[fureshi]

i just got my first acoustic guitar tonight from guitar center. the salesman suggested that i get a yamaha fg750s. it sounded better than the other yamaha models when he demo'd it for me as i don't know how to play yet. so just wondering if you guys have any suggestions for a beginner player such as myself? i bought the guitar method book by hal leonard and have started playing around with it but being a newb, it all seems little overwhelming.

by the way, does anyone know of a good guitar teacher in the bay area? preferably in the south bay or peninsula please. there's a place called the sunnyvale guitar center near my work but not sure how good it is. thanks guys

 

[brian183]

Your fingers will soon start hurting (especially since it's an acustic) but keep at it and the pain will go away after a couple weeks of regular playing. Learn the scales and the chords and practice tuning. Tuning is pretty easy after awhile. If you want to start off rockin' find some good guitar tabs online of your fav songs. This is not a great way to "learn" but it's a good motivator and just plain fun to do. My acoustic is an ibanez V70 that I got for 130 at sam ash. It was the best sound I could find for a cheap price. The action on it is a little high but the intonation isn't that off.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[pezzy]

man thats an awesome beginners guitar hope you enjoy learning on it, cause i know i will .

 

[DJ Mauler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fureshi i just got my first acoustic guitar tonight from guitar center. the salesman suggested that i get a yamaha fg750s. it sounded better than the other yamaha models when he demo'd it for me as i don't know how to play yet. so just wondering if you guys have any suggestions for a beginner player such as myself? i bought the guitar method book by hal leonard and have started playing around with it but being a newb, it all seems little overwhelming. by the way, does anyone know of a good guitar teacher in the bay area? preferably in the south bay or peninsula please. there's a place called the sunnyvale guitar center near my work but not sure how good it is. thanks guys

anything sounds good when you dont know how to play, why did you get a yamaha again? price? return it get a squire

 

[fureshi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ Mauler anything sounds good when you dont know how to play, why did you get a yamaha again? price? return it get a squire

the salesman said that it was a good value. it's alright, it's only my first guitar. i'm sure if i really get into it, i'll want to try different guitars.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fureshi the salesman said that it was a good value. it's alright, it's only my first guitar. i'm sure if i really get into it, i'll want to try different guitars.

Stick with the Yamaha - set up right, it should do just fine. And btw, a Squire is an electric guitar, right? - Fureshi is looking Acoustic.

 

[plainsong]

The Yamaha is good, but a Squire??? Yuck! Talk about suxorsville. If you want a Squire, save up your pennies for a Fender that's been set up right.

 

[fureshi]

What do you guys mean by "set up right"? Tuned correctly? The right strings?

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fureshi What do you guys mean by "set up right"? Tuned correctly? The right strings?

For a beginner, The set up should have a low action - meaning the distance between the strings and the frets. That way it won't KILL your fingers to make a chord while waiting for your calluses to develop. This is usually achieved by changing the shape of the neck, or raising/lowering the saddle (the bar right before your endpins). I would suggest going back to your store and having them do it for free if you find fretting to be REALLY painful and hard - they can do it so it's easy, and won't buzz on you. Later on you can raise the action and get beefier strings for a bigger tone.

That's another thing - stick to the Xtra Lights for now. Thicker strings will kill you and are harder to bend, and thus harder to fret. Some folks never even go past Lights in their lifetime. I use Mediums, but that's just me - sometimes I feel like getting some custom lights, but for the most part I stick to just chords and rhythm guitar anyhow and don't need to get all fancy with the fretwork and running scales and stuff.

tuning, however, IS something you should learn. there are a few ways to do it, but until you trust your ears, use a tuner and have at it - later on you can use relative tuning and not have a chord sound horrendous doing it. learning this skill quick is handy especially if you break a ton of strings and are constantly restrining (like i used to do in my more violent youth).

all of this in the beginning should get everything out of the way of just enjoying learning a new instrument. i started with a chord book and enjoyed making pretty sounds by fretting clean chords. i then got a book with some tunes and followed the chord progressions printed above the lyrics. i never did get into tablature - tabs and reading music of any sort reminded me of my high school band days, eww. i found just learning the chords and eventually teaching myself songs from progressions was the most fun for me. that, and learning picking patterns and strumming rhythms.

