Guitar Questions?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

aliasojo wrote: »

I'd just started ignoring the electro's. Heck there's too much choice.

Son already has an amp and 2 very large speakers. I'm not sure I could cope. :undecided

Headphones.


That's the thing that makes it all better.


ETA: seriously, Cort are pretty amazing for the price. Ibanez are pretty good, too. They don't have the 'posh' element to them, but that means they tend to put more quality into the bits that matter, ie, strength of neck, machineheads, pickups, rather than relying on the name to carry them and opting for the cheapest components or going for handmade everything and having to pay through the nose for it.

Have a look at testing a Cort SFX-10. See what she thinks, then someone in the shop (especially if big brother is there as well) shoudl be able to guide her according to how she feels about that.

Chickabiddybex

I strongly recommend something second hand because you can get way better quality fir cheaper. And as for brands I love Art & Lutherie. Especially the older ones!

skintchick

I bought this in 2011 for myself

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0039I03U2/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

I like it, and my guitar playing friends told me they thought I'd got a really good buy - they complimented how it sounded and how it felt to play.

Sadly I still can't play cos life got in the way but this year is the year I master it!

I only got a soft case though. I stand mine up in the cupboard.

Mr_Toad

Some excellent advice so far and some personal opinions and recommendations which is all to the good.

I've been playing guitar on and off for 30 years, I have quite a collection, you can never have too many guitars.

These are my own personal views.

All guitars are not created equal, many look the same but as with most instruments it's what you can't see that costs the money. I don't mean that you have to spend a fortune, there are some really nice guitars for not much money.

I have a couple that are worth more than a lot of people spend on a car! While I love them they are not my favourites.

I keep whichever guitar I'm playing on a stand, I play every day. Those not being played are kept in hard cases. Try to avoid big fluctuations in temperature. They are made of wood and expand and contract when the temp changes and they are also effected by humidity. A hard case insulates them from normal house type temp fluctuations.

If you tune a guitar during the day in warm room then come back in the middle of the night when the heating is off it will be out of tune.

Yamaha make good instruments from their basic range right up to the frighteningly expensive.

Another good make is Crafter, I have two, an electro acoustic that cost me £150 and a semi solid body electric with acoustic pickups both are excellent to play.

Not sure what your budget is but have a look at the Yamaha F310 and the Vintage V300

What style of guitar is she learning? Classical have nylon strings folk/rock have steel strings. A cutaway lets you play above the 14th fret easily.

Always try a guitar if at all possible, I've never bought one without playing it. It allows you to check the intonation and that none of the frets buzz. A well set up guitar, even a cheaper one, is a delight to play. A badly set up guitar will be painful and like running your fingers over a cheese grater!

When I bought my Gibson Les Paul I tried about 30 before I found the one that felt like mine. All the others looked the same but all were different weights, it depends on the wood density, and all sounded different and had slightly different neck profiles. I did the same with my Strat, all the necks felt different and I tried loads before I found mine.

Don't be put off second hand, you'll often get a better instrument for your money.

Epiphone are another good make

scooby088

If you are going for acoustic I would recommend martins but there prices start from around £600..right to about £10,000. I have had a martin for about 15 years now and it has got better with age.

If you daughter wants to go electric you can't go far wrong with a telecaster or strat...gibson les paul too are pretty good...but I am a fender man so i prefer the teles or strats.

As for other makes.

squier are fenders budget range
epiphone are gibson budget range
sigma are martins budget range

Best bit of advice I can give is try each guitar out in the shop, many bigger shops have sound proof booths where you can really hear the guitar away from the back ground noise.

prowla

I would recommend buying a better quality used guitar, preferably from a shop, where you can try it out and maybe have the person in the shop demo it.

Buying a used one means: (a) any warping/settling in is likely to have happened, (b) you will get a better quality item for the same money.

Mrs_Imp

I would recommend taking her tutor to the shop if you can. Then your daughter can try out the guitar for comfort and her tutor can listen to the tone of it.

It might be good for you to get your daughter a nail care kit too. She'll need to keep the nails on her fingering hand short and neat. Is she using a plectrum or her fingers for strumming/playing? If it's her fingers, then a little blob of superglue can be a lifesaver if she breaks or splits a nail.

aliasojo

Thank you very much everyone. You've been very helpful, I will look at the suggestions made and will bear all points in mind.

Mr_Toad she's got a classical just now but her new one will be an acoustic.

Thanks for the info about who makes what, useful to know.

Not an option to take tutor to store unfortunately, would have been good to have an expert on hand tbh.

Lots of things to consider. I think we're going to try to find some stores at the weekend to have a look and check prices. It's a bit difficult because we're so rural and things like this invariably involve long drives. Also depends on the weather, there was 5 inches of snow to scrape off my car this morning!

Thanks again.

Mr_Toad

aliasojo wrote: »

Thank you very much everyone. You've been very helpful, I will look at the suggestions made and will bear all points in mind.

Mr_Toad she's got a classical just now but her new one will be an acoustic.

Thanks for the info about who makes what, useful to know.

Not an option to take tutor to store unfortunately, would have been good to have an expert on hand tbh.

Lots of things to consider. I think we're going to try to find some stores at the weekend to have a look and check prices. It's a bit difficult because we're so rural and things like this invariably involve long drives. Also depends on the weather, there was 5 inches of snow to scrape off my car this morning!

Thanks again.

A classical guitar is an acoustic, just a different type and with nylon strings rather than the steel strings fitted to folk/rock acoustics.

Many Classical guitars don't have a metal truss rod in the neck because the nylon strings aren't under as much tension as steel strings so don't bend the neck as much.

I've got a nylon string classical that I needed for a piece I was playing, it didn't sound right on a steel string guitar. Rather than spend a fortune I bought a cheap classical electro acoustic with cutaway.

It's a Stagg C546TCS-n

http://www.guitarandampshop.co.uk/acatalog/Stagg_C546TCE-N_4_4_Full_Sized_Classical_Electro_Acoustic_Guitar_Natural__.html

It plays well and isn't a bad guitar for the money.

dancingfairy

Could the tutor recommend any shops to go to? Any that sell second hand instruments?
Is she learning through school? Do they have an instrument hire scheme through the county?
df