Guitar players, I need some help from y'all

Before I moved out here to Utah my uncle gave me a gift for making it into the Airforce, a Peavey Series electric guitar.

I've always like the sound of the guitar, and have been wanting to learn how to play for the longest time (Though I prefer acoustic over electric) However, I don't have the slightest clue when it comes to reading tabs, (let alone music, funny since I have six years of playing in an orchestra and Jr High band experience)

All my abilities I've done by ear (which according to both my brother and my teachers say I have a very good sense of tone and pitch)

It's been many years since I picked up an instrument, so I wanted to know from you guys who have been playing for a long time, what you would recommend for someone just starting out.

I unfortunately can't even afford a cheap amp for the guitar, so I'll probably have to practice playing without one for a while.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

What kind of help are you looking for?

Sorry it wasnt clear....are you looking for help with Tabs?

Ah my bad, reading music, suggestions in a decent affordable amp, tips on how to practice, stuff like that.

Well as far as reading tab, read this

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/xtra/mojo_show_takeover.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ultimate-guitar.com%2Flessons%2Ffor_beginners%2Fhow_to_read_tabs.html§ion=lessons&ad_type=18

Its actually really simple.

What is your price range for the amp?

And practicing is always good to get into a routine. Its always good to start off by learning songs that you like. Work with the easy stuff first, and work your way up.

I can answer any specific questions you may have, not a problem.

Awesome, my biggest problem for the longest time that deterred me from trying to play is that I was never able to "bridge" my strings correctly (I have very small girly hands)

As for the amp, if I can keep it close to $100 then I'd really rather do so, if that's not possible or if I could get a pretty nice one for a little more, I may be willing to spend the cash to buy it once and only once.

The hands things sucks, not really much you can do about it besides stretch those bad boys as much as possible.

On the amp....hmmm let me look. Give me a few and Ill see what I can find.

Also what type of music are you looking to play? That does need to be taken into consideration whilst buying an amp.

I typically listen to alternative rock, Greenday, Linken Park, and some harder stuff, Metallica, Five Finger Death Punch.

So that's the kind of music I'll likely be trying to learn how to play, along with older songs like from Lynard Skynard and others.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/fender-mustang-i-20w-1x8-guitar-combo-amp#review

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/crate-flexwave-fw15r-15w-1x12-guitar-combo-amp

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/peavey-vypyr-15-15w-1x8-guitar-combo-amp

The last one is the best of the three IMO

yeah I second the peavey. Other than that sym pretty much covered it.

By the way, is the guitar I got a good one? I've never even heard of the brand before (Then again, I'm a noob when it comes to guitars period)

Any recommendations on a decent acoustic guitar that has strings closer to the frets? (Good thing about electric guitars is that they're easy for me to depress the strings)

Peavey is a good, solid brand.

Honestly I dont know much about acoustics, Im a strait electric player.

for a decent acoustic that's still fairly reasonably priced look at peavey, epiphone, fender, maybe a squire (I hear the quality can be somewhat iffy with this brand), takamine, seagull.

depends what your budget would be though. If you're looking for really cheap you'd have to go with an off brand and I wouldn't really know much about them...it's kind of like trying to pick between a crap burger or a shit sandwich. If you go low enough the quality is pretty much the same (in that it's quite lacking).

I'm kinda biased though since I'm used to decent gear so it might be ok for someone like you who's just started but once you're used to a certain level of quality it's hard to go back down and not feel like what you have in your hands is crap or more difficult to play than it should be.

as for the action (height of strings relative to frets) every guitar is going to be different so you want to try before you buy ideally but as a general rule of thumb acoustic guitars will have higher action than an electric. The brand Ovation has acoustic electric hybrids that have quite low action for an acoustic but they are a bit pricier.

I'm a firm believer if I'm going to get an instrument, get the best "entry" level one you can get, buy it once, and never buy it again if you can help it.

Artimise Flare wrote:I'm a firm believer if I'm going to get an instrument, get the best "entry" level one you can get, buy it once, and never buy it again if you can help it.

yeah definitely get the best thing you can afford. It makes learning alot easier when you aren't fighting the crappy quality of your instrument.

Look at the brands I mentioned and if you get something between 250$-400$ you shouldn't run into any problems.

Oh I forgot about Yamaha...they make alright entry level acoustics.

< had has horrible experience with Yamaha.

Ovation makes some awesome acoustics... at least the one my dad had was really nice, forgot what it was called. Strings weren't exactly close to the fretboard though.

Sym wrote:< had has horrible experience with Yamaha.

Yeah my experience hasn't been that great either with their entry level basses but they make ok acoustics in the cheapish price range.

