just bought my first guitar...

gurusan

gurusan

gurusan

Soldato
Joined
2 Sep 2006
Posts
13,483
Location
Forest Grove, OR, 'Merica
So I just bought my first guitar....I played the violin from 3 - 16 and was pretty damn good at it, won a bunch of awards and stuff...but I never enjoyed it, it just wasn't my instrument. (was forced to play it :mad: )

So now 6 years later I bought a guitar...it's an electro-acoustic guitar..nothing too fancy but it seems pretty nice....mahogany back/sides with a solid spruce top.

I'm already starting to get some blisters. I think I'm going to go back in a couple days and get the action reduced if thats what you call it.

I would like to get pretty good on this then start learning on an electric guitar as well... Might go electric pretty quickly though as I really like electric finger tapping and I know a lot of cool classical pieces from my violin days that sound great on the guitar...

anyway here are some pics...I got a cutaway just in case I wanted to play some higher notes and also IMO it looks better

whatcha think? I know nothing about guitars but this one has a very nice feel, simple styling, nice and light and just caught my eye so I went for it.
 
Last edited:
Andelusion said:
Very nice :) This would probably be better in the music and box office section though.

What are some of the things you're learning?
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking but then again I thought that was more about retail music and stuff....move it there mods if you feel the need. :)

As for stuff I'm learning, just basic chords and stuff for now. I've been doing a LOT of scales to build up muscle memory. I don't just want to be able to playback songs like an iPod...I want to REALLY know the guitar...

I got a pretty comprehensive-looking book called "play acoustic" by Dave Hunter...looks very good. Starts out with basic chords and then opens out into more difficult things and covers everything from blues to classical to celtic styles. I'm not entirely sure which direction I want to go but I'm hoping in a few months I'll figure it out with the help of this book.
 
Last edited:
gurusan said:
That's what I was thinking that was more about retail music and stuff....move it there mods if you feel the need. :)

As for stuff I'm learning, just basic chords and stuff for now. I've been doing a LOT of scales to build up muscle memory. I don't just want to be able to playback songs like an iPod...I want to REALLY know the guitar...

I got a pretty comprehensive-looking book called "play acoustic" by Dave Hunter...looks very good. Starts out with basic chords and then opens out into more difficult things and covers everything from blues to classical to celtic styles. I'm not entirely sure which direction I want to go but I'm hoping in a few months I'll figure it out with the help of this book.
Click to expand...

Great stuff! It's awesome that you want to actually learn the guitar properly (imo) rather than just your favourite songs.

You can create endless exercises from a few scales to build up finger dexterity. One thing I would suggest though is trying to play them with a metronome, and play them at different rhythms like 2 notes per beat (quavers) 4 notes per beat (semi-quavers) 3 note per beat (triplets) etc, muscle memory is great but if you attempt to do this you'll also be nailing your internal sense of rhythm.

Sorry, went into teaching mode :D
 
Andelusion said:
Great stuff! It's awesome that you want to actually learn the guitar properly (imo) rather than just your favourite songs.

You can create endless exercises from a few scales to build up finger dexterity. One thing I would suggest though is trying to play them with a metronome, and play them at different rhythms like 2 notes per beat (quavers) 4 notes per beat (semi-quavers) 3 note per beat (triplets) etc, muscle memory is great but if you attempt to do this you'll also be nailing your internal sense of rhythm.

Sorry, went into teaching mode :D
Click to expand...

nah plunge right into teaching mode if you feel the need!

That's exactly what I've been trying actually...doing scales then an arpeggio followed by the same scale...then doing it 2x, then 4x...but at 4 times ( i guess those are 16th notes in 4:4 time? I stopped playing violin at 16 so my music theory is a bit rusty) I start to mess up.

and now I have blisters so I really need to take it easy and will probably go in tomorrow to have the action reduced. but the guy said that I should break the guitar in for 2-3 weeks before having it "set up". Any reason he would say that? Because it's quite hard to play right now...
 
gurusan said:
nah plunge right into teaching mode if you feel the need!

That's exactly what I've been trying actually...doing scales then an arpeggio followed by the same scale...then doing it 2x, then 4x...but at 4 times ( i guess those are 16th notes in 4:4 time? I stopped playing violin at 16 so my music theory is a bit rusty) I start to mess up.

and now I have blisters so I really need to take it easy and will probably go in tomorrow to have the action reduced. but the guy said that I should break the guitar in for 2-3 weeks before having it "set up". Any reason he would say that? Because it's quite hard to play right now...
Click to expand...

Aye quavers = 8th notes (2 notes per beat - 8 notes per 4/4 bar), semiquavers = 16th notes (4 notes per beat - 16 per 4/4 bar).

The chap was probably referring to the atmospheric conditions of your house (basically the temperature and moisture) as these can have an effect on the setup of the guitar - as wood expands and contracts of course.

If you think the action is too high then take it to a tech and see what they say, chances are though if you're a beginner it's still gonna be a bugger to press the strings down, especially on an acoustic :)

The blisters should subside eventually and callous, you'll find it easier to hold the strings down then when the skin's tougher.
 
gurusan said:
and now I have blisters so I really need to take it easy and will probably go in tomorrow to have the action reduced. but the guy said that I should break the guitar in for 2-3 weeks before having it "set up". Any reason he would say that? Because it's quite hard to play right now...
Click to expand...

The 'action' refers to the distance between the strings and the fretboard and is unlikely to be causing you blisters. Its a long time since i started playing guitar but from those i have given taster sessions to one thing is always true; It canes your fingers no matter what at the start. Start off small and avoid excessive sliding/playing till agony. Each day the pain will lesson and as your fingers start to develop calluses you will gradually not even notice it. This does take time though, a month or more. Oh and be aware you will have lessened feeling in the tips of your fretting fingers for as long as your playing. This also prevents the iPod touch wheel technology working :p

A set up seems pretty pointless on an acoustic for a beginner to me since you wont notice any difference.
 
