Acoustic Guitar Advice

[Poleshifter]

4 hours ago, Chandler#81 said:

^

Great advice. Don’t buy one sight unseen or without handling it. There are nuances in every guitar. I have fat fingers, so a narrower neck doesn’t work for me, where it may for slender fingers. Yes, the Action, or closer to the neck makes for easier playing. The faster you sound good to yourself, the more likely you’ll continue playing.

This is good advice. I bought a guitar on Ebay, and the action was not good. i ended up selling it. So, definitely go to a music store or pawn shop, where there will be a lot to choose from. Pick it up, sit down and play with it, see how it feels.

 

I like Takamine guitars, high quality for reasonable price. There are a lot of high quality cheap guitars these days.

 

With a $500 range, there should be a good selection for you.

 

Have fun!

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

1 hour ago, Gugny said:

 

I got my first uke long before they became "trendy."  I love the thing.  There was a good stretch where I was playing that more than guitar.  It's the first instrument my son ever picked up.

Same. It's also much more travel friendly than a guitar so I take mine with me a lot of times. My wife has one. She hates it because she's a musical expert. She was in band, choir, all of that. Took two years of music classes at college. But she can't play a stringed intstruement or read tabs, and initially had trouble with simple chord charts because she overthought it too much.

[Poleshifter]

49 minutes ago, Best Player Available said:

It's simple--- " If it's not a Gibson, it's not a guitar"..

Gibsons are great, but you will need to bring much more than $500.

 

2 hours ago, Thurman Kelly said:

The best advice for any beginner is to bring an experienced player with you when you go to buy your guitar.  You simply will not be able to tell what is wrong or sub-optimal with a guitar you are trying.  You will also not even know if the guitars are in tune (which is going to greatly affect your impression of the quality of guitar's sound), or tuned to standard pitch (guitar stores often tune down cheap guitars to make them seem easier to play), or are easier or more difficult to play than the average guitar.  You probably will not be able to distinguish between the features of different guitars except on the most superficial level (bigger/smaller, louder/quieter, cutaway/no cutaway, etc.).  Get a friend to come along with you and let them know what your budget is.  Store salesmen will be somewhat helpful, but in the end they are more concerned with making sales than ensuring you've made the very best choice for you, and since you are likely buying an inexpensive guitar, they will not want to invest too much time in helping you make a choice.

This is an excellent idea!

[RaoulDuke79]

52 minutes ago, Best Player Available said:

It's simple--- " If it's not a Gibson, it's not a guitar"..

[Chandler#81]

57 minutes ago, Best Player Available said:

It's simple--- " If it's not a Gibson, it's not a guitar"..

 

I have a couple and feel qualified to debunk your theory. Jimi, Eric, SRV, EVH, and many more don’t come to life with a Gibson like they do on the guitars the songs were written with. Me, EVERYTHING in ‘moderation’ is the rule.

 

[Best Player Available]

3 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said:

 

I have a couple and feel qualified to debunk your theory. Jimi, Eric, SRV, EVH, and many more don’t come to life with a Gibson like they do on the guitars the songs were written with. Me, EVERYTHING in ‘moderation’ is the rule.

 

That's an old Gibson ad slogan. That said we (family) have a large number of everything. As you know mood, style and sound is important. 

Fender teles, strats, PRS's, etc., and even old Airlines have their  place. Never tried to imatate a guitar sound. just bought the thing.  But 

if one looks reallly hard a 1960's gibson LGO mahagony acoustic. Can be within the OP's price point. And they sound great. Never considered something like a Fender acoustic Tone wise they don't  cut it. 

 

 

[transient]

7 hours ago, WhoTom said:

Seagulls are nice guitars for the money, and if you can find one used, even better. I have an S6 Original and an S12+. Both were used when I bought them - I paid about $400 for the 12-string and $220 for the 6-string.

 

 

5 hours ago, RaoulDuke79 said:

I was going in with the idea of keeping it under $500.

 

I only recently started playing, so take this with a grain of salt. 

