Thinking about picking up a guitar
- Thread starter Umbran
- Start date
So, remember when I said the used guitar shop was on my way home?
I went in, and handled a few. I kind of figured that the differences in comfort would be small - that they'd all feel kind of awkward, to start. But goodness, no! The differences were pretty darned striking. I handled acoustics and electrics, went through the fingering exercise Janx suggested upthread.
I spoke to the gent in the store, told him I was a complete newbie, and asked his advice. He said, in the price range most new players are willing to play - buy what is comfortable, and you think is *pretty* - if you like how your guitar looks, you'll play it more.
Usually, I am, as Janx put it, a "contemplative shopper". I don't buy things for myself often, and I mull things over a great deal. And I was doing that, until I realized something - I was being contemplative whenever I was holding a $300+ guitar, and not so contemplative when holding a $200 guitar. I was, to be honest, going to angst and worry about getting it right if I went higher end, and I was just going to buy one if I went for the lower end. And angst and worry are not conducive to actually learning something new in my life.
So, I walked out with a guitar, a crappy little mini amp, a gig bag, and a handful of guitar picks. My wife has been bugging me to collect things for my X-mas list, so I chose to leave an actual useful amp for that. This one is enough to hear the notes, and for the immediate future, that's good enough for me. I do need to pick up a stand...
The instrument - an Epiphone Les Paul 100. Black.
[sblock]
[/sblock]So, gents, shall we turn the conversation to care and feeding of electric guitars?
Yes, I was going to pick up a phone app for the purpose, to start with.
Solid first guitar! No pun intended (rare for me, I know). A classic. LP-style guitars are one of the cornerstone designs of R&R.
Get yourself a GOOD, wide and possibly even padded strap. I know they can cost a lot- some more than what you paid for the guitar, but you needn't spend that much- $50-80 will get you something good from Levy's or Planet Wave, or Fender or some such. Invest in it because a quality strap will last damn near forever AND will distribute the guitar's weight over a broader area of your shoulders. That equals comfort, which, as noted increases inclination to play. A good strap will also minimize "neck dive": the tendency of some guitars' necks to head floorward when you're not holding them. Not usually a problem with LP style guitars, but it can happen.
If/when you get a better guitar, most serious players- myself NOT included- modify their guitars with strap locks to prevent the strap from coming off and falling to the ground. This can happen, especially if you're a vigorous player or have an energetic stage presence or do lots of tricks...but it's not really needed for your starter axe.
Strings WILL break. Get a winding tool- they'll save you hand cramps and minutes of time when replacing them and getting them initially returned to pitch. Also, buy extras to have on hand.
Note: for the most part, changing individual string's gauge (size) +/- won't have a big effect, but increasing/decreasing them all can affect the amount of force applied to the neck and cause a lack of tension (string floppiness), fret buzz or, in extreme cases, neck warping or even a broken headstock. Those tiny increases in mass under tension DO add up. This is an advanced thing, but you should be aware of it. Just ask the guy who sold you the guitar what kind of set is on it now, and keep buying the same kind of set and it won't be an issue at all.
Keep your dirty hands off the guitar! Clean hands only, followed by a quick, post-play wipedown with a handtowel will keep your fretboard looking good and maximize string longevity. Especially if you have sweaty hands.
Every once in a while, you may still need to clean the fretboard. How to do this depends on what kind of wood the fretboard is made of. Ask your salesman.
Blood.
You must play until your fingers bleed to appease the rock and roll gods.
I generally use linseed oil (sparingly) to clean the fret board.
One important step, as you just bought this and every grubby kid has played it is New Strings and do a Setup.
take it your Guitar Guy, and say "I need a setup done on this" It costs about $30 around here, which is not around there where you are.
A Setup is where the Guitar Guy puts on new strings and sets up the intonation/action. By default, the probability that the guitar has the action set optimally, or that the tuned strings are still in tune at the 12th fret is low.
Intonation loosely explained: If the big fat string is E when you pluck it, at the 12th fret, it is E again in a higher octave. However, because of science, it's not that way until micro adjustments are made in the bridge to shorten/lengthen the distance from the nut to the bridge. If the Guitar Guy is really fancy, he'll use a strobe light to check and adjust until it is as close to right as your guitar allows.
Nut: the plastic/bone thing at the top of the neck of the guitar where the strings come from the head stock/tuners and enter the neck.
Bridge: the thing on the main body of the guitar that anchor the other end of the strings.
technically, you can try to do the setup yourself. I suppose it is manly to change your own strings. beats me, I've never done it. I've also only broke strings once. I favor letting an expert do it the first time (and do the Setup), watch what you can, and you can change the strings next time after you've become comfortable with guitars in general.
Unless you mess with the setup screws on the bridge, you won't likely have to do the Setup again.
I did that once, long ago. When he went off to college, my older brother left behind an acoustic guitar. I picked it up, and started to with a book to teach guitar. I did, in fact, play until my fingers hurt, and then blistered and bled. And then I had to put the guitar down to heal, and never picked it up again. So, maybe the Rock Gods will forgive me if I am somewhat more moderate this time around
I compare my recollection of that to now, and I see what you guys were talking about with action. Fingering that acoustic was *hard*, and kinda hurt. So far, fingering on my LP100 isn't bad at all.
The store in which I bought claims to do them on every guitar they sell. I believe them, as I could see the shop area from the floor (it is a small place), and there was a gent actively working on a guitar back there as I was buying. Yes, a bunch of kids may have been playing that guitar, but I don't think it has been hard-used since they got it.
I didn't ask yesterday what the cost of doing a setup was. There's another shop in town that apparently specializes in setups - they cost about $75. So, I may play with it for a couple of weeks and see how I'm doing before shelling out that cash. I am, at the moment, less worried about how the guitar sounds, and more worried about getting my fingers to do what they need to do.
Yesterday, was "hook it all together and make sure it really works" day. Plug in new cable, turn on mini amp, strum, finger a bit, play with knobs.
Between the volume and tone knobs, and the pickup-switch, there's a whole lot of different sounds the thing will make, even through my crappy practice amp (it has a belt-clip - I could, conceivably, go walkabout playing guitar). A person could get confused and lost in these alone. I'm going to find a base tone that I can deal with, and play with knobs later.
This was the first thing out of my brothers mouth (okay, hands, as we were chatting on IM, but you get the point), too.
It was clear that the shop did this daily - when I picked up the instruments, they were *spotless*. Immaculate, even on finishes that would clearly show every fingerprint. Not a smudge or a spec of dust anywhere.
The body and neck are mahogany. The fretboard is rosewood. The deep rich brown gives a lot of character next to the black body of the thing
Today, after I get home from work and get my jogging done, I'll sit down with the about.com lessons Janx suggested. The initial page of them has some nice advice:
about.com said:
I hope I have what the last line calls for
Is it a Pignose?
A little lemon or orange oil or a product like Fret Rx should keep that rosewood lookin' and feelin' good.The body and neck are mahogany. The fretboard is rosewood. The deep rich brown gives a lot of character next to the black body of the thing
The amp? No, nothing that good. It is a little under-$30 list price thing - a Danelectro Honeytone.
I figure on putting a better amp on my X-mas list.
Good, because amps are the single biggest factor in how your rig sounds. Not how good you sound playing through it, but the fundamental pleasantness of your tone.
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