RodeoSchro said:

yes you are...I actually bought a cheap one...just to practice on until I get better...thanks a lot of your advice!

usedtobebliss said:

Thanks! Honestly I bought a cheap one....I gave in...when I master that guitar I guess I will buy something better if I'm still into the guitar.

I hate to see someone buy a cheap guitar, but then most people never learn to play it. So why have a Gibson, right?

I started with a cheap guitar, too, and 20 years later I finally have my real Gibson & my real Fender.

NDRU said:

nice!

peacenlovealways said:

so...what did you get?

NDRU said:

yes
my first guitar was $10, bought it from a classmate at school. Once I had learned a bit I got a better one or two
but I never kept it up, so I'm really glad I never spent $1000s on gear

ZombieKitten said:

And it's nice to have something to look forward to while you play a cheapo guitar.

NDRU said:

my guitar might only have been $10 second hand, but I think my friend's parents had spent a lot of money on it : it was actually a very nice classical guitar.

peacenlovealways said:

... have a ball

if you need help along the way feel free to pm me

are you going to buy an amp?

The next time you buy a guitar check out used guitars(I would say Epiphones are pretty good beginner guitars) on ebay. I will never buy a new guitar again--unless it is specially made for me. If you do not like the guitar, you can always put it back up on ebay and get back around the same amount you payed for it. Provided you didn't vastly over pay.

abigail05 said:

ahhhh! I'm so stupid....I thought I bought a package ....anyway I bought this
http://www.sweetwater.com...BulletBLK/


A Great Starter Strat!
The Squier® Bullet® Strat® solidbody electric is a great guitar for beginners and experienced players alike. Phenomenally affordable and great-sounding, the Bullet Strat is easy to play, which is essential to keep the interest of those just getting started on guitar. It features a basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, plus three single-coil Strat pickups and a 1-volume/2-tone control arrangement just like its big brothers. A cool tremolo bridge and 5-position pickup switch round out the great features on the Squier Bullet Strat®.

Squier Bullet Strat Features:

* Color: Black
* Body: Basswood, slim profile (42mm)
* Neck: Maple
* Fingerboard: Rosewood 9.5" radius (241mm)
* Frets: 21 Medium-jumbo
* Scale length: 25.5" (648mm)
* Width at nut: 1.650" (42mm)
* Hardware: Chrome
* Machine heads: Covered tuners
* Bridge: 6-screw tremolo with six block saddles
* Pickguard: 1-ply white
* Pickups: 3 Single-coil Strat pickups
* Pickup switching: 5-position blade
* Controls: Master volume, tone 1, tone 2
* Strings: FENDER® Super 250L, (.009 to .042)

Now, what else am I going to need?

usedtobebliss said:

I bought a squier bullet strat....no amp....what other things will I need to buy for the guitar? thanks!

peacenlovealways said:

Besides the amp? Cable, picks, strap (if it didn't already come with it).

And on the side, A Digitech Bad Monkey, Boss Super Chorus, Boss DD3 delay pedal, A Dunlop Crybaby, and maybe a Milkbox.

peacenlovealways said:

i think something like a roland microcube or a vox DA5 would be good choice of amp.... or for more money the vox valvetronix series
they have different amp models (so differnt sounds... like nice cleans to fairly heavy distortion)... they also come with built in effects... such as delay... reverb... phaser etc..... enough toys to experiment with while you're learning

you'll need a tuner... cable and picks too

I'd say an amp is pretty crucial now. You're in luck because there are a ton of great modeling amps now for less than $150. How about a Peavey Vyper or a Line 6 Spider?

Sounds crazy but I'd almost warn you to watch out for too many features on an amp. The point is to learn to play, not fiddle with the chorus effect for 45 minutes and then get bored.

iinthesky85 said:

cool pedal... haven't used mine in a while but i like it for a boost... i crank the treble and bass all the way.... and have the gain at 0.... often tubescreamer clones have a lot of emphasis on the mids (not that that's a bad thing)... i find cranking the treble and bass makes it thick and creamy

peacenlovealways said:

Patience! Nah, just kidding. Guitar is not hard to learn. LEAD guitar takes some time, though.

