Anyone here play guitar?

[slightlyhuman]

Appreciate the love.

One BIG question, do you know if you like maple necks or rosewood? I played maple for a long time but went to the darkside a few years back and haven't looked back. You might want to go somewhere if possible and play a mexican strat with both necks. It's not a huge deal but if you're throwing down the dollar and not rushing this weekend to get it, let's get you something good that will stick around!

 

[snoopy7548]

Hmm, good question. I'm not sure. After reading about maple vs. rosewood, I think rosewood would be better - people seem to say it is smoother and has a slightly warmer sound than maple, both of which sound good to me.

It looks like Fender has switched all their MiM guitar fingerboards from rosewood to pau ferro. The tobacco sunburst with pau ferro fingerboard does look pretty dang sweet.

I'm not in any huge rush to replace my crappy acoustic, but I'd want to get something within two weeks. Another great thing about possibly going with a Strat is the huge modding community, which is something I'd certainly want to get into.

 

[lxskllr]

The tobacco sunburst with pau ferro fingerboard does look pretty dang sweet.

Sunburst is my favorite finish. I've had a couple strats with the traditional sunburst, and I had an epiphone sheridan with a tobacco sunburst. The two electrics I still have are a 54 reissue blonde tele, and a 62 reissue sunburst strat with a rosewood fretboard. I /may/ have those dates wrong, but it's close, and they're reissues anyway. Hard to say which I like more. I can come to a decision, then play the other one and change my mind. I probably lean towards the tele. I love that first pickup position. Real twangy and robust.

 

[DigDog]

i could never tell the difference between wood, be it on neck or body. to me they all sound the same. consider that the sound goes through pickups, which are "hot" most of the time, and then through a whole bunch of effect pedals; i wouldn't think there would be much of the original tone left in that signal.

 

[slightlyhuman]

i could never tell the difference between wood, be it on neck or body. to me they all sound the same. consider that the sound goes through pickups, which are "hot" most of the time, and then through a whole bunch of effect pedals; i wouldn't think there would be much of the original tone left in that signal.

A neck for me is a huge part. Just the feel alone. It's all subjective I suppose

 

[BoomerD]

<sigh> Nope...but I rock a mean air guitar!

 

[snoopy7548]

lxskllr - I agree on sunburst being the best finish. It really gives the guitar a warm and "live" or dynamic look. Some people would probably say it makes it sound better....

I didn't get to practice a whole lot this weekend - maybe ten 5-10 minute bursts when I had the time, but I'm strumming a perfect A chord about 9/10 times, so I think I might move onto the E chord either tonight or tomorrow night! I remember a couple of days ago I was having a ton of trouble with my first finger but I seem to have worked that out quicker than I thought I would. Two chords in about a week seems pretty good I guess.

Next weekend is a three day weekend, so I'll probably set aside some time to go to Guitar Center or someplace to try out the MiM Strat and hopefully PRS SE Custom 24.

EDIT: Alright, the E chord was incredibly easy. Tomorrow night will probably be starting chord changes!

 

[Paladin]

Honestly, since you are still at the very beginner level stick with the acoustic until you can play some songs. If you move to electric right away you may end up getting into some bad habits. Electrics are generally a lot easier to play, and of course lean towards power cords especially in your early years.
Since your acoustic seems to be hard to play in general you might consider getting a new acoustic first. Don't bust the bank. Look at this:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Mitchell/O120SVS-Auditorium-Acoustic-Guitar.gc
I bought it for my son 10 years ago, but I play the crap out of it! Sounds great, and great to play. For $199 +25% off this month it's a no brainer. Go play it.
After you can play many songs, then look into an electric. The PRS SE would be an awesome choice. You can always upgrade the pickups in it with some Seymour Duncans's, a little more suited to your style. I really don't think a Strat in 3x single coil will fit you. If you can find one in HSS that would be better. (humbucker/single/single).
You're going to need to get the feel for the different scale lengths: 24.75 (Gibson's), 25 (PRS), or 25.5 (Fender/ super strat). They play and feel different. Then then feeling out the different fretboard radius they offer. From pretty round on Fender's to pretty flat on hard rock oriented models (Jackson/Ibanez/ESP...). Keep it all in mind when playing.
But, stick with acoustic for a good while longer....

