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Any tips on buying a guitar?


fuggstop

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Anyway, is there a Guitar Center in your area? They typically sell most of the "popular" brands, including the expensive stuff. The neat thing though is you can try the guitars without any commitment, you so may be able to figure out what sounds best or feels best to you. As a newb you're probably not going to have any opinions though. Anyway, "prestigious" brands like Gibson and Fender have lower-end more affordable lines of their popular guitars. Squire is cheap Fender, and Epiphone is cheap Gibson. I've actually heard opinions of late that Epiphone is better than Gibson now because Gibson has gone to the shitter as far as quality control goes, and Epiphone has really improved. So, eh. I've seen online that the Epiphone Les Paul Special II is a great beginner guitar for the price. 

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4 minutes ago, Doom Metal Alchemist said:

Anyway, is there a Guitar Center in your area? They typically sell most of the "popular" brands, including the expensive stuff. The neat thing though is you can try the guitars without any commitment, you so may be able to figure out what sounds best or feels best to you. As a newb you're probably not going to have any opinions though. Anyway, "prestigious" brands like Gibson and Fender have lower-end more affordable lines of their popular guitars. Squire is cheap Fender, and Epiphone is cheap Gibson. I've actually heard opinions of late that Epiphone is better than Gibson now because Gibson has gone to the shitter as far as quality control goes, and Epiphone has really improved. So, eh. I've seen online that the Epiphone Les Paul Special II is a great beginner guitar for the price. 

Is Mitchell MD400 good? It has good reviews 

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Just now, fuggstop said:

Is Mitchell MD400 good? It has good reviews 

I don't know, I don't know much beyond Gibson. :D

Looking it up on Guitar Center, it does seem to be pretty legit. But it features a whammy bar and locking tuners. On the one hand, you may have a lot of fun with a whammy bar, but locking tuners are a pain, you need to use an alan wrench each time you want to tune the guitar, if I'm not mistaken (I've never owned a guitar with locking tuners, but I believe this is what I've heard from people who have). And tuning a guitar is not like tuning a piano; you need to tune the guitar like every time you pick it up. The point of the locking tuners is to make it so using the whammy bar doesn't throw the guitar way out of tune after every use of the whammy bar. They do make guitars with whammy bars and without locking tuners that are more suitable for beginners.

 

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4 minutes ago, bnmjy said:

Start with an acoustic and then lose interest in the whole prospect 3 months later.

I had a guitar when i was a teeanger but it was really crappy

I want something somewhat legit and i want to start lessons where my daughter gets her lessons

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Basically what Doom said. Definitely buy it in person. For an amp, you can generally find a decent quality one from a top line brand that is small and simple for roughly the same cost as off-brand crap so look out for that.

If you go to a Guitar Center, expect to be talked-down to.

Since you plan on taking lessons, maybe try to talk to one of the teachers there, as they'll probably be able to give direction regarding local shops.

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Two cents from a hack - if you have certain songs by artists that sound good to you, find out what type/brand of guitar they play.  Strats sound different than Les Pauls, hollow bodies sound different than solid bodies.  You don't have to go expensive (obviously) but it's a good idea to know the kind of sound you want so you're not disappointed in the purchase from the get-go.

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17 minutes ago, tsar4 said:

Two cents from a hack - if you have certain songs by artists that sound good to you, find out what type/brand of guitar they play.  Strats sound different than Les Pauls, hollow bodies sound different than solid bodies.  You don't have to go expensive (obviously) but it's a good idea to know the kind of sound you want so you're not disappointed in the purchase from the get-go.

Thanks. Im a huge nin fan and i think they use les paul. Ill research it.

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7 minutes ago, Doom Metal Alchemist said:

Les Paul's are generally quite expensive. If you go that route I highly encourage you to look at the Epiphone Les Paul Special II. And forget about Gibson, just from a price stand point.

Nice. I like it!

How does one buy a guitar tuner? I see they have different notes.

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3 minutes ago, fuggstop said:

Nice. I like it!

How does one buy a guitar tuner? I see they have different notes.

Man guitar tuners come in all varieties now a days, but they all use the same notes. I would advise buying one that clips on to the headstock. I would advise against the brand Snark though. I guess they're popular(?) but the one I had broke in a couple places. It still functioned fine, but it didn't stay on the guitar very well. But the new one I have I think is built much better, even though it was significantly cheaper.

