Few questions from a total beginner

[johnjohn]

Hi Folks,
Just a little intro...
When I was 8 yrs old I begged my parents for a guitar and for some reason they wouldn't get me one. I was very pissed off back then and didn't speak to my mom for days, but gradually forgot about it. I'm 24 now and just last night accidently knocked over a shiny electric guitar while shopping at Walmart. As I started to pick it up and put it back on the shelf, the moment I touched it, this really weird feeling swept thru me, and I felt like I did when I was 8 and REALLY wanted a guitar. I picked this up and held it in my hands and at that moment, I said, "DAMN, I'm gonna get one NOW".

I have a great job and make lots of $$$, so cost is not a very big issue for me. The only problem is.....I never took any music lessons, don't know the first thing about guitars and have no clue how to get started. I am kind of tempted to go back and buy that guitar at WalMart tonight (just coz its right there....no "homework" required). But should I shop around a little more? What do you guys think? If I get a guitar from a more dedicated music store, what is the advantage? for example, will it SOUND better? will it PLAY better? is it LIGHTER? etc...just some basic thoughts in my mind. Keep in mind that I am an absolute beginner, and am probably NOT going to be performing anywhere except my bedroom, so sound quality may not be such a big issue....do I need like a "name brand" guitar or will a Walmart quality guitar do? (I didn't check the brand at Walmart so dunno what it was)


Also, I have decided to get an electric as opposed to acoustic. My main concern is that....can an electric be played (and heard) without an amp? Keep in mind, I've never actually played one, so i have no idea how it works......
Eventually, like in a couple of months when I can play maybe ummm....Pretty Woman or somethin I would like to surprise my girlfriend on her birthday....hehe......so anyway, what Im wondering is can an electric guitar be used "standalone" (like an acostic) or does it always need an amp/speaker to get hooked up to?
Thanks folks, this forum has plenty of info that will help me get started.

[smfulla]

Umm seeing as the question about 'Can an electric be played acoustically?' is your main one. It can be... to a certain extent. You will here a sound, but not much of one, and it probably would be the volume you're looking for, so I do suggest going for an acoustic guitar mate. And yes you probably would want something a little better than a Walmart guitar. Try taking a look at some Yamaha acoustics at your local music store, or online at musicians friend (is suggest the store more, because you can actually play it before you buy it). If you're not sure on which one to choose, ask the salesperson to tell you about its features and what they bring, and get them to play on it and test it out for you. Or you could get a friend to.
Btw, yes if you get a guitar from a dedicated guitar store it will sound and play better than one from walmart, coz they can set it up to your liking etc.
I suggest to you, also to take a few guitar lessons and also look around this site, its got tonnes of info.

[Pezcore]

Firstly, yes to get any kind of real sound out of it an electric has to be amplified really.

Secondly, if your just starting on the guitar, then i would strongly advise you take along someone who already plays the guitar before buying anything, as they can tell you which brands to look out for, which are good etc, and also he/she will be able to spot porblems etc with the instrument that non-players would miss.

Failing this i would say ask the advice of someone who works in a proper guitar shop (not wal-mart, i doubt they will have a clue), they're more often than not good players themselves and again can advise you on what to look for.

And yes, guitars are like any other product, some brands play/sound much better than others, try and find out the brand of the guitar you were looking at and ill tell you what i can

-Pez

[johnjohn]

Thanks for your replies.
Just a little bit more clarification :

When you buy an electric guitar, is a basic amp included with the package, or do you have to buy it separately? Also, I'm not sure exactly how an electric guitar works, so pardon the silly question ..... but can you simply hook up the guitar with a stereo system (via the AUX input)? That would eliminate the need for a separate amp, right?

Thank you!

[Krieselman13]

Youd need a pre-amp to hookit intro a stereo system. No, amps do not come with the guitar, UNLESS you get a guitar package. But Id suggest that you get an amp, probably a Peavey wopuil;d be best for you. Not a TRIPLE X though.

[i like strats]

Well if you want an electric,... go for it, and try to bring someone who knows what there talking about to pick it out

You can buy a guitar and amp seperatly (which I recomend if money isn't an issue). or, you can get a cheap starter package which aren't exactly the best quality products, but they will do for a beginner.


Also... A gutar can be hooked up to a stereo with some jacks you can find at radio shack. A straight connection will give you a clean sound, if you want another type of sound such as distortion you will need a pedal

[Krieselman13]

How about getting a DOUBLE STACK and turning the master volume up to 11 and the gain up th 11? J/K. Coz that would realy destroy your house. Picture it.

[55'gibby]

I would suggest going to a guitar store, take someone who know LOTS about guitars. and you do have another option when it comes to guitar.. a hollow body electric

[johnjohn]

Hey folks,
I went to the music store and bought a Fender pack which includes a basic electric guitar, amp, video, strap, picks and everything I needed to get started. Pretty good deal for about $310. Now's the tough part.....getting started!!
I have followed the video tape that came along and picked up 3 chords....E, A and D. However, I am not sure how to "strum" them. Do you just "strum" the E chord over and over again? that sounds weird. or do you do sumthin like E-A-E-A-E-A???

Thanx. My lessons start next week, and I want to kind of be prepared before I go ...

[eische]

well, first play one single chord, and make sure that all the strings are sounding correctly before you strum all at once, and then start to shift between the chords you have practiced before - after that: it depends on the song you want to play to give you a pattern of shifting the different chords needed. for the beginning you may try some songs thatare only based on two chords.....

[johnjohn]

Does anyone know a song that can be played by 2 chords? E and A would be best.

[55'gibby]

If you want to throw caution to the wind and add a third chord (D), you can play bunches of songs.
for starters:
R-O-C-K in the USA (mellencamp)
Middle of the road (Pretenders).

there are many more (some way to old to mention here).

Most rock is a three chord shuffle of some sort. 12 bar blues is basically a three chord shuffle as well.

as for strumming look at the first fret lesson in the lessons area on this site. you will find some really good stuff there.

[The Fury]

2 chords, lol. You can't even play a status Quo song with 2 chords :D

Check out this list of songs that use the basic 7 chords covered in this lesson. www.cyberfret.com/chords/beginning-7/index.php

Here is the list:
www.cyberfret.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1019

You can now find the tab for them here at Cyberfret, well do the search at least.

[Krieselman13]

You can play a Greenday song, Pop Rocks And Coke as a metter of fact, with only 3 power chords on the E-A-D strings.

[eische]

@ the fury: hmm well, if you look a bit further than just the general rock-stuff, you can play some songs.
@ johnjohn: for E and A look at this http://members.tripod.de/thomas_ruehle/gitarre/giflied/welt.html and don't mind the lyrics, it's »He's got the whole world in his hand« in german....and you mentioned you learned D as well, ok for em and D look at this http://members.tripod.de/thomas_ruehle/gitarre/giflied/lady.html (for the em-chord just leave the index-grip on the E chord)

not rock, but some songs

[Krieselman13]

There s this one Grand Funk Rail Road song that I am learning that has ONE chord through most of the song, I dont remember the other ones. I am learning the power chord version though, whisch is 3 chords.