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 Hello and welcome to the guitar thread! Chances are you are familiar with the types of sounds that come out of guitars. Something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI6t829uDfo&ab_channel=GuitarSalonInternational or this! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvo-4x3y9aU&ab_channel=CarterVintageGuitars or this! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU-vvlFvzuk&ab_channel=ATOMICPUNK27 But you’re not here to read a wiki, you’re here to First, old business. Here's the original Guitar megathread: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3341553 Now, on with the show.  There are three broad categories of guitar: nylon-string acoustic, steel-string acoustic, and electric. I’ll give three very basic rules for buying your first guitar: 1. If it feels good to hold and sounds good, it’s a good instrument to start playing on. Do your best to sit down with an instrument before you buy it. Your hands will show you the way. 2. When you close your eyes and imagine yourself happily playing a guitar, what are you playing? That's the instrument you should start on. The “easiest” guitar to learn on is the one you’re most excited to pick up and practice. 3. When in doubt, decide your budget then go out and buy the best Yamaha you can afford. They make universally praised instruments at every price. A $300 Yamaha is going to be on-par with as good as you can do for $300. Same for $200 and $500. Nylon-string Acoustic Typically associated with classical music, they can also work well for simpler strumming. Warm and mellow, they are the naturally quietest of the guitar family and will most-often be amplified through a separate microphone. Looks like this:  Starting out, brands to look for are Yamaha and Cordoba (particularly the C5). You’ll see them in either Spruce-top or Cedar-top: Spruce is a little snappier, Cedar is a little warmer. Do not put steel strings on your nylon-string guitar, you will destroy your instrument. Steel-string Acoustic What most people will immediately picture when you say “acoustic,” the steel-string guitar took over the guitar world in the early 20th century, in large part to being much louder than its nylon cousin. Sometimes still amplified through a microphone, often now even inexpensive models will come with on-board systems for plugging into an amp. It’s played across all types of music and comes in several common body sizes. Looks like this:  Starting out, brands to look for are Yamaha, Epiphone, Alvarez, and Ibanez. The big, well-known step-up brands are Taylor and Martin. Examples of common sizes are Dreadnought (big and boomy), Orchestra or OM (slightly smaller and may be more comfortable, particularly seated), and Parlor (couch guitars, the quietest and smallest). If you are buying for a smaller learner, it’s important for them to sit with instruments. A giant Dread might look great on Johnny Cash standing on stage, but you may personally seriously struggle with one on your lap on the couch. Smaller guitars are not worse guitars. In general, it’s much more important when buying an acoustic guitar to put your hands on it first. You’d be amazed how different they can sound in person. If you can strum 2-3 chords, you can tell in 30 seconds whether an acoustic is going to work for you. Electric You’re most likely very familiar here. The fun thing is, modern production techniques have made inexpensive guitars pretty amazing. Ask yourself, “what shape guitar does my favorite guitar player play?” Then go play one that shape. Chances are you’ll be happy! Looks like this:   And sometimes like this:  Cool! Starting out, brands to look for are Squier, Epiphone, Ibanez, and Yamaha (particularly the Pacifica line). BUT WAIT! Your electric guitar will need an amplifier. There’s a LOT of ground to cover here, but as a pure starter I’ll just echo the thread advice. Buy a Boss Katana. There are plenty of other contenders at this price, but nothing as good. Buy a Katana. If that doesn’t suit you, come ask the thread what to do. Say out loud, “The OP told me to buy a Boss Katana but I don’t want to do that for some reason. What else should I buy?”  If you want an amp specifically for headphones, buy a Fender Mustang Micro.  If you want to plug directly into your computer and play through a multi-FX type system, see the FAQ below. If you want to spend big-person money on something with tubes, take a guitar you are intimately familiar with into a big box store and plug in. Again, your ears will lead your way.  The best way to learn quickly and properly is to get a teacher. Most studios will offer you a trial lesson off contract then ask you to commit for a semester. Find a teacher you vibe with and who listens when you tell them what you want play. If your dream is to play Metallica, don’t stick with a teacher who insists you run through the 1-2-3 Berklee Method first. A good teacher leads you on the path you WANT to be on. The next best way to start out is the internet, which has gotten pretty dang good at this. The biggest name in the beginning guitar YouTube game is Justin.  