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There are hundreds. Absoulutely hundreds. I think the one I bought was about 6 quid from virgin and was just called 'Learn To Play The Guitar'. What's ideal is something that teaches you the chords, and as you learn the different chords, gives you simple songs that incorporate them. It's a lot easier to find the will to continue when you realise you it takes about half an hour to learn the riff to Should I Stay, Or Should I go? from a completely cold starting point. After that, it's mainly practice.
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this is the one I got, although I don't know if it's better or worse than any of the other dvd/book combos. I can't really play anything that doesn't revolve exclusively around power chords.
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posted
Yes. You need to learn chords, but you can't sit and learn chords just as chords. You need to tie them into songs.
The best ones will start you off with two or three chords and teach you a song for that. For example "Stand by me" only uses three chords.
Disarm by the smashing pumpkins and Zombie by the cranberries both just use Em, C and D. It's great. Learn those three chords and you've got two songs mastered already!
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So, like, within a week or so it's realistic to think that you might be able to play at least sections of songs, rather than just sitting there struggling to master a chord or two? I mean, I'm al for learning new things, but because of computer games these days I lose interest in something if I haven't become at least fairly proficient at it within a few hours of first picking it up.
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Well I might as well give it a go then. If nothing else, it'll kill a few hours, and I've got the next two weeks off work so plenty of time to mess about.
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Electric. I have an acoustic I can use but that type of music doesn't really interest me. If I'm not playing music I like, I'm less likely to enjoy it
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I can thoroughly recommend one of these. You'll get it cheaper than that, though. Good for a starter. It's got loads of sounds and effects and with practically zero effort you can sound like Ted Nugent on his best ever night. As a regular amp it works well, too. Clean, simple, ace.
What sort of s/h guitar have you seen for under a hundred? It may be shit. Spend an afternoon checking out the shops on Denmark Street. You can probably get a new bog standard Strat or SG copy for about £80. Chat with some of the guys working there, many are pricks but some are alright. The ticket price isn't always what you pay. The guys in Macari's on Tottenham Court Road are pretty friendly. Wander around, scope out all the stuff your interested in, get some advice, try a few guitars, then zoom in on the cheapest deal.
quote:Originally posted by Black Mask: What sort of s/h guitar have you seen for under a hundred? It may be shit. Spend an afternoon checking out the shops on Denmark Street. You can probably get a new bog standard Strat or SG copy for about £80.
Surely all you want from a beginner's guitar is something that will hold its tuning. Likely to be true of a £100 s/h, less likely to be true of a brand new £80 one.
FWIW I took a rigourously scientific approach when I bought my guitar last year:
Brand: Yamaha, because I bought a Yamaha surround amp a while back and it was great. Admittedly the two products have nothing in common, were likely made by totally different divisions, and in any practical sense is probably made by a completely different company. But my goodwill towards the brand made this a 'no-brainer'.
Model: Pacifica because it was the right price. And it's a strat copy so I thought it would look nice next to the bass, which is also a strat. And it came in a metallic silver finish, which I (correctly) assumed would complement the metallic red of the bass. According to a less scientific approach this element could be considered a 'mistake', as the Pacifica is a superstrat, meaning the neck is thinner, making it more difficult for my clumsy bass-acclimatised fingers to play. However I'm sure you'll agree it's hard to argue with the facts re: style and price.
I'm sure that if you're equally as diligent in your application of research, you'll make a similarly informed choice.
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H1ppychick
We all prisoners, chickee-baby. We all locked in.
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I have a Yamaha Pacifica too! I bought it second-hand on eBay about 5 years ago, the only thing it doesn't have is the tremolo bar. I spent about 2 months playing along with some random CD and getting fingertip calluses, then rather typically typically lost interest. It's currently sitting against my bedroom wall gathering dust.
quote:Originally posted by Thorn Davis: something that will hold its tuning. Likely to be true of a £100 s/h, less likely to be true of a brand new £80 one.
That's logic! Old heads will hold tuning better than new ones, eh? The fact is that for less than, what... £250-£300, any guitar is gonna have its limitations. New or old. I'd rather have a new cheap guitar than an old cheap guitar.
quote:Originally posted by H1ppychick: I have a Yamaha Pacifica too! I bought it second-hand on eBay about 5 years ago, the only thing it doesn't have is the tremolo bar. I spent about 2 months playing along with some random CD and getting fingertip calluses, then rather typically typically lost interest. It's currently sitting against my bedroom wall gathering dust.
quote:Originally posted by Black Mask: That's logic!
I was basing this on a sample group of one (1), when I bought my guitar. The guy demoed an £80 guitar and couldn't get it to stay in tune.
I have to hand it to you - you're catching me out all the way these last couple of days. Now I think about it the whole approach I detailed wasn't rigorously scientific at all! What could I have been thinking when I said that it was.
Actually, a friend said to me his Dad has one he'd sell for abotu a hundred, which is probably fairly decent but I don't know what it is. He's going to find out some details and let me know.
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Although now I think about it, I'm not sure that machine heads (isn't that what they're called) become less effective over time anyway. My bass must be about 15 years old by now and stays in tune just as well as it ever did.
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And - you know - you never see concert violinists or cellists or whatever getting increasingly frustrated trying to tune their 300 year old insturment and then turning round to the stage hand and saying "Nip out and get me something from Tottenham Court Road for eighty quid. It's bound to be better than this second hand piece of crap."
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quote:Originally posted by Thorn Davis: Anyway, the only valid criteria for a guitar is how awesome it looks.
Ooh, that's one of the Dimebag ones, isn't it?
I haven't got a fucking scooby how guitars work. Everyone I know who plays has dead fancy guitars and they wouldn't sully a plectrum with anything less than a bona Gibson or Fender. Apparently, you have to tolerate cheap guitars being pretty shit until you're prepared to splash out on a decent one. We are currently a two shit guitar household. Plus one shit and two excellent ukes.
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Just spend 100 quid on a guitar you want Ringo. If you manage to get up on stage and start performing then it makes a difference. Otherwise you're just wanking about at home. No-one buys a porsche to rev it in the garage.
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I'm not sold on the flying V. It makes me think of awful 80' hair metal bands. I prefer the more classic sort of Les Paul look.
To be honest, in terms of quality I wouldn't really know good from bad. For me, the biggest qualifier is simply whether or not it all works correctly. Presumably a shit guitar and a good guitar both function in the same way, so learning on one doesn't discount the possibility you'd be able to play to at least the same kind of standard on the other. But I don't know about such things, so I'm not sure I'm in a position to say. Yet.
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quote:Originally posted by Ringo: Presumably a shit guitar and a good guitar both function in the same way, so learning on one doesn't discount the possibility you'd be able to play to at least the same kind of standard on the other.
Absolutely. Only a buffoon would splash out on something totally sweet before they've even learnt to play.
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To be honest, in terms of quality I wouldn't really know good from bad.
Astonishingly, Thorn is actually correct. What you want is a guitar that stays in tune. When you're on the hunt ask about that. "Hey mister. Give me your cheapest guitar that won't go out of tune every time I look at it." Tuning a guitar every five minutes is fucking weak.
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