Question for the guitar players in the forum...

[Polux]

Hi, I just started playing guitar very recently ( a couple of months ago) and I wanna buy an electric guitar; I saw on the Guitar Center website the Epiphone les Paul Special II, saw some videos and heard is a good guitar for begginers; also at a very good price (I'm kinda broke right now ) so i decided to buy it; but then I saw that they also have a LP Special I with P90 pick-ups for a lower price; my question would be, which one should I get?? Is there a big difference between the 2?? I, didn't even know there was a "Special I" model, I thought there was only "Special II"; some friends told me that the P90s are really good pick-ups, and kinda pricey; I can't go to the store I try'em myself cause i don't live in the US and I'll have to ask a friend to bring it over for me, so I need to be sure I'm making the right decition with this.

I'll appreciate any help on the matter.

Thanx in advance!

Polux

 

[jaqua99]

you are new to the instrument, no need to spend a lot of money. If you are literally on a learning curve, learn the instrument first, get the sound later. That's how i was with my guitar.

and my drums. I bought my set for 80 bucks. ****** thing. Got a new snare eventually, a vintage 60s acrolite, and some skins for my drums, been learning on that thing for a year and a half. I got good, have recording music with friends with this kit, and now, a year and a half later, I am finally almost ready to make the financial decision to buy a new set.

Learn the instrument first, don't worry about sound, the les paul special I or II should be fine. and for you, you should simply go with the cheaper option. Do you plan to keep it as a hobby? If you do, spend cheaply, learn the instrment, get good, save up, and buy legitimately nice guitar, and a nice amp.

 

[Corey]

As chance would have it, I own a Gibson Les Paul Special. It doesn't haven P-90s though; it has humbuckers. Either guitar is a good choice. Both are excellent quality. It really comes down to what sound you want. P-90s tend to be hot and more hummy or squealy, similar to a single coil pickup on a Strat (but with more of a rounder sound).

In any case, after price considerations, the versatility of a given guitar should be the first thing you should look into. If you happen to listen to music ranging from Country to Hard Rock, then you'll be wise to choose a guitar that can offer all of those tones in one package. (i.e. A 5 way pickup selector, with one of the selections being humbucking and others being single coil; or a 3 toggle selector humbucking guitar with a push-pull coil tap to switch to single coil; etc)

Also, you REALLY need to make sure that the guitar you choose is solidly built. If it is difficult to have it in tune due to intonation quirks inherent to that guitar, pass on it. Here's a great test that will save you headaches down the line: Tune the guitar. Play this G chord: [Standard tuning, EADGBE (320033)] Then play this E chord: 022100

If one chord sounds perfect, but the other sounds "off" (slightly out of tune), consider looking for another guitar.

 

[Spider-Who?]

Every guitar will have intonation problems at one point or another. It's unavoidable, but that's what routine maintainence is for. And most stores will do a free set up on a new guitar, fixing intonation, action, truss rod, etc.

 

[Corey]

Every guitar will have intonation problems at one point or another. It's unavoidable, but that's what routine maintainence is for. And most stores will do a free set up on a new guitar, fixing intonation, action, truss rod, etc.

Yes, but getting your guitar setup, and having the intonation adjusted, doesn't always fix the specific problem I mentioned. Playing a barred G, for instance, at the 3rd position and then playing it at the high octive and getting both chords to sound the same--that is an easy intonation fix. Not so with the open G- open E dilemma. It's a common pesky problem that implies there are other misalignments other than simple intonation problems.

 

[moviedoors]

you are new to the instrument, no need to spend a lot of money. If you are literally on a learning curve, learn the instrument first, get the sound later.

Yes, yes, and yes. No novice player needs a boutique instrument. Having a $4,000 guitar will not make you play a G any better when you're a n00b. Trying to predict what instrument you'll like when you're better is an exercise in futility as well. You won't know what kind of sound you want until you've developed your ears, and you won't develop your ears until you've played, and played, and played. When it comes to guitar, the physical mechanics of moving your fingers has to happen first. You can't really worry about your ears until you have the basics down of simply grabbing the neck and picking some strings.

I know how eager you are to jump on new stuff, but trust me, just give it until you've played for about a year, and you'll be much more likely to make informed decisions on your purchases. You'll save money and you're more likely to buy an instrument you'll actually want to keep.

If you're a novice and you really want to get another axe, I suggest rondomusic.net. Quality instruments for stellar prices. Don't blow hundreds of dollars just to pay for a brand name.