https://www.youtube.com/c/justinguitar There are plenty of others, but be wary as a beginner: guitar YouTube can be a slippery slope of gear lust. If the channel spends more time talking about the gear they’re playing than the music they’re playing, don’t get too wrapped up. There are plenty of great channels, and not every gear-head channel is specifically and directly guitar QVC, but be aware that many are. Then, there’s books! Books are great. I’ve done more learning from a properly put together book than I have a million YouTube pedal videos.   Every Hal Leonard method book I’ve ever picked up has been thoughtfully laid out, well written, and useful. They feature real music, tab notation, and steady but slow advancement. The aforementioned Berklee Modern Method 1-2-3 is great IF you can read music and IF you are more interested in getting good at playing than getting good at specific songs.  Here are the things you absolutely must be willing to learn to enjoy your guitar. 1. How to tune it (buy a proper tuner, not just your phone). 2. How and when to change strings (all 3 types use different strings and change them differently). 3. How and when to humidify your acoustic guitars (see FAQ below). Here are the things that are easier than you might imagine to do yourself if you are handy enough to turn a screwdriver the right direction. 1. Measure and adjust the height of your electric guitar strings (your “action”). 2. Measure and adjust your truss rod (your “relief”). 3. Measure and adjust your electric guitar pickup height. 4. Tune and adjust your intonation. Here are some thing that you may talk yourself into doing, and will probably be OK at. 1. Adjusting the action on your acoustic guitar. 2. Swapping around the pickups and wiring on your solid-body electric guitar. Here are some things nobody would ever blame you for going to a trusted luthier for. 1. Honestly, anything in the prior category. 2. Filing your frets. 3. Filing your nut. 4. Anything electrical inside a hollow-body electric guitar. 5. Properly repairing any type of serious damage.  You’ll hear around the internet the term “GAS” or “Gassing”. It’s an acronym that stands for Gear Acquisition Syndrome And it’s a slippery slope to unhappiness, particularly in adult high-beginner, low-intermediate players. You’ve got enough music in your fingers, money in the bank, and time on your hands to fall down a dozen different rabbit holes of what you “need” to get exactly the sound that’s in your head. You can’t get better sitting there at work bored, but maybe you can get better by shopping. The truth is, you almost certainly don’t need new gear. You don’t need new pickups. You don’t need a boutique pedal. You need to get off YouTube. All of that stuff has its place, but when you’re starting out you need an instrument that doesn’t fight against you and an amp that noise comes out of and has some effects built into it. You have to realize the difference between being unhappy with your gear and just being homesick for the gear you have. Upgrading your $50 Tube Screamer clone into some $400 discontinued JHS pedal isn’t going to make you a better (or happier) guitar player.  Wait, humidity? Yep. Guitars are made of wood and wood is essentially a sponge. It is constantly absorbing and letting off water from the environment, swelling and contracting, breathing with the seasons. If you live in a stable environment, humidity-wise, you may be OK. But many of us live in places that get cold (and dry) in the winter and hot (and humid) in the summer. This causes your guitar (specifically and particularly acoustic, both types) to shift, grow, and shrink. This can push you out of tune once or twice a season and mess with your neck relief, but those are small setup issues. The real problem is your guitar can AND WILL crack. Often lengthwise down the top or back. This is fixable by a professional luthier if your instrument is worth fixing, but it’s easier to care for your guitar properly. A guitar in a case is a sad guitar, but a hard-shell case is a much more stable environment than hanging on a wall. There are various types of solutions to humidifying your guitars, from special humidity packs to sponges you soak. If you have a VERY nice instrument and live in a VERY unstable climate, it’s not insane to keep a hygrometer in your case. Much like your house, 40%-60% humidity is good. Anything outside that you may need to take measures. Humidity control: It’s Not A Scam. Should I pay for a setup? In general … maybe. A setup is when you take your guitar to a professional luthier, and that person will go over it for about an hour doing things like lowering