first guitar advice

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:14 am

14 year old lil' miss smack has expressed an interest in playing the geeeetar. I suspect it might turn out to be as much of an interest as the flute turned out to be in 4th grade, but, am willing to give it a shot anyhoo.

I don't wanna spend a whole lot, bu, would like to get her something that doesn't sound like complete shit. She has finally outgrown the britney spears, crappy pop thing and seems to be becoming more of a rock, or atleast what passes off as rock nowadays, fan.

thanks in advance and fukk you in advance for the inevitably band camp resets.

campinfool · Post by **campinfool** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:37 am

Can't go wrong with anything Fender. Can usually get a good deal on a Fender Squier.

DiT · Post by **DiT** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:47 pm

more people have prolly cut their teeth on a Fender Squier than any other guitar ever made.

Van · Post by **Van** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 2:17 pm

Mess with her head somethin' fierce...

socal · Post by **socal** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 2:21 pm

My son, now 14, has had a Fender Stratocaster for a couple of years. It's served him well but he's itching to get something new.

TenTallBen · Post by **TenTallBen** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 2:46 pm

I learned on a very shitty Alvarez acoustic when I was about 14. My parents thought it would be another passing fad and that I'd have to prove myself on an inexpensive acoustic ($120) before they would ever consider buying me an electric. After a few months of locking myself in my bedroom upstairs everyday after school, I played a few songs for them and they were blown away. Soon thereafter I got my first electric, a noisy Charvel piece of shit. A year or so after that I stepped it up to a fancier Charvel and a pretty loud Peavey combo amp. I mowed a shitload of yards over those years. But it wasn't until I graduated high school that all of that hard work and practice paid off. That's when I got these...man was that worth the wait!

You can get an Epiphone LP pretty cheap but I'd prolly go with a Mexican Strat. I've yet to hear a Squire that would ever stay in tune.

OCmike · Post by **OCmike** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 3:06 pm

My first guitar was a Squier Strat. It's a great way to go since you can pick one up for under $100, 'specially if you have an area Guitar Center. I'm sure they're having a big sale this weekend.

warren · Post by **warren** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 3:18 pm

down here you can get a nice Peavey for half the price of a Fender. Same guitar.

Mustang · Post by **Mustang** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 3:22 pm

You're getting some pretty good advice here. I found a great deal on a Yamaha acoustic back in college then a couple years ago, got a Fender Squier and small amp. Cheap....both cost me about $200. Haven't looked back. 14 is a great age to start. If she stays with it, by 20 she'll be a whiz. Another thing to consider is something called a G-Dec amplifier made by Fender. Really good for learning....gives you music beds you can solo over.

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 3:29 pm

TenTallBen wrote:....After a few months of locking myself in my bedroom upstairs everyday after school, I got a nasty blister on my dick, so I gave it a rest and picked up that guitar.

ftfy, nc.

Atomic Punk · Post by **Atomic Punk** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 3:54 pm

Get her an acoustic guitard first. BTW, I knew Van would chime in and pull out a PRS deal.

Van · Post by **Van** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 5:55 pm

Ibanez JEM77BRMR, then new "Bad Horsie" JEM, ZZ...

C'mon.

Besides, hell, yeah, make her have to deal with a locking nut, a floating bridge, 24 frets and no traditional fret dots as her first guitar! Challenge her! Make her think outside the box.

I'm joking, of course.

A Squire Strat or a Mexican Strat and a G-Dec is absolutely the best way to go. My old Squier Strat stayed in tune just fine, and I regularly did step and a half and even two step bends on it. Also, because of the pickup routs beneath the pickguard you won't have to buy a whole new guitar later on once you start wanting to play heavier/distorted things. You can just go ahead and easily drop in a full sized bridge humbucker and a new $20 pickguard and voila, there you go, you've now got an Andy Timmons style versatile bridge 'bucker/middle and neck single coils guitar.

(Edit: Come to think of it, just skip one step and get an H-S-S Squire Strat or Mexican Strat right from the start. Any kid these days is going to want a bridge 'bucker way more than a bridge single coil so don't even bother with a traditional S-S-S Strat. You can always add a coil tap later on if you decide you also want a single coil tone from the bridge...)

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:11 pm

OCmike wrote:My first guitar was a Squier Strat. It's a great way to go since you can pick one up for under $100, 'specially if you have an area Guitar Center. I'm sure they're having a big sale this weekend.

Yeah they'always seem to be having a "biggest sale of the year" every other weekend.

TenTallBen · Post by **TenTallBen** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:30 pm

Seriously. Make'em learn on an acoustic. No amp needed and when it comes times to step up to the electric it will be SO much easier.

Van · Post by **Van** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:41 pm

Better yet, if you really wanna do it right make her start on piano...

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:43 pm

Or ask her if she’d like to put her hands on a nice organ.

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 8:13 pm

A harmonica might be a nice option. Teenage girls need to learn how to suck and blow as soon as possible.

Mustang · Post by **Mustang** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:12 pm

Van wrote:Better yet, if you really wanna do it right make her start on piano...

I was actually going to say this in my post. A piano is sooooo much more visual than a guitar. All the notes are in a nice little line! How tidy. A guitar? You have to go to different strings and remember to skip steps and junk (stuff that becomes second nature after a while). But let's face it....a guitar is much cooler (and more portable) to play.

Mister Bushice · Post by **Mister Bushice** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:21 pm

TenTallBen wrote:Seriously. Make'em learn on an acoustic. No amp needed and when it comes times to step up to the electric it will be SO much easier.

No, young girls have a hard time with acoustic guitars. small hands, tough string tension. Unless they are toally dedicated , they'll give up when it begins to hurt, and it will hurt until the callouses grow in. better to go electric, and get an amp with some flexibility sound wise, either an fx loop or some built ins.

Van · Post by **Van** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:49 pm

G-Dec.

End of story.

Ang · Post by **Ang** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 6:14 am

Since my son is 14 and just recently started to play guitar....this is his post from here on.

Since she is a girl, I would suggest starting off on an electric guitar. If she doesn't know if she is dedicated or not, I would get a cheapo guitar. But make sure it works. I have an Epihone Les Paul, it's pretty much the standard les paul. It is very easy to play, and it has a tune-o-matic-bridge (You can adjust the bridge). I bought mine in a beginner player pack. It came with a tuner, strap, instruction book, picks, and a case(gig-bag). It costs $200. You can find it here. I practice on an acoustic guitar, because they are generally harder to play and I get in better practice. I wouldn't start out on an acoustic guitar unless she is totally dedicated, playing on an acoustic guitar at first is very frustrating. We just happened to have one laying around from a while ago :-). Bottom line, just make sure you are comfortable with whatever you pick out, and you don't have to strain yourself to be able to play it.