which guitar for beginner.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Wookey wrote: »

If you are buying from a music shop and they do give lessons barter with them on at least one free lesson or discounted rates for the first few lessons.

I did it the other way round - did the lessons through them and they consistently give me discounts on equipment and music

taliesin

I'd agree with pretty much everything that's been said so far - the recommended video is indeed very good. But let me add a couple of points.

For sure, go to the local music shop. In the long run they WILL give you a better deal than any online source, through setups, lessons, help, adjustments, repairs and discounts - many shops routinely take 10% off marked prices for regulars, teachers, students, ....

Most beginners looking for an acoustic are steered straight to the "Dreadnought" size. Personally, I don't much care for them. They have a deeper body than any of the other commonly used sizes, and although average-sized, I find them awkward to hold. The depth could be a problem even for a tall beginner. The deeper body gives Dreadnoughts a rather bassy tone, which is fine for strumming along to folks singing "Kumbaya" (!) but works less well if you are trying to project a melody. Look carefully at the style of guitar that the big-name acoustic players use. Many of them use "orchestra" models which are an inch or so thinner and slightly smaller-bodied. These are a shade easier to handle, and I for one prefer the balance of tone between bass and treble, especially when played in a smaller room. It looks like I'm not alone.

Also, I'm an enthusiast for Yamaha instruments. They invariably offer great value, especially in the student-to-mid-range bracket. Back in the 80s I owned a nice Yamaha student-level Dreadnought. It went travelling with me and someone I met liked it so much I sold it to him, a decision I regret to this day. These days, my favourite electric is a Yamaha AES620 that I picked up second-hand. I have several significantly more expensive guitars but this is such a comfortable, well-made guitar and its sound is so versatile that it is always out of its case. For what it's worth, Yamaha guitars were a big part of Santana's sound in his early days, although he now endorses Paul Reed Smith.

Jojo, if you happen to have a nice SG1000 sitting unplayed in your rack, I'll gladly make you an offer!

Llyllyll

Forgot to mention to consider local ads or Ebay (local only). You may get a decent deal, be able to see the guitar before you actually commit to buying and save on postage. Also consider any part-exs your local store may have.

Can’t think of anything else…

mamabuddah

I hate to burst some bubbles here (I have posted on other threads about buying guitars as well, so I'm not a newbie)...whilst I agree I wouldn't buy any musical instrument from Argos, i would recommend purchasing from a music shop, in the first instance because you can actually hold the thing and stum it to see how it actually feels etc and you will get an indication of the tone it produces....

now the bad bit....all this stuff about the music shop setting it up etc is a bit misleading...most of these acoustic guitars we're talking about, Yamaha F310, Tanglewood beginners series etc...will not have any setting up apart from the tuning...they are designed for the beginner market and play straight from the box...yes there are some dogs out there...thats why you go to a music shop and stum it first...

Any "setting up" on the basic Yamahas, Tanglewoods etc to lower string height etc will involve either filing the nut (not recommended for beginners) or removing the plastic saddle at the bridge end and sanding the underside to lower the height before slotting back in again...few if any have adjustable truss rods...so forget that...

beginner guitars will (should) play straight from the box...set up will basically be tuning it...but at least in a music shop you can go back for advice, meet other players find out about lessons etc...if you are considering buying a guitar without being able to hold it first , you may as well purchase online from a music store (wider choices and better prices)

jhe

thanks very much to everyone for offering advice, much appreciated. i am not looking for the best of guitars just something a little decent for a total beginner.doubt he will know much about feel and tone at the moment. thats why i asked about either tanglewood or yamaha,dont think a getting for 60 year old its ever going to be anything but a little hobby, just they have expressed an interest for a few years now in learning to play.so with xmas coming thought i would buy one as a gift.
the problem i feel about buying on line,apart from the person its for will likely be here when delivered, i dont know how it will have been stored and no doubt will get flung about during delivery.
so when i get the chance i will nip to 1 of the local music shops and buy from them.
you never know if he progresses he might want to buy himself a better one in future.

taliesin

Good points, mama. I think we are all saying that a music shop (or a second hand deal where you can see what you are buying) is far better than buying online or from a general retailer.

