I am keen to start learning the guitar again. I did learn it about 30 yrs ago and could play a few chords a do a few Dylan and Young songs but nothing ever advanced. So figuring that it might be a good passtime for me as well as hopefully help me with some strength issues in my gummy left arm.

So would you recommend getting a teacher first and doing several lessons before getting a guitar based on their recommendations or turn up with a guitar recommended as a good first timer unit from the start?

I am mainly interested in nylon acoutics, and would appreciate any particular guitars any experienced people here might recommend. I would prefer to buy something that I can not only learn on but will do me for a while to come. Until my first grammy at least. :P

guitars come right down to what feels best for you. i don't know jack about nylon string accoustics but personally in your situation i would have a couple of lessons to get the feel of it listen to what everyone has to say about different guitars, then go and play what you have learnt on as many of them as you can find. whatever feels the most comfortable and easiest to play on :)

im no guru as i play bass not guitar. but i can recommend get something semi decent to learn on especially since you are getting an acousitc as the cheap one tend to have a really wide neck and can make it hard unless u have excessively long fingers. apart from that there is a few sites around that start from basics that seem good.

www.guitarandbass.com.au has some good lessons and what not

Acoustics are the best to learn on I reckon. Get a not so expensive one and hit google :D

Yeah I'm thinking of picking up a cheap acoustic guitar and giving it a try. I've always wanted to learn to play guitar, and Guitar Hero has given me that last little shove I needed to get into it.

That program slapper linked to looks pretty sweet. I'm seriously considering that.

I would say go out and get an acoustic not a nylon string classical. The necks on the classicals are so big, plus have a pretty s***ty sound IMHO. Fender has a semi on speical for $499 at the moment. Yeah but whatever you do dont get a classical guitar.

As for lessons, go for them and play at least an hour a day. You will pick it up in no time. Another thing to do is play some mp3s, look up the tabs for the song on the net and play along with the mp3...

That is all i can think of at the moment

I got my acoustic for $300 with a guitar bag, strap and little book showing you the chords, as well as a DVd for beginners to learn on
it was great..

it's good if you know someone to give you a helping hand on a few chords, i basically just learnt a few chords and self taught myself from there by reading chords off the internet..
i'm not positive about nylon strings, was there any reason you wanted them in particular..

personally i would have a guitar to take to the person you are going to get lessons off because you're going to want to practice like astroboy said at least an hour a day at home alone
when i first started i played about 4 hours a day it was ridiculous but awesome

Yeah what these guys said; It's easier to start out on decent ($300+ steel string) acoustic. Nylon string guitars sound ever so sweet but are very limiting given the wide neck and massive action, your fingers would be screaming out agony after 2min, oh and bending strings is just lamo.
I learned to play guitar about 15 years ago and just picked it up and played along with various albums of the times working out by ear how it was played, it's a good way to learn as it really improves your ear's pitch recognition...

All you need to do is learn the root chords A,D,G and you can play almost every ACDC song :)

p.s selling electric guitar; Honer les paul style with 100w combo amp + pedals case, cables the lot for $500!!

i'm not positive about nylon strings, was there any reason you wanted them in particular..

I guess its because I did learn on nylon once before, and traditional folk stuff (especially Dylan) sounds awesome on nylon imo. Also I remember that steel strings use to rip the s*** out of my finger tips but then again that may well have been due to the s***ty little guitar I had at the time. :)

thanks all, good points. Any shops recommended like Allens Music ect.?..or someone to stear clear of ect... I guess I would allocate btn 250-450 for a nice guitar. Aren't Ovations suppose to be the bees knees?

cheers

Aren't Ovations suppose to be the bees knees?

If your gay! j/k

I think they work well in conjunction with an amp but I prefer the traditional wooden back. Martin are the beezzz kneez if you can afford it :(
Go for a fender, ibanenz, Segovia, Ephiphone ...anything made in Japan or the US, avoid the chinese junk.

It doesn't really matter whether you learn on nylon or steel strings.

I picked up my Monterey Semi for like $400 and it's great. Nice thin neck so you're not stretching your fingers to play like some of the nylon-classical guitars, and it also has the cut out on the 12th fret so you can reach those few extra strings.

As someone said before, just going around and playing whatever you know on each guitar will probably be your best bet. I'm so used to my guitar I find it awkward for the first few plays to play on anything else.

Fender has a semi on speical for $499 at the moment.

If you are going to buy something to practice on, don't spend $500 on a Fender. I'm about to go out but when I come home I'll write more.