 

[snoopy7548]

Honestly, since you are still at the very beginner level stick with the acoustic until you can play some songs. If you move to electric right away you may end up getting into some bad habits. Electrics are generally a lot easier to play, and of course lean towards power cords especially in your early years.
Since your acoustic seems to be hard to play in general you might consider getting a new acoustic first. Don't bust the bank. Look at this:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Mitchell/O120SVS-Auditorium-Acoustic-Guitar.gc
I bought it for my son 10 years ago, but I play the crap out of it! Sounds great, and great to play. For $199 +25% off this month it's a no brainer. Go play it.
After you can play many songs, then look into an electric. The PRS SE would be an awesome choice. You can always upgrade the pickups in it with some Seymour Duncans's, a little more suited to your style. I really don't think a Strat in 3x single coil will fit you. If you can find one in HSS that would be better. (humbucker/single/single).
You're going to need to get the feel for the different scale lengths: 24.75 (Gibson's), 25 (PRS), or 25.5 (Fender/ super strat). They play and feel different. Then then feeling out the different fretboard radius they offer. From pretty round on Fender's to pretty flat on hard rock oriented models (Jackson/Ibanez/ESP...). Keep it all in mind when playing.
But, stick with acoustic for a good while longer....

Thanks for the advice on the acoustic. I have realized that the dreadnought shape is way too big for me and incredibly uncomfortable to play, so maybe switching to a smaller acoustic right away would be a good idea. I'll check out what my local Guitar Center has.

I've read that it's largely a myth that learning on the acoustic will make you a better electric player... rather, you should just start with the guitar type you want to play. For me, that's electric, but I do like the acoustic sound and would want to play it occasionally so maybe I should hold off on going full-electric for a month or two.

 

[nakedfrog]

Thanks for the advice on the acoustic. I have realized that the dreadnought shape is way too big for me and incredibly uncomfortable to play, so maybe switching to a smaller acoustic right away would be a good idea. I'll check out what my local Guitar Center has.

I've read that it's largely a myth that learning on the acoustic will make you a better electric player... rather, you should just start with the guitar type you want to play. For me, that's electric, but I do like the acoustic sound and would want to play it occasionally so maybe I should hold off on going full-electric for a month or two.

Give the Yamaha FS800 a try, they seem to have that in stock most places.

And playing primarily acoustic, it always feels so effortless when I do plug in the electric.

 

[Oyeve]

I have around 14 guitars and basses. Most are 70s Japanese made (which, imo, are better than the stuff made today) and are Les Paul copies and such. While I prefer the sound of a solid LP my hands are pretty small and my thin neck Strat (made in Mexico) SSH is my main go to for practice. And being over 50 and getting arthritis really sucks.

 

[snoopy7548]

Thanks for the acoustic recommendations. Do you think it would be a dumb idea to learn on both the acoustic and electric at the same time? Sort of like start/learn the next technique on the acoustic but practice previous ones on the electric?

Over the past couple of nights I've taken a closer look at how I'm playing. There were some adjustments I needed to make to how I hold the guitar, my shoulder and elbow position, and fretting wrist. After making those, I'm playing a bit better and the acoustic I have doesn't really feel that cumbersome anymore. I'm continuing from where I left off on getting used to using an anchor finger for the A, D, and E chords.

Good news - my fingers are pretty well-calloused! I feel no pain when playing! I'm also starting some exercises to get more dexterity out of my fretting fingers, and I'll do maybe five to ten minutes of stretching exercises on the guitar each night.

 

[lxskllr]

Thanks for the acoustic recommendations. Do you think it would be a dumb idea to learn on both the acoustic and electric at the same time? Sort of like start/learn the next technique on the acoustic but practice previous ones on the electric?

Acoustic and electric are really two different instruments. Basic fingering carries over from one to another, but that about where it stops. All the nuance and control is different. Nothing wrong with playing both, but I wouldn't consider them equivalent for practice purposes.

 

[Naer]

here's my setup

 

[ch33zw1z]

I play a fender acoustic with medium strings for strength and callous building. I had to work my way up to the medium strings. Switching over to the electric with standard slinky's is like playing butter. I also have a fender acoustic with ball end nylons to change up the sound.

I also bought a fender mini strat for the kids, and sometimes I'll play with that just for kicks. I imagine that's what's it's like not to be a manlet and play a regular sized guitar.

I'll set them up and take a picture later on.

 

[DigDog]

Honestly, since you are still at the very beginner level stick with the acoustic until you can play some songs. If you move to electric right away you may end up getting into some bad habits. Electrics are generally a lot easier to play, and of course lean towards power cords especially in your early years.

this is true, and also, incredibly wrong. do the opposite.

i will now explain why.

yes, you do get calluses faster if you play on an acoustic. The worse the guitar, the sooner you do. You don't *need* calluses, they just happen. They will always happen and they will match the style of the guitar you play.

If you buy a crap guitar, you will have much less joy and drive to play. You will likely be on a wider neck and will learn different wrist placement.

yes you will be playing power chords. You will be playing power chords on your acoustic as well, because everyone plays power chords (here's Paranoid coming for you), and also because your acoustic will be hard as bricks and you will lean towards easier playing. With an electric it's much easier to go for more complex fingerings.

But the two most important factors are DRIVE and SWAG.

1. Get the guitar you love. It will speak to you, it will wake you up early just so you can spend time with her. You'll play until your fingers burn because you love her.