And you are right, of course, that any beginners guitar from a reputable manufacturer should play decently out of the box. The local specialist dealer will weed out any that have twisted necks or sticky tuners and send them back. These guitars are highly unlikely to need filing of nuts - they will have been cut and fitted on a standard jig. However, it can sometimes help to shave the saddle down a mm or two and adjust the truss rod. That is the sort of thing that a decent shop will do at purchase, if not entirely for free, at the price of a fresh set of strings to be installed as part of the process.

But any modern steel-string guitar, even in the beginner class, must have a truss rod, and every one I have owned has been adjustable, if only after a bit of poking around with an Allen key through the soundhole. This might be a good question for jhe to ask - if a specific guitar doesn't have an adjustable truss rod (and the likes of Takamine surely will have) then it would be better to avoid it.

The truss rod makes the neck more rigid than wood alone, to take the tension of the steel strings; the adjustment (basically a nut fitted over the threaded end of the rod) allows the curvature of the neck to be changed if lighter/heavier strings are fitted, or if the curvature changes over time as the wood seasons. Adjustment could be needed on a new guitar if the neck has gone out of alignment due to time in storage or change of climate, but again a decent shop will do that before they put the guitar on display.

mikey72

This is a very nice one for a starter, then you can move onto an expensive one later.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5401408/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CHome+entertainment+and+sat+nav%7C14419512/c_2/2%7C14419512%7CMusical+instruments%7C14419569/c_3/3%7Ccat_14419569%7CGuitars%7C14419578/Trail/searchtext%3EGUITAR.htm


any tuner is ok, or download a program for the pc

http://www.nch.com.au/tuner/index.html

mikey72

mikey72 wrote: »

This is a very nice one for a starter, then you can move onto an expensive one later.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5401408/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CHome+entertainment+and+sat+nav%7C14419512/c_2/2%7C14419512%7CMusical+instruments%7C14419569/c_3/3%7Ccat_14419569%7CGuitars%7C14419578/Trail/searchtext%3EGUITAR.htm


any tuner is ok, or download a program for the pc

http://www.nch.com.au/tuner/index.html

edit - strings are steel, and don't need changing, they sound decent, and the height is already good straight out of the box.

taliesin

Fender is quite possibly the world's biggest and best known guitar brand so that is likely to be a decent guitar at that price point, but others here have explained why there may be better places to source one than Argos. (And their saying "You may receive a substitute of the same specification, but which is cosmetically different" might worry me if I were buying one).

However this puzzles me ..

mikey72 wrote: »

edit - strings are steel, and don't need changing, they sound decent, and the height is already good straight out of the box.

Of course the strings on a steel string guitar are made of steel. The specification on that particular guitar says they are made of nickel-steel, which is the type normally used on electric guitars. Nothing wrong with that, although acoustic guitars are usually fitted with phosphor-bronze steel strings, so it may sound a bit brighter than normal.

How often a guitarist changes her strings is up to her, but most guitarists prefer the sound of newish strings and change them after a few hours to a few tens of hours playing. Most professionals change them for every performance, and every day for practicing. If you leave changing them too long, the outer sheaths on the lower (wound) strings break up, causing buzzing and other problems, and ultimately develop nasty spurs that rip your fingers.

mikey72

taliesin wrote: »

................. (And their saying "You may receive a substitute of the same specification, but which is cosmetically different" might worry me if I were buying one)..............



Of course the strings on a steel string guitar are made of steel. The specification on that particular guitar says they are made of nickel-steel, which is the type normally used on electric guitars. Nothing wrong with that, although acoustic guitars are usually fitted with phosphor-bronze steel strings, so it may sound a bit brighter than normal....

Agree with that, make sure you are getting the right one from them, if not, just get your money back.

OP said they wanted steel strings, not steel and nylon, the webpage isn't clear. They didn't seem to be budget strings, the sound was decent with the ones supplied.
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