Last edited:
Clinkz said:
The 'action' refers to the distance between the strings and the fretboard and is unlikely to be causing you blisters. Its a long time since i started playing guitar but from those i have given taster sessions to one thing is always true; It canes your fingers no matter what at the start. Start off small and avoid excessive sliding/playing till agony. Each day the pain will lesson and as your fingers start to develop calluses you will gradually not even notice it. This does take time though, a month or more. Oh and be aware you will have lessened feeling in the tips of your fretting fingers for as long as your playing. This also prevents the iPod touch wheel technology working :p

A set up seems pretty pointless on an acoustic for a beginner to me since you wont notice any difference.
Click to expand...

thanks for the tips....but I'm aware of what the "action" is and it IS contributing to blisters as I have to press much harder on the strings...especially on chords where all my fingers are lined up on the same fret on each string....the first finger for example has no choice but to take a place pretty far from the fret so the high action means I have to press quite hard.
 
Congratulations on your purchase :)

I've had my acoustic for almost 4 weeks now and I'm love, it's my first guitar and I found the strings pretty damn painful but with perseverance I've managed to surpass that stage of 'pain'. It really is one of the best purchases in terms of treating myself, such a rewarding hobby!

How are you like on the guitar? Have you had any prior experience?
 
dark_shadow said:
Congratulations on your purchase :)

I've had my acoustic for almost 4 weeks now and I'm love, it's my first guitar and I found the strings pretty damn painful but with perseverance I've managed to surpass that stage of 'pain'. It really is one of the best purchases in terms of treating myself, such a rewarding hobby!

How are you like on the guitar? Have you had any prior experience?
Click to expand...

cool...another newbie! What kinds of things are you learning? And yeah it seems that I'm building up calluses pretty quickly....

As for how I am on the guitar...well, I suck ass :P No prior experience whatsoever...


It is a bit weird learning a new instrument and starting from the beginning though....I started the violin at 3 years old and don't really remember it so I've always known how to play it my whole life....almost like I was born knowing how to play the violin....so starting out new is kinda weird although I'm finding a lot of my knowledge transcribes to the guitar as well.
 
If i think back to when i started to play i think i went through 6month of thinking... i suck!.. but it was weird, if you keep practicing you will feel crap for a while but it almost happens like one day your crap, the next day things start to click...

Or more importantly for me when i was starting out i couldnt for the life of me go from C to G (once i finally managed to get my fingers in place) but one day i remember sat on my bedroom floor and i went from C to G without much hassle and i was literally over the moon all day.... I was well excited.. Its like little mini mountains you overcome and after each one you feel awesome.

When i finally figured out how to play "Whats my age again" .. i thought id made it!!! :)

After about a year of beginning it starts to get technical after that, after a couple of years playing you will realise that most songs are really really easy to play
 
The thing is you're constantly learning on the guitar, you cannot possibly come to a point where there isn't something new to learn, just like with any musical instrument. So yeah you reach plateaus where for weeks nothing improves, but eventually you break out of that, it never stops being challenging so it never stops being rewarding either :)

4 Reasons not to practse: 1) There 2) Are 3) No 4) Reasons :p /Steve Vai
 
gurusan said:
thanks for the tips....but I'm aware of what the "action" is and it IS contributing to blisters as I have to press much harder on the strings...especially on chords where all my fingers are lined up on the same fret on each string....the first finger for example has no choice but to take a place pretty far from the fret so the high action means I have to press quite hard.
Click to expand...

Without sounding harsh, guitar is a totally different animal to any other string instrument. It could be a combination of things causing you problems - steel strings vs catgut, thicker gauge of strings and longer scale length.

Is the action significantly higher than other guitars you tried at the shop? If you could measure the relief at the 12th, 15th and 3rd frets that'd give us some idea if it's wildly off and would benefit from a setup.

I'd leave it for two weeks or so and see how you get on as it will take some time to adjust to a new instrument. It might take you a while to get used to guitar but you're coming from a great starting point. It is hugely frustrating at the start, and as others have mentioned be prepared to suck for about 6 months - this will probably be even more frustating being proficient in another instrument.
 
Whilst it very, very hard to tell due to the angle of both pictures, I would say that it isn't 'bad' as such at all. However, I may be wrong, its difficult to judge said pictures.
 
Nitefly said:
Whilst it very, very hard to tell due to the angle of both pictures, I would say that it isn't 'bad' as such at all. However, I may be wrong, its difficult to judge said pictures.
Click to expand...

but it hurts!!! i guess I just have to keep at it.

It's just that I've played my friends guitar before and it was quite easy compared to this.
 
gurusan said:
but it hurts!!! i guess I just have to keep at it.

It's just that I've played my friends guitar before and it was quite easy compared to this.
Click to expand...
Don't take my word as fact, I'm very amature in comparisson to some on here, so wait for a consensus opinion ;)

If your friends guitar was an electric, keep in mind that electric strings are much less stressful on the fingers.
 
Nitefly said:
Don't take my word as fact, I'm very amature in comparisson to some on here, so wait for a consensus opinion ;)

If your friends guitar was an electric, keep in mind that electric strings are much less stressful on the fingers.
Click to expand...

friends guitar was an acoustic ;)
 
It doesn't look too bad, but that could definitely come down a mm or so at the 12th fret and still be perfectly playable. I'd still give it a couple of weeks and then go back and have it set up if I were you though, to let it bed in as they say.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom