• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Recommend a cheapo guitar that I should start learning on

M

MonkOnXanax

Senior member
I wanna learn how to play the guitar, but I don't know what beginner's guitar I should get. Any suggestions?

Also, any beginner's books that you recommend? Thanks.
 
Yamaha has some nice inexpensive guitars. I would start with an acoustic guitar, because if you, as I did, start with an electric, you will be hamstrung somewhat by virtue of the fact that they are much easier to play than acoustic.
 
Electric or acoustic? Just curious...This is a question that I might be interested in, too. My girlfriend started guitar lessons last summer, and is learning how to play an electric. She has a black Ibanez guitar that, iirc, was a couple hundred bucks. Looks nice, but I couldn't tell you if it really was a good guitar or not, since I have no idea what to look for 😛 . Anybody else?

Nate
 
I'm looking for an acoustic guitar.


I saw a Fender DG-16 that I like (black) for ~$250, but I don't know if there's better guitars for similar or less money.
 
might want to wait for guitar center's bi-monthly going-out-of-business sale. of course it'll be a second but if you're just learning it shouldn't be too much concern
 
My recommendations:

Under $300:
Alvarez
Ibanez
Yamaha
Takamine

$300-500
Seagull
Carvin Cobalt
Alvarez Yairi series
low-end Martin

I would highly recommend trying one out to find one that plays well for you.
 
"Rock Minute is sponsored by Gibson and Marshall. If you don't use Gibson and Marshall, you're a wanker!"

- Ian St. Ian
 
Originally posted by: yellowperil
My recommendations:

Under $300:
Alvarez
Ibanez
Yamaha
Takamine

I would highly recommend trying one out to find one that plays well for you.
Click to expand...
Do you have any particular models in mind? Also, what do you mean by "plays well for you"?
 
I don't know particular models (they're always changing anyway), but I would ask the dealer to show you ones with a solid top. These are better quality and age better than the other kind (laminated tops).

I mean 'plays well' by how easy it is to press the strings down on the fingerboard. Generally (for learning guitar), you want the strings as close to the fingerboard as possible without it being too close, otherwise it will buzz against the fingerboard. If they are too high then it's going to impede your learning because of finger strain. The quality of the set-up varies so that's why it's a good idea to try before you buy.
 
if you are serious about learning to play, you really should consider buying something pretty good. I have a bunch of friends that say they want to play, go out and buy a hundred dollar piece of crap, then hardly touch it. I would think a few hundred could get you something pretty nice, with tuners that will stay in tune and strings close to the neck. I'm lucky that my dad got a good deal on a Gibson Gospel about 6 years ago, so I learned on that, and it is my favorite guitar to this day. Good guitars will sound better with age too, the more you play it the better.

Tim
 
Originally posted by: TheShiz
if you are serious about learning to play, you really should consider buying something pretty good. I have a bunch of friends that say they want to play, go out and buy a hundred dollar piece of crap, then hardly touch it. I would think a few hundred could get you something pretty nice, with tuners that will stay in tune and strings close to the neck. I'm lucky that my dad got a good deal on a Gibson Gospel about 6 years ago, so I learned on that, and it is my favorite guitar to this day. Good guitars will sound better with age too, the more you play it the better.
Click to expand...

I have to absolutely positively agree... buy something that you can stand playing even after you get pretty good. I learned on a cheapo POS $100 guitar and I put it down after 3 months in frustration. The action was low so it played fairly well but the fact that it sounded like $hit turned me off so much that I had to put it down. I went out and grabbed a Tele as my next guitar and while it isn't the best guitar to learn electric, it was enough for most stuff. After playing some expensive Martins and my friend's Taylor (815ce) I decided to get a Taylor for myself.

While I couldn't entertain the thought of owning and playing a multi-thousand $ guitar, I ended up with a nice 414ce which I could live with and still sounded quite nice. So I saved up and added my tax return $$ with Xmas bonus to get it. 🙂

BTW, retail prices are way more than you'll pay at a store or on Ebay especially as you escalate in price range. I paid $900 including shipping for my Taylor off Ebay and Guitar Center had it for $1000... retail is some insane $2200.

