General / Off-Topic Question for guitar players.
I am going to a teacher. That's the point I've been making. I literally said as much earlier.
Excellent, missed that, mea culpa.
Going to throw my "journey" out. Incoming wall-o-text:
I started aged 16 or 17 (end of the 80s so take it from there).
I started on electric. A rubbish electric that very nearly put me off playing for life, and I upgraded as soon as possible.
I had lessons for about a year, learning a few scales & songs. No real theory.
Started jamming with friends. We were terrible.
At 18 I went to university. 1st 2 years I put a huge amount of time into guitar, basically when I wasn't doing anything else.
3rd year uni I picked up my 1st really good guitar (I still own it - a Jackson Professional).
4th year uni I joined a band. That really upped my game. Bassist was a slavedriver and we rehearsed 3 times a week. We ended up tighter than satan's balls and actually reasonably good. Mix of covers (Metallica, Therapy?, Primus, Megadeth, Pantera, Anthrax & some others) and originals, playing mostly originals at shows.
Moved to London in 95, in part to get away from the fantastic amount of chemistry that my peer group was up to. Spent 2 years sat in flat working on picking technique.
Girlfriend happened in 97, kinda stopped playing.
Restarted in 2000. Formed band with friends in 2001. Played weird/ugly thrash/death metal loudly at people.
Got quite good again, then all fell out with each other in about 2005.
Carried on bumbling around with some previous members, never really got going properly again but we played a bunch of shows over the years. Style went more prog/sludge/doom.
Turned into a guitar slag around here.
I got into modular synths & similar silly boxes. I have no idea what I'm doing with modular synths.
Lost about 9 months somewhere around here due to nerve problems in left arm. I had to partially re-learn how to use my fretting hand after this. Do not recommend.
Joined trip-hop band on keys in about 2012. I don't know what I'm doing on keys. Band folded after all fell out with each other.
Joined another band on bass in about 2013. They all loved The Melvins. I don't know what I'm doing on bass and don't listen to The Melvins. Seemed to start fairly well, all things considered.
Dregs of original band called it quits in 2016. Wasn't going anywhere.
Band I played bass in folded in early 2018 due to lack of interest and/or excessive drug abuse by various parties (not me).
Noodled at home ever since. I miss the music side of being in a band - and playing live - but not dealing with musicians!
Hints/tips/asides/thoughts/etc:
That's pretty much all I can think of right now. I'm supposed to be working so... erm.....
Oh, I also grew up just outside Portsmouth. Can't recommend any resources as haven't lived there for decades (although my bro used to teach guitar - classical, electric, acoustic - but he moved away).
I started aged 16 or 17 (end of the 80s so take it from there).
I started on electric. A rubbish electric that very nearly put me off playing for life, and I upgraded as soon as possible.
I had lessons for about a year, learning a few scales & songs. No real theory.
Started jamming with friends. We were terrible.
At 18 I went to university. 1st 2 years I put a huge amount of time into guitar, basically when I wasn't doing anything else.
3rd year uni I picked up my 1st really good guitar (I still own it - a Jackson Professional).
4th year uni I joined a band. That really upped my game. Bassist was a slavedriver and we rehearsed 3 times a week. We ended up tighter than satan's balls and actually reasonably good. Mix of covers (Metallica, Therapy?, Primus, Megadeth, Pantera, Anthrax & some others) and originals, playing mostly originals at shows.
Moved to London in 95, in part to get away from the fantastic amount of chemistry that my peer group was up to. Spent 2 years sat in flat working on picking technique.
Girlfriend happened in 97, kinda stopped playing.
Restarted in 2000. Formed band with friends in 2001. Played weird/ugly thrash/death metal loudly at people.
Got quite good again, then all fell out with each other in about 2005.
Carried on bumbling around with some previous members, never really got going properly again but we played a bunch of shows over the years. Style went more prog/sludge/doom.
Turned into a guitar slag around here.
I got into modular synths & similar silly boxes. I have no idea what I'm doing with modular synths.
Lost about 9 months somewhere around here due to nerve problems in left arm. I had to partially re-learn how to use my fretting hand after this. Do not recommend.
Joined trip-hop band on keys in about 2012. I don't know what I'm doing on keys. Band folded after all fell out with each other.
Joined another band on bass in about 2013. They all loved The Melvins. I don't know what I'm doing on bass and don't listen to The Melvins. Seemed to start fairly well, all things considered.
