Marshmellow Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 Well my brothers and sisters are really musical and such so I really want to learn how to play Electric Guitar. I would really like to be able to record it and such preferably digital... So what are your thoughts about This Guitar? from Thinkgeek. I like it because you can plug into your computer and such... But is this a good guitar for noobs? Thanks!
Shorty Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 Are you planning to be taught or teach yourself? Teaching yourself can be slow and frustrating for a while - lessons are always the best way to get good. That guitar seems fine for a beginner. It's the typical stratocaster shape and functions as a regular guitar, plus it's fairly cheap. I hope you have a decent sound system on your PC because you're not going to get the real heavy sounds without it. I started with a crappy electric guitar and weak little amp, and the first thing I wanted to do was upgrade to a big amp because I hated the scratchy noises I was producing. Btw I plugged my guitar into my PC using my amp's output and an adapter for the jack into my soundcard, you don't necessarily need a USB guitar to work on your PC.
Roostophe Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 That guitar is good for beginners. Plus it does look kinda nice. You will have trouble if you learn guitar by yourself. A good idea is to buy a string tuner, you can use that to help you re-tune if ever they get knocked out of tune. Also, a good tuning for beginners is the Drop D Tuning (D-A-D-G-B-E), this means you can use one finger to play chords on the D-A-D strings. Chords which you'd use 2/3 fingers on a standard E-A-D-G-B-E tuned guitar. It helped me, and it might help you.
The Bard Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 I wouldn't get that guitar if I was you, there are a lot of things wrong with it. Have you thought about why you want to play guitar in the first place, what is it about the instrument that appeals to you? I kind of pride myself as a skilled guitarist, so if you have any Q's feel free to PM me .
Ramar Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 I made the mistake last year of investing in a guitar (albeit a cheap £150 one), just before Christmas it came, and to this date I've not learnt how to play it. Word of warning, if you want to do it, be very dedicated and do it. Don't waste your money. I tried to teach myself with some book, it failed me. Pay for a tutor if you can afford it.
Marshmellow Posted December 4, 2006 Author Posted December 4, 2006 That guitar seems fine for a beginner. It's the typical stratocaster shape and functions as a regular guitar, plus it's fairly cheap. I hope you have a decent sound system on your PC because you're not going to get the real heavy sounds without it. I started with a crappy electric guitar and weak little amp, and the first thing I wanted to do was upgrade to a big amp because I hated the scratchy noises I was producing. I have Logitechs Z-5450 Wireless Speakers. They're pretty high quality I think plus I've added two additional speakers as well. You will have trouble if you learn guitar by yourself. A good idea is to buy a string tuner, you can use that to help you re-tune if ever they get knocked out of tune. Also, a good tuning for beginners is the Drop D Tuning (D-A-D-G-B-E), this means you can use one finger to play chords on the D-A-D strings. Chords which you'd use 2/3 fingers on a standard E-A-D-G-B-E tuned guitar. It helped me, and it might help you. Could you recommend a string tuner since I because it sounds pretty helpful for a noob:D I wouldn't get that guitar if I was you, there are a lot of things wrong with it. Have you thought about why you want to play guitar in the first place, what is it about the instrument that appeals to you? I kind of pride myself as a skilled guitarist, so if you have any Q's feel free to PM me . I want to play Guitar because my family is good with music and I need a new hobby. All I do is video games, go here, and go to school. Expect some PMs from me:smile: Oh yeah, whats wrong with the guitar from thinkgeek? I made the mistake last year of investing in a guitar (albeit a cheap £150 one), just before Christmas it came, and to this date I've not learnt how to play it. Word of warning, if you want to do it, be very dedicated and do it. Don't waste your money. I tried to teach myself with some book, it failed me. Pay for a tutor if you can afford it. I might be able to get my parents pay for everything since they pay $110 a month for my sisters piano lessons. and thanks everybody!
Roostophe Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 Could you recommend a string tuner since I because it sounds pretty helpful for a noob:D I can't recommend a string tuner as I have an FX Pedal that has a built-in tuner (And there's no point in getting a pedal just yet.). I suppose the best thing would be to ask someone else or have a look on the Internet for one, sorry.
Shyguy Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 I have learned Guitar using Tabs only, i dont know any chords and im... pretty ok :P but make sure to learn chords they are very helpful in playing everything
The Bard Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 I want to play Guitar because my family is good with music and I need a new hobby. All I do is video games, go here, and go to school. Expect some PMs from me:smile: Oh yeah, whats wrong with the guitar from thinkgeek? Don't treat it as a hobby, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it, and you shouldn't really need a teacher to start off with, you can teach yourself the basics pretty easily, or I can teach you...but as for later, only you can know what direction you want to take your playing in. What kind of music do you want to play? If you want to play nothing but indie then that guitar is perfect for you, but I would definately go for something more diverse. I play Metal, Classical and Blues and the best beginner guitar for me by far was the Cort X2. It's great and it's only £150 or thereabouts these days...after 2 years or so you're gonna want to move to something more advanced, and build up to buying your ideal guitar, which in my case was the ESP DV8-r. That guitar you're eyeing is a waste of good money, at least in my opinion.
Fierce_LiNk Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 I'm trying to learn how to play guitar. Learning chords is NOT fun. You ain't gonna get good overnight. This stuff takes time. A lot of it. I would advise getting a teacher. They will teach you things like technique, and will set you on the right path. If you don't get a teacher, get tabs, chords and scales books, and practice lots.
