Good beginner guitar

PinZip

Hi guys

I've decided to take up electric guitar but I have no idea which one to get, I hear good things about the Yamaha Pacifica but to the best of my knowledge only one shop in Dublin actually sells them. I was wondering if you could recommend a good beginner guitar and a place to buy one. I've been checking out the shops mentioned in the sticky but there is a lot of choice for someone who knows nothing about what he is buying .

I was looking at a bundle from Waltons but I have seen some negative posts about them. I have also checked out thomann but again, lots of guitars for varying prices but no real clue as to which one is good value for money. Can anyone make any suggestions? If possible I would like to buy from a local shop (somewhere in Dublin) for my first guitar but I'll get one online if there is a huge difference. Need pretty much everything, guitar, amp, stand, etc etc

Cheers
Eoin

Blackhorse Slim

TBH, the walton's deal looks fine. The Sx is a decent beginner's guitar and very cheap, the amp isn't up to much but it's enough to get you started. Although I wouldn't buy the package unless they let you play the actual guitar you're getting. There can be quite a variation in how they feel, and you want to get one that feels right to you. Best advice is to go to the shops and try as many different guitars as you can, and if possible bring someone along who can spot whether the guitar is set up properly - that the action, frets, intonation etc. are all ok.

I would say buy a cheap guitar, and in six to twelve months time you might have a better idea of the kind of guitar you want, and be in a position to move on to something better.

Ger the man

What is your budget and style of music?

Karl Hungus

Pacifica's are good guitars for beginners.

You could buy this bundle, which includes a lot of little extras you'll need, and buy a Microcube sperately.

Mr. Incognito

buying an electric straight out is a bad idea as in 6 months time all that expensive equipment may be gathering dust in the back room. Buy a cheapish acoustic with a half decent action. (strngs close to the fretboard all the way up) and practice practice practice. The first 6 months are frustrating. After that you'll know what to look out for.

PinZip

Budget is around 200-300 euro, my music tastes are fairly wide but I would like to play most types of rock.

Ger the man

Check out the sound shop in Drogheda. Cheaper than Waltons too, www.soundshop.ie

Voodu Child

+1 for the Yamaha Pacifica 112 & Roland Microcube.

The pacifica is a great beginners guitar, well put together and versatile. I'd take it over plenty of guitars costing twice as much.

(Any advice along the lines of 'It's better to start on acoustic' is silly. If you want to play electric guitar, buy an electric guitar.)

Johnny Storm

SetantaL wrote:

buying an electric straight out is a bad idea as in 6 months time all that expensive equipment may be gathering dust in the back room. Buy a cheapish acoustic with a half decent action. (strngs close to the fretboard all the way up) and practice practice practice. The first 6 months are frustrating. After that you'll know what to look out for.

That might work for you, bro.
FWIW I started playing the guitar around about 1974 and I have never owned an acoustic. On the other hand I am still sh1te.:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

adox

I only started playing 6 or 7 months ago and got this guitar(my first) as a present.

I`m still a novice so cant really recommend it with any sort of authority but for me it plays great.:)

Gandorf

There's a Pacifica 112 going on adverts.ie at the moment...

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=25626&cat=16

<plug>
I'm also selling a lovely Ibanez Artcore semi-acoustic if it tickles your fancy: http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=25663&cat=16
</plug>

It's a bit dearer than you want since you'd need to buy an amp, so +1 for the 112 & microcube combo.

Fingers Mcginty

Pacificas are excellent. And not just for beginners either.

Karl Hungus

voodoo_child wrote:

(Any advice along the lines of 'It's better to start on acoustic' is silly. If you want to play electric guitar, buy an electric guitar.)

Absolutely agreed 100% here. The whole idea of starting on an acoustic being better is not only a myth, but it's completely counter-productive to someone who wants to learn in order to play electric. The sheer amount of people I know who've got an old beginner acoustic stuffed away in a closet, because it was really electric they wanted to play is phenominal.

If you want to learn to play acoustic, buy an acoustic. If you want to learn electric, buy an electric. Anyone else telling you different is flat-out wrong.

If you want to play electric and end up buying an acoustic, that is one sure-fire way to completely kill any enthusiasm you had for learning the instrument in the first place.

Voodu Child

Karl Hungus wrote:

Absolutely agreed 100% here. The whole idea of starting on an acoustic being better is not only a myth, but it's completely counter-productive to someone who wants to learn in order to play electric.

Yeah, exactly. I havent a clue where this myth comes from, or what the logic is behind it.

If i'd been listening to loads of rock music, and figured 'i'd love to give that a bash.., the last thing i'd want is an acoustic guitar. And vice versa.

Let's hope this myth dies once and for all, i've heard it said too many times..

irish_boy90

yup i was advised to buy one first to build up my strenght on it....
I would get an accoustic if i can play this right on it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHcTj3YtjKA

BostonB

Yeah buy an electric if that what you want.

