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22 Jan 05 - 09:25 AM (#1385138) Subject: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST I'm going to buy my husband a guitar. He's never played before this will be his first. I don't know which to get, acoustical or electric. I saw an infomercial and it had a guitar that was acoustical and electric but I don't know if my hubby would like how it looks cuz it looks "country". He's into rock so I figured he would want a "rockers" guitar. Can someone tell me the difference between the two (besides the look) and would an electric "country" guitar sound almost like a regular electric guitar? Please give me some advice on which type to get? Thank You. |
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22 Jan 05 - 09:36 AM (#1385149) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST hi, what country do you live in and how much do you want to spend ? this wil help us to help you with specific guitar brand and model recommendations.. eg, a popular, reasonable quality and price, all in one box beginners 'electric' starter pack for a rocker; which includes everything needed to get started.. [guitar, amplfier, leads, accesories, etc] would be a Squier Fender Strat value pack http://www.squierguitars.com/gear/show_nav.php?category=Value%20Packs&feature_id=3 |
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22 Jan 05 - 09:39 AM (#1385150) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST i'm in tn. i'm basically looking for something around 200 bucks. i found one (the electric/acoustic) but don't know if i should get it. |
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22 Jan 05 - 09:45 AM (#1385155) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST I went to that website and found a dealer near me but the website didn't say how much it would cost. do you have an idea? |
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22 Jan 05 - 10:21 AM (#1385184) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker I live in UK, but i'm told this is a good site for low US $ price, so you can work it out from there.. Squier value pack.. $279 http://www.zzounds.com/cat--Electric-Guitar-Packs--2646 if you look at that site, you will see several different value packs from different brand names at very good prices. the squier is widely accepted as a good deal, reasonable quality beginners guitar. the quality of the cheaper packs, could still be ok |
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22 Jan 05 - 11:32 AM (#1385229) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: Bee-dubya-ell NO! NO! NO! Do not give a raw beginner an electric guitar!!! Why? Because beginner stuff sounds like crap on an electric. The first thing you learn to do on guitar is to play plain old vanilla chords with open strings in them. Those chords sound nice and full on an acoustic, but they sound like crap on an electric. Electrics are good for leads and barre chord/power chord accompaniment, not chord strumming, and strumming is the first thing a beginner needs to learn to do. Another thing is that those who try to learn to play on an electric tend to set their sights too high and get easily frustrated. There are thousands of people out there who have an electric guitar under the bed that they've never learned to play because they were under the impression that playing like Joe Satriani was gonna be easy. I should know. I was one of 'em. I got an inexpensive electric guitar kit at age 15 and promptly began to learn absolutely nothing because the work of guitarists I admired was so far over my head that I was totally frustrated. Seven years later I got an acoustic guitar and found that playing relatively simple stuff like John Prine songs was a lot of fun. From there, I progressed to more complex material and techniques. Now, many years later, I do sometimes play electric guitar and have fun doing it. But I learned the basic techniques that allow me to play an electric guitar decently on acoustic guitar. For a beginner with rock'n roll tendencies I would suggest a relatively inexpensive acoustic-electric guitar (that's one with built-in pickup, volume and tone controls) like a Dean or lower end Takamine. And, since you say that Hubby is a rocker and, thus, may be partial toward the special-effects-driven guitar sounds that abound in rock, you need to know that those effects are mostly produced by the amplifiers and special pedals, not by the guitars themselves. With the right amplifier, you can make an acoustic/electric sound as grungy as a Stratocaster or Les Paul. |
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22 Jan 05 - 11:52 AM (#1385242) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST,oh dear, here we go again ..and now back to the world of objectivity.. please dont't get too distracted by the bias, hyperbole, and misguided opinions of many of the guitar 'experts' here. just buy your husband what HE wants at the best price you can aford. |