Dregs of original band called it quits in 2016. Wasn't going anywhere.
Band I played bass in folded in early 2018 due to lack of interest and/or excessive drug abuse by various parties (not me).
Noodled at home ever since. I miss the music side of being in a band - and playing live - but not dealing with musicians!
Hints/tips/asides/thoughts/etc:
- Buy a guitar that you want to play - if you don't want to pick it up you won't play it.
- Cheap guitars now are actually pretty damn good. Try before you buy is vital, though. It needs to "talk" to you.
- Learning classical is hard & difficult to play. It will give you really good technique.
- Learning acoustic is (relatively) simpler & easier to play. You learn good technique.
- Learning electric is also simpler and even easier to play. My technique is still atrocious as you can get away with murder (relatively).
- I personally found lessons useful as they are structured, with homework. I am fantastically unstructured (ADHD) so needed that. YMMV.
- You will be utterly rubbish for years. This does not matter.
- You will need to put time into playing.
- How you structure your play time is less important than actually having play time.
- If you go electric buy a little practice amp. Playing through an interface into a computer throws in latency. You don't want this until you learn how to compensate. IMO. Personally I find it a pain, and avoid direct recording.
- I regret not learning on acoustic (not so much classical, screw that) as I would have better basic mechanical skills even now.
- Playing with other people will make you improve faster then you can imagine.
- There are kids 1/3 my age doing ridiculous things on YouTube. Don't let it faze you.
- Play along with stuff. From when I was taught my first scale I jammed along with ZZ Top albums. Blues is great, as with basic scales you can sound "musical" really quickly, and it also teaches note choice. YMMV with the music choice but you can only really learn how music feels by playing it.
That's pretty much all I can think of right now. I'm supposed to be working so... erm.....
Oh, I also grew up just outside Portsmouth. Can't recommend any resources as haven't lived there for decades (although my bro used to teach guitar - classical, electric, acoustic - but he moved away).
Ha, another one!
Rocksmith is fantastic
I live in minor pentatonic land
SRV is not a vehicle in my world.
Try a coin
Hah, ditto.
If I see SRV written anywhere I immediately think "Stevie Ray?"
I own Rocksmith but haven't really put much time in it.
I need to have a clear-out, tbh. I have well north of 2 grand tied up in Eurorack & semi-modular that I've really not been using as much as I should!
Apols to Un1k0rn for the diversion!
EDIT: muffwigglers unite!
Deleted member 110222
D
My best friend was a guitar played (mostly played with the electric guitar although he has and knows how to play the accoustic guitar), as he took it very seriously, his knowledge on guitars and amplifiers was vast (or I didn't know anything about music).
He used a Mark JP-2C as it is considerably compact and sounds very well.
I can't recall what exact guitars he used although I know for a fact he bought one not made with wood to reduce the thermal expansion.
He used a Mark JP-2C as it is considerably compact and sounds very well.
I can't recall what exact guitars he used although I know for a fact he bought one not made with wood to reduce the thermal expansion.
Thanks. Was a bit rambly, but go for it!
A John Petrucci signature Mesa Boogie? Nice. Had a Dual Rectifier for a few years mid-00s, Mesa build nice amps. My main amp for years has been the production prototype Diezel (small German manufacturer) Einstein. There are a few alternatives to wood but not many people building them. I really want an EGC build, but they have aluminium necks which have other thermal issues!
Guitar gear is an utter rabbithole. Best to avoid going down it if at all possible. I'm up to about 13 guitars/basses right now, ~50 effect pedals, full (large) gigging guitar and bass rig stacked around my living room, not to mention synth stuff. I said that I was a guitar slag! I don't do relationships/kids/human stuff so I don't feel guilty about it either...
EDIT: My profile pic is said Diezel head sitting on a Framus Dragon cab. Guitar is a handbuilt Blackmachine B7 that I sold when band folded & needed cash for buying a flat.
In the early 90's, at the end of my high-school days when I was a very different human being, I bought a guitar and amp for £50 from a mate and formed a band with some others.
A friend taught me how to play by drawing the main cords and the pentatonic scale during an Art lesson. I then taught other mates how to play. Circle of life.
However none of us used acoustics.
I would say get an electric because it is easy to learn, you will probably end up playing electric anyway AND you can buy stuff for them from the get-go e.g. effects pedals! More fun!
A friend taught me how to play by drawing the main cords and the pentatonic scale during an Art lesson. I then taught other mates how to play. Circle of life.