One brand I loved when I was learning to play was Kramer. First guitar I ever had. Sadly there are next to impossible to find these days.

Chewy wrote:Ovation makes some awesome acoustics... at least the one my dad had was really nice, forgot what it was called. Strings weren't exactly close to the fretboard though.

depends on the model and the setup but most of them can get lower action than most other acoustic guitars...it'll never be electric guitar action but compared to other acoustics they can get pretty low.

My action is so LOW

Almost required for my playstyle

HydrasBreath wrote:

Chewy wrote:Ovation makes some awesome acoustics... at least the one my dad had was really nice, forgot what it was called. Strings weren't exactly close to the fretboard though.

depends on the model and the setup but most of them can get lower action than most other acoustic guitars...it'll never be electric guitar action but compared to other acoustics they can get pretty low.

Well it was a pretty old model, before they went into the electric acoustic business. Bugs me that I can't remember what it is... but I know that you had to push down on the strings quite a damn bit and it would blister the hell out of a beginner's fingers.

Chewy wrote:

HydrasBreath wrote:

Chewy wrote:Ovation makes some awesome acoustics... at least the one my dad had was really nice, forgot what it was called. Strings weren't exactly close to the fretboard though.

depends on the model and the setup but most of them can get lower action than most other acoustic guitars...it'll never be electric guitar action but compared to other acoustics they can get pretty low.

Well it was a pretty old model, before they went into the electric acoustic business. Bugs me that I can't remember what it is... but I know that you had to push down on the strings quite a damn bit and it would blister the hell out of a beginner's fingers.

Typical for a acoustic

Sym wrote:One brand I loved when I was learning to play was Kramer. First guitar I ever had. Sadly there are next to impossible to find these days.

Nice. I went from playing a crap yamaha rbx170 that was worth like 200$-250$ to a 1500$ vintage '78 Rickenbacker bass and they're the only brand I play now. Their necks are just too awesome everything else feels like crap in my hands.

Sym wrote:

Chewy wrote:

HydrasBreath wrote:

Chewy wrote:Ovation makes some awesome acoustics... at least the one my dad had was really nice, forgot what it was called. Strings weren't exactly close to the fretboard though.

depends on the model and the setup but most of them can get lower action than most other acoustic guitars...it'll never be electric guitar action but compared to other acoustics they can get pretty low.

Well it was a pretty old model, before they went into the electric acoustic business. Bugs me that I can't remember what it is... but I know that you had to push down on the strings quite a damn bit and it would blister the hell out of a beginner's fingers.

Typical for a acoustic

yeah acoustics have higher tension/less flexible strings so they can be more difficult to play.

HydrasBreath wrote:

Sym wrote:One brand I loved when I was learning to play was Kramer. First guitar I ever had. Sadly there are next to impossible to find these days.

Nice. I went from playing a crap yamaha rbx170 that was worth like 200$-250$ to a 1500$ vintage '78 Rickenbacker bass and they're the only brand I play now. Their necks are just too awesome everything else feels like crap in my hands.

Haha Im kinda the same way.

I only play Ibanez, and its because of two reasons.

- Scalloped frets are amazing
- Gotta have my Wizard neck

Sym wrote:

HydrasBreath wrote:

Sym wrote:One brand I loved when I was learning to play was Kramer. First guitar I ever had. Sadly there are next to impossible to find these days.

Nice. I went from playing a crap yamaha rbx170 that was worth like 200$-250$ to a 1500$ vintage '78 Rickenbacker bass and they're the only brand I play now. Their necks are just too awesome everything else feels like crap in my hands.

Haha Im kinda the same way.

I only play Ibanez, and its because of two reasons.

- Scalloped frets are amazing
- Gotta have my Wizard neck

yeah I've messed with some Ibanez basses at the music store and they also have some pretty nice necks. Alot nicer than Fenders or something like that.

for me playing a Ric is about the tone and the neck...and I think they look sexy

My buddy has an only Rick

Thing sucks donkey balls, but it looks cool.

Had the F holes and everything

Sym wrote:My buddy has an only Rick

Thing sucks donkey balls, but it looks cool.

Had the F holes and everything

A guitar you mean? Yeah they aren't that great unless you're playing the beatles or something of that nature. Mostly clean/light overdrive stuff

The basses are sweet though. They have a very ballsy in your face tone. Love it. Slap some overdrive on there and run it through an awesome tube amp and you're in face melt city

I meant to say he has an OLD Rick guitar, so yes haha.

I have an Ibanez Talsman, it's awesome because I have pretty small hands and it's a little smaller than a typical acoustic. Mine is an acoustic-electric, but they have straight acoustics as well. I love Ibanez!