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3 minutes ago, Doom Metal Alchemist said:

Man guitar tuners come in all varieties now a days, but they all use the same notes. I would advise buying one that clips on to the headstock. I would advise against the brand Snark though. I guess they're popular(?) but the one I had broke in a couple places. It still functioned fine, but it didn't stay on the guitar very well. But the new one I have I think is built much better, even though it was significantly cheaper.

Thanks! I probably wont get it until after xmas but thanks so much.

There was a 60 something year old dude signing up for guitar lessons while i was waiting for my daughter at her music school and i was like "at least i can be 30 years better than that guy" 😂

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5 minutes ago, fuggstop said:

Thanks! I probably wont get it until after xmas but thanks so much.

There was a 60 something year old dude signing up for guitar lessons while i was waiting for my daughter at her music school and i was like "at least i can be 30 years better than that guy" 😂

I'm warning you though: if you want to see results, you have to commit to practicing every day. I have no doubt Madison can do it, but I can't imagine being a parent with a job and having enough time to commit to learning. I think it's a lot easier to start when you're a kid because you have much fewer responsibilities.

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4 minutes ago, Doom Metal Alchemist said:

I'm warning you though: if you want to see results, you have to commit to practicing every day. I have no doubt Madison can do it, but I can't imagine being a parent with a job and having enough time to commit to learning. I think it's a lot easier to start when you're a kid because you have much fewer responsibilities.

I hear you. When i was pregnant and lived by myself i kicked so much ass on the hardest songs set on hard on rockband cuz it was all i did for hours a day. I tried picking up it after a few years later and couldn't even make it to the end of a song on hard 

I can only imagine how much id suck if i didnt stick to the real thing lol

I called. Lessons are 32.50 a week. Hopefully i can get them to let me pay every two weeks ..if not ..its all good.

They say i can bring any guitar i want

I wanna learn dead souls first!

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1 minute ago, fuggstop said:

I hear you. When i was pregnant and lived by myself i kicked so much ass on the hardest songs set on hard on rockband cuz it was all i did for hours a day. I tried picking up it after a few years later and couldn't even make it to the end of a song on hard 

I can only imagine how much id suck if i didnt stick to the real thing lol

I called. Lessons are 32.50 a week. Hopefully i can get them to let me pay every two weeks ..if not ..its all good.

They say i can bring any guitar i want

I wanna learn dead souls first!

I don't know if that's expensive, or if that's just the effects of inflation. Back in the late 90s my guitar teacher charged us $60 a month (4 lessons a month).

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I got a good strat for like a couple hundred a few years ago. I already knew how to play but basically get a cheap but okay Fender or whatever their cheap brand is

do not get Gibson. Get an Epiphone if you must go that route. There are other brands but worry about those later. 

Whenever you buy one @me and I will link you to places where you can learn pretty much every chord and explain steps and shit to you 

Edited by KreiaDidNothingWrong
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12 minutes ago, KreiaDidNothingWrong said:

I got a good strat for like a couple hundred a few years ago. I already knew how to play but basically get a cheap but okay Fender or whatever their cheap brand is

do not get Gibson. Get an Epiphone if you must go that route. There are other brands but worry about those later. 

Whenever you buy one @me and I will link you to places where you can learn pretty much every chord and explain steps and shit to you 

Ok i will...ill come back to this thread. Thanks!

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5 hours ago, NeurocideVibekillah said:

Don't.

There are too many guitar players. Buy a Bass.

Not many cool black chic eletric guitar players tho 😎

Im also getting a keyboard if that makes u feel any better

I gotta do something with all this music in my head before i get too old n oogly 

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19 hours ago, fuggstop said:

Not many cool black chic eletric guitar players tho 😎

 

If you're wondering why he said what he said, it's because it's hard as fuck looking for band members who play drums and/or bass because most aspiring musicians who want to play music in guitar-based genres take up guitar instead of drums and/or bass. This is actually a very real problem. :D

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I got my first guitar from a pawn shop.  Pawn America, actually. They had a wall of guitars and I remember sneaking an LTD M-50 and a cheap first act amp into the house when my parents weren't home. 

Pawn shops let you haggle too. So that can usually drop the price $20 or more. Also, first act sucks. 

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