 

The initial advice I was given was if I bought a new guitar that was less than a couple hundred dollars I was much more likely to quit out of frustration due to the poor quality of the instrument, both sound and playability (this was not only from the salesperson, but also from several friends who play). I ended up buying a new Yamaha FG830 from Guitar Center for around $300.  It was fine, but I didn't care for the sound quality that much the more I played it; in fairness, I never had it set up after I bought it, I basically bought it to see if I'd like playing and Guitar Center lets you trade up for full value within 45 days of purchase... or maybe 60, I don't recall the specifics. 

 

I'm taking lessons and enjoying it and decided I would probably stick with it, so I decided to take advantage of this trade up option. I was talking to my instructor who threw a few names out of acoustics that she thought I'd like based on things I'd told her in terms of musical interests, sound preference, and my hand/finger size/shape.  She thought really highly of Seagull. 

 

I was looking to spend up to $1000, so I was messing around with an S6 in store and comparing it to everything I could find between $400-1000. I thought it compared very favorably to $600-1000 Martins and Taylors in sound and build quality for only ~$450.  The sound is probably a little less full, but if you're not playing them side by side you probably wouldn't even notice. 

 

I've had it for about 3 months and love it, and the better quality guitar has only increased my enthusiasm for it because of the fact it sounds better and it's easier to play.

Edited September 27, 2019 by transient

[transient]

2 hours ago, Gugny said:

If you're open to other ideas, I'd suggest considering a ukulele.  Very fun and very easy to learn a few chords in no time.

 

Knowing that I was getting something to learn on, this was actually the advice the salesperson gave me when I bought my guitar.  He basically said if you want to learn guitar quickly start with a ukulele... which is probably good advice that I ultimately decided to ignore.

[bdutton]

I have a bunch of Epiphones.  12 String Celebrity, 6 string celebrity, Les Paul Ultra and a Sheraton II.

 

My favorite is the les paul but the 6 string is nice as well.

 

I bought them all on Craigslist locally (NH) except the Sheraton which I got in Darian Lake on CL for an absolute steal.

 

Get a used epi.  They keep tune really well and are inexpensive.  I don't think I spent more than 300 for any of them.

[RaoulDuke79]

I have a friend who I grew up with who is a fantastic guitar player.  He's been through a lot of stuff and we've grown apart for a while. I'd love to get his advice,  but I'm concerned about bringing him back into the fold. I'm not up on guitars, but he had a Gretsch(sp) back when we were teenagers. Not sure if and what he's playing now, but I used to love sitting around while he played, floyd,  Metallica and Slayer 

[RaoulDuke79]

1 hour ago, Chandler#81 said:

 

I have a couple and feel qualified to debunk your theory. Jimi, Eric, SRV, EVH, and many more don’t come to life with a Gibson like they do on the guitars the songs were written with. Me, EVERYTHING in ‘moderation’ is the rule.

 

This looks awesome, but what why so many different guitars? Are they tuned different? Do different guitars sound different? Is it easier than just reconfiguring everything? This is a straight up legitimate question.  Not trying to sound facetious. 

[Chandler#81]

Yes, to your questions. Std, Flat, Open G/C/E/Ebm,DADGAD, 12strings In Std &OpenC, Acoustics in Std, Nylon, Octave (12 string octaves on a 6 string). Strats & LPs for lead & rythyms, Teles for Country/twang, Epiphones for melody. Basses. Mandolins. Ukes.

[RaoulDuke79]

1 minute ago, Chandler#81 said:

Yes, to your questions. Std, Flat, Open G/C/E/Ebm,DADGAD, 12strings In Std &OpenC, Acoustics in Std, Nylon, Octave (12 string octaves on a 6 string). Strats & LPs for lead, Epiphones for melody. Basses. Mandolins. Ukes.

I understand approximately 10% of this. Thanks for the feedback. I can either seeing this journey ending quickly or consuming my life.

[Chandler#81]

Just now, RaoulDuke79 said:

I understand approximately 10% of this. Thanks for the feedback. I can either seeing this journey ending quickly or consuming my life.