 

[JamesEubank]

As you are beginner to use guitar. So you should buy a cheap guitar. When it will make you expert, then you should buy a new one that may have expensive.

 

[Dark Raven]

I suppose I could've started my own thread, but I thought I'd bump this one.

What would be the best way for me to go from just strumming chords to playing lead guitar? What should I learn? Scales? And when playing a melodic line, how do I know when to jump from one string to another instead of just going all the way up a single string? Is there a method to that?

I could ask on a music forum, but I've found that on some other music forums people seem very full of themselves and rather touchy for the smallest of things.

 

[Moridin]

I suppose I could've started my own thread, but I thought I'd bump this one.

What would be the best way for me to go from just strumming chords to playing lead guitar? What should I learn? Scales?

I found the best way when I started out was to just learn the lead/solo line in question. Find good tabs for the particular song you want, which leads to...

And when playing a melodic line, how do I know when to jump from one string to another instead of just going all the way up a single string? Is there a method to that?

...Again, finding good tabs will show you when to make those moves (90% of the time anyway).
ultimate-guitar.com is a good one for peer reviewed tabs, so weeding through sh***y tabs is easier.

As well as watching the actual guitarist who wrote the piece in question. Over time you'll develop your ear/an instinct as to how things are played, that'll take you through flawed tabs quicker.

Just an example off the top of my head. Metallica's "The Thing That Should Not Be", in the official tab book it's tuning is Drop D, but anyone who has been playing a little while will recognise the chord shapes they actually use live are Standard shapes, so it's tuning is actually D Standard (on the album at least, live they play it C# Standard).

 

[Dark Raven]

Thanks for the suggestions. There's only one problem. I can't really read tabs. I know how to read notated music on a stave, and I can read guitar chords, but haven't really figured out how to read tabs, so they don't make a lot of sense to me. There must be a method to it though.

I'm guessing a lot of it would be developing muscle memory.

 

[Greens]

Tabs are extremely easy to read.

The low E string is the lowest line, the A string is the first up and you can figure out the rest. The numbers denote the frets.

However, if you already know how to read sheet music I would try to stay away from tabs. They're a great tool, but ultimately they tell you very little about the language of music itself.

As for scales, I would recommend learning all the major and minor scales. It might seem tedious at first, but it's really not that hard and it will help you in the long run. You will find that a solo is not just a random flurry of notes. Most of the time, a guitar player will stay within a scale. If you know the scale, you know which notes sound good together and you can string together (no pun intended) a nice lead line.

I don't know if you've got a history in music, but I would also recommend reading up on how chords are constructed. There are multiple types of chords, but there's a logic to all of them. There are plenty of free music theory lessons online that delve into these things.

 

[Dark Raven]

Thanks. That's helpful. I will try to learn the tabs.

Yes, I do have a history of music so have an idea how chords are constructed. I think I'm pretty good with creating a solo improvisation off the top of my head when it comes to playing on instruments in general. It's just knowing intuitively where to put my fingers when it comes to the guitar, because that's not quite as linear an instrument as something like the piano where every note follows the next on the keyboard. On the guitar it's almost more 3D where you're jumping across strings, so knowing when to go to the next string instead of further down a string is the challenge for me. But I guess if I learned the scales that would probably help there.

To learn the scales though, do you recommend just watching a YouTube video? That way I will know exactly when to jump to the next string instead of going all the way up the fret board on just one string.

 

[Greens]

Sure, you can use YouTube videos. Make sure you're not just relying on diagrams, though. Learn where the notes are on the fretboard.

Your issue about which move to make... it all comes down to what's easy for you. Choose the option that requires no or little effort in terms of hand movement. Observe the fretboard, know how to produce the sound you want efficiently. As for doing these things intuitively... practice practice practice. In time it will become muscle memory.

 

[Dark Raven]

Are there any bass players here?

Is it easy to go from acoustic guitar to bass? I would like to learn both bass guitar as well as lead electric guitar.

And should I just get any decent cheaper model, or are there any particular makes I should either try to get or steer clear away from?

What do people think of this model on Amazon to learn on?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...ue&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

It seems to have decent reviews, and it's in exactly the colour scheme I would want it (for nostalgic reasons). Do they make electric guitars in that colour scheme too?

 

[Mightmitenot]

Make your initial mistakes on some cheapo from a pawn store or Craig's list. The time to get a good one comes after you lern how to maintain it as well as playing it.