Am I handicapping myself?

You may not need a new guitar. It may just need to be set up properly. There are many sites with good illustrated directions. One I recommend is: http://frets.com/

If all else fails, you can always take your guitar to your local guitar store and get a professional setup done, this should sort out any problems. Just because a guitar is (relatively) cheap, doesnt mean it shouldn't be playable :)

Pete

I would also recommend getting it setup by a professional. It will make it sounds 100 times better and 10 times easier to play.

maybe guitar....but more likely just a case of plugging on to harden the fingers :shock:

its a right of passage for all guitar players.....you need calluses and the only way to get them is to keep at it...

play til your fingers can take no more :( ....then rest.....then play some more.....it will take a few weeks of pain but its worth the effort :D

good luck

This is an earnest question, but what can/will a professional do to a basic acoustic to make it better? I strung it using recommended strings and followed a online tutorial, then tuned it using an electronic tuner.

Right now I am trying to learn "House Of The Rising Sun" in the Beginners Song section, but i cant hold the strings down for long at all.

While you're there, try out a few of their acoustics - see how much of difference it makes and most importantly, know whether the setup they do is good enough or if you really do need to get a new one. Should be fine though, a good setup makes the world of difference.


This is an earnest question, but what can/will a professional do to a basic acoustic to make it better? I strung it using recommended strings and followed a online tutorial, then tuned it using an electronic tuner.


If required, a pro could make several adjustments including the action, intonation etc ...
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Guitar/Adjusting_the_Guitar

In you case the action (distance between the strings and the fretboard) could be too high ...

Vic

maybe guitar....but more likely just a case of plugging on to harden the fingers

I would bet good money that the problem is likely due to the guitar. No shop spends money to set up a 140 dollar guitar. Someone looking in that price range is mose concerned about price and a setup costs about 40-60 where I live. If you have the opportunity to play with someones guitar who has a good setup you will see the huge difference it can make. It can be an eye opener.

That being said, as a begginer you will suffer from sore fingers, just much less so with a good setup.

there's several things here.

one is the guitar you have. i'm not saying you should get another one but there's a couple of ways to look at cheap guitars for new players. one way is to get a cheap guitar because you may not stick with it, which is what a lot of people do. that way your investment isn't much if it sits under the bed for four years. trouble with that idea is that you run into what you've run into. it's not very playable, you think something is wrong with you and then you give up.

the other side to the coin to it is to spend as much as you can and maybe even a little more, get something real good, too good for you even and it will "help you out" a bit. A good guitarist can make a cheap guitar sound good but someone new needs to stack the odds in their favor. now you're investment is more and if you give it up, then what?

at this point, what do you do? it's hard to tell from your post and from not having seen the guitar what the problem is. it could be high action, which is the strings being too high off the fretboard. it makes it very hard to fret notes and to hold down the strings. people have said the bring it to someone to set it up. i don't actually know what this entails, but they make adjustments to make the strings a little lower. if this is the problem, it will cost you a little money, but your guitar will be more playable. thing you have to know is that your fingers will still hurt because you need to build up your callouses. your in for hurt fingers for a few months no matter what.

you could also get a new guitar. this involves spending more money, doing some research, maybe trusting someones else's judgment in what to buy. imho, this would be a good idea but don't go by me. you're still in for hurt fingers for a few months even if you do this.

I'd add that you should find a friend or someone who plays and is more experienced with guitars in general. Have him/her try your Sonata and get their opinion on whether or not it's okay or needs a set-up.

The bottom line is that you shouldn't be playing, much less learning, on a messed up guitar.

you could also get a new guitar. this involves spending more money, doing some research, maybe trusting someones else's judgment in what to buy. imho, this would be a good idea but don't go by me. you're still in for hurt fingers for a few months even if you do this.

As Pearlthekat says, this is absolutely the bottom line - "you're still in for hurt fingers for a few months.."

Even if your guitar is perfectly set up, you'll still have to go through the same process of toughening up the ends of your fingers and strengthening the muscles in your weaker fingers. We all do.

If you can't tell whether your guitar is set up within normal limits then the only option is to find somebody you trust who does have that knowledge.

Good luck,

Chris

This has been said already but I will back it up.

I bought a $99 acoustic Savant guitar that is made in China for Gibson. The action was set kind of high and it hurt my fingers. I then bought a $200 acoustic/electric Brownsville guitar. That felt better but the action on it is so low that the strings rattle. After playing for a while, the whole guitar just seems kind of cheap and it doesn't work at all when plugged in. I think I got ripped off at the music store big time on that one. The Savant has proven to be a much better guitar both in sound and value. After I got my electric, I built up my fingers enough that the Savant doesn't hurt them at all and I can play it pretty good now.

My point is, don't go buying another more expensive guitar right away. Get yours set up and give your fingers time to strengthen up and callouse over because that may be all you need.

It could be a matter of getting tough but some cheaper acoustics have high string action. I've seen some where the nut is cut a little high too. If you have it setup, they can lower the bridge or cut the nut slots deeper as needed. They will know what is needed and it will be easier to play. I would guess with an acoustic and the songs you are starting out with that your nut might not be cut deep enough. This makes it really hard to hold down the strings on the first few frets. Just guessing, it needs to be looked at.

An easy way to figure out if it is the guitar or you would be to go to the music store and try a lot of guitars in a lot of price ranges. Ask the salesman to show you a guitar with low action. Also, you may want to try lower guage strings. Try an electric with light guage strings (9's). If you are still having trouble holding down the strings on an electric with low action and 9's, it's safe to say that you just need to build up your finger strength.