Well, I finally did it. I bought my very first guitar today, a Yamaha AES
620, in gorgeous transparent dark red. I researched my purchase for a long
time. Early on when the bug first hit me, I thought about buying a Squire
Strat pack, or something similar. Then, mostly with the help of people on
various web forums, I started to leanrn more about guitars, and decided I
should spend more money and get something really nice to start. I started
with no bias, and a spending limit of about 750 Canadian dollars. I looked
at everything, and found I was most attracted to Les Pauls and PRS guitars.
I couldn't afford either, but when I came across the Yamaha AES620 online,
it grabbed me right away, I just knew it was right for me, I liked it better
than anything I had seen, even guitars costing 3 times as much. After
reading reviews online, my instincts proved right. I now have one very
beautiful electric guitar. Pictures available online do it no justice, thats
for certain. The frets are perfect, the finish is perfect, the intonation is
perfect. wow. The guy at the guitar store had never seen one, and he could
not get over it, he was drooling, and let it go only reluctantly. He told me
it looked and played like a 1500 dollars instrument. So it looks like I
made the right choice.
http://www.guitarplayer.com/archive/1103/1103_BenchTests10.htm
http://www.elderly.com/new_instruments/items/AES620-RED.htm
Now, for the important stuff. I don't know how to play. I don't mean, "I
only know a few cords and can't swtich them very well", I mean that although
I know who to gold it, and where each hand goes, I do not know how to play
anything at all. So my question is, where do I start? Good books? good
websites? Books are better than websites, I think. I currently have no focus
as far as musical tastes goes, though jazz and classic rock are my favroutie
types of music.
Also, can someone give me an idea of wha realistic expectations as far as progress is concered are?
my advice would be to take a few lessons to get the jist of how things are when playing,get the right stance,sit with your back straight etc etc then learn a few chords thats what i did and i tought myself from then on :)
"people laugh at me because im different...i pity you..because your all the same"
start here
https://www.guitarnoise.com/article.php?id=78
i started playing last week & i have baught a squire on friday, i can nearly play the 1st song, horse with no name. but this site has everything you need.
i want to learn
Did you buy an amp?
The amp does make a hugh difference in your overall tone.
That's a pretty darn nice guitar you have there BTW.
no i didn't buy an amp yet, put all my money into the guitar. got to wait a few more paychecks for the amp. Thinking along the lines of a Roland Cube 30. Was going to get a MicroCube, but some people on Harmony Central seems to think I will find it lacking...
My guitar does have a nice sound without an amp though, it's not loud, but it does sound very sweet.
It's good to practice an electric through an amp whenever you can. If you don't, you will be surprised at how bad you sound when all the little string noises and minor picking errors are amplified. You may also tend to pick the strings aggressively in order to hear your playing, while you may well want to develop a more gentle touch. It doesn't take much effort to get sound from an electric guitar once it's plugged in.
Of course, having said that, I practice most of the time without an amp because it's quieter.
lol sloth... and, it also helps to not have distortion, you can hear your mistakes, unless u live in a subway car?
Beautiful guitar.
And no, books arent always better than websites. This site right here is better than any book i've seen.
I have a Roland Cube 15, and I think it absolutely rocks.
It's a combo amp with a good clean and lead adjustments.
I got it off of someone for $100 and IMO it's worth it. Very good for that price.
i really do wish i could have bought the amp the same day. problem is the store i bought my guitar from doesn't carry the amp i want (either of them) so i couldnt get it on the same day. now ive had some other expenses to take care of, so it simply has to wait, though i feel a little sad that i cant yet hear the true potential of my guitar.
This site: http://guitar.about.com/library/blguitarlessonarchive.htm helped me a great deal learnign the basics. Just follow the lessons each chapter at a time and you should be able to get the basic fundamentals down pretty quick.
Good Luck!
That should be a great guitar. I have it's little brother the AES 500, and I wouldn't give it up for the world.
I have a Roland Cube 15, and I think it absolutely rocks.
It's a combo amp with a good clean and lead adjustments.
I got it off of someone for $100 and IMO it's worth it. Very good for that price.
I've also started playing (acoustic) for about 4 months ago and learned everything via this sites lessons. Can't play any song completely yet but
once the bits fall in place it 'll work out fine i guess.
Then bought a cheap fender replica last week 'cause I couldn't wait for the guitar I wanted (Gibson SG - have to save a bit more)...
Have the same amp (MicroCube) and imo it's certainly worth it's money.
Especially for home practice it has all you need and bought it for only 120€.
If I were you i'd start fingering some basic chords and some scales without actually playing them.
Greetz to all
ive been practicing some scales, and the first couple of bars of a tab. I am definitely noticing progress, even though i only have a few minutes each day to practice.
On the other hand I am having diffculty remaining focussed on chords. I strum them and it just doesn't sound like music to me, certainly not like the song its supposed to be.
You might consider getting a mini-amp or headphone amp while you are saving up for the amp you want. You can pick something up for about $30 bucks. Musicians Friend has quite a few choices:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=guitar/search?c=6261
This way you'll get a little taste of what your guitar sounds like plugged in and you end up with a quiet practice option when you're trying to practice late at night!
"My ex-boyfriend can't tell me I've sold out, because he's in a cult, and he's not allowed to talk to me." --Dar Williams
Another thing that you migth want to do is, on your spare time, you can goto a guitar store and try out their amps with your guitar. Just bring it along with you to see how it sounds.
Or your could maybe ask a friend and try it out on their amp.
