Starting with a new guitar

smokey32

Hi all. After years of wanting to learn the guitar i have finally decided to go ahead and buy one. I dont have mad money to spend but i seen a starter acoustic pack on the waltons website. it is a SX DG150K ACOUSTIC GUITAR KIT and it cost 89 euro. There is also a similer pack for 119 euro. Just wondering if anyone had info on these packs and would they do the job for a complete novice just starting out. Just a bit worried about wasting money and buying the wrong guitar. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a million.
Smokey.

martinedwards

don't buy a E89 guitar!!!

think about it. 89..... whats the VAT rate? 23%?

so of the 89, 72 goes to the shop.

at least 22 of that will be the shop's cut......

leaving 50 to cover materials, transport and labour for the poor sod in a chinese sweat shop who had to make it.

get into the local pawn shop and spent the same money on a used guitar.

you'll get a much better sounding, and much more playable instrument.

even better is to get a friend who knows guitars to come with you.

Pdfile

martinedwards wrote: »

don't buy a E89 guitar!!!

think about it. 89..... whats the VAT rate? 23%?

so of the 89, 72 goes to the shop.

at least 22 of that will be the shop's cut......

leaving 50 to cover materials, transport and labour for the poor sod in a chinese sweat shop who had to make it.

get into the local pawn shop and spent the same money on a used guitar.

you'll get a much better sounding, and much more playable instrument.

even better is to get a friend who knows guitars to come with you.

as far as a cheap guitar goes, my last purchase was 15 euros from a charity shop, its a classical spanish guitar with heavy metal strings on it...


cost does not matter Really when starting out on guitar, 90% of them get chucked under the bed after a few weeks never to see the light of day again anyways so dont blow you're piggy bank on something decent if its not gonna get the time it deserves...


as for SX the brand, get the best you can buy, i have an SX strat and ill take it any day over a similar squire or yamaha, not because its better or worse but its unique fret buzz Extremely low output pickups and bending neck add to the whole package...


to add to the last paragraph; the best reason to buy cheap is that if it breaks gets damaged or anything of the sort... its no biggie, dime a dosen guitars are a god send for the learner... if you have the bank for a great guitar and have the dedication; go for it if not... buy the best cheap SX you can.

martinedwards

may I respectfully disagree?

buy a piece of poo and you will NEVER learn.

buy a used decent guitar and you are much more likely to stick at it.

if you don't, then you can sell the used guitar for the same price and so not loose out.

sell a used SX?

pennies.

if you're lucky

magnavox

I'm in the exact situation as smokey here and am thinking of buying a second hand Yamaha F310 for around the 80-100 euro mark. Would this be a good guitar for us new beginners?

Malice

I agree with martinedwards. I'd be taking the €90, staying in for a couple of weekend nights and aiming for a budget of €150ish at least.

smokey32

magnavox wrote: »

I'm in the exact situation as smokey here and am thinking of buying a second hand Yamaha F310 for around the 80-100 euro mark. Would this be a good guitar for us new beginners?

Hi. I ended up buying a Fender Acoustic (150 euro) from Goodwins music store on capel street last Friday and have to say im delighted. Ill be honest its pretty tough the first few days but been puttin in an hours practice each evening and im suprised how easier its getting. Your left hand does really ache but thats beginning to ease aswell. I can understand why people quit trying to learn at the start cause it can be very frustrating but if you stick with it you begin to notice little things that you can now do and you notice yourself improving and that spurs you on to keep going. Best of luck with your guitar Magnavox!
Smokey.

Monsieur Folie

Pdfile wrote: »

as far as a cheap guitar goes, my last purchase was 15 euros from a charity shop, its a classical spanish guitar with heavy metal strings on it...


cost does not matter Really when starting out on guitar, 90% of them get chucked under the bed after a few weeks never to see the light of day again anyways so dont blow you're piggy bank on something decent if its not gonna get the time it deserves...


as for SX the brand, get the best you can buy, i have an SX strat and ill take it any day over a similar squire or yamaha, not because its better or worse but its unique fret buzz Extremely low output pickups and bending neck add to the whole package...


to add to the last paragraph; the best reason to buy cheap is that if it breaks gets damaged or anything of the sort... its no biggie, dime a dosen guitars are a god send for the learner... if you have the bank for a great guitar and have the dedication; go for it if not... buy the best cheap SX you can.

I completely disagree. The cheaper ones are much more likely to get chucked under the bed in the first place for a number of reasons. They are much more likely to be a badly made instrument, making it more difficult to play and frustrating new players. Also, the fact that the investment is much smaller might lead a new player to become disheartened and, instead of persevering and getting over the first few hurdles, they might just say feck it and put the guitar to one side.

Nobody is suggesting breaking the bank on your first guitar, but you'd definitely want to be in the 100-200 range for a decent beginners instrument.

To the OP, make sure you make a well informed choice. Don't pick your instrument solely on the price, make sure you do your research and/or take along somebody who knows what they're talking about to make sure you get yourself a decent instrument and a good deal!

smokey32

Monsieur Folie wrote: »

I completely disagree. The cheaper ones are much more likely to get chucked under the bed in the first place for a number of reasons. They are much more likely to be a badly made instrument, making it more difficult to play and frustrating new players. Also, the fact that the investment is much smaller might lead a new player to become disheartened and, instead of persevering and getting over the first few hurdles, they might just say feck it and put the guitar to one side.

Nobody is suggesting breaking the bank on your first guitar, but you'd definitely want to be in the 100-200 range for a decent beginners instrument.

To the OP, make sure you make a well informed choice. Don't pick your instrument solely on the price, make sure you do your research and/or take along somebody who knows what they're talking about to make sure you get yourself a decent instrument and a good deal!

Yeah completely happy with my choice. Bought a Fender acoustic for 150 euro and happy with it. Making slow but steady progress.

Monsieur Folie

smokey32 wrote: »

Yeah completely happy with my choice. Bought a Fender acoustic for 150 euro and happy with it. Making slow but steady progress.

Good choice!

Good luck with it, the guitar is so much fun to play once you get all the basics down!