Guitar question

[snoopdoug1]

Alright, so I'm wanting to learn to play the guitar... I found this deal at costco... I just don't know ANYTHING about guitars, but I don't want to spend an arm and a leg to get one, but don't want a really crappy one either.

So... how's this deal?

Thanks guys Gotta love the off-topic forum

 

[wolf papa]

looks ok to me, the guitar looks really similar to an Ibanez I recently got (which I like), seems like a good price for a combo. I'd say go for it

 

[Triumph]

looks OK, although it's hard to tell without actually playing it. Yamaha usually makes good stuff though, whatever they make. imo, the two things that make a cheap guitar cheap are: 1. the quality of the headstock/frets. they tend to be very rough around the edges, making it hard to move your hand up and down the neck, and 2. the quality of the tuning pegs, which tend to have lots of slop and play in their travel, making it difficult to tune. but being that this is a yamaha, i'd say it probably is of fairly good quality. i'd buy it if i were you and just starting out.

 

[Triumph]

oh yeah, many people here will tell you to buy an acoustic to learn on. pshaw! electric is just fine; pick yourself up a book with diagrams of proper finger/hand positioning and you'll be set. also a lot of tutorials can be found online. Harmony Central is a great place to start.

 

[DeschutesCore]

Amazon Review of this kit

 

[zsouthboy]

yeah it looks like a decent starter guitar.. a word of caution: you see that nice little bar attached to the bridge there? DON'T use it. You will spend forever retuning if you do. On more expensive guitars there are double locking tremolos, like the floyd rose variety.. those you can use, they won't untune you that badly.

i'd say buy it

 

[yellowperil]

The guitar looks decent but the amp on starter packages are always bad. You'd be better buying the guitar and getting a separate amp (a good cheap one is the 10W Vox Pathfinder for $80).

 

[zsouthboy]

Originally posted by: yellowperil
The guitar looks decent but the amp on starter packages are always bad. You'd be better buying the guitar and getting a separate amp (a good cheap one is the 10W Vox Pathfinder for $80).

nah, its easier for newbies just to buy the kit, if he wants another amp down the road, he can buy one.

on a side note, the little 10 watter that came with my first guitar wasnt that bad, but it muddied the hell outta anything other than power chords(was an Epiphone Les Paul Special II package btw)

 

[breakit23]

Check out Squier Strat

 

[Atrail]

Originally posted by: breakit23
Check out Squier Strat

I would probably get this one over the Yamaha...
Wonder if there are any reviews out there...

 

[trilks]

looks like a fairly good deal for a beginner. a 7 watt amp will be enough to practice on, but just quiet enough to not annoy the neighbors. unless you want to annoy the neighbors, then go for the 100+ watt marshalls or ampegs!

 

[yellowperil]

nah, its easier for newbies just to buy the kit, if he wants another amp down the road, he can buy one.

on a side note, the little 10 watter that came with my first guitar wasnt that bad, but it muddied the hell outta anything other than power chords(was an Epiphone Les Paul Special II package btw)

The only difference is that the guitar and amp come in the same box, whereas you could spend a little more and get a much better amp than the one included.

 

[dethman]

i think i have something like this...an eguitar starter kit except it was a fender. and from CompUSA of all places.

anyway for the casual player doesn't make much difference. if you get into it though, you'll definitely want a better guitar and amp.

 

[silverpig]

I got a 15 Watt Marshall G Series amp for my first one. Works great.

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: yellowperil

nah, its easier for newbies just to buy the kit, if he wants another amp down the road, he can buy one.

on a side note, the little 10 watter that came with my first guitar wasnt that bad, but it muddied the hell outta anything other than power chords(was an Epiphone Les Paul Special II package btw)

The only difference is that the guitar and amp come in the same box, whereas you could spend a little more and get a much better amp than the one included.

expect to spend roughly $150 for a beginner electric with some respectable level of build quality. then add in all the extras that come with this kit (strings, chords, etc). now you're left with roughly 15 bucks for an amp. why bother with all of that hassle if you're just a beginner, researching amps and shopping for prices? knowing nothing about guitars, he won't even really know what he wants yet.

buy the kit.

 

[snoopdoug1]

So... what is better. The Costco Deal or the Squier Strat Deal ? Or will there be much of a difference?

Thanks for all the replies so far! They have all been helpful!

 

[bGIveNs33]

Since you are starting out... it really doesn't matter. You most likely will not be able to tell a difference in sound. I would go with the cheaper one, play it for 6 months - 1 year and then if you like it alot(which you will because guitar is highly addictive) go out and buy a nice setup.

Also... you might want to look into taking lessons. But, if you really don't have the time/money to do it, there are several good books out there. I highly recommend "Fretboard Logic", you can find it on Amazon. Another thing that I like to do is play along with mp3's over winamp. You can download a plugin that takes out the voice(it's really boot) but, it works decently. Good luck!

 

[HokieESM]

My two cents (which you probably won't like, but oh well....): go buy an acoustic. When you're down to a LOW price, a little bit of money makes a lot of difference--and you don't have to buy an amp with an acoustic, so you can spend a bit more on the guitar. Check out the Seagulls--made in Canada mostly by hand--for a relatively inexpensive, reasonably good quality acoustic.

