Electric Guitar Lessons & Equipment?

[irishblue]

I'm interested to learn the electric guitar but have no prior background in guitar playing. Is it advisable to jump right into electric? I went through the forum and some seem to recommend starting with acoustic first, yet others say electric is easier to play. So I'm kinda confused. Help?

I did check out the acoustic and electric guitar lessons at a couple of places like Hark Music and Music Concerto. ALOT of people here are recommending Justin from AllMusic. Is his price steep though? Or any other schools or teachers to recommend?

Also, could someone recommend a good elect guitar for beginners? My influences are more Rock. Budget around $200-300 for the guitar itself... hopefully enough to get something decent? I do like the design of the Gibson LesPaul.. maybe its just a girl thing.. pretty looking guitar lol Read in another thread that Fender Strats have good versatility = good noob guitar?

As for the amp, what should I look out for..besides in-built distortion?

woah that's a whole lot of questions...

 

[Enigma]

First Guitar

Hi Irish Blue,

It is easier to play the electric but I would recommend that you start with Acoustic first. Train up your basics on the Acoustic. It would be easier when you make the switch to electric.

As for the guitar, it really depends on what you want. If you are getting an electric. My recommendation would be that you get a strat type guitar as it is to me the most versatile of all. (Personal opinion).

This way, you are able to play and experience a wide variety of music before you decide which you want to specialise in.

A Les Paul type guitar would be too heavy for you as I understand from your post that you are a female.

When getting the guitar itself, do check for the following:

1) Neck is not warped
2) Action (Distance between the fret board and strings) This affects playability of the guitar. The higher the strings, the harder to play.
3) Any defects on the guitar. i.e. Damaged tuners etc.
4) Scratches
5) Sound quality
(Not in order of importance)

Ask the person to lower the price of the guitar if the guitar is not properly maintained. If the strings are old, ask him/her to change them for you. If it is dirty ask to polish it up before buying it.

 

[Mr_X]

hello friend.

with 200 - 300 u can't get fender or gibson. Maybe u would like to check out some of the entry level guitars sold at davis. I find them very affordable. ignore prs, ignore esp. See samick and ventage.Its in the basement, dun go 2nd level of peninsula.

Mr subversion reccomended the greg bennett samick at the topic "gear news 2004" go there to check out some of his reviews, very useful.

 

[irishblue]

yeah fenders and gibsons are higher ends. Just can drool over them for now I saw the Behringer V-Tone Guitar Pack and Yamaha Pacifica 012 at the luthermusic website, which seems to be within budget. Are those two any good?

Enigma thanks for the tips. Then maybe I should pick up acoustic first. I'm a little confused though. Isn't a Strat a Fender? Or is there some other brand that is similar to that?

 

[Mr_X]

Got strat copies wad. Like yamaha that pacifica 012, its a fat strat copy. the yamaha one is quite good. but the one i tried is jumbo frets, dun quite like. while at yamaha, its smaller, dunno why. i not sure abt behringer, but i reccomend u the ibanez jumpstart, my friend uses that. its .....affordable for 1 whole set. but the amp....is small, w/o build-in efx too. Good for starting out lah.

 

[Mjollnir]

i say bcrich bcrich or ibanez i dunno i played electric guitar i sucked at it so i played accoustic den gonna get a new guitar i think ill be ready for it anyways send me a pic of uireself lol

 

[Mr_X]

eh i think shld start on acoustic or classical first, learn to change chords, practise chord progression.

 

[Mjollnir]

yea mr_x ure right!

 

[Mr_X]

that's how i was forced to start guitar, cause my dad dun wanna sponsor my electric so i had to learn acoustic, pract acoustic, find work to sponsor my electric. which is gd, at least i treasure my guitar more.

 

[Mjollnir]

unluck u

 

[Lifehouse]

I'm interested to learn the electric guitar but have no prior background in guitar playing.

Hi there. $200 to $300 is actually a very tight budget for getting a guitar and amp. An epiphone Les Paul cost around $400++ 2nd hand. You might want to take a look second hand. Websites like www.luthermusic.com has classifieds that are definitely worth checking out.

If you're going the first hand route, there are some Ibanez jam packs worth looking, but I'm not sure whether they will fit into your budget. There should also be similar offerings from Squire and Epiphone and Yamaha.

 

[irishblue]

lifehouse, 200-300 budget is juz for the guitar. i can throw in another 100 or so for an amp. I don't mind second hand, but thing is i am not sure what to check for like the tuning and stuff since i hv no background as yet.

where can i find ibanez packs? swee lee's seems quite ex.

 

[Mjollnir]

yea swee lee is 200% more xpensive

 

[soft]

Mjollnir, what makes you say swee lee is 200% more expensive? are you comparing the same guitar that can be gotten cheaper elsewhere in Singapore?

 

[Mjollnir]

eh i unno

 

[vantango]

Justin's rates are at $40/lesson, each lesson an hour..

I think you should opt for an acoustic/classical guitar first. But if you're really keen on starting on the electric, then yeah, either go for second hand or the packs... I don't remember where you can find ibanez packs, but there's the squire pack at swee lee(i think that was around 300 or so with amp)- you should be able to get 20-25% of the price, just bargain with them.. or yamaha at ps...

Personally I'd go with the squire pack.. Ok lah I like strats, you don't have to listen to me.. ><;

 

[Mjollnir]

yea go with the squires i love strats and teles lol

 

[vantango]

Haha yeah I've got a fender strat myself, I love it. =D

Oh. Don't go for LPs, it's heavy and will probably be pretty uncomfortable in the long run... Then you'll start wishing you got that strat instead =P (I'm female too)

 

[Mjollnir]

realy ure a female gimme ure pic.













OF URE STRAT! lol

 

[vantango]

...HAHA. Yeah sure, if I remember and once I find my camera lah.