BUYING A GUITAR

this information is copied from the "frequently asked questions" section. It's a lot to read, but I've seen many people quit playing guitar because they bought a lemon. Buying the right guitar is crucial.

Q. SHOULD I PLAY ACOUSTIC GUITAR OR ELECTRIC GUITAR?
A. This is always a confusing issue for newcomers. In general, i recommend steel-string acoustic guitars to start with, as the steel string guitar is portable and traditional pop music often features this sound. Many songs sound good with just a strummed acoustic (beatles, dylan, joni mitchell, folk music, etc.) If you're getting an acoustic, i recommend steel string rather than nylon string (classical guitar.) The nylon strings are easier to play in some ways, but are made for playing classical music and sound wimpy when strummed. (I do recommend nylon string guitars for younger students who may find the soreness that comes early on from playing steel strings to be a dealbreaker. I also recommend nylon string guitars for anyone who is specifically interested in playing classical guitar. If there are people out there who want to play classical guitar, I wish they would contact me! Very few of my students ever want to play classical music on the guitar.)

With a steel string acoustic, the issues of quality (see below) are a bigger deal than with electric. This is because you can make a decent electric guitar cheaper than you can make a decent acoustic. Thus, an acoustic guitar can be more expensive (and harder to play) than an electric. On the other hand, with electric guitar you need an amplifier, which is an additional expense. Unless they have no access to rock and roll music, the internet, or other teenagers, teens will also quickly discover the wallet-draining (and ear-splitting) world of guitar effects, which are essentially accessories to help you sound more like your favorite guitarists. I am happy to guide students through this world when they ask about it. I don't have much advice about a starter amp except this--- don't get an expensive one until you or your child have been playing for a while seriously. An amp upgrade is a good "carrot" to encourage serious practice. there is a website called harmony central, which has customer reviews of all kinds of equipment. This can be a helpful research tool. if you or your child are ready for a better amp, I can advise you.
PLEASE NOTE-- Sometimes the best reason to pick electric over acoustic is the desire of the student. If a young (or not so young!) player listens to electric guitar music, and wants to play and sound like that, an acoustic guitar purchase may result in no inspiration and no practicing. I'm happy to have a student begin on electric, if they are motivated and eager to practice.


Q. WHAT KIND OF ACOUSTIC GUITAR SHOULD I BUY?
A. The first thing you should do is figure out your budget. you can get a
starter steel string acoustic guitar in the 300 dollars and down range ,
for a new guitar-- for more money you can get a better instrument, but if
your budget is in that area, speak to me and i can make some
recommendations. Cheap guitars are problematic in some ways, but to get
a significantly better instrument you usually have to jump to more like
600 and up. I don't recommend used guitars to anyone unless they already
play and can make an informed decision about whether a used instrument is
worth the money. (NOTE-- If this is your first guitar, an inexpensive instrument is probably the right choice. If you've been playing for a while, and you're sure you're going to be playing for the next twenty or thirty years, a higher quality acoustic guitar may make more sense. In this case, if your budget can handle it, you may want to consider an acoustic in the thousand dollars and up category. If this sounds right for you, I recommend taking at least two or three months for the process, and window shopping at several stores, including guitar center. I don't recommend buying instruments there, as I explain elsewhere, but they have many instruments on hand and it's a good place to see some of what's available. I am by no means an expert on guitar companies, models, etc. but if you find something that interests you feel free to email me or ask about it during your lesson and i can give you my two cents. )
There is a very cheap(under 100 dollars) guitar sold on the
website. Here is the link for the guitar--

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/search/detail/base_pid/511192/sourceid=qIbKQl04CXE2ASsKGo3E/befree_site_id=0019597850

A few of my students have bought this
model, which i consider a remarkably good instrument for the money. any
guitar you buy, new or used, may need a setup done by a repairman. This
can add around fifty dollars to the price. Sometimes stores will agree to
do a setup included in the price. not all guitars need a setup, so i
usually recommend that people buy a guitar and bring it to me, and i can
evaluate whether it needs the work done. (A setup is like a car tuneup,
guitars need it annually and some guitars need one right off the bat
because they've gone out of adjustment when shipped.)