OK, here's what I think you should do now:

1. YOU NEED A NEW G-STRING. When the guitar comes in, take it to a guitar shop and ask them to re-string it with very light-gauge strings (.08 or .09, called "8's" or "9's" by players). I promise you, the strings that will come with the guitar are NOT good strings, so invest $15 in new strings that are strung correctly.
2. EASY IS GOOD. And ask them to set the guitar up for ease of play, meaning you want those light-gauge strings as close to the fretboard as possible, but not so close that they rattle on the frets when you play them. Combined with the light gauge strings, this makes playing the guitar - i.e., pressing on the strings to make notes - as physically easy as possible
3. SLIPPERY WHEN WET. Buy that Finger Ease stuff. It's a lubricant that you spray on the strings, and it makes them slippery. That makes it easier to go from one fret to the next.
4. FIND A GUITAR TEACHER. Tell him/her EXACTLY what you want to be able to do. Do you want to learn lead licks? Or do you want to be able to play the rhythm part and sing along? (I recommend the latter at first.) I teach guitar, and what I do is ask new students what their favorite song is. Then we learn it. As we learn it, I teach them what chords are, how they're formed, etc. I believe that someone who just says, "OK, here are some scales and a chord diagram. Learn these first" is gonna bore the tears out of a new student. So I do it song by song, picking out different songs that teach what a guitarist needs to know. I do NOT recommend buying a "How To" DVD as a beginner. There are good DVDs out there, but in the beginning, nothing beats a real human sitting next to you, IMHO.
5. PLAY A LOT. It's the same as everything else - the more you play, the better you'll be. If you have a friend that can play, see if he/she will sit in with you sometimes. That's how Prince learned - by sitting in with Sonny T.
6. GET A METRONOME. Or a drum machine. Or whatever, but you need something that can keep time. And VERY IMPORTANT - learn to tap your foot in time with the beat. It's not hard to do, but you've gotta stay on the beat and this is how you learn to do it. If you can count to 4, you're already half-way there!
7. PICKS. Buy a bag of thin and a bag of medium picks. Thin are easier to strum with, but harder to play licks with. If you're learning chords first, thin is what you'll want to play with. If you're learning lead licks, then medium picks will work better. You can strum with medium picks too, but not quite as easy. Eventually, you'll probably play exclusively with medium picks, but learn on the easy thin ones first.
8. SPEAKING OF STRUMMING, the right hand is at least as important as the left hand (assuming you're right-handed). What makes the guitar sound good comes mostly from the right hand. Think of it like drumming - if all you could do on the drums is go "Boom.....Boom.....Boom.....Boom" it would sound boring, right? Same with guitar. Think of your strumming hand as a percussive instrument. The best way I've found to do this is to do two things: (A) When holding the pick, let the three unused fingers hang down. Don't curl them up, because IMHO it's harder to strum that way; and (B) Play standing up. Hey, you're going to be standing up onstage when you blow the roof off the house, right? Well, start standing up NOW! It's easier to get funky when you're standing up.

Rock on!

I love it when people pick up guitar for the 1st time. Takes me way, way back. Good memories.

most important, enjoy yourself! you'll probably be awful for a while but always keep in mind that in 2 years you'll almost certainly be better than Madonna.

abigail05 said:

^ yep

have heard good things about the vypers.... have you played through one?

i like peavey gear... some people rag on it but my classic 30 has been a reliable solid amp for years

usedtobebliss said:

I will definately try that! Thanks!!!

usedtobebliss said:

I haven't, but they seem to like it at Musician's Friend. I've got a Classic 50 that has always been good to me, but now it makes a terrible rumble/squeal when it gets hot. I'm thinking...new transformer? Just a simple tube swap?

when I was learning guitar, we played through Gorilla amps, and liked it!

abigail05 said:

maybe one of the tubes has gone micro-phonic?

i recently bought a marshall 1962 bluesbreaker reissue combo..... i am so in love with this amp right now

usedtobebliss said:

nice! I haven't had a Marshall yet. :envy:

Thanks everyone...just got it today...it's beautiful Candy came in the box too. I won' eat it though. Thank you all for your help.

peacenlovealways said:

Have fun!!!!

RodeoSchro said:

I bought a pick...I have no idea how to play...but I hope to learn soon.