| Author | Message | ||
     Mikej |
Jerry, How do you plan to learn to play? Self teaching, video/audio tapes, local teacher or classes, internet, books? | ||
| Brotherbuell |
Jerry, You already have more advice that you can use but I'll throw in my two cents. I have a Martin D-18 which I love and a Yamaha classical guitar that I picked up for $150. The Martin is in the case most of the time and the Yamaha is on a stand in the living room. Everybody picks it up and loves the sound of it. Steve | ||
| Spike |
Nice thread- some great advice in here so far. Jerry, You might want to hold of on buying a "nice" guitar at this point. Look at this purchase like you would a first motorcycle purchase, without the risk of personal injury. You can get a decent playing guitar for $150-$200 that will more than meet your needs while you're learning. Play around on that for a year or so and you'll have a much better idea of what you want in a nice guitar. | ||
| Madduck |
Jerry, You should reconsider the whole thing. Guitars are like guns and motorcycles. You start with one and pretty soon you have dozens of em. Adding another addictive substance is always bad.  | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Dreadnought, juggernaut... in my case, i'm a frayednaught... Hugh, thanks for the addititional input and info and another link - haven't checked it out yet, will do so after work. Mikej, unsure how i'm gonna learn. figure if i learn some chords then i can try to play along to some of the stuff in my CD collection and pick it up from there. don't have the time (or the budget) for in-person lessons from a pro, haven't yet researched to see if there are any good "learn to play" DVDs on the market, but i'm betting there are. anyone have any suggestions on how to be the next Mark Knopfler in just ten easy steps??? BrotherBuell, thanks for the shout out on the Yamaha acoustic. one would prolly look good leaned up against the FJR.  Spike, excellent advice, duly noted. Madduck: my motto has always seemed to be some is good, more is better, and too much is just enough. thanks for the warning, tho... FB | ||
| Blake |
Hey Jerry! | ||
| M1combat |
"in my case, i'm a frayednaught... " LOL ... I assure you all that he has the frays worked out of his riding skills though . No loose ends there at all... | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
hey Blake! Don, it's just that the FJR with saddlebags on was too wide for you and TuonoBoy to get around that day - consider me the ultimate backmarker... | ||
| M1combat |
Makes sense seems how I made it around tuono boy (Ruben) just fine but I didn't make it around the 'Bago. I think Denise was holding here arms out like an aeroplane to make it just that much more difficult too . (Message edited by M1Combat on January 10, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Denise was steering - i had my eyes closed... | ||
| M1combat |
LOL | ||
| Bertman |
A Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall stack and you could be playing Boston all night long! What you lack in talent you make up for in volume. | ||
| Easy_rider |
A few hours late, but, Picking vs strumming, I thought it might point toward nylon vs steel strings. Jimmy Buffet would sound best with steel. Canon in D would be better on Nylon. For Knofler you may want to move to the Electric Guitar dept. Don't stress over making the perfect choice too much, and enjoy a new hobby. | ||
| Rocketman |
My 15 year old son has been teaching himself to play. He recently bought a chinese made Fender. It has an internal pick-up fitted and it cost a mere £150. It wouldn't have been my choice, but I don't play. but I know a good tune when I hear one. I'd say to my boy spend the same money on a good used guitar and you'll get a sweeter sound and a better guitar all round but he went ahead with his own money (he works very hard even though he's not yet left school) and made himself proud and that's all I can ask for. How's he coming on? He's absolutely knocked me out. He's even writing his own songs. In time he'll be an accomplished guitar player and that's something I'm very proud of. Wish I was. Rocket | ||
| Ezblast |
Hofner guitars any good? GT - JBOTDS! EZ  (Message edited by ezblast on January 11, 2006) | ||
| Sandblast |
Hi Jerry! You probably wont want a classical guitar, not your style I'll wager. The steel strings will only hurt you for a little bit and youll be proud of the little pain and the caullous that you grow. Chords and strumming will be what to learn if you want to sing along, picking if you just want to play tunes, but trust me you'll learn both eventually. I would say more immediate gratification is in the chords, because playing and singing is a blast. Those little Martin backpackers are cheap and not worthy of the Martin name, you would not be happy with one of those. I LOVE good tone, I dropped a stupid amount of money on a hand made German violin recently, so take my advice on the following: You DONT need to spend anywhere near $500. A solid top is a great thing eventually, but you dont need that much guitar at first. I know your a quality kind of guy, and like things to last, but who knows if you will play much, and $500 is a lot of money. I would go to a music store and play some of the cheaper ones, I bet you'll be happy with something a little less. Hint: Yamaha makes more than blue motorcycles with big ••• headlights  . I have a great guitar here you are welcome to use for a few months (or whatever) if we can find a way to get it to you, that way you can get started and grow your own opinions. Ping me! | ||
| Sandblast |
