newbie's questions...

[garaguni]

hi everyone,
this is my first post here, i am a total newbie to guitar and even music...
have been reading thru some of the threads and getting confused about many things...nevermind about that..i am sure most people who are new experienced these......
i would to try out with a acoustic guitar but i am not sure whether my interests may lasts or not, therefore i think it's better for me to start with a low budget and maybe get a 2nd hand guitar for a start-up......I have came across guitars which are sold at quite a cheap price at Cash Converter...are they suitable for beginners?? perhaps i may need to get some new strings as most of the guitar there have missing strings...are the strings for all acoustic guitars the same??what other things do i need to look out when buying 2nd hand guitar?? (better stop here as this post is getting longer.., will add on my other questions as time goes by)

 

[teleplayer]

Why buy a 2nd hand when you can buy a 1st hand? Prices are dropping everyday... and at yamaha this kind of shop, you can get a classical guitar at less than 100... But it's better to buy at sweelee or other non-yamaha stores... They got more variety and the prices are much cheaper. For the strings, must not buy at yamaha as sweele sell 2,3dollars cheaper....

 

[mus]

If you want to get a 2nd hand acoustic guitar, try the Buy/Sell Section. You should be able to find a decent one to fit your budget. I think Cash Converters is not a good place to buy guitars.

For 1st hand acoustic, try 'kapok' acoustic guitar. They are quite cheap. Davis Guitar used to have it. I'm not sure if they still have it.

Not all acoustic strings are the same. They come in different gauges, light to heavy gauges. Usually, heavier gauged strings are harder to press compared to light gauged ones. They also have difference in tone which range from bright to mellow sounding.

 

[garaguni]

ya..someone already recommended me to get from davis at penisular....and strings from bras basah...so should a newbie get a heavier gauge strings or lighter one?? currently no need to worry about tones cos i dun tink i can hear the differences...lol.:-D

 

[mus]

Get the light gauges, easier for you to fret the strings.

 

[subversion]

when it comes to acoustic guitars, volume projection is important. a set of .011 strings should be the standard.

 

[relinquish69]

budget acoustic guitars always have the problem of warped necks. there is one epiphone acoustic guitar package available at swee lee which I would recommend cos it includes an acoustic amp and all the things you need to start on your guitar journey.

 

[garaguni]

oh..wat will happen if there's a warped neck?? sound will be distorted??

 

[farhanians]

warped neck is when your neck is like theres too much tension on the strings.
then thus it warp..like bend abit. hmm.. this will cause your relief height between the string and fret to be high. hmm thus causing discomfort while playing.

 

[emptyspaces]

i believe the action (playability) of an acoustic is one of the most important issues that beginners should look out for.

 

[relinquish69]

^ usually that is not the case for most low end acoustics. if the action is too low it would have buzzing too. its actually quite scary to even think about it haha.

 

[garaguni]

hi guys,i have finally got myself a cheapo guitar for practicing...no more kapok at davis,maybe coming in later,got a melody brand instead,price about the same...only $39...lol....i was viewing and following some of the basic chord shown on youtube and it seems more difficult than i actually thought...:???: there was an instruction whereby my 2nd finger needs to pressed onto the fourth string on the 2nd fret...but it seems that my finger keeps touching the 3rd string....i dun have big finger,just that the flesh below my nail which faces the 3rd string tends to touch the string...do you guys face this problem when u started???i was thinking of using tape to wrap my finger so that it will become slimer to solve the problem... after trying to press the string for less than 5mins...my fingers tip now veri pain lah...got the rail-way track on them liao...:mrgreen:

 

[jerryoc221]

hi guys,i have finally got myself a cheapo guitar for practicing...no more kapok at davis,maybe coming in later,got a melody brand instead,price about the same...only $39...lol....i was viewing and following some of the basic chord shown on youtube and it seems more difficult than i actually thought...:???: there was an instruction whereby my 2nd finger needs to pressed onto the fourth string on the 2nd fret...but it seems that my finger keeps touching the 3rd string....i dun have big finger,just that the flesh below my nail which faces the 3rd string tends to touch the string...do you guys face this problem when u started???i was thinking of using tape to wrap my finger so that it will become slimer to solve the problem...

Is your chord somewhat like this?

E|---------
B|---------
G|-1------
D|-2------
A|-2------
E|-0------

One trick is to move your 2nd (4th string A|-2--) finger a bit back the 3rd finger (3rd string D|-2---)

Will try to put up pics.

 

[garaguni]

Is your chord somewhat like this?

E|---------
B|---------
G|-1------
D|-2------
A|-2------
E|-0------

One trick is to move your 2nd (4th string A|-2--) finger a bit back the 3rd finger (3rd string D|-2---)

Will try to put up pics.

wow...haven't reach this stage yet..i just got the guitar today..and i was trying to place my finger and play..the instruction was to place 1st finger 1st fret 2nd string,2nd finger 2nd fret 4th string and 3rd finger 3rd fret 5th string all at the same time....cant do it...not even individually..lol.....

 

[jerryoc221]

wow...haven't reach this stage yet..i just got the guitar today..and i was trying to place my finger and play..the instruction was to place 1st finger 1st fret 2nd string,2nd finger 2nd fret 4th string and 3rd finger 3rd fret 5th string all at the same time....cant do it...not even individually..lol.....

E|-------
B|---1----
G|---0---
D|---2--
A|---3---
E|-------

Its a C chord, so I guess your ring finger is hitting the the D string, try to loosen your grip & if you have some pingpong balls you can take 2 of it & start play with it with your left hand. Practice on your guitar,its just like learning how to ride a bike.

 

[garaguni]

E|-------
B|---1----
G|---0---
D|---2--
A|---3---
E|-------

Its a C chord, so I guess your ring finger is hitting the the D string, try to loosen your grip & if you have some pingpong balls you can take 2 of it & start play with it with your left hand. Practice on your guitar,its just like learning how to ride a bike.

play wif ping pong ball??is that to train my finger flexibility or make my finger smaller??

 

[jerryoc221]

The balls are for developing dexterity & flexibility, it's not your fingers are to fat or big, alot of guitarist have huge hands & play really good.

 

[garaguni]

thanks for the info...dun have ping pong balls...but i think my parents got those metal balls which people holds them and turn and twist them in their hands....i guess these should work as well...

 

[regienmc]

I just started out in guitar also maybe about 2months old ,for me it just doing streching exercise for the fingers and the wrist(I have really really small hands).And also I have a stress ball which really help.Hope this will really help u.You must daily carry your guitar and strech your fingers around and keep trying to play a chord before moving,and also u might have placed your hand in the wrong place which was like me for the first 2 weeks till my older brother notice and help me:mrgreen:

 

[theunknown]

yeah, finger flexibility and strength is definitely important. having to play a guitar with extremely high actioned helped my finger strength. and when i started guitar, i had a weird way of stretching my fingers. now thinking back, i think its not a good way. how? my bed is top level of bunk bed, with the metal thingy that prevents me from falling. the thingy has horizontal bars, so what i did was to tape my each of my finger to each bar. then i sleep with my hands there. next morning, wah play much better.

i started guitar like this feb. yeah.