Hi everyone. I am about to purchase my first guitar and i am in need of good advice and encouragement please!
Lets start at the beginning, i want to learn to play acoustic folk/soft rock/indie rock.
Any do's or dont's on buying my first guitar? is it best to buy a bargain second hand guitar or brand new? about £400 to spend. Any specific types to use for the music I want to play?
Thanks in advance
Lee
Welcome to GN!
I don't know much about specific guitars, but you might check out the "I'm Looking for a New...." forum farther down the Index page for recommendations on specific acoustics.
Margaret
When my mind is free, you know a melody can move me
And when I'm feelin' blue, the guitar's comin' through to soothe me ~
I think you can get a very good guitar for what you are willing to spend. If I were you, I would check out the prices and reviews of several models. Check out Musician's Friend website. Click on acoustic guitars and you can get a list of the bestselling models, by price range. That should be a good place to start. Then get to a store and try those models out.
Then get to a store and try those models out.
And if you dont feel comfortable trying them out at the store.. see if you can find someone at the store.. or take someone with you that can play.
I took my guitar teacher with me and listened while he played them at first. Then when I narrowed it down I tried them.
Jim
“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” - David Russell (Scottish classical Guitarist. b.1942)
When you find some you are thinking about getting check this out and see what others said: http://www.harmony-central.com/User_Reviews/
Welcome to the forums. That's a big budget you've got and there are tons of great guitars to be had for that kind of money. Buying used is definitely an option, but make sure you bring a friend who knows a bit about guitars to detect hidden problems about it.
Hi Lee,
welcome to the forum :o ...I'm new here too so from newbie to newbie here's my pennies worth. I got a Fender electro acoustic for just under £200 that I can connect to an ampifier or speaker system and it's quite nice. I don't know too much about guitars yet but as far as I'm concerned it's a good guitar for a beginner like me.
Hi Lee
£400 will buy you a very nice guitar indeed, but in my experience hunting by brand/model isn't necessarily the best way to go. As has been said, if you can't play that well or just don't feel confident enough to test guitars then try and take a guitar playing friend along. Then, play every guitar in the shop up to around £500 and pick the best one. I don't know where you are, but if you are in Weston/Bristol area I;d be happy to spend a Saturday helping you find a guitar - any excuse to go and play (if you can get to Weston I'd also recommend the Yamaha LL6 thats around £450 in the local music shop - it was beautiful to my ears). I am talking about that actual guitar mind, another LL6 elsewhere might not sound as nice.
I wanted a camp-fire guitar and ended up with a Vintage (chinese brand) Jumbo -I'd never heard of Vintage and never played a Jumbo before but for some reason this guitar just 'did it' for me. And it was only £169 (my post about that purchase is here:
https://www.guitarnoise.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=26373&highlight=vintage ).
Good luck in our search - let us know how you get on.
Go to a predominantly-acoustic guitar shop and talk to one of the sales people. Try to avoid chains - they have quotas to fill and are more interested in any sale, rather than the right one. Having said that, I've been to the Leeds branch of Hobgoblin quite a few times and have found them to be really helpful and considerate. You might try other branches (Birmingham, Bristol, Crawley, Leeds, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Wadebridge) and have the same experience, but I can't guarantee it.
The final decision is yours, but I'd make it with my ears and hands, rather than with my eyes. Personally, I'd try to find something that is far less than your budget, but not rubbish. It will give you a chance to find out what suits you best (fat/thin neck, vintage/jumbo frets, wide/narrow fretboard, etc), so that you can make an informed decision, when splashing out on your second guitar (believe me, just as night follows day, the second guitar follows the first - then GAS really sets in and your wallet trembles every time you touch it. :lol: ).
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
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WOW!
thanks for the great advice everyone, i am a bit overwhelmed.
Big thanks to the person who offered to spend a day helping me, unfortunatly I am in Newcastle.
I have four shops to visit and i am going to spend time in each and see what i like the sound and feel of. I will listen to them playing and then try myself the guitars i like the sound of.
Thanks again everyone.
Lee