Mrs. Terry of Hat wrote:I have an Ibanez Talsman, it's awesome because I have pretty small hands and it's a little smaller than a typical acoustic. Mine is an acoustic-electric, but they have straight acoustics as well. I love Ibanez!

Smart girl

Ibanez does make good guitars. I have a Gio myself, It can get some good sound for how cheap it is.

I love Ibanez so much that I have a 900$ Jackson that I dont play.

Hey Artimise, this may be of interest:

http://www.amazon.com/Rocksmith-Xbox-360/dp/B004S5PBM0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346844888&sr=8-1&keywords=rocksmith

I've been waiting ages for the European release. It's had good write-ups, and is supposedly genuinely useful as a tool for beginners.

MADEWITHROBOTS wrote:Hey Artimise, this may be of interest:

http://www.amazon.com/Rocksmith-Xbox-360/dp/B004S5PBM0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346844888&sr=8-1&keywords=rocksmith

I've been waiting ages for the European release. It's had good write-ups, and is supposedly genuinely useful as a tool for beginners.

If someone is serious about learning they'd be better off getting private lessons from a teacher rather than a game IMO. I'm kind of biased against those type of games though but all they do is detect if you're playing the correct pitch...they don't teach proper technique and how to get good tone.

Like I said if anyone is serious about wanting to learn nothing can replace a teacher or someone who knows what they're doing giving you feedback on the spot so you don't develop bad habits that could be ruining your hands or something.

Or having a go on your own is completely fine as well (that's how I learned) but you have to be critically listening to yourself and pretty self motivated to do things yourself and find ways to improve on your own. You could develop bad habits this way though.

Hydra, your comments are completely expected haha

If I'da had more time when I made the original post, I'd have included some additional comments but I didn't.

There's a few things about Rocksmith worth noting:
- No-one, and I do mean no-one, would seriously suggest that something like Rocksmith can replace private tuition. That'd be very wrong, I agree.
- Private tuition is expensive!
- Rocksmith is only of any worth to COMPLETE beginners (which is the impression I got from Artimise's post - I'm a beginner too)
- Rocksmith has been out in the States since October last year, so people have had plenty of time to weigh the pros and cons.

The general consensus seems to be, it's genuinely useful to absolute beginners at learning to play guitar - and a decent foundation to then seek tuition to take your playing further.

Tuition is expensive, and not everyone has the time, money or inclination to go that route. Depending on the person, privately teaching yourself can only get you so far.

For someone like me, I don't (currently) want to pay out for lessons. But I've tried surrounding myself with books, to middling success. I even had scales stuck up on my walls to rehearse, but just find it so easy to fall out of the practice habit.

However, games are something that I can fully get behind - and I can totally see myself picking up the guitar far more if I can get some feedback directly from the 'game', rather than rely on my own ear. I'm also far more likely to push myself, and not be lazy repeating the same few things I know.

Where something like Rocksmith can be genuinely useful, is in helping a complete beginner to get a handle on the instrument - learn your way around the fret board, use the games/activities to practice/improve finger strength and speed, start to think about scales etc.etc.

It's not for everyone, and it's no substitute for a good teacher, but there's a place for it if you're the right kind of person, and you're a complete beginner.

By all means, check the reviews on that Amazon page, as well as the gfaqs board. Like I said, it might be of interest

Yeah I don't know I guess I'm just a biased asshole haha when I was learning and teaching myself there wasn't any of those types of games. I guess I just come from the old school way where you either took lessons or gave yourself a trial by fire and learned things yourself.

I understand the whole different strokes for different folks thing...I guess I was always just self motivated and always willing to push myself harder to learn more challenging songs. Being able to finally play a song I had been working on learning for a long time was reward enough for me. But like you said different strokes for different folks.

I just can't help but feel like there's something fundamentally wrong about learning guitar from a video game but again that might just be me being a biased asshole.

It could just be that I'm too weak willed to get off my ass and learn to play myself, and need the flashing lights and carrot on a stick that a game can offer hahaha

Still, so long as it actually makes me pick it up and start playing again, I'll put that down as a win. I mean, it looks lovely and all, sitting there gathering dust, but I'm always faintly embarrased to have it sat there for so long and still barely able to do anything with it.....

The stupid thing is, I genuinely love playing with it. I just don't feel like I ever get anywhere, and find it too easy to put down to do other things and then fall out of practice, which makes it harder again to get back into etc. etc. cycle repeats.

To be completely honest, in some ways it feels a little bit of a failing to admit that I need to make it a 'game' to actually get on with it - especially after I've spent time teaching myself other things the long, hard way. But I guess that's part of it - I'm still doing the 'learning' with my art, and I just don't have enough time for it all. Guitar playing is just further down the list, for me, and so it misses out/I miss out.

< Totally self taught