2. You need to look cool. Looking cool is more important than being able to play. Looking cool is what Rock is all about, and if you please the Gods Of Rock, they shall grant you the gift of Rockness. This is why you need to buy the blingest electric you can.


and there is a 3rd, less important factor, that however should still be considered.

3. A good quality acoustic costs a lot of money. A cool electric can set you back $500, a quality acoustic will be two grand and more.

i mean .. you do have to buy an amp, with the electric. but, consider point four:

4. Chicks










i rest my case.

 

[nakedfrog]

3. A good quality acoustic costs a lot of money. A cool electric can set you back $500, a quality acoustic will be two grand and more.

Rubbish. You can buy some mighty fine acoustics for $500 these days, especially if you're going used.

 

[DigDog]

Rubbish. Y

and, how do you feel about the other 3 points?

 

[nakedfrog]

and, how do you feel about the other 3 points?

Point one is reasonably valid, but I'm not sure how easy it is for someone who's still learning to play to find the guitar they love.
Point two, meh. Whatever floats your dinghy.
Point four, I think the acoustic is a bigger draw for "chicks" these days, we're not in the 80s anymore.

 

[DigDog]

Whatever floats your dinghy.

i'm just speaking from personal experience as a guitar player; when i started i had a cheapo classical, and i did like playing guitar, but nothing like when i got my electric. If you had told me, "i can buy you that Charvel clone for $100" i would have said no way hose, i don't want to play that junk.

I wanted the guitar of my hero, a real guitar. A Steinberger M4, the guitar of Reeves Gabrels.

When i did get it, i instantly became a guitar god. I would play all the time, for hours, i could not get tired.

I was so much into guitar that i eventually dedicated all my life to it, i left my overbearing family to go look for opportunities to rock; i tell you, it wasn't easy, finding money to pay the rent.

But, in the end it all worked out. I found a buddy i got along with, we became a world-famous band and we lived just playing our music.

The peak was when we found the Pick Of Destiny, and had our own movie.

 

[snoopy7548]

i'm just speaking from personal experience as a guitar player; when i started i had a cheapo classical, and i did like playing guitar, but nothing like when i got my electric. If you had told me, "i can buy you that Charvel clone for $100" i would have said no way hose, i don't want to play that junk.

I wanted the guitar of my hero, a real guitar. A Steinberger M4, the guitar of Reeves Gabrels.

When i did get it, i instantly became a guitar god. I would play all the time, for hours, i could not get tired.

I was so much into guitar that i eventually dedicated all my life to it, i left my overbearing family to go look for opportunities to rock; i tell you, it wasn't easy, finding money to pay the rent.

But, in the end it all worked out. I found a buddy i got along with, we became a world-famous band and we lived just playing our music.

The peak was when we found the Pick Of Destiny, and had our own movie.

JB?!

I like how you think. You do make a great point that good acoustics don't come cheap - if I were really into and motivated by the acoustic guitar, I wouldn't have a problem dropping $500+ on one, but 95% of what I want to play (and can see myself playing) is on the electric, so I'd rather invest in that. Plus I'll always have my cheap acoustic which isn't unplayable. I think it's a Peavey Rockmaster.

Anyone else get a really great feeling when you strum the E chord, especially when changing from the A chord? I don't know if it's the bassy-note against my chest or something in the sound, but it just plain feels good.

 

[nakedfrog]

My favorite part was when Dio sang to you of your fate.

 

[nakedfrog]

JB?!

I like how you think. You do make a great point that good acoustics don't come cheap - if I were really into and motivated by the acoustic guitar, I wouldn't have a problem dropping $500+ on one, but 95% of what I want to play (and can see myself playing) is on the electric, so I'd rather invest in that. Plus I'll always have my cheap acoustic which isn't unplayable. I think it's a Peavey Rockmaster.

Anyone else get a really great feeling when you strum the E chord, especially when changing from the A chord? I don't know if it's the bassy-note against my chest or something in the sound, but it just plain feels good.

You ought to feel what that's like on a baritone guitar...

 

[Fritzo]

Appreciate the love.

One BIG question, do you know if you like maple necks or rosewood? I played maple for a long time but went to the darkside a few years back and haven't looked back. You might want to go somewhere if possible and play a mexican strat with both necks. It's not a huge deal but if you're throwing down the dollar and not rushing this weekend to get it, let's get you something good that will stick around!

I have to have rosewood for some reason. The bare maple just feels disorienting. Probably because it's all I've ever played.

I experimented with a graphite neck 10 or so years ago. It was interesting in that the neck maintained that "cold" feel you get when you first pick your guitar up, and the note sustain was very smooth. The texture was off though-felt like tapping your fingers on a countertop.

 

[Fritzo]

here's my setup

That''s a GREAT amp. Roland Cubes are fantastic!