Guitar Questions

[Spicy Jack]

I'm know nothing about guitars or playing them other than I would like one. If anyone had any tips or suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated.

One problem is that I am left-handed and therefore being ripped off. Left-handed guitars are at least $50 to $100 more. Bummer. And I don't know anyone that I could borrow one from.

Anyhow, I'm looking at an Epiphone AJ-200L for $220. I just want to learn how to play in general - the basics.

Help!

[lapietra]

My recommendation is that you make a trip up to McCabe's in Santa Monica. They have a huge selection of guitars, and the people that work there are extremely knowledgable. You might want to call them first to get pricing - here's their website:


McCabe's

Don't go to a place like Guitar Center - it's a little like going to Circuit City...

[Coffee]

I hate guitars...ok...no...I hate playing guitars. Chords baffle me.
Linear instruments, like flute and Saxophone please for me.

However.
Jimmy Hendrix was left handed and played a right handed guitar upside down...he was wierd though...but in a good way.

I'm not sure...but why can't you just string a guitar with the strings in reverse order? Possibly the little notches the skinny strings usually ride in might need a touch of filing to get the bigger strings to fit...so...get further advice before destroying a guitar....but I seriously doubt that the guitar itself cares which order the strings are in. You might have to unscrew the sting adjusters and relocate them if the string holes in those thingys are "string gauge specific"...Ok...I'm wierd too...but in a good "do it yourself" kind of way I hope.

Check your local pawn shop for a used guitar...if you are just starting...it would get you to the learning how to point...you could restring the pawned guitar with some nice quality strings if necc (probably would be necc).

good luck spicyJ.

[dinzdale]

I think you're puting the cart before the horse Spicy J.

First get a really cool band name..."Sex Cheese"..or something, and print flyers and have billboards made of you and a few other ex-dancers wearing next to nothing draped all over a huge stack of amplifiers. Remember to hold a microphone just barely millimeters from the tip of your tongue.
Next, get some session musicians to cut a few heavy songs and hike on down to Rolling Stone magazine. Remember to show up completely ripped to the tits on speed and coke. Tell them about your upcoming album "Shag City Rockers" and hand out backstage passes. They're all fat and old and will do anything for free food and beer.
Rent out a building with a flat roof, preferably opposite a computer company (more nerdy guys), and mime to your CD played at full volume through the huge stack of amps. Do it during lunchtime (stoned on amphetamines and vodka) and invite Pat Robertson or similar to denounce it as evil. Call Channel 11 and Fox News to say there's a riot between the Televangelists and the Nerds. Spray mace on the mob. When the cops come, get dragged away live on t.v making sure your wardrobe malfunctions, releasing one or more of your puppies.


Learn to play the guitar in your penthouse when you have a lot of time to kill....say after the first platinum album.

[Spicy Jack]

FINALLY, some decent advice!

Thanks guys!

I'll check it out.

-So, Dinz, you wanna be our manager? "Sex Cheese", just makes you wanna buy the album now!

[dinzdale]

Sex and Drugs and a Cheese Roll......we're going all the way baby!!!

[catbelly]

Besides Dinz's superb advice, which is a given for all guitar player / sex gods, I would consider renting. I don't know if LaLa's store offers that option, but I think it's a good one. That way, you can try out a good quality guitar without breaking the bank (i.e. avoid the "is that icky buzz my technique, or the crappy guitar). Also many stores have a lease-to-own option, where all or part of the lease cost goes towards purchase.

Go with someone who plays the guitar, and don't be afraid to try out a whole bunch before you decide! They're not all the same, bigger/smaller, cutaway/no cutaway - some styles will be more comfortable for your body type.

Have fun!

[Willow Sylph]

Spicy -
I'm left handed and have been learning to play the gee-tar. It's kinda like anything else you're first learning. If you've never done it in the first place, playing right handed is no more awkward than playing left handed. And actually, since your left hand is your stronger and dominant hand, IMO, playing the chords with my left hand and strumming with my right actually works out better because the chords are harder to maneuver and learn than the strumming and picking.
I agree with Lala - definately don't go to a chain music shop. I have had much better luck with small mom and pop shops. Specifically because it's been my experience that the folks who own these little shops are very passionate about their instruments (uh huh, uh huh - I said "passionate about their instruments") and have probably been playing for years and know everything there is to know about guitars as opposed to the hip little high school kid working in Guitar Center who wants to be a rock star so he can bag all the hot babes. (of course, in all fairness to zit-faced, goofy little high school boys, I'm only joking )
That's my two cents.

[Willow Sylph]

Eeks! One more bit of advice. There is no need to break the bank when you buy yourself a guitar. I have a very expensive one that an ex boyfriend gave to me as a gift and it's a steel string. When I was taking a guitar class a couple of semesters ago, my teacher recommended buying a cheapy classical guitar to learn off of. The main reason being, the strings are nylon instead of steel. While you supposedly have to tune your nylon strings more often than your steel (although make no mistake, you'd need to tune your steel strings often, too) the nylon strings are so much easier on your finger tips. Your finger tips are going to be sore in the beginning but will eventually build up callouses, but doing it in the beginning with nylon is easier and, IMO, it's easier to learn the chords (and some of them are hard to maneuver) on something lighter like nylon. I've had a really hard time building up the strength and coordination to hold some of my chords properly with hard steel strings. Okay, that's all.

[dinzdale]

...and dont forget to be cranked up on meth when you do.

[Willow Sylph]

"although I do not condone the use of drugs" that would make for some serious practice time!

[Spicy Jack]

"Practice" at Dinz's house!

[sparticle]

Originally posted by dinzdale
I think you're puting the cart before the horse Spicy J.

First get a really cool band name..."Sex Cheese"..or something, and print flyers and have billboards made of you and a few other ex-dancers wearing next to nothing draped all over a huge stack of amplifiers. Remember to hold a microphone just barely millimeters from the tip of your tongue.
Next, get some session musicians to cut a few heavy songs and hike on down to Rolling Stone magazine. Remember to show up completely ripped to the tits on speed and coke. Tell them about your upcoming album "Shag City Rockers" and hand out backstage passes. They're all fat and old and will do anything for free food and beer.
Rent out a building with a flat roof, preferably opposite a computer company (more nerdy guys), and mime to your CD played at full volume through the huge stack of amps. Do it during lunchtime (stoned on amphetamines and vodka) and invite Pat Robertson or similar to denounce it as evil. Call Channel 11 and Fox News to say there's a riot between the Televangelists and the Nerds. Spray mace on the mob. When the cops come, get dragged away live on t.v making sure your wardrobe malfunctions, releasing one or more of your puppies.


Learn to play the guitar in your penthouse when you have a lot of time to kill....say after the first platinum album.

Wait until my friend, Long John Quicksilver, the Gentleman Pirate, hears this. He's been a professional guitarist for over twenty years, and he certainly deserved the Big Break. If only he'd known!

Maybe it's not too late....

[Clytie]

im not lefthanded!

but i know ppl who are that playd wonderfully! practice ... o and get one with whimpy strings at first to learn on

[AllegroNg]

I'm with guitars and players and teachers all day!

As for the lefty thing, to me, it means your chord hand is going to be freakin awesome! You only use your right hand for strumming. We dern violinists all play the same way. Otherwise we'd be poking eachother in the face w/our bows all day.

My advice is to not limit your choices. Go for a traditional guitar that you really love

Then again, I've been vouchering for a guitar that allows one w/big ol' boobs to play mroe easily!!

Good luck! I alwyas recommend Music and Arts Centers (prolly coz I'm an ass. man. there.. )