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22 Jan 05 - 11:56 AM (#1385244) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: freightdawg Guest, in answer to your questions about differences: an acoustic, or acoustic/electric, is a hollow body guitar that produces most of its sound by capturing the vibrations of the strings in the body of the guitar and then projecting that sound back out of the sound hole. You will find most hollow bodies have the hole right in the middle (or almost in the middle) of the top, but some have the hole(s) in other places on the top. These modified acoustics are virtually always amplified, and are typically used for jazz, or blues type music. When amplified correctly the acoustic sounds just like an amplified acoustic. If you use a typical "rocker" amplification system on an acoustic the end result is that it will sound like neither one. However, even acoustic setups have controls for reverb, tone, etc. which will allow for some modification of the sound. "Rocker" guitars, as you put it, are solid body guitars. Their sound is virtually all produced by electronics: both the electronics built into the guitar and the electronics you choose to feed the guitar into. There are all sorts of pedals, amplifiers, and special effects that you can use to get the exact sound you want. In terms of ergonomics, acoustics are much wider at the body, solid bodies are very thin. Acoustics can be played anywhere, solid bodies don't do very well at all without their electronic cohorts. I would agree with B-W-L above that, at least initially, it would be better to get an acoustic to learn with for the first few months. Then, once you or hubby decides a little bit better what you want (sound, looks, etc) you can move to the solid body. You can either keep the hollowbody for sentimental reasons or sell it and get some of your money back. If you start out with the solid body you have a heck of a lot more start up costs (electronics are not cheap) and depending on the guitar, you might end up with a lot of stuff you will have to replace if you decide to get another type of solid body. In terms of differences between solid bodies, a lot of the differences are very technical, and you kind of have to know what you are looking for, and then talk to a very "with-it" salesman who is going to steer you to the exact type of guitar you want, and not just the most expensive. Acoustics tend to be a bit more "cut-and-dried", at least in the student-beginner-low end side of the market. You do not want to spend a lot of money in either case for a beginner's model - then you can really wind up and break the bank when you have a better idea of what you want in terms of sound, musical style, appearance etc. Good luck, and any man who has a wife that will buy him a guitar is a lucky man indeed. Just be aware. One guitar very often leads to a near fatal condition known as GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome). I hope you know what you are doing!! ;-) Freightdawg |
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22 Jan 05 - 12:25 PM (#1385265) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: Cluin Best advice I can give you is find someone you know and trust who plays guitar (preferably for more than a couple of years) and take them shopping with you. He'll make sure you get your biggest bang for the buck (we were all beginners at one point and know what we would have liked in a starter guitar). There are some good deals out there to be had in the low-end market; much better than when I got my first instrument. And don't worry too much about the look being too "country" for a rocker. Every rocker, young and old, I know has a real appreciation for a quality acoustic guitar, no matter what the style. |
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22 Jan 05 - 12:40 PM (#1385279) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: breezy good luck If you were to pay 2000 you might be making an investment under 500 will be a write-off unless he's really keen, in which case you could find yourself with some spare time!!!! dont go there |
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22 Jan 05 - 02:00 PM (#1385333) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: Justa Picker One word - BLUERIDGE |
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22 Jan 05 - 03:57 PM (#1385426) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST,willie-o I'm with bee-dubya and Cluin. Every rocker worth knowing about started on an old acoustic. (except maybe Eric Clapton. BUT he's Eric Clapton and we're not.) These days its very common to get acoustics with certain electric-guitar features, like a built-in pickup, slide EQ/preamp (set of tone controls), on the side, and cutaway body style (ask at the store). A well-chosen one, properly set up, will be a good acoustic starter guitar, but if he wants to explore his inner rocker, just plug it in and turn it up loud...it won't be like a solid body electric, quite, but it delivers the ROCK OVERDRIVE BODY VIBRATION quite effectively. |
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22 Jan 05 - 04:13 PM (#1385440) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST ..as warned earlier.. please be cautious of much of the 'expert guidance' expressed here.. |
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22 Jan 05 - 06:02 PM (#1385517) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: Terry Allan Hall Get him the BEST acoustic you can afford...your nerves will thank you many times a day! |
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22 Jan 05 - 07:16 PM (#1385560) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker ok.. time for some balance.. freightdawg and Cluin offer good solid information and sound advice.. if you are giving your husband a surpirse present, and have sufficient time available, then it would be better if you could ask a rock guitarist aquaintance to help you choose. It would be even better though if your husband made his own informed choice, and tried out as many guitars in shops as necessary.. because as you can see from replies here and in other threads.. choice of guitar is a very individual thing.. like choice of car, toothbrush , underpants, etc.. all the usual stuff most guys need to choose for their own needs and preferences. so just to clarify/further confuse the issue !!?? i'll present a few positive reasons why an electric guitar can be a better beginners guitar than an acoustic. ..the necks are slimmer and string tension usually lighter, which means its easier for a beginners hands to confidently hold down notes and chords in the early stages of learning. later on, most everything learnt on an electric guitar can be transferred to an acoustic guitar,with ease and confidence once the hands have adjusted to the more substantial neck and higher string tension. ..a reasonable quality solid body electric guitar does not always need to be plugged into an amplifier for playing; even played unplugged, they produce enough volume for private playing practice. this is very useful later at night when evenan acoustic guitar would be too loud and disturbing. Playing solid body guitars unplugged is also a great way for developing strong playing technique. Anyway, most small practice amplifiers are fitted with headphone sockets so players can confine the noise to their ears only [obviously, at sensible health and safety headphone volume levels]. and rock'n'roll on to their hearts content without bothering family or neighbours. ..Not all electric guitars are solid bodys. Here is where many can get confused between 'semi-acoustic' and 'electro acoustic' guitars. As described above by various contributers, 'electro acoustics' are basicly acoustic guitars fitted with a sound pick up system which can be plugged into an amplifier when louder volume is required in public.. In most cases the pickup is an internal 'piezo' pickup. they are intended to generate as closely as possible a louder simulation of the natural acoustic guitar sound. they were never intended to produce the raw powerful distorted sound associated with ROCK, piezo pickups played through distorted rock amps are virtually guaranteed to sound thin, weedy, and crap and a more like fingernails scraping blackboards; Electric guitars have 'magnetic pickups'[more on these in a moment]. 'semi-acoustic' guitars [eg, think of the big old 50's rock'n'roll guitars] are basically hollow electric guitars. they can be played unplugged, and produce a louder acoustic sound than unplugged solid bodys, but not as loud or full toned as 'real' acoustic guitars. these, like solid body electric guitars, have 'magnetic' pickups under the strings. these magnetic pickups are designed to be played through amplifiers to produce the charicteristic rock sound that you believe is what your husband wants. so i hope this helps you just a little bit.. |
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22 Jan 05 - 08:20 PM (#1385595) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST,Fieldvole Yeah, I'm with Bee-dubya-ell, Cluin and Willie-o all the way on this one, I have an acoustic, an acoustic with pickup and an electric. No prizes for guessing which gets played the least (very, very rarely). The electric is far too unforgiving! Every little fluffed note, every little touch on the fretboard is there, you have to be GOOD to sound good, you can't get away with anything! With the acoustic I can sound reasonably good (sometimes), and although it obviously doesn't sound the same, you can get away with playing along with some of the rock stuff. If I had bought an electric before I bought the acoustics I would not be playing, and enjoying my music now! I would have given up a long time ago, feeling that I would never, ever be able to play it. I won't sell the electric, but I will come back to it later when I feel that I am good enough to make it sound reasonable. Incidentally, it always seems to be much more difficult to associate what your fingers are doing on the fretboard with the sounds coming out of the speaker on the electric, than it does on the acoustic. PLEASE! Get an acoustic first. (You can always trade it for an electric later). Cheers Fieldvole |
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22 Jan 05 - 08:40 PM (#1385602) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker ..and i have 1 acoustic guitar 1 electro acoustic guitar 3 semi acoustic guitars 40+ electric guitars guess which one i can never find when i do feel like playing it.. ?????!!! i bought my wife a surprise mandolin for xmas.. and she was absolutely delighted.. she's only practiced about twice so far, but at least she's cut her fingernails.. which definitely shows some willing and commitment. however, i did base my choice of instrument on what i'd want if she eventually loses interest in it. seriously, i think what you want to do for your husband is brilliant.. and whatever guitar he gets, will a lasting pleasure for him.. But i honestly think its best to let him know you want to buy him one so he can [with our help.???]make the final decision based on his own individual requirements. |
