Guitar/amp combo for a beginner

[Jerjo]

So, I'm thinking of picking up the guitar again after a 30 year absence. I think I remember one chord. But what do I get? I don't want to spend a lot on something that has a 50/50 chance of success. I just want to bash out chords while sitting on the deck; there's no desire to be Jeff Beck. After all, I'm 55 and my fingers aren't exactly nimble. I need a new electric guitar, amp, one of those tuning gizmos, and something to give me some distortion. I understand some new axes have that built into them. So any ideas where I should start?

[trurl]

Well, I'm not really a guitar guy so you may wind up with far better advice than this, but: As a totally amateur guitar player myself, I find Epiphone guitars fit the bill. Good sound, good playability and you can get one for $250, $300 as opposed to $1,800 for an actual Les Paul or something. Or if you like a Fender, look at a Squire. Also: pawn shops are your friend! Especially for an amp. Always offer about 2/3 of what they price anything at and haggle up to 3/4.

[Robbue]

You really cant go wrong with an Agile guitars from Rondo Music (http://www.rondomusic.com/). Great quality and very reasonable prices.

[Pangolin]

I'd agree with the Rondo recommendation; I'd take my 2006 Agile over an Epiphone any day. They also have regular B-stock offers if you want to keep the price down. And they have a fair selection if - like me - you're a lefty.

[Duncan Glenday]

Well, I'm not really a guitar guy so you may wind up with far better advice than this, but: As a totally amateur guitar player myself, I find Epiphone guitars fit the bill. Good sound, good playability and you can get one for $250, $300 as opposed to $1,800 for an actual Les Paul or something. Or if you like a Fender, look at a Squire. Also: pawn shops are your friend! Especially for an amp. Always offer about 2/3 of what they price anything at and haggle up to 3/4.

I agree with both of these statements:

1). Squier with a baby Marshall amp - about $150 to $250.

2). Pawn shops - they seem to have more guitars than anything else - though the quality and selection are a crap shoot.

[everythingtoexcess]

For the simplest solution, Squier offers a beginner package that comes with everything you need to get going. Before I say another word, let me say GET THE MORE EXPENSIVE ONE. I think it's just shy of $300. There are two cheaper packages that are simply awful. The more expensive one comes with a Squier Affinity strat which is a surprisingly good, durable, playable guitar. The amp isn't the greatest sounding thing in the world, but it's a good place to start. The package also comes with a tuner, strap, picks, instructional DVD, headphones and a case.
What everyone else has said is also good advice. The low-end guitar market has improved vastly in the last fifteen years or so, and used stuff is always fun.

[Yodelgoat]

Can I say, I'm impressed by you taking up an instrument. Its the best therapy there is IMO. I've re-picked up the drums in the past 5 years after not playing since High school, And its been a blast.

I might suggest you start with an acoustic rather than an electric guitar. You can get a better acoustic if you dont have to buy an amp, and I think its easier to learn. People around you will be less offended by the sounds, and you wont appear to totally suck. You'll just sound like a beginner.

[everythingtoexcess]

I might suggest you start with an acoustic rather than an electric guitar. You can get a better acoustic if you dont have to buy an amp, and I think its easier to learn. People around you will be less offended by the sounds, and you wont appear to totally suck. You'll just sound like a beginner.

That's good advice. An acoustic is simpler and you can get a way nicer one for the same money as an electric and an amp. The acoustic also forces you to play better because it doesn't hide mistakes. BUT...If the music you want to play is primarily done on an electric, the acoustic is never going to sound right. I started out on a pretty nice Fender acoustic, which I still have (It's halfway though a refret...been that way for three years.) but I never went anywhere with it. Once I got my 6 string electric rock and roll guitar, my playing had a purpose...learn Rush songs. It's not that I couldn't learn them on acoustic, but Finding My Way and Working Man just don't sound right without distortion.
So, Give that some thought...if all you want to play is death metal, an acoustic might not be the right choice. But if you want to be able to take your axe camping and entertain at parties, the acoustic is the way.

[nosebone]

Fender Squier's are a crap shoot.

It seems like one out of every dozen are playable.

Buy from a reputable shop , so you'll leave with a "good one"...., if you go the Squier route.


My advice would be to spend more get a Mexican strat.

It would make your sessions so much more enjoyable.

As for amps, I have a Roland Microcube that's pretty great for the price ( $130.00) and it can run on AA batteries .

[Jerjo]

I just had a friend tell me over email suggest an acoustic as well. Cheaper and it forces you to work harder on chords and fingerings. Hmmm.

[Plasmatopia]

I'd go with whichever one (acoustic or electric) that's going to get you most excited about actually learning some tunes.

And as someone who always bought cheap guitars I say - don't go TOO cheap. A guitar that doesn't feel right and with strings a mile off the neck isn't going to help in the motivation department.

[fictionmusic]

I'd go with whichever one (acoustic or electric) that's going to get you most excited about actually learning some tunes.

And as someone who always bought cheap guitars I say - don't go TOO cheap. A guitar that doesn't feel right and with strings a mile off the neck isn't going to help in the motivation department.