There is a Yamaha shop in Dublin on Aungier St. But they only have about 8 guitars and I wouldn't bother going there its not much of a shop.

Go with someone who knows a good guitar, and buy the one you want, the one your hero/favorite band plays etc. Or at least a copy of it. Or just the one that grabs you! Have some fun for petes sake!

-=al=-

its nto a great shop, not really so muchorientated


yamaha and microcube very decent starter off kit

i started off on acoustic even though i didnt listen to that much acousticy stuff, but glad i started off that way helped, i moved onto electric and used gauge 11's for a while then went back to 10's... and now 9's >.<

PinZip

ok, hearing a lot of support for the Pacifica, the only question is: is it worth the extra 200 euro over the Walton's bundle?

Gary ITR

PinZip wrote:

ok, hearing a lot of support for the Pacifica, the only question is: is it worth the extra 200 euro over the Walton's bundle?

Yes.. With the sx you'll want something better as soon as you start getting better, with the pacifica you won't. It may not be the coolest name around (Cos everybody knows Ibanez are the coolest:D) But it's a good honest well built guitar that will last as long as you want it to

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

voodoo_child wrote:

(Any advice along the lines of 'It's better to start on acoustic' is silly. If you want to play electric guitar, buy an electric guitar.)

i wouldnt say its silly. i got an acustic first, because i knew i would be constantly messing with the electric if i got it first (e.g. playing smoke on the water and seven nation army over and over again!) when i eventualy got the electric, i knew a lot of chords, a few scales and power chords. also playing an acustic will build up more strength in your fretting hand.

Don1

I got started on acoustic first. Thankfully it was my brother's and not mine. I was getting nowhere fast just playing the aforementioned Smoke On The Water and stuff and pi**ing myself off at how rubbish it sounded. If I'd wasted my hard earned on the acoustic I'd probably have given up. But instead I bought a Squire Strat and the rest is history.

Fully recommend the Pacifica and Cube combo. Best entry level guitar that not a lot of money can buy and as said before it will last as long as you want it.

If you are very disciplined and will spend the first few months learning scales chords and theory (pain in the ass and not worth it imo, just grab the basics and learn the rest as part of your practicing) then the acoustic is the way to go, but as with most people this won't happen.

Electric ftw!!! :D

Karl Hungus

Blaze Prehistoric Chrome wrote:

also playing an acustic will build up more strength in your fretting hand.

Your muscles adapt to the amount of strain that's put on them. Think about it. You work out, your muscles increase. If you're confined to a bed, for example, you get atrophy. It's the same with muscles in your hands.

Saying that playing acoustic will build up more strength is like telling a weightlifter that if he starts lifting 50lb wieghts, that the 25lb weights will be easier in future. It's just fundamentally stupid advice.

The fact is, to play at 200bpm, you have to keep in practice, ergo excersizing the muscles in your fingers, and if you don't keep that practice up, you lose the ability to play at that speed. It's the same principle with playing acoustic, your muscles build up the required strength for that task, and you lose that strength if you don't keep practicing it. So it makes absolutely no physical sense to begin on acoustic if you want to learn electric, because as soon as you start playing the electric, you will loose some of the strength required for the heavier acoustic strings.

There is no benifit to starting on an acoustic, if you want to play electric. It's a myth. Stop spreading it.

Johnny Storm

Karl Hungus wrote:

There is no benifit to starting on an acoustic, if you want to play electric. It's a myth. Stop spreading it.

I agree but surely it's an opinion, Karl?

Doctor J

irish_boy90 wrote:

yup i was advised to buy one first to build up my strenght on it....

The reason people say that is because acoustics are usually strung with heavier strings, meaning more tension and harder to manipulate. Of course, you can also put equally heavy strings on an electric guitar, so there's another myth busted

It's like saying you should learn how to drive in an old car with a **** clutch, clunky gearbox and no power steering so you can build up your strength.

Don't buy an acoustic if you want to play music based around electric guitars. You can learn chords, strum patterns and all the rest of the crap on an electric guitar, you can even put big, heavy strings on it. You could even higher the action so it's really, really hard to play and develop foreams like Popeye should so so desire, which you can't do on an acoustic

Voodu Child

The point has been made already. If you want to learn to play electric guitar, buy an electric guitar. Any other advice is wrong IMO.

PinZip

Thanks for the advice folks - gonna order the pacifica and microcube

Dord

This thread confuses me...

Creamy Goodness

PinZip wrote:

Thanks for the advice folks - gonna order the pacifica and microcube

if only every beginner was as wise as you, you've made an excellent choice. even some of the most advanced players i know, have a microcube. for the size and the price of it, there's no better amp.