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22 Jan 05 - 08:58 PM (#1385609) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: Bobert I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned but if you wanta spend $200 and you buy a solid body electric, which is dumb anyway for a beginner, you still have to go out and spend anothere $200 for a cheapie amp! Get a cheapie acoustic. He's gonna quit anyways... Hohner has a real nice playin' and soundin' gitfiddle (Model HW-640) for $200 that is used in a lot of schools but there are lots of other cheapies that play okay as well. Good luck... Bobert |
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22 Jan 05 - 09:18 PM (#1385621) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST sorry bobert.. but it has been mentioned.. and you [and others] do seem to be out of touch with the reality of the kind of reasonable quality beginners electric guitar and amp value packages which ARE being sold at a price point of around £200.. Todays guitar market is very different. Beginners are spoided for choice, good, well made playable, instruments have never been cheaper. Dont you guys think the lady came here just to ask for simple constructive practical advice that would help her to buy something that HER HUSBAND might just actually want. |
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22 Jan 05 - 09:20 PM (#1385622) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST "spoided for choice," errrr..?? 'spoiled for choice' |
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22 Jan 05 - 09:44 PM (#1385635) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: Bobert Yo GUEST, Sorry, I got the impression that she wanted to spend $200, which I think of as US. That's like $300 UK, ain'tr it? Heck, I don't know... But fir someone who wants to learn to play guitar---period--- I wouldn't suggest an electric guitar unless all they want to do is amke a bunch of noise and have the neighbors comnplain. Learn to play and acoustic guitar and then, if in the samll cahnce that he likes playing guitar, buy an electric... But, if he can't play then starting out on an electric is like teaching yer kid to drive using an Indi car, thank you... Jus' MO, of course... Peace Bobert |
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22 Jan 05 - 10:03 PM (#1385646) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST actually I did mean to type $200.. check the link in one of the posts here and search the web.. there are amazing discounts available at the moment.. no doubt the Indonesian disaster might push prices upwards again soon as in the last 3 or 4 years Indonesian factories have been consistently mass manufacturing great quality Fender copies and others, at such low prices, which soon become ludicrously cheap during overstock sales.. |
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22 Jan 05 - 10:15 PM (#1385653) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST and the learn acoustic -> -> -> progress to electric dogma that most of us grew up with in the last 2 generations does require to be tested and challenged.. mostly we were restricted to acoustics because good electric guitars for us were priced way out of reach.. same with amps.. pro and luxury instruments & gear that we had to work hard to earn posess and play. now its almost too easy for far eastern factories to churn out fine electric guitars that are better quality than acoustics at a similar price point.. and the electronic components now required to make modern Chinese made solid state/digital amps are so cheap that companies can give away decent quality low wattage practice amps [with noise isolating headphone sockets] in beginners guitar packages.. sure is a different world to when I 1st learnt to play guitar |
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22 Jan 05 - 11:10 PM (#1385676) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: number 6 The problem with an electric guitar is that it has to be accompanied by an amplifier, so you have to factor that into the equation. No matter how good of an electric axe you have it must be complemented with a half decent amp. I could only suggest going with a tube amp. Tube amps are not cheap. FolkPunkrocker made a good point, starting with an electirc could be easier in that the neck is not as wide and the string/tension is lighter. sIx |
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22 Jan 05 - 11:13 PM (#1385678) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: Bobert Okay, I'll buy that, GUEST, but still recommend the guy try an acoustic first. They are more forgiving and less of a imposition on the wife and neighbors... I have a certain sensitivity to this becuase my first instrument was drums.... Peace Bobert |