However none of us used acoustics.
I would say get an electric because it is easy to learn, you will probably end up playing electric anyway AND you can buy stuff for them from the get-go e.g. effects pedals! More fun!
not reading 5+ pages ... so only commenting posts from the first page.
Firstly though, about me ... I learned guitar when I was 15. For 2 years I had classical lessons. Back then we didn't have the internet and I spent 10 hours a day practising. I got to be OK. Then I left school, started working, stopped having lessons and taught myself from books. After playing for 6 years, someone stole my only guitar, and I didn't pick one up for 20+ years. I have tried now to re-learn guitar, but can't get back into it.
Secondly, anyone telling you what not to do IS WRONG. Seriously. "Don't buy an accoustic" ... "Don't buy anything less than $x" .... "Don't do thing ...." Here's rule #1 YOU need to find what works for YOU. They are telling you what not to do because they haven't found what works for them, and they think that by telling you what not to do, you'll not make the mistakes they think they've made.
Rule #2 You can buy cheap, so long as you understand what buying cheap means. If you are a beginner and are not sure you'll stick with it, because learning to play an instrument requires a lot of dedication and practice, you could waste a lot of money buying fancy expensive gear. Buying cheap will save you money, especially if you give up on it. Right now, like I said, I'm trying to get back into learning to play, and I am borrowing a friend's guitar. I haven't spent any money, but I also believe I'll give up, but that's me. If you buy cheap, take the guitar to someone who knows how to set them up properly, and then a cheap guitar will be a great starting point.
Rule #3 You are not going to be good straight away. You are not going to be good even after a few days or weeks. It will take time (and practice). But if you put in, even a little time every day, and when I say a little, even 20 mins a day is good ... you will improve. Some of those metal songs you want to play were played by guitarists who have been playing years, and it would be silly to think you can do what they do when you're just starting.
Rule #4 LEARN EVERYTHING YOU CAN Finger picking, playing with a plectrum, jazz, blues, metal, country, chords, scales, modes .... don't limit yourself (did I just say not to do something? ) Yes you want to play metal, and that's cool, but metal contains the basics and it contains stuff borrowed from other styles.
Lastly rule #5 Don't be afraid to go to a teacher. A teacher showing you, encouraging you, helping you is SOOOOOOO much better than you trying to learn from a Youtube video.
Firstly though, about me ... I learned guitar when I was 15. For 2 years I had classical lessons. Back then we didn't have the internet and I spent 10 hours a day practising. I got to be OK. Then I left school, started working, stopped having lessons and taught myself from books. After playing for 6 years, someone stole my only guitar, and I didn't pick one up for 20+ years. I have tried now to re-learn guitar, but can't get back into it.
Secondly, anyone telling you what not to do IS WRONG. Seriously. "Don't buy an accoustic" ... "Don't buy anything less than $x" .... "Don't do thing ...." Here's rule #1 YOU need to find what works for YOU. They are telling you what not to do because they haven't found what works for them, and they think that by telling you what not to do, you'll not make the mistakes they think they've made.
Rule #2 You can buy cheap, so long as you understand what buying cheap means. If you are a beginner and are not sure you'll stick with it, because learning to play an instrument requires a lot of dedication and practice, you could waste a lot of money buying fancy expensive gear. Buying cheap will save you money, especially if you give up on it. Right now, like I said, I'm trying to get back into learning to play, and I am borrowing a friend's guitar. I haven't spent any money, but I also believe I'll give up, but that's me. If you buy cheap, take the guitar to someone who knows how to set them up properly, and then a cheap guitar will be a great starting point.
Rule #3 You are not going to be good straight away. You are not going to be good even after a few days or weeks. It will take time (and practice). But if you put in, even a little time every day, and when I say a little, even 20 mins a day is good ... you will improve. Some of those metal songs you want to play were played by guitarists who have been playing years, and it would be silly to think you can do what they do when you're just starting.
Rule #4 LEARN EVERYTHING YOU CAN Finger picking, playing with a plectrum, jazz, blues, metal, country, chords, scales, modes .... don't limit yourself (did I just say not to do something?
) Yes you want to play metal, and that's cool, but metal contains the basics and it contains stuff borrowed from other styles.Lastly rule #5 Don't be afraid to go to a teacher. A teacher showing you, encouraging you, helping you is SOOOOOOO much better than you trying to learn from a Youtube video.