Nylons are generally easier to learn on but like it was mentioned they do have a very wide neck, but not much wider than some steel stringed guitars.

would allocate btn 250-450 for a nice guitar

I would go for the bottom end of that. You're going to get the same quality guitar for that entire price range, and then a MUCH better guitar from 600 - 1200. I reckon if you are just learning you should go something second hand, either nylon or steel string (pretty sure Dylan played steel string, as did Young). When you get a little better and obsessed, then fork out the proper cash for soemthing really good in the mid-range, like Maton.

Pretty much all the brands here aren't that great in the whole scheme of guitars (except Martin, but even then you need to spend big bucks to get something decent) and like I said, when you are looking at only spending a couple of hundred, you don't get much variation in quality.

I'll be back later!@!

Why doesn't anyone ever have any bass questions? :(

bass sux :P
jk

psycho i'm pretty sure you live on the northside but i've had good experiences with the music store at aspley hypermarket(sorry the name escapes me but the hypermarket is only small) that's where i bought my guitar from it's a tanglewood VERRRRRY nice guitar in my opinion plays well and looks slick too

they were really helpful when i first went to get my guitar and when i went back with a mate to ask about fixing his guitar they were awesome and helpful too, talking to us about the different types and what was worth fixing, even saying it might be better going to this other guy if my mate wanted his guitar fixed cos it would be cheaper, which shows they're genuine imo.

it depends how into it you're thinking of getting, now i'm looking at getting a semi, played the one you bought kharak, today at uni found them quite nice but i probably wouldn't buy it as a semi, just didn't seem too be too be any better then my tanglewood except that it was a semi.

hardballs got a maton(i believe) and i love playing on that, very smooth and definately what i would probably upgrade too soon if i'm to get a semi..

check out aspley hypermarket if you can psycho, but most music stores have those little deals where you get a bag and a little chord brochure or what not. :)

here's mine i think, very similar if it isn't
http://www.tanglewoodguitars.co.uk/_documents/photos/Acoustic/Nashville/TD8ST-MED.jpg

High spec dreadnought acoustic guitar

Solid Spruce top

Mahogany back and sides

Multiple bound body

Slim fast action neck

Die-cast machine heads

Compensating saddle

i agree with hardball on getting something on the cheaper side of things, no use in wasting the extra money and you won't notice a difference in quality until you start getting more of an ear for things.


good luck and make sure you post up what you got when you get it.. :)

Psycho my advice is definitely get lessons, but also have some fun trying to play along with music you like once you've been a good boy and done your guitar homework

As for guitars, if you like nylon strings then go for it. I'd go buy a cheapy so your outlay is minimal if it turns out it's not for you, but mainly because you better appreciate the difference between cheapys and nice guitars after you've had the cheapy a while and finally buy a nice one.

Here's a pic of the nylon string I have, it's a cheaty electric one:

clik heer

and you can get nylon strings with narrow necks, they're not all broad like classicals

What kind of price range would I be looking at for a cheapy acoustic guitar? I don't care what kinda strings it has or if it sounds like ass, I'm just after something to practice on. Also, what's the cheapest you can pick up an electric+amp for?

about $90 or so for a cheapy nylon string accoustic, maybe a little more for a steel string

I haven't looked lately but I've seen electric+amp starter packs for around $150 plenty of times before

little bit dearer than I said, but here's some cheapy starter packs (click through to page 2, has a couple for $211):
http://www.allansmusic.com.au/default.aspx?pg=20&SubDepartment=Electric+Guitar&category=Value+Packs&categoryID=8

pretty sure you would find one somewhere for about $150 though

steel string cheapys:
http://www.allansmusic.com.au/default.aspx?pg=20&SubDepartment=Steel+String+Acoustic&category=Value+Packs&categoryID=198

and nylon!
http://www.allansmusic.com.au/default.aspx?pg=20&SubDepartment=Nylon+String+Classical&category=Value+Packs&categoryID=34

Looks pretty good. I was planning on getting an acoustic to learn/practice on, then take my time finding an electric setup at a good price. I could probably wait around a while to find a deal at $150 or so.

Jim that Gibson nylon you posted is beautiful to my eyes, I love the cut away thing they do with some designs. Yes Dylan and young did eventually go steel and electric but if you listen to the real early Dylan , when he was doing his Woodie Guthrie stuff, its mesmerrising to me at least, and the nylon sound just added to it I guess...but I am a old Dylan freak from way back so expect me to be a bit crazy. I saw him play live at Festival hall once and can remember it because none of my friends would come with me, they were into 80's stuff so bad at the time...but he and the band with him on the night were fantastic. He had two negro girls with him, one doing percussion and one on violin and man when they fired up 'Hurricane' the place went nuts.