your string action at the nut, adjusting your intonation and relief, adjusting your action at the bridge, and potentially spot levelling a high fret or two and fixing any sharp frets poking out around your fingerboard. A setup will take a guitar you enjoy and dial it in and make it comfortable. It’s more akin to a day at the spa than a week in the hospital. Be prepared to answer the question, “What about your guitar bothers you?” In the course of this, your luthier may discover bigger problems (such as your guitar needing a complete fret overhaul or serious electronic issues) that require more time to fix. Prices fluctuate, of course, regionally and with time. But as of 2022, expect a professional setup to cost somewhere in the $80-120 range. Tell me about playing directly into my computer. Here are two really helpful posts on going straight to your computer: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=4006663#post524703875 https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=1&threadid=4006663&pagenumber=1&perpage=40#post524704418 Huxley fucked around with this message at 15:36 on Feb 1, 2023 |
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Jul 8, 2022 16:14
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Also: FedEx will spiralbind your books for about $7 each. It's handy!
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Jul 8, 2022 16:18
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I think LG has finally, mostly, figured out the thread vibe and should be allowed to e/n when they need to. I put in one of the no-solder Obsidian wiring things today and it was amazing. Luxurious. The only thing I had to do was ream the holes on the switchplate up a size and replace a lovely stock ground wire that didn't do anything, and the whole rewire took about 5 minutes with no heat. Huxley fucked around with this message at 22:04 on Jul 8, 2022 |
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Jul 8, 2022 22:01
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landgrabber posted:i use she/her -- i'm a girl. Thanks, happy to remember it for next time! I hosed up a public performance on the classical so bad last month I pulled back out the bass. Down bad.
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Jul 9, 2022 17:47
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BonHair posted:Also trip report: my THR10IIW is loving brilliant because it's battery powered, allowing me to take it, a guitar and my headphones out in the garden and jam, including backtracks. It's cool. I'll be honest and say that, having NEVER been able to get rid of the ambient buzz that I get whenever an amp is plugged in at my house, I would probably trade my big 50w modeller for this just on the battery power alone. The buzz is from a dimmer switch on an overhead fan in the living room. Known bug, unfixable (my wife really likes having a dimmer switch there). So my amp just buzzes at me unless I am alone in the house and can turn stuff off. So it goes.
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Jul 11, 2022 14:49
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Spanish Manlove posted:have you tried changing out the type of dimmer switch used there? I've tried changing that fixture from LEDs to the old-style incandescent bulb, which didn't do anything but make me change the bulbs a month later and I went back to LEDs. I also went on a real journey getting all the CFLs out that I guess I put in when we got here and didn't see enough use to die and get replaced yet. I admit, the switch itself is 6-8 years old and I guess it's possible dimmer technology has worked out a kink somewhere. Maybe removing that switch and swapping over to a smart bulb in that spot.
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Jul 11, 2022 15:02
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I'm happy I sprung $100 for a set of stewmac files (in 10). It's let me really dial in and experiment on a couple of mine, and the times I've messed it up it's just $10 to try again (or a veneer shim, or a filler). It's good and fun to learn to do stuff so long as your brain will allow you to be happy with work you've done yourself.
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Jul 18, 2022 21:21
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Sounds like you still have one good set in your hands, at least.
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Jul 19, 2022 20:24
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Oh man, I dug the uke out after a few years in the closet, did a proper setup on it now that I actually know stuff and swapped the stock strings on it for the top 4 of a classical set (so I have a wound low G and brighter trebs) and ... this thing is a LOT of fun. The low G really makes a difference in how it feels to play coming from guitar. If you have a ukulele you're bored with, put a low G on it.