I started playing guitar six months ago.
I always wanted to play guitar, but as a kid never had the opportunity. Then life happened and here I was 48, still having the itch to play but finally in a place where I had the opportunity to get started.
In six months I went from complete beginner, not even knowing how to attach a guitar strap or what a cowboy chord was, to being able to play real songs and learn new ones fairly quickly. I am a metalhead too, so of course I wanted to play all my favorite metal songs. I'm not interested in acoustic songs. I don't listen to them, and really don't want to play them. That excluded an acoustic guitar. I researched a bunch of lower priced electric guitars, as I didn't want to be too intimidated to pick it up. I ended up with a complete setup for less than $800 USD (guitar, amp, cables, new strings, maintenance materials).
What I purchased initially under $800 USD:
Yamaha Pacifica 112 Lefty Electric Guitar
Boss Katana 50 Amp
BiasFX2 amp/effects modeler
Kliq cloth lined cables (3)
D'addario NYXL strings
Added later:
Quik Lok Practice chair
Reaper DAW
GuitarJack Stage
The Pacifica is great quality guitar for the price. It's a perfect student guitar. Durable, great low action, no fret buzz, stays in tune, smooth un-lacquered neck, bridge humbucker and 2 single coil pickups, 5 way selector. It's a workhorse. I play/practice at least an hour every day and it never goes out of tune. I love the Katana 50. It has a bunch of effects that you can load from your computer and sounds great. It can be dialed down to 5 watts for quiet practice or cranked to 25 or 50 watts for huge sound. I love the NYXL strings. I live in a dry climate and don't have sweaty fingers, so I get a lot of mileage out of them.
Notes:
1. I live in a quiet neighborhood and my wife does not like Metal. At All. So cranking my amp is not an option on most days. Get an amp with a headphone output so you can practice without disturbing anyone or get an audio interface for your computer or phone so you can feed your sound through them and monitor through your headphones.
2. After getting started, I wanted to run my guitar through my computer to record/play along with songs and use effects. I needed to get an audio interface. They cost anywhere between $99 and $500 depending on the sophistication. You'll also need a digital audio workstation (I use Reaper). All of this adds $$ and is not necessary.
3. Get Lessons! You can learn a lot on your own, but having a good instructor watch you and give you immediate feedback is more valuable than gold. You learn MUCH faster with an instructor once you get the basics down.
4. Youtube is your friend! There are some amazing teachers that have thousands of instructional videos.
5. Practice a lot and keep things organized but fun. Play what you love and you will keep playing.
No matter what you decide, start playing as soon as you can. It is the most amazing, rewarding activity I do every day. Pure enjoyment!
I always wanted to play guitar, but as a kid never had the opportunity. Then life happened and here I was 48, still having the itch to play but finally in a place where I had the opportunity to get started.
In six months I went from complete beginner, not even knowing how to attach a guitar strap or what a cowboy chord was, to being able to play real songs and learn new ones fairly quickly. I am a metalhead too, so of course I wanted to play all my favorite metal songs. I'm not interested in acoustic songs. I don't listen to them, and really don't want to play them. That excluded an acoustic guitar. I researched a bunch of lower priced electric guitars, as I didn't want to be too intimidated to pick it up. I ended up with a complete setup for less than $800 USD (guitar, amp, cables, new strings, maintenance materials).
What I purchased initially under $800 USD:
Yamaha Pacifica 112 Lefty Electric Guitar
Boss Katana 50 Amp
BiasFX2 amp/effects modeler
Kliq cloth lined cables (3)
D'addario NYXL strings
Added later:
Quik Lok Practice chair
Reaper DAW
GuitarJack Stage
The Pacifica is great quality guitar for the price. It's a perfect student guitar. Durable, great low action, no fret buzz, stays in tune, smooth un-lacquered neck, bridge humbucker and 2 single coil pickups, 5 way selector. It's a workhorse. I play/practice at least an hour every day and it never goes out of tune. I love the Katana 50. It has a bunch of effects that you can load from your computer and sounds great. It can be dialed down to 5 watts for quiet practice or cranked to 25 or 50 watts for huge sound. I love the NYXL strings. I live in a dry climate and don't have sweaty fingers, so I get a lot of mileage out of them.
Notes:
1. I live in a quiet neighborhood and my wife does not like Metal. At All. So cranking my amp is not an option on most days. Get an amp with a headphone output so you can practice without disturbing anyone or get an audio interface for your computer or phone so you can feed your sound through them and monitor through your headphones.