I taught guitar for years and I always advised parents to buy a decent electric guitar. There is nothing worse than getting somebody an acoustic guitar that hurts to play and no matter how hard you press, always buzzes. A decent squier, ibanez, epiphone gtr is well worth the money because it isn't a finger breaker to play and you can always get a chunk of the money back if you decide to bail. A crappy acoustic will never be fun to play and will never fetch a good re-sale price.

I bought my god son a zoom multi-effects unit with amp models in it and he uses that all the time with headphones on. I also gave him my 1972 Gibson L6S which is by far the easiest gtr to play so plugged into the zoom it was instantly gratifiable. The gtr is worth close to 2 grand these days so that was a bit of overkill, but I have seen so many people give up playing after their parents buy them some cheapo gtr becuase they don't want to throw money away buying an instrument for a kid who might not keep at it.

These days you can get a good amo for a few hundred dollars. A professional buddy of mine just bought a Traynor tube amp at a pawn shop for two hundred bucks and the thing sounds amazing (ugly as fuck though). A little shopping around will yield great results.

[Vic2012]

I've been wanting to get back to playing electric guitar for a few years now too. No desire to play in a band or really "accomplish" anything, I just feel like playing a goddamned electric guitar and bash out some chords and shit. Guitar Center has sales all the time on low end Epiphones and some low end Gibsons. A few years ago I almost bought a Les Paul Jr. It said Gibson, not Epiphone on the headstock. They wanted 300 for it. I almost bought it. Best Buy sells a lot of Epiphones and consumer brands too.

[YeSFan Reese]

Do you want a tube amp?

[Jerjo]

I don't know. Should I have a tube amp?

[nosebone]

I don't know. Should I have a tube amp?

Tube amp

You don't need one to get started.

Roland micro cube is a great little starter amp imo.

[Mikhael]

I don't know. Should I have a tube amp?

Not necessary. As was mentioned above, one of the modeler thingies is good for practicing on headphones (gratifying for the parents or spouse), and there's a lot of little practice amps that do fine for beginning players; I still use a little Gorilla amp that I've had for 20 years for just hacking around (and testing instruments after I've modified them). I went through the "must have a tube amp" phase for several years, until I found the Pearce, and I still use it to this day because of its wonderful tone and response (it's solid state).

[davis]

Can I say, I'm impressed by you taking up an instrument...

I am too. And it's nice to know I'm not alone, though I've never really played before other than trying to work out a few melodies.
Can I ask a couple of questions here or should I start another thread? :huh

[nosebone]

fire away,,,,,.I teach guitar all day, every day.

[davis]

^ what happens if you plug a 6-string electric into a bass amp?

[Plasmatopia]

It sounds a little weird just straight in sometimes. The guitar player in my band uses an old Ampeg bass head into his Marshal 4x12 cabinet. But most all of the tone is coming from his guitar processor.

I've plugged my acoustic (with built in pickup) into my solid state Ampeg bass rig and it doesn't sound too bad.

[davis]

So it wouldn't kill anybody. I have an electric bass & practice amp. Considering going with 6-string and wondered if I'd need a different amp.

[nosebone]

^ what happens if you plug a 6-string electric into a bass amp?

Sounds bad, not advisable.

[everythingtoexcess]

^ what happens if you plug a 6-string electric into a bass amp?

It makes your clean tones extremely flat and muddy, but if you have a distortion pedal you can get some nice fat tones because of the heavier speaker. It's probably not something you'd use forever, but the 6 string certainly won't hurt the bass amp and it'll sound at least passable. When I needed to be louder in my band in college I went out of a stereo chorus pedal into a Peavey Bandit stacked on top of a Peavey Basic 60 bass amp. For a low budget rig, it thought it sounded really good. Can't say the same for the band.

[trurl]

Oddly, enough, our guitar player has been playing at practice (he will kill me for telling this) through an Ampeg SVT (via a Line 6 PodHD). He hates it because it's, well, bass-y (go figure) but I honestly didn't think it sounded all that bad. He couldn't take it and brought over his Line 6 amp. There's a reason guitar amps and bass amps are designed the way they are and you'll always get the best sounds from the right amp, but nowadays so much of the sound comes from the outboard gear that if you need to improvise you can usually do ok.

[Chain]

Sounds bad, not advisable.

Unless it's an old Fender Bassman amp ;)

[Mikhael]

I used an old Traynor bass amp head, I think it was the YBA-3(?), all the time I was on the road. It sounded great (was based on a Marshall with expanded EQ), and I added a second "channel" to it (by adding a relay and a couple of pots for Gain and Master Volume). I used a way old Peavey 4X12" ported cabinet with it, and the tone was great. Limited, but it did that limited thing well. Oddly enough, our bassist used the same head, with two Cerwin Vega 18" folded horns and a Traynor 8x10" cab(!).

So, bass amps can work with guitar, but I would amend that to "certain bass amps can work with guitar", because it depends on what tone you're after, and how you get it (I never have liked fuzzboxes; I get my distortion from the amp).