A WORD ABOUT CHEAP GUITARS
It's important to remember, a cheap guitar should be thought of as a starter instrument. some cheap ones are usable (in other words, playable and they stay in tune) and some are not (very difficult to play and keep in tune.) All guitars, cheap or not, need setups periodically (just like cars need oil, etc.) It doesn't take long for a cheap instrument to be a liability, for two reasons.
One-- paying fifty dollars or more to get a hundred dollar instrument more playable doesn't make sense economically.
Two-- some cheap guitars are so awful that the student never really manages to get a decent sound out of it, and some are really unplayable even for me. I've seen students give up on guitar, mostly due to the low quality of their instrument. In the past i've tried to be tactful with students about their instruments-- at this point, I'm more inclined to be straight with people upfront. I hate to see someone quit playing when a better instrument could make it more fun and productive for them. (My general advice boils down to this-- if you think that you or your child will continue with the instrument, don't buy the cheapest guitar you can find. It's okay to start with the cheap one, but I recommend upgrading if you can afford it as soon as you know you are committed to learning the instrument.)

Q. WHAT KIND OF ELECTRIC GUITAR SHOULD I BUY?
A. Most of my answer here is about what not to get, so let me say at the outside-- if you have a specific guitarist or guitarists whose sound you like, talk to me about it and I may know what kind of guitar they use. Using the same kind of guitar as, say, Jimi Hendrix, won't make you sound like him-- but it's a start.

There is an electric guitar that my students often come in with. The
Fender company has a budget version of their famous Stratocaster guitar,
part of their budget Squier line. I get the impression music stores have
been recommending this instrument for the past few years, it's inexpensive
and often comes in a package deal with an amp, and some accessories. For
the price, this deal has its advantages, but a few words of warning.
budget line or not, stratocasters have a bridge assembly designed for a
device called a whammy bar, and this often has a negative impact on tuning
and playability. To be more clear, Stratocasters, especially Squier
models, often don't stay in tune and they're hard to play. If you are
committed to buying a Stratocaster style guitar, Blair Richey at Foxes
music (see above) tells me he can set up a squier stratocaster and
minimize these issues. For bargain-priced Gibson-style guitars, he
recommends the Samick line. There is also a Fender Telecaster style guitar
in the budget squier line.

All of the electrics i recommend here should be available at Foxes, or
orderable by them.

To clarify some of my comments above, there is a cheap Squier amp that is often sold in combination with a Squier Strat. I've seen this deal in stores and online for around $200.00. It's hard to beat this deal for the price-- but I advise you to remember you may need to get the guitar set up to make it more playable, which may run another $50.00. I do not guarantee that dealing with Foxes will result in no problems, but I will say that I don't recommend Guitar Center, and I and my students have had mostly good experiences at Foxes.


There are also some guitars out there with a bridge involving "locking
tremelo," or floyd rose/kahler style. these were very popular in the 80's,
especially with heavy metal players like Eddie Van Halen. I don't
recommend buying one of these, as tuning them and changing strings is
complicated, and often involves buying a small allen wrench . (A tiny, and
easy to lose, item.)

My comments above regarding setup are even more important for electric guitars. It's also important to know that new guitars are usually sold
with extra light strings, making the instrument easier to play but harder
to keep in tune. I recommend buying three sets of strings right off the
bat, and changing the light strings to a .010 gauge. there are plenty of
good string brands, but I recommend ernie ball . I also recommend buying
a pegwinder at the music store, which costs about 2 or 3 dollars. It's
also a good idea to buy wire cutters at a hardware store, if they don't
have them at the music store. these run ten dollars or less. (If the music
store is willing to do a setup for you initially, ask them to put .010
gauge strings on. )

(For child size electric guitars, i recommend .011 gauge strings. )
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LEARNING GUITAR FROM VIDEO AND/OR NOTATION

here's a link to an article I'm writing on this topic.


karlstraubguitar.blogspot.com/2009/04/learning-guitar-from-video-andor.html
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