Please spec me.. an Electric Guitar!

TaKeN

TaKeN

TaKeN

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Joined
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Shropshire
I'm a big Metallica fan.. and as a result have been longing to try and play some of their intros for a while now.

But.. I've not played a Guitar before and want to buy one.

I'm left handed (so the main 'body' of the guitar needs to be played with my left hand.. best way of me explaining it incase I actually require a right handed one instead..)

I've no idea whats best for a beginner to mess around with, or what gear to get... my budget is around £200.. stretching to £250 at a push.

So, as title. Please spec me some stuff :)
 
Pacifica is an Awesome Guitar but don't get the wood grain one it's to country & looks crap.
Contact that site & have a word about a left hooker starter pack & you'll get all you need for less than 250.
All you need then is untold overdrive & a few power chords & you'll be a rock god in no time. :D
 
malc30 said:
Pacifica is an Awesome Guitar but don't get the wood grain one it's to country & looks crap.
Contact that site & have a word about a left hooker starter pack & you'll get all you need for less than 250.
All you need then is untold overdrive & a few power chords & you'll be a rock god in no time. :D
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Do not listen to this man! In terms of playability, if you haven't bought a Pacifica you have wasted your money. It plays better than most guitars at £500 from my experiences.
 
Thanks for your replys the both of you :D

The confusion brought a smile to my face, I must admit heh

I'll get onto them and see if they can put me a nice cheap package together with the above Guitar, Thanks :)
 
I started on a Pacifica aswell 4yrs ago, couldn't fault it for the price.

As a big Metallica fan myself, after getting the basics down, maybe try Enter Sandman or Welcome Home intros :)

Oh and Nothing Else Matters, will help improve string skipping.
 
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You're lucky you've got the perfect recommendation from a predominantly computer hardware forum ;)

Johno please? said:
Oh and Nothing Else Matters, will help improve string skipping.
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lol, there's no string skipping in that song. It's just finger picking. String skipping is a completely different technique and 9 times out of 10 a lot harder than the finger picking in nothing else matters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKvIAuXMl7U

Here's a few names I recommend you look into, when I started playing the guitar I was way too keen on metallica and pretty much neglected everything else for a year or so.

Paul Gilbert
Andy Timmons
Eric Johnson
Joe Satriani
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Jimi Hendrix
Steve Vai
Racer X
Guns and Roses (solos in Sweet Child, November Rain and Knocking on Heavens Door are breathtaking)

All advanced stuff but there will be parts of their songs you might be able to tackle after a few months. I'd have killed to have been made familiar with those artists rather than having to find them myself after 2/3 years of playing.
 
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Yes, Very lucky I got the perfect recommendation on here :D

Songs from Metallica that I realy want to try..

-Nothing Else Matters
-One
-Unforgiven
-Seek and Destroy
-Enter Sandman..

I could go on all day with the above.

Gustov you're right, there is a whole word of awesome stuff to play out there that I'd like to do, The G&R that you've mentioned. Voodoo Child/Chile by Jimi Hendrix

I'll have a look into the rest of the ones on the list, Thanks.

..and Finally. Platipus... unfortunately I'm more of a Bob the Builder fan, does he have a replica guitar I can buy? K.Thnx ;)
 
Nothing else Matters and Enter Sandman (the clean intro riff) are good beginner riffs, with Sandman being considerably more difficult.

I would really recommend you try a right handed guitar, you are severely limited in terms of models of guitar when you decide to upgrade.
 
Gustov said:
Here's a few names I recommend you look into, when I started playing the guitar I was way too keen on metallica and pretty much neglected everything else for a year or so.

Paul Gilbert
Andy Timmons
Eric Johnson
Joe Satriani
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Jimi Hendrix
Steve Vai
Racer X
Guns and Roses (solos in Sweet Child, November Rain and Knocking on Heavens Door are breathtaking)

All advanced stuff but there will be parts of their songs you might be able to tackle after a few months. I'd have killed to have been made familiar with those artists rather than having to find them myself after 2/3 years of playing.
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You shouldn't be going anywhere near some of those artists (Gilbert, Vai, Satriani) until years into your guitar 'career'. Perhaps for fun, but don't even attempt taking these artists seriously at your stage of playing. That's coming from someone who has 10 years of playing under his belt. There are far too many players out there that jump into the deep end rather than enjoying the simple pleasures.

Just start out simple - don't overcomplicate things, learn a few good strum alongs and all will be well. I suggest you look into Oasis, The Beatles and other pop songs you enjoy. Don't start off complicated and make playing the guitar a chore, because your techniques and abilities to play guitar will improve with time regardless of what you play.

