Beginner guitar or bass

[missingabutton]

Hey everyone I am new to the forum, but I want to purchase either an electric guitar or bass guitar. I have been wanting to get one for a really long time now...and I am finally going to do it. I have been putting it off because I have been kind of intimidated. I don't know anything about them, what to look for when buying one, or even how to play it. I was mostly interested in the bass because it has less strings so I thought it might be easier to learn and play. I was just wondering if anyone had any good advice on what to look for when buying an instrument. Are there certain brands to look for or avoid? And since I don't even know how to play it I don't want to spend a ton of money on because in the end I might not like it. Any comments or suggestions would be wonderful. Thank you in advance.

[famous beagle]

We can give you some suggestions, but it would help out to have a little more info.

What style do you want to play?

How much is a "ton of money?"


Obviously, if you buy an electric, you'd need an amp. If you buy an acoustic, you won't.

There are plenty of great starter guitars or basses. Just give us a little more info and we'll be happy to help.

[LemonTree]

Here's my tip.....

Get a cheap acoustic, chances are the action won't be great on it so you'll really need to TRY when you're holding down them chords. Take lessons, even if it's just an hour a week and practice practice practice. Keep that up for 6 months. If after that time you haven't lost interest go and get yourself an electric. You'll find with the narrower neck and lower string action you'll be a much better player on it than you've become on your acoustic.

Stay at it for a couple of years and then once you know all your riffs and scales inside out and you still WANT to play bass....then that is the right time to make the switch.

Some of the best bass players around (and some dead) started playing guitar first then made the switch after becoming compitent on the 6 string.


....apart from me, I suck at both after 22 years

[ermghoti]

Buy the instrument you are interested in playing, not the one you think will be easier or more affordable, or whatever. In this day of CNC and imported labor, you can get a 100% servicable electric or acoustic guitar or bass for well under $200 new. Lemon is right that starting on acoustic will force you to use better technique from the beginning, but if you have no interest in acoustic music, you will probably drop the instrument before you learn much.

So step one, IMO, is think of your favorite songs, and see if you are humming the guitar sounds, or grooving to the bass. If it is a tie, get a bass. There are about 20 good guitar players to every competant bass player.

[LemonTree]

Originally Posted by ermghoti

Buy the instrument you are interested in playing, not the one you think will be easier or more affordable, or whatever. In this day of CNC and imported labor, you can get a 100% servicable electric or acoustic guitar or bass for well under $200 new. Lemon is right that starting on acoustic will force you to use better technique from the beginning, but if you have no interest in acoustic music, you will probably drop the instrument before you learn much.

So step one, IMO, is think of your favorite songs, and see if you are humming the guitar sounds, or grooving to the bass. If it is a tie, get a bass. There are about 20 good guitar players to every competant bass player.

You realise after that he's gonna go for the 4 string option cause it "looks easier"...and another "plunk plunk" bassist with no rythm or groove is born

[missingabutton]

Sorry I forgot to include the style of music....I am interested in playing punk music mostly. I dont think I would be very interested in acoustic music. And also if it makes a difference...I am a girl...someone called me a he ...I've also got really short fingers.I was looking to spend between $100-$200 on the instrument and about $100 on the amp. I dont even know if that is a reasonable amount. There is a store in town called $99 dollar guitars and they sell Hondo and J Reynolds guitars. I dont know if those are good ones not. I dont need the best one I can get but I'd like to get a decent one.

[LemonTree]

Originally Posted by missingabutton

Sorry I forgot to include the style of music....I am interested in playing punk music mostly. I dont think I would be very interested in acoustic music. And also if it makes a difference...I am a girl...someone called me a he ...I've also got really short fingers if thats make a difference either. I really dont know anything about playing guitars.

Sorry about that....

[Sirnothingness]

For a little more than that you can probably pick up a korean strat or some other non-usa model. They're good guitars for beginers.

[ido1957]

Lots of deals on eBay - for example ....
- Squire Strat and Amp $100....
http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-Squire-St...QQcmdZViewItem

[ermghoti]

Originally Posted by LemonTree

You realise after that (s)he's gonna go for the 4 string option cause it "looks easier"...and another "plunk plunk" bassist with no rythm or groove is born

You'd prefer another GC troll staggering through the intro to "Smells Like Entering Sandman" through a Quadruple Rectumfrier at 120 dB?




I stand by my post: buy the instrument you like, rather than the one you think is cheaper, or easier, or whatever. There are some hard bits to learning to play, so you need as much enjoyment as possible in between. If I didn't have my four-hour versions of Paranoid those first weeks, I don't know if I'd be here now.

Speaking of Paranoid, don't worry about your fingers right now, either. Guys like Tony Iommi and Django Reinhardt are both legendary players, and don't even have a full set of fingers!

[mithra6]

Missingabutton...


Please take these suggestions as suggestions. If you look on MusiciansFriend, look under the "guitars" category and then the "solid body electric" sub-category.