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23 Jan 05 - 12:41 AM (#1385713) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST "I could only suggest going with a tube amp. Tube amps are not cheap." .. still so sure..? music technology has made astonishingly fast positive progress in recent 2 or 3 years.. digital and software tube amp emulation is now widely accepted as being so close to sounding like, and mimicing the dynamic playing responsiveness of, classic tube amps and speakers.. that its rapidly winning over more and more older experienced 'tube'-head guitarists to regard it on near equal terms with the 'real thing'.. this technology is becoming so cheap to manufacture that it is now being implemented in lower priced beginners practice and stage amps. as said before, the entry level price for decent quality electric guitar equipment has never been lower. and overstock clearout sale discounts and ebay are a dream come true for any knowledgable guitarists these days. |
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23 Jan 05 - 03:43 PM (#1386321) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: number 6 I've tried out some digi amps on by Gibson 335 .... sorry no comparison to the tubes. But then again (as u said) I'm an old tube head, i'll admit to that proudly. As digi's are progressing on their sound emulation ( I agree to that) these models are still not cheap .... so what I'm saying is be prepared to drop some money on a half decent amp. It's not just the geetar u are going to buy. Like buying any instrument when you are starting out .... don't go for the bottom of the line cheap stuff ... it will only discourage you. sIx |
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30 Jan 05 - 05:45 PM (#1393646) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST Thank you all for your advice. Ya'll have helped alot. Check out this website www.estebanamericanlegacy.com that is the guitar i'm pretty much probably gonna end up getting. What do ya'll think? |
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30 Jan 05 - 06:55 PM (#1393697) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: freightdawg I saw this on tv one day. Description doesn't say much about the construction of the guitar except it has a solid spruce top. My guess is this is pretty much what you are looking for as a beginning guitar - nice enough guitar, enough accessories. I haven't seen the educational material, but if it gets your hubby past the sore fingers stage (they will get sore!!) and into the making music stage then it has served its purpose. The thing is, learn the basics, find out exactly what your husband likes and wants in a guitar, and move on from there. Very few of us are lucky enough to find a "keeper" for our first axe. Usually that occurs two or three down the road. Good luck. Freightdawg. |
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30 Jan 05 - 06:56 PM (#1393699) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: Bobert I think my pudder can't pick up that website... Bobert |
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04 Apr 10 - 03:12 AM (#2879209) Subject: has anyone heard of cortez acoustic guitars 70's From: GUEST also has anyone ever owned a aquarious classical |
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05 Apr 10 - 03:06 AM (#2879807) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST,Guest from sanity Awww....Get rid of him, and find a guy who already plays!...and has his own guitar......build him a studio, where he can practice all night...and you'll get some sleep! Winkin' at ya'! GfS |
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05 Apr 10 - 04:58 AM (#2879847) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: GUEST All this talk of Gibsons and tube amps! This is a present for a maybe beginner! There's nothing wrong with todays cheap electrics - unforgiving you say, well maybe that's a good idea for a beginner, they can hear when they are not fretting a note correctly or a stray finger is hitting the wrong string! I gave my daughter a cheap Yamaha electric and a small marshall 15fx amp - total cost under £200! Yes if you shop around there are plenty of good deals these days. Remember this is somebody who likes rock music, they can have some fun with distortion and effects as well as learning. When you turn the amp to clean sound and low volume there is not much difference from an acoustic. That along with the easier action, the headphone socket and the fun effects puts it way above a cheap crap cation acoustic which can be murder on a begginer's fingers. Who said that you had to learn strumming first? Maybe for a folkie I would have thought for an electric guitar that musical scales were the first thing to learn especially simple pentatonic stuff which can have a rock enthusiast playing simple solos fairly quickly. The when they decide that they want to continue maybe investing in a more expensive acoustic. Point is a cheaper electric WILL be more fun that a cheap acoustic |
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05 Apr 10 - 07:18 AM (#2879892) Subject: RE: Which type of guitar do I buy? From: deepdoc1 Don't forget the used market. Take a guitar player with you and try some used guitars. A good shop can probably put together a nicer package for you with 'gently used' gear...more twang for your buck. |