I know, I know--you're saying "I can't ROCK on my acoustic"... but trust me, you wouldn't be doing that on an electric anytime soon. Just take your time, learn the basics (learn your chords, learn to keep time, build up some finger strength, etc)... there's plenty to LEARN first. If you love it, you can buy an electric later. Plus, a side benefit--learning to play on the 11s or 12s on the acoustic will make those 09s easy to bend when you DO buy an electric.

Best of luck to you!

 

[silverpig]

Who plays 9's on their electrics anymore? Everyone I know is up to 10's, and a few people play 11's...

I think SRV played 11's or 12's on his Strat...

 

[snoopdoug1]

Any other opinoins on which set to get? The deal at costco is only 10 bucks cheaper... so moneywise, it doesn't really matter...

Thanks again!

P.S. What is 9's and 10's and 11's? The number of strings?

 

[yellowperil]

Originally posted by: Triumph

expect to spend roughly $150 for a beginner electric with some respectable level of build quality. then add in all the extras that come with this kit (strings, chords, etc). now you're left with roughly 15 bucks for an amp. why bother with all of that hassle if you're just a beginner, researching amps and shopping for prices? knowing nothing about guitars, he won't even really know what he wants yet.

buy the kit.

Even so, it will be worth more to him in the long run because the resale value on one of those starter amps is nil. You can get more than half of what you paid for the Pathfinder.

The best deal currently is the limited-run Affinity Special Strat for $150. It comes with an alder body which is the wood they use on Fenders (the other Affinities use agathis I believe). Unfortunately it seems to be backordered everywhere online until December, if you can find it at a local store I would check it out. link

The 8's-9's-10's thing is about how thick the strings are. The numbers indicate the diameter on the thinnest string (the high E) - for 10's the string is .010 inches thick. Thicker strings have more tone and sustain but put more tension on the guitar and are harder to bend.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: Doug3737
Any other opinoins on which set to get? The deal at costco is only 10 bucks cheaper... so moneywise, it doesn't really matter...

Thanks again!

P.S. What is 9's and 10's and 11's? The number of strings?

I'd go with the strat if I were you. A friend of mine has one, and it's a decent guitar.

Yeah, the numbers are referring to the guage or thickness of the strings. It was just explained in an earlier post, but I'll elaborate some more with some more info that's personally relevant to you.

At first, definitely go with a lighter guage of string. When you first start playing this guitar if you find it hard to bend even after practicing, make your next set of strings some 8's if you can find them. If you find you can bend the strings decently, go for some 9's. Run through a few sets of those, and then try going for some 10's.

I used to play Les Paul 9's, but in the past 8 months or so I've been addicted to D'addario 10's. I've got pretty strong fingers, and can bend these strings clear across the fretboard, so I think I'll try to find some 11's next.

Oh, new electrics usually come with 9's as a standard, and most don't go above 10's. Acoustics usually have 11's or 12's on them (you don't usually do many bends on an acoustic).

 

Originally posted by: Doug3737
So... what is better. The Costco Deal or the Squier Strat Deal ? Or will there be much of a difference?

I have a Squire and like it a lot. It's not a Strat though. There are three tuners on each side of the neck. It actually looks a lot like a Les Paul. Dunno where it came from. Good guitar. Cost me $160 from Musician's Friend. Can't lose if you ask me.

 

[Strych9]

Originally posted by: Doug3737
Any other opinoins on which set to get? The deal at costco is only 10 bucks cheaper... so moneywise, it doesn't really matter...

Thanks again!

P.S. What is 9's and 10's and 11's? The number of strings?

What did you end up getting? The Squier is probably the better guitar. For a couple hundred bux more you could get a real strat which is what I would do. Although, I do prefer my Les Paul. You might consider just getting an accoustic guitar to learn on also.

 

[whiteboyatcal]

I'm gonna hafta disagree with just about everyone here and say go buy the best guitar you can afford now and never look back. Check around music shops in your neigborhood for good USED guitars if you can't afford a new mid-range guitar. Like most people said, a $80 practice amp will be fine for now, but if you spend less on the guitar you might end up frustrated and sorry. Also, Squiers and Yamahas have almost no resale value whatsoever if you decide guitar is not the thing for you. I was in the same situation as you about 2 months ago. About a year ago I spent quite a bit of time trying to learn how to play guitar on brother's Squier Affinity Strat and I learned very slowly and it was hard to get really good sounds out of it because the strings were fairly high off the fretboard. Eventually I came to the conclusion that it was the guitar itself that was preventing me from learning properly. I went to Guitar Center and got a Fender (Mexican made) Stratocaster for $350 and a Crate 15watt practice amp and in a period of about a week my playing improved tremendously, something that never happened with the Squier. So my advice to you would be to either save until you can afford something decent or to look around for a good deal on a REAL Fender Stratocaster or Gibson Les Paul. Accept no imitations. Playing guitar is an expensive hobby, and if you are into playing punk or hard rock, you will probably also need to consider purchasing a distortion pedal ($30-$50 for starters) if you want to get all the crunchy riffs.