If you are leaning towards a Fender style guitar, try a Squier which is Fender's budget line. Here's a link to an example:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ric?sku=511276

If you are leaning twoards a Gibson, then try Epiphone which is Gibson's buget line. Here's a link to a Les Paul:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ric?sku=518334

Both guitars are about $150, and both are pretty good. They have ok action and they pretty much keep in tune with themselves. They are cheap because they use cheaper wood, electronics, etc, but for starting out they're fine.

If you can, try to play an example of each of these at a store to see what you like. Most people tend to lean towards a particular sound and feel.

To generalize, Fenders tend to be brighter sounding and Gibsons (especially Les Pauls) tend to be a little darker. I'm a Les Paul guy myself.

For an amp do the same thing - try them out. Here's an example.

This amp is aout $180, but it's really nice for the price, and for practicing at home I don't think you'll outgrow it any time soon. You could never play in front of a band with this amp though. It has effects built in like reverb and distortion which you will definitely want being into punk.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...mps?sku=481958

The thing with amp is (for starting out) some chaep ones don't have effects built in, so you would need a distortion pedal. I think in the long and short run this amp may be a good one. I have the 50 watt version of this and I love it.

[Joepie]

My first guitar was a Yamaha Pacifica. They cost a little more than the squiers that are out there, but they're very versatile and can really take a beating. I'd absolutely recommend it. I still use it a lot, because for certain styles of music it sounds better than my other (more expensive) guitars.

About starting guitar or bass.... it's easier to switch from guitar to bass later on, than the other way around. Also, I've noticed that guitar gives a lot more satisfaction in the beginning... you will quickly start playing things that 'sound cool' by themselves. As a starting bassist it's harder to stay motivated in the beginning, is my experience.

Also... if you really want to get a good technique it's preferrable to start acoustic. Your fingers will really hurt like hell for the first while, but once you've got the fingerstrength to play an acoustic, every electric guitar will feel wonderfully easy.

[Sycal]

Well in my opinion pick which one you want to play Bass or Electric Guitar. If you eventually want to learn how 2 play both i would advise learning a Bass Guitar First. Bass has less strings (get a reg 4 string Bass) so it will be easy for you to learn 4 strings than 6 or more, it will get your fingers harder since the strings on bass are thicker than guitar. After you get Bass Guitar down then you can go to Acoustic Guitar or Electric Guitar ( I prefer going acoustic before electric too). Also i think Bass Guitars are the underdogs.

[mithra6]

Personally I would start on guitar. Yes it's harder, BUT most guitarists can play bass, but many bassists can't play guitar.

[missingabutton]

Unfortunately I wont be able to try out the guitar or bass in the store because I don't know how to play it at all.

[amra]

I would say first try to decide which one interests you more - guitar or bass.
Then find someone to teach a little - whether it is a teacher and structured lessons, or just someone that you know that plays so they can show you some basics. Maybe they can help you choose a basic rig, or narrow it down a little more and then maybe we can help you choose...but first you got to at least decide what you want to play.

[M.D.]

Missingabutton,

Keep in mind one very important factor; other then having strings, guitar and bass are not the same instrument. They sound different, they're played differently, they perform different functions in a band or rhythm section. They also have thier own physical and technical requirements.

Learning to play any musical instrument well is a difficult undertaking. It takes a lot of practice and patience. What you get out of it is a direct result of what you put in. Suggesting that one instrument may be easier to learn because it has less strings, or harder due to a couple more, is just plain wrong.

[ermghoti]

Originally Posted by missingabutton

Unfortunately I wont be able to try out the guitar or bass in the store because I don't know how to play it at all.

You can tell if it is comfortable to hold, if the paint is applied well or badly, if the frets are sticking out of the sides of the neck, if the neck is straight, if it rattles, etc. A bad instrument will often just plain look sloppy or cheap.

A saleman would be happy to play a few chords so you can see if you like the sound, even if you don't know a musician who can shop with you. If it sounds good to you, it is good, if it doesn't, don't let somebody else tell you it does.

Figure out what you want to play first, and there will be a ton of options for decent and cheap.

[mithra6]

Missingabutton...

Long post sorry

I agree. People come into stores all the time who have no clue what they're doing. It's part of a sales associate's job to help you.

Besides, even when you don't know what you're doing, you still have a feeling for a particualr instrument even if you don't think so now. When you are actually there with the instrument and hear it (even if it's not you playing) something may click in your brain.

There are purely cerebral elements to picking out an instrument - which is the part we can help you with. Those are: price and inherent quality of the instrument such as quality of wood.

However most of instrument buying is your gut. In this forum alone there are lots of people who are happy with guitars and amps that are supposed to be cheap and crappy. Music is about feeling. That's it.

I have given you a couple of examples which by no means is definitive, but they are good ones to look at for a beginner. They aren't GREAT guitars, but they aren't horrible pieces of crap either. If you are interested in looking at basses, Squier also makes basses. In face I was looking at one a couple of weeks ago and they aren't too bad. Yamaha makes good guitars for the money too as someone else mentioned. I really stand by my amp suggestion though since it's not too expensive and you get good distortion, reverb, and delay. If you stick with it you won't outgrow the amp either. You just may want to buy a bigger one.