I have a pretty good book and DVD set too, I bought it for my daughter but the guy on the front does not look punk rock enough so she doesnt use it... | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Bertman, you're on to me: to someday be able to accompany Boston is one of my ultimate goals... Easy Rider, thanks again for input. Mark Knopfler imitations are down the road a ways for me, but if the acoustic thing works, i can see an electric guitar in my future, too. to be able to play along with Knopfler and Chet Atkins on my "Neck and Neck" CD would be quite a happy accomplishment. Rocket, very nice of you to join in, thank you. nice to hear about your son, i wish him (and you) well. Sandblast, it was worth starting this thread just to confirm that you're still with the living. we missed you and Pipes at Oktoberfast, my friend. i put out a lot of feelers leading up to the gig, wondering of your whereabouts, with no luck. so, it's a great, pleasant surprise to see your name on here. that said, thanks for your input on the topic at hand. i hate to sound like a wimp about what a guitar "could" do to my fingertips, but again, you've got to remember that typing is how i make my living. i guess i won't know about nylon versus steel until i actually hear both with my own ears. chords and strumming sounds like a good way to get started. i bet that once one is proficient here, picking follows along fairly naturally? Yamaha, eh? hmmmmmm.... thanks for the offer of the loan on your guitar. tempting, very tempting! FB | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
ps to Bertman: What you lack in talent you make up for in volume. alas, this seems to be the story of my life... | ||
| Court |
Jerry: $300 wil get you anything you need. There is NO substitute for practice. I spend 1 hour a day doing nothing but scales. I'm working on Jazz Improv and until I know, understand and am fluent in the basics, there's little more I can do. You can learn, in a matter of days, enough to have fun and entertain yourself. When I reach my frustration threshold, I pull a 1 string off the rack, crank up James Taylor live and spend an hour doing Somthing in the Way She Moves and Carolina in My Mind until I have them perfect. Fun stuff. It's like motorcycling. The more you do it the better you get. Do it for the sheer enjoyment and you'll soon find you're pretty fair at it. Taylors DeBennedetto and so forth are way to pricey. Look for a $300 Yamaha, Washburn or anything (frankly, it makes damn little difference) and have fun as you learn. On the other hand, if you are "mad at your money" and feel like spending $140,000 that's not a problem. My house is about 3 blocks from the world's mecca of the stringed instrument.  | ||
| Whodom |
I had totally forgotten about Yamahas and concur with all the recommendations for a Yamaha as a beginner instrument. You can get a decent one with a solid top for around $300. My house is about 3 blocks from the world's mecca of the stringed instrument. Court, when did you move to Nashville right down the street from Gruhn's? | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
I'm going to second the Yamaha's as a great guitar. I bought a approx 300 acoustic for my brother a few years ago. It has a really nice tone. I personally have an old Jedson. It's a Japanese guitar from the early 70's. It's by most standards a POS, but it sounds great and has served me well, and I don't get so upset when the cat tries to use it as a scratching post. Remember though that guitars are like bikes. You can ride/play the same model, but they all feel a bit different. So try a bunch of them. | ||
| Tramp |
my grandpa's side of the family manufacture really nice strings. old italian firm (two firms, really), warehouse on hammer's beat. z-girl picked up one of those really cheap starter guitars for a hundred bucks, an ibanez (although it's of chinese manufacture, unlike 'real' ibanez....es). while it's nothing to write home about, it has a decent sound. were i ever to attempt giutar (i'm guitar ignorant), i'd train classical and spanish. nothing, in my book, like the sound of spanish guitar...... | ||
| Tripp |
my dad owns a music store here in southeastern mass. http://www.onsetvillagemusic.com/index.html he sells the garrison jobbies, email me if you can't find a fair deal and i'll have him send you one (he'll do it at very close to cost for one of my buell buddies).} | ||
| Bomber |
Jerry -- while pickin MAY come naturally after strumming, it's not a no-brainer -- also, trying to play along with a CD can be trying -- getting your ax in tune with them can take quite a while, and use up most of the day's patience -- having learned (poorly) decades ago in the time-honored "here, let's msoke this and you'll pick it up easy" fashion, I'd recommend you look into lessons -- this will do two important things give you a learned person to watch, listen to, and get encouragement from, and have a series of times in which you'll be expected to play, for which you will wish to practice, to avoid the embarrassment of playing Little Brown Jug for the rest of your life lot's of joy to be had in this teritory, if you stick with it | ||
| Tramp |
get something with a cutaway so you can play that purdy classical, the way that old desert instrument was designed to be played | ||
| Ceejay |
never made the connection before and it's a little off topic but did Yamaha start off as a musical instrument company? I have an old sax and you all are talking about guitars, and the bikes have tuning forks in thier emblem... | ||
| Tramp |
yep- | ||
| Whodom |
To those of you that mentioned the Garrison Guitars, WOW! What a cool idea for that bracing system. I hadn't heard of them before. Looks a lot like "If Erik Buell were gonna design an acoustic guitar, it would look like this." I'm really curious to hear what one sounds like. | ||
| Djkaplan |
"My house is about 3 blocks from the world's mecca of the stringed instrument." Hmmm..., NYC? That's gotta be Mandolin Bros. My most cherished guitar is the Yamaha FG331 I started with in 1979. It's a laminated top model and doesn't have the best tone, but it's durable and well made and was perfect to start on. My only suggestion is to learn to tune the guitar before you start. There are a variety of tuning aids that will make this a snap, and you'll be assured that the horrible sounds you make are coming from you. You may find yourself at the beginning of a long journey filled incredible frustration and joy when you pick up your first guitar... |