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Jul 20, 2022 19:37
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BonHair posted:Classical strings work on a ukulele? Guess I gotta find me a set then, I can't loving stand the high G. Yeah! I'm still letting the string break in, but having that low g really changes the character. It still sounds like a uke, but being able to establish a bass note and use proper 4-string chords and scales ... it's very nice. Mine is a concert, so it's a little bit longer scale than standard, but I'm sure it all works out the same way.
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Jul 20, 2022 21:22
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LG, I live in southern Durham about 5 minutes off 40. I have a set of medium (10-46) nut files and a knockoff ditto looper hanging out in a drawer. If you want, and depending on how close you are, I could take a look at your nut and you can just have the pedal.
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Jul 26, 2022 15:17
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nm: found a wiring diagram and the "black" wire hanging out is actually grey, which goes to ground.
Huxley fucked around with this message at 23:15 on Jul 29, 2022 |
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Jul 29, 2022 22:51
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I. M. Gei posted:I am nowhere near getting a new guitar, even at $400. I need a new trumpet first, and the one I'm saving up for is $4,300. Every time I want to complain about guitar prices, I have to remind myself how cheap they are relative to basically every other professional-quality instrument.
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Aug 2, 2022 21:47
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Hellblazer187 posted:My wife is a pianist. My wife plays for a church, teaches lessons, and runs a studio. It became clear going into lockdown that she needed a professional quality digital instrument, and the yamaha hybrid clavinova we got for her was 6 grand. Pain. e: to be fair, she has made a full 3 years of income on it, while my guitar collection is still a net loss by a wide margin. Huxley fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Aug 2, 2022 |
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Aug 2, 2022 22:15
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Ok Comboomer posted:y’all wrote that sucker off right? Abso-fuckin-lutely. We're write-off city around here.
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Aug 2, 2022 22:21
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Pondex posted:If she taught guitar once or twice, couldn't you write those off as well? Technically, I think it could be. But I personally thought that went against the spirit of like, paying for roads and such, and asked our tax guy not to do it. Huxley fucked around with this message at 23:25 on Aug 2, 2022 |
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Aug 2, 2022 23:06
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As I understand it: Csus2 (replaces the 3rd with the 2nd, wants to resolve up, C D G) Cadd9 (just stacks the 9th over the triad, C E G D) C9 (an extension of the dom7, C E Bb D, sometimes with the 5th in there, too) Cmaj9 (an extension of the maj7, C E B D, sometimes with the 5th) e: for fixing an error. Huxley fucked around with this message at 13:44 on Aug 5, 2022 |
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Aug 5, 2022 03:40
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The Leck posted:One minor correction - C9 would be an extension of the dominant 7 (C E Bb D), which you see all over the place in James Brown songs, to give a single example. Cmaj9 would be C E B D. Like you said, 5ths can be there or not. This is, of course, 100% correct and if I'd thought an extra second about the shapes for C9 and Cmaj9 I would have caught myself.
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Aug 5, 2022 13:43
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Think of it like tennis: when a person tells you they play tennis you make a reasonable assumption that they have put in a lot of time and work and are pretty good. But you don't assume they're on the pro tour. You don't go, "Oh hey guy at a party who just told me they play tennis, how many grand slam titles do you have?" Just like there's a wide range of "good at tennis" there's a wide range of "good at guitar" for people who don't play. They don't automatically assume you are EVH. If you can play 8-10 chords in time, you are good at guitar to 99% of the people who hear you play. e: And really, the trick to being "good at guitar" is being able to play 8-10 songs well enough for people to sing along to. If you have an hour setlist in your head, most everyone will say you are good at guitar. If you want people who are good at guitar to think you're good at guitar, go practice scale runs, or chord melody, or clean up your riffs. If you want regular people to think you're good at guitar, go memorize the lyrics to Harvest Moon. Huxley fucked around with this message at 14:43 on Aug 7, 2022 |
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Aug 7, 2022 14:24
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a.p. dent posted:well put. additionally: you’re allowed to be bad at stuff Of course! And you aren't under any obligation to play for anyone. If you play for 80 years and never perform once, so long as your time with the instrument brought you joy or peace, that's valid and good.