Ok, thanks for the info guys. I know of a guitar teacher at Kenmore and there is supposed to be a guy locally at Bellbowrie so I might check them out. I think concentrating on this will help me relax a bit and help me cope with the pain issues I am still suffering at the mo..you know the power of music thang.

:P

Ah, sorry Psycho! but I need to hyjack your thread one last time. Does anybody know of a good guitar teachers in teh Sunnybank area? Basically anything you can get to on a bus or train between Sunnybank and the City would be of interest to me.

How much is reasonable for a guitar lesson? A friend of mine gets taught by a guy who can play any Joe Satriani song, and it costs him $20 an hour. That seems like an extremely sweet deal to me :/

hyjack away dude..its all good info anyways.

:)

I am liking the looks of this little package.

http://www.allansmusic.com.au/default.aspx?Pg=21&ProductCode=V50MJPBK


anyone care to comment on the ibanez package above for a beginner?

*of course I'd have to go for the black one to fit my goth image. heheheh

I have owned a nylon string, two steel-string acoustics and an electric, and even though I've been playing a relatively short period of time (about two years), I feel I've some valuable knowledge about guitars to impart. Take from it what you will.

If you are starting to play guitar, no matter what style you intend on playing, I recommend your first guitar be a solid-top steel-string acoustic (as has already been mentioned here). Steel string acoustics are arguably the most common type of guitar, and therefore have the greatest history of experience and songwriting to draw upon.

How to choose your first acoustic guitar:

1. SOLID-TOP: the top in question is the thin front piece of wood on a guitar body. a solid top is made from one piece of wood that has been split down the middle into two pieces then 'bookmatched' together (most commonly spruce, but other woods such as mahogany, maple and cedar are used). Solid tops differ to laminate tops in that laminate tops are made from several pieces of wood cut and laminated together.
A guitar with a solid top:
a. sounds better
b. is much stronger and resists warping and other such problems commonly associated with laminate tops
c. gets better with age

Consequently, a solid-top guitar costs more than most laminate tops, but the trade offs pay for themselves. Laminate tops warp and cause all manner of problems. They are the kind of bash-around guitar that you will only have for a couple of years before you want to replace it. A reasonable solid-top guitar will last you for the rest of your life, and sound better as it ages and the wood "loosens up".

2. SEALED/CLOSED MACHINE HEADS: machine heads (or tuning pegs) are the windy things at the top of a guitar neck that the strings wind around, and their job is to keep the strings at their specific tensions to produce the correct note. The alternative to sealed machine heads is "covered" machine heads. These are the cheaper option and will make the strings come out of tune much quicker than sealed ones. They will also be less accurate and sensitive when tuning. Most solid top acoustics should have sealed machine heads as standard but there are exceptions. I once owned a laminate-top Washburn that came with some nice sealed Grover tuning heads. Too bad it was a laminate top.

covered machine head
http://www.guitarworlduk.com/shop/images/235.jpg

sealed machine head
http://www.guitarworlduk.com/shop/images/359.jpg

3. SOME REPUTABLE BRANDS

$250-$1000
Cort
Fender
Ibanez
Yamaha

$800-$2000
Maton (great Aussie brand)
Martin (classic American brand)
Takamine (nice Japanese brand)

>$2000
Maton
Martin
Gibson (classic American)
Cole Clark (beautiful Australian guitars)


As with most things, you get what you pay for in a guitar.

I have dealt with, and personally recommend these two shops:

The Guitar Shop
40 Latrobe Terrace
Paddington, 4064
07 3369 9530

Guitar Centre Brisbane
922 Stanley Street
East Brisbane, 4169
07 3392 3821


After all that, my main recommendation to you is to pick yourself up a Cort. They are the best value-for-money solid top acoustic guitars that I have seen in Australia. My mate has owned one for years and gigs with it every week. I bought my dad one for his birthday last year. Guitar Centre at East Brisbane/Woolloongabba are the main dealer for them here. You should be able to negotiate a package deal with digital tuner, gig bag etc with the guys there no worries.

good luck!

Tribal, found htis in the online yellow pages.