? Don’t let it. There’s a million songs done in standard tuning you’ll be very happy to play. It’s why it’s called Standard. The Open chord tunings means it’s tuned to sound like that chord strumming all strings open. From this, simply bar specific frets and the chords change. Relatively simple finger placement brings 2-3 chords into the mix. The Stones, for example, play many of their greatest songs in Open tuning, providing Keef with signature sounds they’re famous for. Some of my guitars are used and pretty inexpensive. But Open tuning disguises a poorer quality while allowing me to play favorite ‘one off’ songs just grabbing that guitar.

[Chandler#81]

Flat tuning is one half step down from Std. Every string tuned down where E becomes Eflat, etc. It’s famous in many Blues & blues rock songs. Crunchier, earthier sound. SRV, Hendrix, EVH, Slash all play in Flat tuning.

[DC Tom]

9 hours ago, John Adams said:

 

Better guitars sound better and as a better player, that matters a lot. 

 

As a beginner, the best thing to do is go to the store pawn shop and literally get the one you like and that you can afford. There's no need to break the bank with your first guitar. 

 

James Taylor could play the hell out of a $150 Ibanez and you'd sound like crap on a $5000 Martin. 

 

Fixed.

 

Seriously...take someone you know who knows guitars, and shop around pawn shops.  You can often get a really good deal.

 

Also, Monoprice has "gig" guitars that are supposedly pretty good quality at a reasonable price.  I never tried one, myself.

[BillsFan4]

9 hours ago, WhoTom said:

Seagulls are nice guitars for the money, and if you can find one used, even better. I have an S6 Original and an S12+. Both were used when I bought them - I paid about $400 for the 12-string and $220 for the 6-string.

 

I just came in here to recommend a seagull acoustic! lol

 

Ive owned numerous acoustics over the years and my seagull is one I have always kept around (still have it). It sounds great and has a good action (strings are close to the fret board), which is important for beginners IMO. It makes it that much easier to play notes/chords. 

 

OP - Id recommend going to a guitar center and playing a bunch of acoustic guitars. They have tons of them. See which one you like. 

[DC Tom]

22 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said:

Flat tuning is one half step down from Std. Every string tuned down where E becomes Eflat, etc. It’s famous in many Blues & blues rock songs. Crunchier, earthier sound. SRV, Hendrix, EVH, Slash all play in Flat tuning.

 

I don't think Hendrix did.  I know Van Halen didn't (except on occasion.)

 

SRV did, but he also used a relatively heavy string set (particularly the first string.)  That and the dropped tuning is how he got that fat blues sound with the wide bends he used.  

[BillsFan4]

9 hours ago, John Adams said:

 

Better guitars sound better and as a better player, that matters a lot. 

 

As a beginner, the best thing to do is go to the store and literally get the one you like and that you can afford. There's no need to break the bank with your first guitar. 

 

James Taylor could play the hell out of a $150 Ibanez and you'd sound like crap on a $5000 Martin. 

I agree. But One thing I’ll say when it comes to acoustics is that some of the dirt cheap models can have pretty terrible action (the strings are so far from the fretboard), which can make it tougher to play notes/chords and just to press the strings down in general, especially for beginners. Electric guitars are a lot easier to play, as far as being able to play notes/chords with little finger pressure. 

 

You definitely don’t need to spend a fortune or anything. There are plenty of reasonably priced acoustics that have good action. And it can also be adjusted (most of the time). But it’s something worth paying attention to IMO. On some cheap guitars I’ve seen there’s really not much you can do to fix the action if it’s bad. 

 

Like you said, just go to the store (someplace like guitar center is what I’d recommend if you have anything like that around), play a bunch in your budget and pick the one you like. 

[WhoTom]

44 minutes ago, RaoulDuke79 said:

I can either seeing this journey ending quickly or consuming my life.

 

As long as it's a hobby, then it doesn't matter how quickly you progress or how many guitars you own. I started about 10 years ago, in a community-ed class at our local community college. Now I know about a dozen chords, two scales (minor and blues), and how to transpose from one key to another. Armed with that, I can play - at least in a stripped down version - well over a hundred songs. I don't sing, but my wife recognizes the songs I'm playing just by the sound, so I must be doing something right. Mostly, I play because it feels good to play.