About guitars #1

My first guitar came from a local pawn shop. It was an electric - a black Encore copy of a Gibson Les Paul. It was pretty beat up. Although at the time, I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. And it worked, in that it made a sound & that sound was what I was interested in. My little Global amplifier was about as basic as you could ever have. One volume knob, one tone knob, no gain channel, no reverb, one tiny little 6" speaker. I've never seen another one like it. I still have the guitar, believe it or not. But the amp got lost in the shuffle over the years. I have no idea what happened to it.

If you have a guitar already, that's great! You can learn to play on any guitar, provided that it will hold its tuning. When I started, I knew nothing about action or intonation or playability. And I will address those things in future posts. For now, let's just say that your fingers will hurt a little at first, no matter how well your instrument is set up or what kind it is. An electric guitar is easier on your fingers than an acoustic because it uses a smaller string gauge - the strings are literally smaller from top to bottom. But as you train your fingers to play, it will become easier, no matter what kind of guitar you have.

If you don't have a guitar yet, you obviously need to purchase one. Personally, I would recommend an acoustic guitar for beginners. One can be found relatively cheap at a pawn shop or a music store or an online retailer. There's really no point in starting out with the most expensive guitar you can find. But suit yourself. Generally speaking, the more expensive a guitar is, the more likely that it will be well built. But that is not always the case. As a last resort, if you can borrow a guitar for a few days a week, that will be better than not having one at all.

One nice thing about an acoustic guitar is that you don't need an amp to hear it. The hollow body of an acoustic guitar makes more than enough sound for learning & instruction. Plus, as a bonus, you won't bother your parents or your girlfriend or the neighbors or anyone else while you're playing your first notes. You probably won't be ready for the world to hear your playing just yet anyway. Electric guitars need amplifiers & amplifiers are loud. Period! One alternative, if you have an electric, is to buy a headphone amp so that you won't disturb anyone as you learn. You can also plug an electric guitar into a smart phone these days with an adapter. So that is another option to consider.

For the record, my second guitar - the first one that I ever bought with my own money - was an acoustic. It was a Yamaha FG-410. A very basic instrument! Less than $200. And I bought it for the reason listed above - I could play it anywhere & not bend anyone's nerves. Also, acoustic guitars are very portable. Just throw it in the case & you're off. No amps, no cables, no heavy lifting, etc. I still have it. It is my go-to guitar when I'm sitting around the house, either coming up with an idea for a song or hearing a song I wish to learn.

Don't worry about brands or styles just yet. If you've never played a guitar, you wouldn't know what questions to ask or what to look for in an instrument anyway. So why worry yourself over it? Just get a guitar! After you learn how to play a little, and you begin to understand your instrument's playability, then you can always upgrade to a better guitar, if necessary. For now, if it has six strings on it & can be tuned without breaking anything, that's enough to get started. Next we'll talk about strings & tuning...