 

[plainsong]

I agree with how tough it is to read music while being a guitar newb. It was so frustrating that my eyes and brain were going much faster than the fingers. "Oh ***, I can sing the thing, why can't my fingers cooperate??" I had gone from being a clarinet player to being a singer, so I was used to my fingers doing what I wanted them to do. I lacked the patience for it.

So I gave that bit up, and just used the guitar to work on my play-by-ear and improv skills.

 

[fureshi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn For a beginner, The set up should have a low action - meaning the distance between the strings and the frets. That way it won't KILL your fingers to make a chord while waiting for your calluses to develop. This is usually achieved by changing the shape of the neck, or raising/lowering the saddle (the bar right before your endpins). I would suggest going back to your store and having them do it for free if you find fretting to be REALLY painful and hard - they can do it so it's easy, and won't buzz on you. Later on you can raise the action and get beefier strings for a bigger tone. That's another thing - stick to the Xtra Lights for now. Thicker strings will kill you and are harder to bend, and thus harder to fret. Some folks never even go past Lights in their lifetime. I use Mediums, but that's just me - sometimes I feel like getting some custom lights, but for the most part I stick to just chords and rhythm guitar anyhow and don't need to get all fancy with the fretwork and running scales and stuff. tuning, however, IS something you should learn. there are a few ways to do it, but until you trust your ears, use a tuner and have at it - later on you can use relative tuning and not have a chord sound horrendous doing it. learning this skill quick is handy especially if you break a ton of strings and are constantly restrining (like i used to do in my more violent youth). all of this in the beginning should get everything out of the way of just enjoying learning a new instrument. i started with a chord book and enjoyed making pretty sounds by fretting clean chords. i then got a book with some tunes and followed the chord progressions printed above the lyrics. i never did get into tablature - tabs and reading music of any sort reminded me of my high school band days, eww. i found just learning the chords and eventually teaching myself songs from progressions was the most fun for me. that, and learning picking patterns and strumming rhythms.

thanks for the explanation jahn! the string action on the yamaha seems okay so far but i've only played with the guitar for about an hour and my fingers are still doing okay. it's good to know that i could also start on my own by learning from a book but i've already noticed that i'm uncertain if i'm doing something correctly or not. i guess that's where a teacher would be good.

 

[jerb]

also try a few different picks, its really helped me. I use Dunlop .73 m mostly though I do have some Dunlop .6 mm NYLON's I use on occasion.

waxed strings are nice though they get pricey. Keep trying to learn music its a VERY nice skill to have. Also if you's like I have some diagrams that might helpm you that my music tutor drew for me, They list what each note on each fret for each string is which really helps wehen your learning a peice. PM me if you'd like it and I'll send you a copy. also try learning a few chords, I started with boulivard of broken dreams though there are lots of good peices (most of them are the same too( E, G, D, A)

 

[pne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fureshi thanks for the explanation jahn! the string action on the yamaha seems okay so far but i've only played with the guitar for about an hour and my fingers are still doing okay. it's good to know that i could also start on my own by learning from a book but i've already noticed that i'm uncertain if i'm doing something correctly or not. i guess that's where a teacher would be good.

take a couple of hours of lessons to start with. This will start you off and prevent those bad habits that you can develop from self teaching. After you get someone to show you the basics you can develop on your own at your own pace.

 

[skyline889]

Eventually you might want to upgrade to a Martin, Martin's make some of the best guitars available. I have the D1R and it has a warm and lush sound that can only be produced by a full size dreadnaught. I have had mine for six years and I have not had any problems with it even with the high humidity here. Also a great guitar for the price would be a Taylor "Big Baby", it also had a nice warm sound but doesn't have the same deep resonating impact that the Martin does, but the Taylor has a very narrow fret board which makes it easier to negotiate. The Yamaha is still a decent guitar though not many can compete in that price range except perhaps some of the older epiphones. Congrats on the purchase, it's a great hobby.

 

[fureshi]

thanks for all the tips guys. i haven't found a teacher yet but still having fun messing around. all i wanted to do today was get off work and come home to play with the guitar.

btw jerb, what would be the purpose of using a thinner pick?