Dreadnought is a shape for the guitar body. It's the standard type like
this. Most cheaper guitars are variants of that shape. I chose a Grand Auditorium because I like the shape more and it feels more natural. Some decent guitars companies you might want to look at are: Sigma (Martin's lowend branch), Seagull, and Guild. Look around on Ebay and if you have around $500 to spend, you'll find something that will last. In fact, my friend bought a nice rosewood Martin for only $600. While it's a lower end Martin, it's still a Martin and the tone and action is still quite good.
 
While getting a nice guitar right off the bat sounds nice, from what I've been hearing they have different sounds and feel, so I think that it would be better to get a lower end one until I figure out what I like.
 
Haven't played the Ibanez, but the F310 was my first acoustic. It's a decent guitar for the money but it has a laminated top.

I agree that if you're very serious you should buy a nice guitar (e.g. Taylor, Gibson, Larivee) but they're all over $1000 and many approaching $2K. I think something like a Seagull would be perfect for someone who's starting out.

BTW do a search for 'Art & Lutherie' (or just 'art lutherie') on eBay. This is a 'budget' line of guitars made by the Seagull company (Godin) and they get great reviews on Harmony Central. Most of the guitars selling are under $200
 
A friend of mine has a black Ovation that I she offered to let me use until I learn.

Do you guys know anything about them? Are they good to learn on? Or should I just get my own?
 
Ovations are... different. Some love them, but I find normal guitars to sound "real" and the Ovations just sound "plasticy". I dunno.

Before you buy, head down to your local music store and play some of the acoustics. They're usually pretty cool about just leaving you be and will let you sit there ( I played for about 4 hours this past Monday ). What you should do is pick up a very expensive Martin or Gibson acoustic, and take a look at how far the strings are from the fretboard. Strum a few chords (memorize an E and a C before you go) and listen to the tone and see how long the guitars ring.

Then go find something in your price range. I would say that the most important thing for a beginner is to make sure you get a guitar with a very low string action ( <--- learn that term. It means how far the strings are from the fretboard). Beginners have baby's butt soft fingertips so a guitar with the strings far from the board means you have to exert a lot of force in order to sound the note. Add in some sliding and you will have: "... my first real six-string, bought it at the five-and-dime, played it 'till my fingers bled..."

Chances are you won't be able to tell great tone from crappy tone, and for a beginner, you will probably mess up the chords so much that the sustain won't even come into play, but you fingers WILL thank you for getting a guitar with good string action.
 
i still have my original alvarez - found one used at a guitar shop, solid top, just sounded so much better than any other guitar i played while shopping. i still love to pick it up and play even though it was under $200 - has a great sound to it!
seriously, go around, find something that u like the sound of, that feels good in your hands and that fits your budget. if your friends is offering you her ovation for free, then by all means take that to learn on for a bit...chances are, you'll learn what u can, and want to go buy something better very soon, just from knowing a lil bit, and your buying skills will be that much better for it.

enjoy!
 
awesome, great feedback. i'll take her up on her offer until i learn some cords and get used to the feel of a guitar, then i'll go to guitar center to check them out (to see what the different makes feel/sound like) and then finally buy one for myself.
 
I bought a cheapo acoustic guitar for $30 on ebay. It's fine for learning. I would highly suggest getting an electronic tuner. It's hard for noobies to tune by ear. I bought one on ebay for < $10.
 
Good point. I was planning on going in to guitar center tomorrow to get a tuner and a couple of picks, and then drop by my friend's to get the guitar.
 
Yeah definitely get a tuner. I can tune my electric now even if I'm wearing ear plugs (assuming one of the strings is in tune that is), but it takes a while to get that feel for it.

Oh, also, when you get your guitar, ask the guys there what the lightest guage strings they recommend for them are and buy a set or two of those. You don't have to get them to put them on right away, but you should probably go to lighter strings to start just because they're easier on your fingers.

I started off with 9 guage Les Paul strings, and they were great, but after running through a few sets I found D'Addario 10s to be better. I now play Elixir 10s (LOVE these strings btw).
 
silverpig -
you really like the elixir's? i think they add a soullessness to the sound of the guitar, my alvarez had them on when i bought it, replaced them w/ some lespaul 10 gauges (if i remember what my first bought strings were) and haven't gone back to those elixirs ever again
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top