First guitar

[Alpo]

I've had pretty good luck with Thomann Harley Bentons. A telecaster style that I bought is about perfect. I changed out the tuners for a locking style, but otherwise it's great. The pickups are fine. Not great, but OK for my needs. A Les Paul style that I bought had fret sprout and required a new bridge to intonate properly. But for less that $300, delivered, it's a very nice guitar. I also bought an acoustic styled on the Martin D41. It's just "ok". Sounded a little boxy and I'm pretty picky about acoustic guitars. I ended up giving it to my grandson.

 

[littletommy]

I've had pretty good luck with Thomann Harley Bentons. A telecaster style that I bought is about perfect. I changed out the tuners for a locking style, but otherwise it's great. The pickups are fine. Not great, but OK for my needs. A Les Paul style that I bought had fret sprout and required a new bridge to intonate properly. But for less that $300, delivered, it's a very nice guitar. I also bought an acoustic styled on the Martin D41. It's just "ok". Sounded a little boxy and I'm pretty picky about acoustic guitars. I ended up giving it to my grandson.

Earlier this year, being that I’m a huge fan of Duane Allman, I got the bug for a goldtop, so I hit about every guitar shop within 150 miles of here searching for a new Gibson. I knew they were pricey, but I really wanted to play a 2019 since I heard Gibson had really upped their game this year. Yeah, i played a few that were “good”, not $2400 good, but ok. Then I heard about Harley Benton, and for $176 got their version of the goldtop shipped to my door, wasn’t expecting much, and I definitely didn’t think it would scratch my goldtop itch, but I was amazed when I unboxed it! I now have 3 of the goldtops, and love em all. Between Gibson threatening guitar manufacturers and wayyyyy over pricing their stuff, I’m done with them, no way their new Les Paul is worth $2200 more than a korean, japanese, or even most Chinese models. I can own 12 good Harley Bentons for the cost of one good Gibson.

 

[Clay Pigeon]

I have a couple of guitars my cousin built for me and my son over the years,





















Did I mention one of my cousins is PRS?

 

[Dead Duck]

Start growing your hair out. You can't truly rock a guitar without long hair.

Plus the chicks dig it.

 

[1775usmarine]

Start growing your hair out. You can't truly rock a guitar without long hair.

Plus the chicks dig it.

Ive got a beard......

Stopped at guitar center to get more of a feel on the guitars. Both the left and right hand feel good in my hands. Of course in the process of going back and forth numerous times between the 2 guitars for about 20 min no employee came and asked if I had any questions I think there were only 3 or 4 customers in the store. Will go back to Roxy Music in Laporte next monday with cash in hand and make my final decision.

 

[1775usmarine]

Picked up the squire strat pack and paid for 4 lessons starting next monday. Will probably spend this week trying to learn some basic stuff and just messing around.

 

[gregkl]

Picked up the squire strat pack and paid for 4 lessons starting next monday. Will probably spend this week trying to learn some basic stuff and just messing around.

Congrats! Enjoy it!

 

[Clay Pigeon]

Picked up the squire strat pack and paid for 4 lessons starting next monday. Will probably spend this week trying to learn some basic stuff and just messing around.

Have fun with it..

 

[Double T]

Strat is a great starter with the thinnish neck.

 

[edporch]

I do plan on checking into lessons as long as they can fit my work schedule. Otherwise I'm sure I could find someone here to give me some lessons or go to youtube or google and learn as much as I can. I figure I could set aside 15min almost everyday to practice something. Its a bit easier wanting to learn now in my 30's since I know what music I like and don't have it in my head I'm going to become some rockstar.

Life happened, and I haven't played guitar much in over 40 years.
But I do remember some things, having played piano, cornet in band, and guitar in my youth.

Lessons are great as long as you have a teacher that's the right one for YOU.
But will soon become unenjoyable and tedious with the wrong one, and then you won't practice.

If you're at all musical, you could at least start out teaching yourself to chord and strum some songs you like, and progress from there to practicing to use barre chords.
To me, the key is to be able to play something as soon as possible so you don't lose interest.

I started out at 14 on a low cost decent acoustic that I soon after put light gauge electric guitar strings on.
This helped in learning to play barre chords and pick out some tunes.

 

[1775usmarine]

Spent 3 hrs doing some 1 string riffs and finished with practicing reading tabs and playing the kids song mary had a little lamb.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Life happened, and I haven't played guitar much in over 40 years.
But I do remember some things, having played piano, cornet in band, and guitar in my youth.

Lessons are great as long as you have a teacher that's the right one for YOU.
But will soon become unenjoyable and tedious with the wrong one, and then you won't practice.

If you're at all musical, you could at least start out teaching yourself to chord and strum some songs you like, and progress from there to practicing to use barre chords.
To me, the key is to be able to play something as soon as possible so you don't lose interest.

I started out at 14 on a low cost decent acoustic that I soon after put light gauge electric guitar strings on.
This helped in learning to play barre chords and pick out some tunes.