[Plasmatopia]

I'm thinking about doing the opposite. I have a Peavey Butcher guitar amp head (120 watts I think) and I'm wondering how my bass would sound through it. It needs new tubes first though.

[Mikhael]

I'm thinking about doing the opposite. I have a Peavey Butcher guitar amp head (120 watts I think) and I'm wondering how my bass would sound through it. It needs new tubes first though.

Probably okay, if you don't use a guitar cabinet. Those cheaply-made Celestions and Jensens that guitarists prefer don't always sound so good on bass...

[trurl]

As a prog band guy I play with bass players who like trebly sound :p ... several of them have used guitar amps! Especially as 2nd amps to punch up the sound. But one guy just played through a standard Legend amp with a 12" and it sounded great. Actually had a good bottom end.

[Plasmatopia]

I would probably just use my normal bass cabinets....might not be able to use both 8 ohm cabinets together though.

The most "Chris Squire-ish" bass tones I got out of my Behringer bass effects unit were using amp and cabinet simulations that are normally for guitar amps.

I plugged my P-bass into my little 65 watt Marshall Valvestate guitar amp to jam with some acoustic players (thinking it would sound terrible) and was amazed at how well it did. With a speaker upgrade it would probably make a great practice amp.

[Jerjo]

I have decided what I am going to do is get an acoustic and start banging around on it. If I show a little aptitude for playing riffs, then I'll go whole hog for the electric. So what's a good beginning acoustic: Martin, Fender, Yamaha, etc? What about this package:

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/8621012476147905415?q=acoustic%20guitar&hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS473US473&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.1357700187,d.aWM&biw=1600&bih=775&sa=X&ei=9XP0UMTOMoWLrAGhkYGABw&ved=0CI8BEOUNMAA

[nosebone]

I have decided what I am going to do is get an acoustic and start banging around on it. If I show a little aptitude for playing riffs, then I'll go whole hog for the electric. So what's a good beginning acoustic: Martin, Fender, Yamaha, etc? What about this package:

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/8621012476147905415?q=acoustic%20guitar&hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS473US473&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.1357700187,d.aWM&biw=1600&bih=775&sa=X&ei=9XP0UMTOMoWLrAGhkYGABw&ved=0CI8BEOUNMAA

Ummmmmmm, I'd go to a reputable store, ask questions, and listen to someone play the thing.

[Jerjo]

Oh, I've got a couple stores lined up. I just wanted opinions from some of you players.

[everythingtoexcess]

Yamaha and Ibanez both make the best quality beginner acoustics I've seen. You can get one with a solid spruce top for between $200 and $250. That does wonders for the sound and durability of the guitar.

[Mikhael]

I'd check out a Seagull as well. Great value for the money.

[hippypants]

Tube amp

You don't need one to get started.

Roland micro cube is a great little starter amp imo.

I thought of getting one of these, but have yet to take the plunge. They have effects built in them. You can check out what they sound like on Youtube. Pretty neat little amps.

[hippypants]

Ummmmmmm, I'd go to a reputable store, ask questions, and listen to someone play the thing.

Yep, that too. At least check out the string action on it, and if you don't want to play it ask the personel there to play it for sound. I have a nephew that has a Ibanez (I believe) and it sounds ok, and easy to play.

[Jerjo]

By the end of next week I should have a new acoustic. And if I am less than a total hack by the start of summer, I'll get something that plugs in and scares the cats.

[Jerjo]

OK, here's my blog post with two pics of my new guitar:

http://jeroljohnson.org/2013/02/23/too-old-to-rock-n-roll/

[NogbadTheBad]

OK, here's my blog post with two pics of my new guitar:

http://jeroljohnson.org/2013/02/23/too-old-to-rock-n-roll/
Nice!!

[hippypants]

Nice looking, I'm sure it plays pretty well too. Grab some chord books and dig in. ;)

[Yodelgoat]

Just how well did you know guitar back in the old days? What kind of music are you going to play? Not that it matters, but I was wondering if you are tinkering with "Michael row the boat ashore" or "Mood for a day".

[Jerjo]

I remember a couple chords, that's it. Right now I just pick it up, use the tuner to get it back in tune (I think the strings have yet to find their home), and play a couple chords off my list. Once I figure I can play chords without staring at the frets I start with a few simple three chord rock songs and maybe a James Taylor song or two to make my wife happy. If she ever hears me play the opening to "Fire and Rain" it will be an instant panties remover.

[Yodelgoat]

You people and your wives!!!! My wife sees me with a guitar in my hand and she instantly goes into inner thigh lockdown mode. She has a lot of animosity towards my musical background, and has nothing but shit to feed me about it.

Seriously - You are soooo lucky!

[Mikhael]

You people and your wives!!!! My wife sees me with a guitar in my hand and she instantly goes into inner thigh lockdown mode. She has a lot of animosity towards my musical background, and has nothing but shit to feed me about it.

Seriously - You are soooo lucky!

You married the wrong woman. When I got married, I was on the road in a rock band, and my wife knew what she was getting into. It's been over 34 years now, I play in two bands, and it's not an issue for her.