Strider Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 The usual beginner guitar is a Fender Squire Strat (just get one of those funny leads to plug it in your pc). I taught myself using Tabs (www.ultimate-guitar.com) / (www.mxtabs.net) i think theres tutorials on there, and when you get your head around it its pretty straight forward. I personally wouldn't go for that guitar you mentioned, as above i'd go for a squire. I've been playing for 2/3 years now, you may find it difficult at first, but when you get your fingers to remember where they should be, you'll be fine. It's all pratice.
Jon Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 First bit of advice, YOU DO NOT NEED A TEACHER. Some of the best guys have learned themselves, the idea is to develop your own style and ideas, not copy someone else.
Fierce_LiNk Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 You don't NEED a teacher, but it helps a great deal to have guidance. Also, progression.
mario114 Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 I'm learning guitar, I started a few weeks backs, got myself a £300 electric-acoustic. I can do all the (normall)open cords easy now, but can't do any bar ones yet, and am finding strumming patterns a bit challanging. I have lessons off a friend for a very good price. Am going to learn electric next year.
The Bard Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 First bit of advice, YOU DO NOT NEED A TEACHER. Some of the best guys have learned themselves, the idea is to develop your own style and ideas, not copy someone else. Yeah, listen to this, Jon here is a proficient guitarist from what I've heard, you do NOT need a teacher, only you know the type of musician you want to become, I mean, if you can procure lessons from Satch then great, but if not I think you'll probably end up wasting money. Theres not much that a teacher can teach you that practice 7/ 8 hours a day and experimentation can't do better. Get lessons if you want to be a generic, emotionless Indie player though... Could you recommend a string tuner since I because it sounds pretty helpful for a noob:D Korg do some pretty special ones for around £20. Invest in one of these and not one of the cheap ass ones if you want to play around with tunings sometime in the future. After a few months you won't even need a tuner though, just remember the exact pitch of the bottom E and you can tune from there, easy as pie .
Jon Posted December 4, 2006 Posted December 4, 2006 One thing that I would like to stress about practice is that it doesn't make perfect, it makes permanent. So make sure what your practising is correct.
Marshmellow Posted December 5, 2006 Author Posted December 5, 2006 What kind of music do you want to play? If you want to play nothing but indie then that guitar is perfect for you, but I would definately go for something more diverse. I want to be able to play music like Bodies by Drowning Pool and stuff like that. If you could just recommend anything and everything I would need for a beginner guitarist like me to play a song such as Bodies I would really appreciate it. Budget isn't really an issue I mean I don't want ridiculous prices but I should be able to get something nice.
Shorty Posted December 5, 2006 Posted December 5, 2006 One thing that I would like to stress about practice is that it doesn't make perfect, it makes permanent. So make sure what your practising is correct. In other words, practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practise makes perfect First bit of advice, YOU DO NOT NEED A TEACHER. Some of the best guys have learned themselves, the idea is to develop your own style and ideas, not copy someone else. I think that lessons will help you (a) see how you're improving (b) keep your motivation up and stop you from becoming complacant © understand theory (d) give you an opportunity to ask specific questions (e) learn from something more friendly and understanding than a webpage (f) make you learn quicker!
KKOB Posted December 5, 2006 Posted December 5, 2006 i've always wanted to learn the Air Guitar but i haven't been able to find a music school willing to give me lessons.
AshMat Posted December 5, 2006 Posted December 5, 2006 I'd advice you to get a drum teacher. And learn those, drums > Guitar etc.
Portlett Posted December 5, 2006 Posted December 5, 2006 Its not essential to get lessons, although they do help. I would suggest some of the best ways to learn is to learn a few basics by yourself and them jam with your friends. I picked up the bass about four years ago and learnt the basics but the most ive learnt has come with playing music with others. That will make you much better at playing in time and improvising and knowing what you can play.
The Bard Posted December 5, 2006 Posted December 5, 2006 I want to be able to play music like Bodies by Drowning Pool and stuff like that. If you could just recommend anything and everything I would need for a beginner guitarist like me to play a song such as Bodies I would really appreciate it. Budget isn't really an issue I mean I don't want ridiculous prices but I should be able to get something nice. Get yourself a Cort X2, a Roland Cube amp a stock of Dunlop Jazz 3 picks, the small ones (this will be much disputed, but trust me, there's no competition ) Shouldn't set you back too much. If you want to play bodies, you're gonna need a Wah pedal aswell. Why do you want to play bodies anyway? It's so gosh darn simple that it'll take you 5 mins to learn, and then you'll get bored
Marshmellow Posted December 6, 2006 Author Posted December 6, 2006 lol well I don't know I really like that song. And it would be neat to learn it and then I'll be able to play more songs like that as well. All of my m8's really like that song as well so you know showing off bragging rights. etc. none of them can play guitar. It's fun to be different! Alright I'll order that stuff then asap. Thanks a bunches!
somme Posted December 9, 2006 Posted December 9, 2006 Teach yourself. When taught by a teacher you're taught the "rules", this can stunt creativity.
Girly hiyaz!~ Gamer Posted December 9, 2006 Posted December 9, 2006 tutors can be pointless. i highly recomend you teach yourself.
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