Vivo College Of Music
Music - A Gift For A Lifetime

Category: Music Teachers
Address

Suite 106, 240 McCullough St
Sunnybank
QLD, 4109
Australia

Contact Details

Ph:
(07) 3344 1501

Fax:
(07) 3344 1535

Mobile:
0404 472 358

They list guitar and other instruments and such and hours seem to be 2pm to 8pm everyday.

p.s.
the ibanez package you posted is ok, but the guitar included is a laminate top (with, i would assume, covered machine heads).

For about $50 more retail you can pick up a nice solid-top Cort with sealed machine heads.

thanks Cam for the info...am checking out others mentioned right now.

cheers

ps.. is this the Cort pak you were referring to?




last edited by Psycho! at 00:11:03 08/Sep/06

Nylons are for classical.

Grab a relatively decent steel string to learn on.

Lessons all depend on the teacher.

That's my input.

nope Psycho, I wasn't referring to any particular package, but that looks like a decent one :)

Awesome info there Cam.

Good find with the music school Psycho!, it's just around the corner from me. I'll go around next week and have a look. The windows are covered in pics of classical instruments like flutes and pianos and stuff, I didn't consider that they may do guitar lessons ><.

hurricane is such an awesome song


nylons might be commonly used for classical, but it's definitely not 'what they are for' by a longshot. even aside from latin music, they're used for whatever anyone in the world wants to use them for - be imaginative :D

My top 5 songs I wanna play on guitar (in no particular order):

Led Zeplin - Stairway to heaven
Boston - More than a feeling
David Bowie - Andy Warhol
Theory of a dead man - Hello lonely (how could you walk away from this)
Staind - Run away

I don't know why, but these songs just sound really fun to play to my n00b ears.

Stairway to Heaven is one of those newb songs anyone can play (apparently).

There are a bazillion songs I'd love to be able to play well on a guitar...but I reckon 'Wish you were here' by Pink Floyd would pop my cherry as a starter...god I love that song.

heh yeah a lot of beginners learn the intro to stairway to heaven, not many learn the rest of the song

wish you were here is a great song and really simple

hehe anyone remember that scene out of, I think it was the first Wayne's World , where they go into the guitar shop and there is this big arse sign saying, 'NO Stairway to Heaven playing!" one of them starts the intro and about three shop assistants rush over to stop him...i guess they must here that a lot.

:)

haha that cracked me up

yeah that and f***ing smoke on the water in E. its in f***ing G c***s. oh yeah and 'Peter Gunn'

my first song was hootie and the blowfish -let her cry
i played the s*** out of it and now i virtually never play it

that cort package looks pretty good psycho

that cort package looks pretty good psycho

sure does, just got back from picking one up! Very nicely made indeed.

haha I like it
instant gratification, a man after my own heart

psycho I recommend using guitar pro, it will make everything easier
http://www.guitar-pro.com/en/index.php

i just played a semi acoustic cort today at the music shop for $499 and i was pretty f***ing impressed i got to admit

That's because you haven't played a real guitar.

Mav, well this one I got is very very nice indeed. I almost have the bleeding fingers already. :) I but must admit this does have a nice tone and action ect...I am more than happy. The little electric tuner impressed me immensley, when I use dto learn the guitar all those years ago I remember having a tuning fork to start the tune. This thing is very accurate and so simple. I am looking up the teacher next week ect..but even from memory I have done a bit of Heart of Gold already and my kids reckon I am good..but hey they are tone deaf and love their dad.

:) hehe looking forward to this. The pain in my fingers brings back a lot of memories.

^ Hahaha - when I started playing guitar (which didn't last long), one of my first songs was 'Heart of Gold' too...

yeah pains now musics forever:P

i played yours hardball? yours isn't real? ;)

you need some lubricant lolololol


Finger ease really helps out :)

sif be soft skyhawk...

go psycho!
its nice to hear you're excited about getting back into it.

I've never used finger-ease, so i can't really give an opinion.

However i am in possession of this "tres limonas lemon wood cleaner" stuff and "Dr Stringfellow Lem-oil" - the first for cleaning the fretboard and second for conditioning it. Both are roughly $12-13 each, but will last you ages. Have a chat to the guys in the store to see what they recommend, but i personally think the first one is a must for taking care of your fretboard. It will make your strings last longer too.

i seriously would not be bothered with that on a $300 guitar

ok so where are the good online sites to get some sheet music tabs and stuff...i have found quite a few of the US sites in hold mode pending some type of copyright wrangle happening?? I like the sites that show you the chord positions on the sheets music as well. any help appreciated.... :P

i use www.ultimate-guitar.com