Bad guitar and gear = good player?

[entrasticemperor]

Hey guys,

Another random thread.

Do you think it is better for a beginner to start off with a bad guitar or gear? I have heard two takes on this and cant decide which makes more sense.

1) If you start with a bad tone, you will rely on your skills to make your playing sound better. So it will make you a better guitarists than those who have all those mesmerizing tone that makes anything sound great.

2) You need a good tone from the beginning because a bad tone might dishearten you. A beginner might give up on playing guitar if he hates the sound coming out of his gear. You need a nice tone that resembles your favorite band to encourage you to practice more.

Whats your opinion on this?

 

[leo.andres.91]

actually there are both type of people that you mentioned
it's much dependent on their personality that they would fall in either group

 

[bf0502tr]

just pick whatever's fine for u. the forum's only a guide

 

[Phil]

Get whatever you can get your hands on, and start playing and practising. The fact that you're musing about such questions means you're not occupied enough.

Now, go practise!

But if you need an answer, my take is to get the best that you can afford. Good gear that allows you to play comfortably and sound decent will no doubt be a boon. Eases the learning curve, I should say.

A guitar that plays badly and sounds bad may prove to be disheartening for the learner. Especially children, who get discouraged or may lose interest easily.

But if your resolve is so easily displaced, then it reflects on your passion towards the instrument. Questionable and dubious.

At the end of the day, your passion and interest will take care of everything. Good gear or lousy gear.

So, start playing already.

 

[subversion]

gear merely facilitates your passion. as mentioned above, get a deserving gear for yourself (whatever that may be, it should address your needs more than anything else...beyond this, it's bonus...) focus on furthering your passion.

 

[entrasticemperor]

Get whatever you can get your hands on, and start playing and practising. The fact that you're musing about such questions means you're not occupied enough.

Now, go practise!

Ok, this is going in the wrong direction. I wasn't asking for an advice to help me decide what I should do. It was a general discussion topic as I have been asked this question many times by others. Something that I started when I was killing time at work. That should explain the whole "you're not occupied enough" part.

Just for the record, I do not consider myself as a complete beginner. I have been playing for 14 years on and off both classical and electric.

Sorry if I misused the forum. But drop in your thoughts if you are free.

 

[ryechua]

both are valid points. although i strongly believe that "tone is in the fingers", you cannot take the equipment for granted. it is true that better sounding gear "can" have an influence on how you play music.

 

[theunknown]

Personally, I'd get what I deserve. When I was a beginner, I didn't know anything. I only I must get a les paul with an amp that has overdrive. Nothing else. I think too much concentration on gear distracts the beginner from progressing playing-wise.

Also I'd prefer good playing on bad gear over bad playing on good gear anytime.

Starting with bad gear, for me.

But...what IS good gear?

 

[Valentinoz]

both are valid points. although i strongly believe that "tone is in the fingers", you cannot take the equipment for granted. it is true that better sounding gear "can" have an influence on how you play music.

tone isn't in the fingers. skills and speed are in the fingers. with more practice, u'll be better in mind-finger coordination. meaning your fingers does what your mind them to do and even better and faster. well in the mean time, i do think that tone's more with the amp that u're using.

 

[EugeneSmasher]

Don't compromise. Don't buy bad gear because they'll kill your enjoyment and passion in the guitar.

But another thing is that good gear isn't necessarily expensive.

 

[Jumpin'Jellybean]

Don't compromise. Don't buy bad gear because they'll kill your enjoyment and passion in the guitar.

But another thing is that good gear isn't necessarily expensive.

Exactly. Bad gear isn't necessarily expensive. There are some hidden jems out there, and if you stumble across them, you sure are lucky. It's mostly by trial and error, and, personally, i think good gear to start off with is better. Good gear is generally easier to play, and has less flaws. (Intonation, fret buzz, etc.)

 

[Phil]

Ok, this is going in the wrong direction. I wasn't asking for an advice to help me decide what I should do. It was a general discussion topic as I have been asked this question many times by others. Something that I started when I was killing time at work. That should explain the whole "you're not occupied enough" part.