Listen. All of us here started out where you are now. Hop on over to a store and tell the sales person you are interested in playing a bass or guitar, you know nothing and don't want to spend a zillion bucks. Have the sales person play them for you to see if you like the sound and then hold them
(The guitar not the sales person. That'll get you kicked out) to see if it feels halfway comfortable. Make a couple of sounds on the guitar to see if it feels like you need to use alot of pressure. You shouldn't have to press TOO hard, but it will hurt a little. That's normal. Remember dozens of people come into those stores every day just like you. Hell my wife just started playing banjo this year and she's 35 and can't even tune it yet, but she's getting there.

For what it's worth, I used to play bass in a punk band and then a goth band when I was about your age. I actually started younger, but I sucked for a while. I stuck with it, and then one day I was good. It was literally like that. To this day I still like having one person in a band who is new because it's good for them, and it's good for me because they tend to bring ideas that I would never think of. I started playing guitar about 4 years ago. I highly recommend playing guitar first because it's harder, and if you ever play bass, you will kick everyone's ass. My last band had a female bass player who had just started and she was great even though she didn't think so.

[innobidova]

I would suggest starting out on guitar, just so you get used to it, and later switch to bass if you still want to. With guitar, you'd become familiar with more things like chords and strum patterns. I recommend the Squier Strat Pak because that's what I started with. Also, I don't think those packs include a video anymore like mine did, so get this video or one that's like it. You really owe it to yourself to get a video because it's like taking a lesson from a real life teacher, except you can play it as much as you want. Assuming you go this route, just practice with the pack and the video until you're familiar with everything they teach you. Once you get to that point, that's when you'll want to look for a friendly teacher. Take at least three months of lessons, once a week. You might also want to look at tablature if you're interested in learning some popular songs. Your teacher can help you figure them out. Anyway, again, that's what I did when I started out and I highly recommend it.

Also, since the video would be teaching you a bunch, you wouldn't *really* need all that extra small stuff that comes in the pack, so I would recommend looking at a separate guitar and amp. Then just get a strap and cable, and buy strings and picks accordingly. Right now, for you, I would suggest the Vox Pathfinder since it's small but apparently really loud (I'm really excited to try one out for myself to use for recording). For the guitar, take a look at the Ibanez Jet King. I've heard good things about it, and it has a pretty cool indie/punk look to it. I've been playing guitar for six years and honestly this gear tempts me, so it's definitely worth a look. Let us know how your search goes!

[andydeedpoll]

Originally Posted by mithra6

most of instrument buying is in your gut ..... Music is about feeling. That's it.

yeah. the instrument (both the specific model and the more general 'bass or guitar' thing) often chooses the player, i find. i play guitar, but my first love is the trombone... i played cornet before that, and we never really got on as soon as i even picked up a trombone, before i knew anything about how to play it, it felt like it sat comfortably sat in my hands - like a little switch which the cornet had never been able to reach was flicked ( cheesy i know, but thats honestly the best way of describing it.) its interesting - a lot of trombonists i know are very similar people, as are a lot of the guitarists, singers, trumpet players, saxophonists, flortists ... blah blah blah... and i know a lot of them started out on instruments they didn't like, switched, and immediately started progressing at a rate they never did on their previous instrument.

go and hold a few guitars, and a few basses. see which feels righter. and then decide neither of them are very good instruments and what you really Want is a trombone...

Andy

[ggunn]

I am going to jump in on the side of learning guitar first. The transition to bass later is (as others have said) a lot easier than going the other direction, and far more of your skills will transfer.

Also, bass is an ensemble instrument; you will have a harder time of it working by yourself in the early part of your development than you will on guitar. It is very hard to learn songs on bass by yourself, while on guitar you can accompany yourself singing.

Everyone is a solo act in the beginning. You will learn more about the overall structure of music in learning to play guitar (or keyboards) than you will on bass. Virtually every bass player I know started on guitar.

Here's something else - I don't know how old you are, but if you are still between K-12 ages and the school you go to has a music department, you might pick an instrument and go out for band. Music is much greater than simply learning an instrument, it is a mental exercise; I got a huge boost in learning music from playing trombone in middle school and high school band. The basics in theory of melodic and chord structure that I learned there have served me well and still do to this day, and it's been MANY years.

[mithra6]

Originally Posted by andydeedpoll

and what you really Want is a trombone...

Andy

Yeah I hear trombone is big in the punk scene nowadays.

[mithra6]

GGun makes a good point there to bass being an ensemble instrument. I was lucky to be friends with someone picking up guitar at the same time I was picking up bass.

[ggunn]

And one more piece of advice: you've got to be bad before you can be good. Everyone is terrible in the beginning, and only those who have the persistence to get through the bad period ever get to be any good. So, get out there and be bad exuberantly and as much and often as possible; the more you play EVERY DAY, no matter how terrible it sounds to you (and everyone within earshot), the faster you'll get through to the good stuff. Fear of failure guarantees failure.