2. After getting started, I wanted to run my guitar through my computer to record/play along with songs and use effects. I needed to get an audio interface. They cost anywhere between $99 and $500 depending on the sophistication. You'll also need a digital audio workstation (I use Reaper). All of this adds $$ and is not necessary.
3. Get Lessons! You can learn a lot on your own, but having a good instructor watch you and give you immediate feedback is more valuable than gold. You learn MUCH faster with an instructor once you get the basics down.
4. Youtube is your friend! There are some amazing teachers that have thousands of instructional videos.
5. Practice a lot and keep things organized but fun. Play what you love and you will keep playing.
No matter what you decide, start playing as soon as you can. It is the most amazing, rewarding activity I do every day. Pure enjoyment!
Deleted member 110222
D
Thanks for the kind words all.
I cannot stress enough that yes, this is something for me to do for the rest of my life. I'm still relatively young for the demographic on these boards, being 25 in a couple weeks. So, not to gloat or anything, but I have a lot of life ahead of me.
With this in mind, yes, I will suck for a long time. That's okay! I was saying this elsewhere: One cannot learn at all if he makes no mistakes.
I cannot stress enough that yes, this is something for me to do for the rest of my life. I'm still relatively young for the demographic on these boards, being 25 in a couple weeks. So, not to gloat or anything, but I have a lot of life ahead of me.
With this in mind, yes, I will suck for a long time. That's okay! I was saying this elsewhere: One cannot learn at all if he makes no mistakes.
LOL - looks like another +1 rep for the Yamaha 112V after I suggested it as a consideration earlier - mine was also gloss black!
I've had another thought as well, for "beginner gear", and this time it is for a small amplifier.
As well as my trusty old style Vox Valvetronix amp, I also have a "small" travel amp that I used to take away with me when I was away from home for a couple or more weeks at a time.
The item in question is a Roland Micro Cube, and the newer version the "GX" can be bought new for just over £100. Works on either mains adapter or on 6 x AA batteries. Decent sound, whether you play it on high or low volume, has several built in amplifier models, so a metal sound is right on your amp without having to invest in a set of effects pedals straight away, it has a few extra effects built in on top of the amp models as well as a reverb or delay function. Also has a headphone socket. An all round decent performer at a reasonable price. Not the top line in articulate or expressive sound, but for a beginner a very reasonable proposition until you know that you'll stay the course and later invest in a better amp.
Deleted member 110222
D
Right guys, I've just sent an E-mail to the establishment over in Portsmouth with my questions.
Now waiting on reply.
Now waiting on reply.
I used to play the guitar, but my wife told me to confine myself as I accumulated too much stuff! So it didn’t make it to my new mancave.
So now I got even more stuff
You can never have enough stuff!
Hey Un1k0rn, you have a lifetime of utter madness to look forward to....
Enjoy!
Edit: You end up making really stupid & unpleasant drones if you're anything like me. Source: https://soundcloud.com/hairychris/another-interlude-recording-with-moar
Enjoy!
Edit: You end up making really stupid & unpleasant drones if you're anything like me. Source: https://soundcloud.com/hairychris/another-interlude-recording-with-moar
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To celebrate your success, you can spend a holiday here.
Hotel under construction in Florida from the company "Hard Rock Hotel & Casino".
120 meters high. This mega-property will have 638 rooms but also an artificial lagoon of 40.000 m², villas partially immersed in water with butler service and private pool and a bar of 1100 m² at the top without forgetting a spa of 3800 m², a theatre and 14 restaurants. To round it all out, the must-see casino with 228 gaming tables and 3000 penny machines and, for the live music fans, a 7000-seat concert hall. The star group Maroon 5 has already been announced as the headliner for the opening.
You can also buy a mansion in Alabama.
Hotel under construction in Florida from the company "Hard Rock Hotel & Casino".
120 meters high. This mega-property will have 638 rooms but also an artificial lagoon of 40.000 m², villas partially immersed in water with butler service and private pool and a bar of 1100 m² at the top without forgetting a spa of 3800 m², a theatre and 14 restaurants. To round it all out, the must-see casino with 228 gaming tables and 3000 penny machines and, for the live music fans, a 7000-seat concert hall. The star group Maroon 5 has already been announced as the headliner for the opening.
You can also buy a mansion in Alabama.
