:I'm a big fan of Breedlove stuff, and they've got stuff around that price range. A Passport CM250 retails for about 500 and your local guitar center probably carries them. I'm gonna second the Passports, I've had one for a year or so now and it is amazing. I've played guitars at twice the price that haven't sounded nearly as good.
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Jul 29, 2013 17:53
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