Andelusion said:
Nothing else Matters and Enter Sandman (the clean intro riff) are good beginner riffs, with Sandman being considerably more difficult.

I would really recommend you try a right handed guitar, you are severely limited in terms of models of guitar when you decide to upgrade.
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This probably has quite a fair bit of truth in it (besides, Andelusion is 50x the guitar player than most of us noobs).
 
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Gustov said:
You're lucky you've got the perfect recommendation from a predominantly computer hardware forum ;)



lol, there's no string skipping in that song. It's just finger picking. String skipping is a completely different technique and 9 times out of 10 a lot harder than the finger picking in nothing else matters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKvIAuXMl7U

.
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lol, good point I r noob, well you can still play the intro with a pick if you wanted I guess.
 
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I got a response from Nevada, which went like this

Yes we currently have one of the Yamaha Pacifica 112 Left YNS left in stock, this was the only finish we managed to get in left handed. We can easily piece you a package together. Basic 10 watt amps start from £39.95 on our website, if your just looking for a cheap home practice amp I recommend looking at Gibson Baldwin 10 Watt combo. Or if you’re looking for something with more features the Roland Microcube’s are great little practice amps.

We also sell straps on our website from £4.99, same with spare strings, and leads. The only thing extra you might want to add would be maybe some tuition material (book, dvd etc). I have included some links for you below:

Guitar - http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/Guitars/Electric-Guitars/Left-Handed-Electric-Guitars/sc1048/p1219.aspx
Amplifier - http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/search.aspx?keywords=baldwin
- http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/Guitar...act-and-Practice-Amplifiers/sc1210/p1663.aspx
Strap - http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/Guitars/Guitar-Accessories/Guitar-Straps/sc1624/p780.aspx
Lead - http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/Guitars/Guitar-Accessories/Guitar-Leads-and-Pickups/sc1620/p6218.aspx
Strings - http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/Guitars/Guitar-Accessories/Electric-Guitar-Strings/sc1617/p342.aspx
DVD - http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/Music-Books-and-DVDs/Music-DVDs/sc1280/p110.aspx
Book - http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/Musical-Instrument-Accessories/Musician-Accessories/sc1218/p690.aspx

This list is just purely a recommendation of some of the most popular products we keep in store, I would say all of them are necessities, for example you don’t need both a book and dvd just which ever you prefer, and I have also included two amplifiers for you to choose from, depending on what kind of quality you are looking for.
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I can't seem to find a left handed Pacifica in any other colour :( Can anyone recommend any other online music stores that might carry stock?

Unfortunately I feel that even if I try a Right handed guitar.. its going to feel very wrong and unplayable.

I currently shoot a shotgun and rifle from my left shoulder (left handed shotguns.. not many about) ..I do Archery and use a left handed compound bow there. In my mind I definately need a left handed guitar, anything else just wouldn't feel right.

ATB. John
 
It's strange because your picking hand is just as important as your fretting hand when playing guitar, neither really holds importance the majority of the time, in the beginning whichever way you sit is going to feel unusual/uncomfortable/strange, purely because playing guitar simply feels odd to begin with, just putting your fingers on the strings correctly will feel awkward. The ideal situation would be to see if a friend has a guitar you could borrow for a couple of weeks, or maybe even rent one from a shop, and see if you get on with it.
 
I'm also naturally left handed but I play guitar with my right hand. Definitely get down to a store and try a few out :)

As for recommendations, The pacifica is a great choice. However, for my first electric it was down to the pacifica or RGX A2. I went for the RGX A2 and I haven't looked back since. Brings a smile to my face every time I pick it up :)
 
I've never understood why when it comes to left handed guitars. You use both hands, so therefore they should just be as they are.

You're learning something completely new, and should therefore be without the issues that being right or left handed can bring when you're trying to use something designed for the opposite.

I'm right handed, but I can easily use my left for a lot of things, I can use my mouse easily enough with my left hand for example, and my hand writing is bad enough that I doubt anyone would be able to tell which was done with my left hand and which was done with my right, unless there were smears. :p

I'd recommend using a "Normal" guitar, I don't beleive there should be something as a left version of something that requires both hands in the first place.

Left handed car anyone? Left handed piano?

As for what guitar to get, you could get something a lot better if you went for something second hand instead of brand new, if that doesn't bother you.

I've current got an Ibanez RG370 DX, which retailed for about £300 when I got mine, I got mine for £250, but it also had been upgraded with a dimarzio bridge pickup which goes for around £70, so all in all I was pretty happy with that.

I'm going to do a complete re-wire on my guitar when I've got some monies to upgrade the rest of the stock pickups and or get myself a sustainer. :p
 
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