I found this thread, but it’s in the wrong forum. All great topics should be moved to the Water Cooler where they will be paid the requisite amount of attention. Sweep, please move the thread.
Second, it seems like PA actually used to be a normal human being.
Nonetheless, are there any guitar players here? I’m thinking about picking one up. But I don’t know the first thing about it. Should I get an acoustic/electric? A cutaway? A cutaway acoustic/electric?
Then there are the different sizes–000, dreadnaught, etc. Does size matter?
If you actually played for 20 minutes per day, how long would it take to get decent?
The size of the acoustic will determine the volume and depth of its sound (bigger being better) but unless you’re playing large venues with it, a small to mid size is typically best for home use because they’re more comfortable to play and work around.
A cutaway only matters for playing the teeny tiny high notes, it cuts away the body so you can get your fingers further up the neck. This is extremely rare for people to actually do on acoustic guitars and even more so for a beginner (but that doesn’t stop them from making cutaways). I’d estimate probably 90% of the cutaways out there have never been played on the notes the cutaway allows you to hit. Some argue that cutaways can theoretically limit the sound by shrinking / reshaping the body but it’s an extreme line of reasoning. So cutaway basically doesn’t matter one way or the other for you.
Acoustic / electric is also largely irrelevant since you probably have no intent of plugging it into speakers in the near term which would mostly be for recording or performances. Plus if you change your mind later you can install an electric kit. But up to you.
Full electric guitars can be easier to play (lighter weight strings) but you will probably spend more to get set up and it also depends on type of music you want to play, etc. Having the ability to play silently on headphones is nice though for an electric if you’re in an apartment or have kids, etc.
Honestly, as a beginner, the guitar doesn’t really matter. The best guitar players almost universally learned to play on old junkers they found in a basement or attic or whatever. Slash famously taught himself guitar on one his grandma gave him at 15 which only had one string. Most people I know probably including you get frustrated and or bored and give up. From that point on their guitar sits like a monument to their failure on a stand somewhere in their home. So it probably doesn’t make sense to spend much on the guitar. Playing 20 minutes a day you will probably never get “good” realistically although you’ll probably be able to do GCAD or CGAmF. I don’t know anyone that only plays 20 minutes consistently, seems like people either wind up playing more than that or less than that. It’s like asking how long it will take you to get nice abs working out 20 minutes a day, theoretically possible I guess but realistically you never see those two things together. If you do feel like spending money on a nice acoustic, Taylor’s and Martin D35’s are both two of the standards.
Just get the guitar suited to the music you like, as this will increase the odds that you will keep up the hobby. Presumably, since you are a successful adult professional, the cost for entry level equipment is not prohibitive. The risk is just that you will lose interest, since there is no real incentive to continue, other than personal enjoyment, unlike when you’re a teen, then playing music gets all the jailbait, amiright? I bet ACE was all about Wonderwall back in the day.
I agree with the swan that the 1st guitar doesn’t matter. My first guitar cost me £60 and I still have it. I remember picking it up and playing Come As You Are on it and being hooked instantly.
I have no advice on the guitar you should use – but you should check out the free trial of the app called Yousician, which is a pretty nifty little learning tool that I’ve been using.
Well, I was thinking most people quit new hobbies, and G is at risk of this as well. So, it is better if he maximizes his fun and interest, so he will have a higher chance of making a long lasting hobby. Better equipment will improve his experience and make him feel invested. Since he is a successful adult professional, the cost of getting slightly better instruments is not that meaningful.
Guitar center sells a pretty good guitar for around $150. Maybe even a bit less. No disrespect to the guitar players out there, but a solid 20 minutes a day for a month and you can learn a bunch of songs. Get the guitar, get a chord sheet with C, G, F, A, D, E, em, and am. If you can play those chords with ease, and have any type of rhythm, you are good for a while. At that point, you can decide whether you want to get “better.” Once you understand I, IV, V with an acoustic guitar, you are on your way.
At least at guitar center you can rack up thousands of dollars worth of interest free debt…
I’ll be honest… in one of the most millennial things about me there is a $7,000.00 drumset sitting in my basement that I’m paying zero interest on. It was a no brainer.
I don’t think owning a better guitar will make any noticeable difference to the experience for a new player, you’re going to suck and it will sound terrible regardless. By the time you’ll be good enough to differentiate between a good and bad guitar you’ll have either quit or have a better idea what you want. Plus a decent new Taylor / Martin D-35 is like $4-5k with a Gibson Hummingbird around $3K. Those aren’t what I would consider lavish guitars either. For most people that’s not throw away money and there’s really no upside to putting the other NPV at risk. I know enough people that have played to know there is no correlation between the quality of the first guitar and whether they keep playing. Most of that will be based on their talent set and affinity for it.
Switched to modular synthesizer, haven’t played guitar in forever. Guitars and their equal temperament are too out of tune. If I were to go back, I’d probably go tele > memory man > fender reverb amp.