^^^This^^^ When I first took lessons (probably around age 12 or so), most teachers were teaching songs like "Beautiful Dreamer" or "Little Brown Jug". I wanted to learn popular music! Needless to say I didn't stick with it. When I picked it up again (no lessons this time), I bought a Neil Young "Decade" songbook. Neil uses a lot of basic chords in his songs (C, D, F, G, A, etc.) and the book had chord diagrams, the kind that look like the neck of the guitar, showing you exactly where to put your fingers (I never learned how to read tabulature). That's how I learned the basics.

From there, I mostly learned songs by rote. I'd hear something that would remind me of a chord progression from another song that I knew and could usually figure them out that way. Now, with the internet, it's easy to look up songs and chords and how to play them. Now with that said, as the Dire Straights song goes, "but it's strictly rhythm, he doesn't want to make it cry or sing" very much applies to me. I just wanted to be able to play and sing along. The closest thing I learned to "lead" or "picking" was "Needle and the Damage Done", but again, I learned it by rote... just listened to the song over and over and tried to play along until I got it.

 

[edporch]

^^^This^^^ When I first took lessons (probably around age 12 or so), most teachers were teaching songs like "Beautiful Dreamer" or "Little Brown Jug". I wanted to learn popular music! Needless to say I didn't stick with it. When I picked it up again (no lessons this time), I bought a Neil Young "Decade" songbook. Neil uses a lot of basic chords in his songs (C, D, F, G, A, etc.) and the book had chord diagrams, the kind that look like the neck of the guitar, showing you exactly where to put your fingers (I never learned how to read tabulature). That's how I learned the basics.

From there, I mostly learned songs by rote. I'd hear something that would remind me of a chord progression from another song that I knew and could usually figure them out that way. Now, with the internet, it's easy to look up songs and chords and how to play them. Now with that said, as the Dire Straights song goes, "but it's strictly rhythm, he doesn't want to make it cry or sing" very much applies to me. I just wanted to be able to play and sing along. The closest thing I learned to "lead" or "picking" was "Needle and the Damage Done", but again, I learned it by rote... just listened to the song over and over and tried to play along until I got it.

I'd had piano lessons and it had become tedious and I didn't continue with it, so I didn't make the same mistake on guitar.

I was 14, and had a full score of the album "More of the Monkees" (I know, that "dates" me ) which I'd had left over from piano.

It had the chord diagrams above the music, and it allowed me to get started strumming some of the songs I liked.

I remember sitting in my room for hours and told myself that until I can strum "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone", I'm not leaving this room.
After several hours with raw fingers, I'd gotten to where I sort of could.

It went from there and I kept improving until I went away to IU Bloomington to school. and I didn't have time for it anymore.

The shame is, about 15 years ago I got a Gibson Les Paul '59 reissue and began practicing again.
Then I went back to school to finish my degree, and again didn't have time for it.

I NEED to get it back out and start up practicing again.
It's a great guitar!

 

[Dead Duck]

 

[obijohn]

As to teaching yourself. Yes, you can make a bunch of progress teaching yourself, watching vids, etc. BUT, you will develop bad habits that will need to be remedied sooner rather than later. Find a teacher that will give you a lesson every once in a while to fix things like hand position and technique. You will enjoy the experience so much more than if you let these things linger.

 

[edporch]

Haven't seen him in awhile.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I'd had piano lessons and it had become tedious and I didn't continue with it, so I didn't make the same mistake on guitar.

I was 14, and had a full score of the album "More of the Monkees" (I know, that "dates" me ) which I'd had left over from piano.

It had the chord diagrams above the music, and it allowed me to get started strumming some of the songs I liked.

I remember sitting in my room for hours and told myself that until I can strum "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone", I'm not leaving this room.
After several hours with raw fingers, I'd gotten to where I sort of could.

It went from there and I kept improving until I went away to IU Bloomington to school. and I didn't have time for it anymore.

The shame is, about 15 years ago I got a Gibson Les Paul '59 reissue and began practicing again.
Then I went back to school to finish my degree, and again didn't have time for it.

I NEED to get it back out and start up practicing again.
It's a great guitar!

I need to get mine out again too. Maybe this winter when I move back inside so I don't bother the neighbors with my singing. I've just got a basic Fender flat top, but I have a nice Washburn 12 string (love the sound of a 12 string) accoustic/electric. I don't have an amp, but when I was living with a buddy that had all the electric equipment (amps, speakers, mixing board, etc.) it was nice to "plug in".

 

[edporch]

I need to get mine out again too. Maybe this winter when I move back inside so I don't bother the neighbors with my singing. I've just got a basic Fender flat top, but I have a nice Washburn 12 string (love the sound of a 12 string) accoustic/electric. I don't have an amp, but when I was living with a buddy that had all the electric equipment (amps, speakers, mixing board, etc.) it was nice to "plug in".