Just for the record, I do not consider myself as a complete beginner. I have been playing for 14 years on and off both classical and electric.

Sorry if I misused the forum. But drop in your thoughts if you are free.

Hi,

I apologise.
I must admit that I wrongly assumed that it is another one of 'those' threads. We tend to get quite a few of those here, in all shapes and forms. I should have read it carefully and correctly interpreted your choice of words and tone.

Speaking of which, I was only chastising you jokingly.
I guess once again we are victims of the inadequacies of the written-word conveying tone and intent 100% accurately.

Have a good day!

 

[subversion]

I guess once again we are victims of the inadequacies of the written-word conveying tone and intent 100% accurately.

if we embrace digital communication, there should be an implied allowance for this, yes?

 

[entrasticemperor]

Hi,

Speaking of which, I was only chastising you jokingly.
I guess once again we are victims of the inadequacies of the written-word conveying tone and intent 100% accurately.

Have a good day!

Haha, I guess we were. Anyways, no worries.. Lets carry on with the thread

 

[XLayaR]

Many things can turn a player away from the instrument but I think that gear should not be an excuse to stop playing an instrument all-together. Personally I don't think that there's a difference starting out with 'good' or 'bad' gear cos in the long run you'll be doing a complete over-haul of your gear anyway. Of course this may just be me but I've changed rigs (sold EVERYTHING on my board one shot) 3 times in my 5 years of playing.

Get the gear you WANT and LIKE and you'll be happy.

Just my opinion anyway.

 

[SpaTanS]

Hi, my take of what to buy depends on the buying power = $$$

i'm sure, alot of guitarist will buy more than 1 guitar in the entire hobby ... go out and try some Cheap and some EX guitar ... u'll b impress that some cheap guit can b quite good.

get a good sounding amp. 1 that can fit in your apartment/room and wont annoy the neighbours ... and try some other gadgets/pedals for sound coloration.

all your gears needs time and patients to get to know them ... dont think of selling or 2nd hand value b4 even buying them ... but the top most impt ... just dont give up playing ... then it will never go to waste

 

[ryechua]

tone isn't in the fingers. skills and speed are in the fingers. with more practice, u'll be better in mind-finger coordination. meaning your fingers does what your mind them to do and even better and faster. well in the mean time, i do think that tone's more with the amp that u're using.

lol.. i didn't mean it "literally". when i say tone is in the fingers, i mean what matters most is the person playing the music - his skill and knowledge, and not the equipment.

 

[Morlock]

Exactly. Bad gear isn't necessarily expensive. There are some hidden jems out there, and if you stumble across them, you sure are lucky. It's mostly by trial and error, and, personally, i think good gear to start off with is better. Good gear is generally easier to play, and has less flaws. (Intonation, fret buzz, etc.)

I Definitely agree with you. I played a cheapo bass guitar in my first few years and it did not help a bit. I developed wrong ways of playing because of how badly the guitar was set up. action was too high, which resulted to tilting my hand sideways like an upright bass. the pick up was so crap that I had to pluck harder to get better tones, my hand would hurt a lot more and I always sounded differently when ever I go from gig to gig.
Then someone advised me that I should invest on my gear to be a better player. I followed that advice and now I am a lot better player. I play my bass a lot more times than before because my hand hurts less, tone is a lot better, and the gear is much much more comfortable etc.

 

[Morlock]

lol.. i didn't mean it "literally". when i say tone is in the fingers, i mean what matters most is the person playing the music - his skill and knowledge, and not the equipment.

I disagree, I will give you a badly set up guitar, with bow, bad pick ups, bad groudings, cracking jack and all, see if you can still do your scales as fast and as accurate with the guitar you are practicing with.

 

[ryechua]

I disagree, I will give you a badly set up guitar, with bow, bad pick ups, bad groudings, cracking jack and all, see if you can still do your scales as fast and as accurate with the guitar you are practicing with.

i'm speaking not only about shredding. this is about music in general. yes anyone would sound sucky using that kind of gear but please check my first post. equipment is just one part of the equation. you need both skill and decent equipment to make good music. music is not just about playing the scales - it's how you organize the notes to make good melody and harmony.