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Aug 7, 2022 15:31
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I spent months putting together a classical/recorder duet for church that I flubbed so badly I haven't picked the classical up in months. Today, I sightread a melody line on the LP and my wife played piano behind me while the congregation milled around. The entire thing was 6 notes. A couple of slides and doublestops the 2nd time through. TOTALLY identical reactions from people to both. They can't tell and/or they don't care. People are just happy you're doing something.
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Aug 7, 2022 18:26
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I'll at least post the actual scene that line came from once before the thread title dies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nVxAJEeviE&t=69s
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Aug 10, 2022 18:08
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User Error posted:Whats your favorite riff mine is "Dun dun dunnn, dun dun dun dunn" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQE1Q1NILfQ do-doodledoodledoole DUN dun dun DUN
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Aug 10, 2022 19:10
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Took the kids to a Beatles tribute show this afternoon, not a costumes and vintage instruments thing just a really tight cover band. Their "John" was playing through a micced Katana 100, foot switch and everything. Sounded good!
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Aug 21, 2022 01:05
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Ohtori Akio posted:What's a good budget for an entry-level nylon string? I stopped by a nylon-specialist store in town today to chat and they were showing me a $100 bottom level guitar and a used solid-top for $200. Picked up a method book to flip through. I'll second, if you want "fingerstyle" like chord melody or old-time blues do try a steel string. The narrowed spacing makes a lot of stuff work that's going to be tougher on a nylon. Anecdotally, I got a nylon (a Cordoba C5, $350ish new) specifically to do jazz stuff and found it cumbersome for that. But I also got a classical method book and a year later 90% of my playing is straight classical. I fell hard for it.
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Aug 26, 2022 03:06
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landgrabber posted:i use 9-42s so maybe my action actually is just a mile high Do you have a way to measure it? A ruler with 64th or mm (or half mm) increments? For reference, my telecasters (with a capo on 1 measured at the 12th fret) are just over 4/64 on the bass and just under 4/64 on the treb side. e: for my classical pals, after playing "Die Rose im Garten" in front of people this weekend, I'm inspired to keep exploring 20th c. stuff. This is next up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDQOapCV9T4 Huxley fucked around with this message at 20:59 on Sep 8, 2022 |
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Sep 8, 2022 20:49
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landgrabber posted:i have some feeler gauges but i've been lazy about doing setup stuff. let me give it a look For reference, my bass action is roughly the height of my 0.020, 21 and 22 gauges stacked up. e: Meaning the action on the bass side of a telecaster at the 12th fret with a capo on 1. Not the action on a bass guitar. Huxley fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Sep 8, 2022 |
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Sep 8, 2022 21:10
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a.p. dent posted:Dyens is very good That one really caught my ear, and I'm going to have to investigate him. There's something about a 3/4 that isn't waltzing that's swimmy in a really pleasant way.
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Sep 8, 2022 21:16
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I had a nice 2008 Epiphone LP up on Facebook for $400 and a guy traded me straight up for one of those blue plus-top player teles, if that counts. LP was in better shape, but I can probably wait a couple three years and the tele will be worth $700-800.
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Sep 9, 2022 00:17
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Do you have access to a keyboard? If so, even if it's just in a practice room at school, grab one of the Alfred adult books. I started in this one and still just jump into it when I'm feeling it. It's nice and slow and makes teaching yourself fairly easy. Sit up straight, no flat fingers, relax your hands. Basically the same things they tell you starting guitar. You'd be surprised how much guitar brain translates to keys. https://www.alfred.com/alfreds-basic-adult-all-in-one-course-book-1/p/00-5753/ I'm right there with you on piano, too. My sister took piano as a kid, and mom tried to encourage us to have separate interests so I was never asked if I also wanted to take. I picked up guitar in college, came back to it a few years ago. Then I got into jazz guitar, and THEN I got into jazz piano. Keys always seemed so square in the guitar bands I was listening to, but when I got into jazz all of a sudden I didn't want to be Wes, I wanted to be Dave Brubeck, or Monk, or Bud Powell. That's still what I listen to, overwhelmingly. If I could snap my fingers and be a competent [something], it would be a jazz pianist, without question. Life's long and there's only one way there, though. So off I go, at my own speed. e: Maybe I would be this, if I could snap, acutally. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEqgeN27Hhk
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Sep 9, 2022 20:37
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Speaking of lefties, I taught a first lesson to one of my wife's piano students who saw one of mine on a stand and asked about it. He's a great kid, maybe 20, autistic and taking piano with my wife has really just opened him up. His all-time favorite band is the Trans Siberian Orchestra, and I flipped the amp over to ubermetal preset and played like, 5 notes of carol of the bells and he about levitated. It was great. Teaching someone like that seems like a lot of fun. I am pretty sure he fell in love, but also is a lefty and I could see him struggling a bit with my righty. I know his mom is going to come back next week and ask me to help her buy something, but drat you have REALLY slim pickins on new lefties under $800. And I know their guitar/amp budget is going to be more like $500-600. I'd rather not tell them to get something used. I can do a basic setup on one for him, though, so maybe an amazon special is really what he needs.
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Sep 13, 2022 19:47
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See, all that is good to know. I was somehow under the impression that learning righty was just something you did out of necessity and that most people who did would have preferred learning "properly." If I can just advise them to go get an Affinity and an amp, it'll make things a lot easier.
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Sep 13, 2022 20:40
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I wonder if every guitar I've played had the same frets or if I'm just not sensitive enough to tell a difference.
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Sep 21, 2022 22:44
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Help me shop again: Dad says he wants "a single pedal that'll let me boost, distortion, reverb, tuner; something compact I can leave hooked up at church." He's tired of hauling a board back and forth. So I assume he's looking for a multifx of some type with at least 3-4 footswitches. What's worth investigating? Knobs of any kind would be a plus. I'm also going to pitch just a small board of amazon knockoffs because I suspect that's what he actually SHOULD get, but I'm not sure if he's in a problem-solving mood or a toy-acquisition mood (I'm sure we all understand).
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Sep 22, 2022 21:33
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Thanks all! I'm sure how anti-menus he is so I like having a couple of options for him.
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Sep 22, 2022 23:03
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If it's comfortable and playable now, I'd say it's fine. It sounds like your luthier also isn't wild about doing the reset, so it doesn't sound like you're being upsold unnecessarily. Someone I read once said you have to think about acoustic guitars as glacially, but constantly, in a process of folding themselves in half. 1) All good, guitar naturally begins to fold 2) Action too high, take off some saddle, guitar continues to fold 3) Action too high, take off some saddle, guitar continues to fold 4) Action too high but the saddle is already as low as it can go. Cut a new saddle, do a neck reset, guitar continues to fold. That's a decades-long process, though. You could always contact Martin and say your luthier told you the bridge was out of spec, if it's a solid-wood one you certainly paid enough for that D28 they should field your question. They'll mostly likely ask if your guy is a Certified™ Martin Guitar Technician™ or whatever, and ask you to seek one out if not. If you do, 99% chance says that person tells you it's in spec. But if not they might cover the cost of a new bridge. I wouldn't call it likely, but you never know.
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Sep 23, 2022 14:57
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My Martin is an OM, not a dread, but I imagine spec is similar. My low E string is exactly 11mm off the top coming off the saddle, my action is about 2.5mm at the 12th fret with no capo, my relief is probably around 10. A touch high but not so much that I feel like digging the wrench out of the case on a Friday morning. 
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Sep 23, 2022 15:17
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Weezer megathread: Say it ain't so!
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Sep 24, 2022 22:33
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Aw yeah man, that's good stuff
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Sep 26, 2022 19:41
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landgrabber posted:paid off the strat the best gear decision you'll make in 2022
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Sep 27, 2022 20:57
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