NO NO NO. This is very useful. Yeah, there are many states that have pawnshops, so that will probably be where I will go. I will try to do the tests heya wrote.

Thanks everyone for being so helpful, you are all really great.

What do you guys think about online training sites, like www.guitartricks.com? I'm interested in learning the guitar, and these places are relatively cheap compared to a live guitar teacher. What, if any, are the drawbacks to be aware of before I hand over my credit card and sign up?

I'm not a guitarist, however:

Instant feedback is crucial in learning how to do anything, especially an instrument. Regardless of how big a guitar lesson website is, they're not gonna tell you what you're doing wrong the majority of the time.

When you're learning you really need to get it right quickly otherwise you're gonna be stuck doing it wrong and be unable to change it later because you're muscles won't approve, which may limit your playing abilities depending on what fault you have.

I am all about getting a teacher if you're brand spanking new as a musician, though I know many people who have taught themselves, those people tend to be coming from another instrument and so already know the basics.

Pay for 5 in-person lessons. You're good from there. Once you can tune a guitar and understand the basic mechanics of guitar playing and read tab or something, you can find the rest from there. x100 now that the internet exists.

We used to buy $3.50 monthly guitar magazines for tips and some songs, it worked. Now with YouTube, forums and tabs everywhere, there's just every resource you could want.

You dont need a tuner....just buy guitar toolkit for iphone. I also really like the "guitar lick of the day" app for ipad.

Thanks guys. I like the compromise of 5 paid lessons to get up and running, followed by some internet lessons. I already play piano and trumpet, but guitar seems to use a completely different sheet music system (i.e., "tab"). Some early live lessons is probably a good idea.
Cheers, Bug

The only problem with tabs on the internet is 99% of them are transcribed by apparently, near tone-deaf folks.

Another problem with tab is that it does not show you the rhythm either. Guitar players should just learn to read music ffs, its much easier in the long run

""3) Use standard strings for a while, not too heavy. For beginners I suggest a common .009-.042 is gauge leaning to the light side, it's a little easier on your fingers. Buy a 3-pack of these or these. """

NOOOOOO

Since you're newbie at guitar, string gauge will have to do with the scale length of you guitar.

If you want to play with a standard tuning here it is:

if your guitar of choice is a 24.75", use 10 46 string gauge
If ----------------------- 25.5 " use 9 42

I would recommend you to NOT buy a Gibson like guitar.

try to buy a good quality guitar on which the action is not too high.
Go to a shop and try some telecaster or ibanez with a fixed bridge

songsterr

you can at least listen to them to check them out

Same dif.

Guitar pro does it all

My tip for beginners is get yourself a battery tuner, it will get your ear in a lot quicker than manually, and make you a faster manual tuner because your ear will faster train to know what it really should sound like.

Also, learn to tune using harmonics. Here's a link on how to do it. It's so much easier to tune than traditional manual tuning, but so few guitarists seem to do it (I think):

http://www.get-tuned.com/harmonics.php

I was in a band and the guitarist used to tune by harmonics all the time.

Needless to say he was always out of tune with the rest of the band because they tuned up with electronic tuners!

Tuning by harmonics the way that most people do it will always leave the guitar out of tune. You have to avoid using the 7th string harmonics because they are pure intervals, i.e. slightly sharper than the equal-tempered 12ths/5ths that the frets of the guitar are set up for.

I usually tune my guitar (if I don't have a tuner) by tuning one string (usually the A) from a source, then matching octaves or unisons using combinations of the 12th and 5th harmonics , open strings and fretted notes. For example, after I get my A, I would match the 7th fret on the 5th string with the 12 fret harmonic on the 6th string. Then I would match my 12th fret harmonic on the 5th string with the 2nd fret of the 3rd string. And so on.

well, i just got a some stuff to help set up my guitar properly from a site (expensive a **** though). a set of radius gauges, a beveled straight edge and an action gauge. i got that book mitch recommended, so i am going to attempt to mess with it sometime this week. wish me luck. besides that stuff i think i saw i should get some sort of lubricant for the truss rod nut, some super fine steel wool, and maybe some cleaner (it isn't all that dirty, just dusty). i need to get a new set of strings and have the stuff to change those. alrighty then.

Umm good luck dude. u Got some balls apparently, cause if I couldn't play barre chords I wouldn't dare mess with adjusting action.

Should be a nice TR and learning experience tho, and I wish you luck.

ty sir.
i can play barre chords, just not for very long or switch between them.

i figure the technical aspect of learning the workings of the instrument have nothing to do with my inability to quickly learn how to play the instrument. i will see though. might be fun.

You have the right tools. The only part where playing ability comes into question is finding the perfect balance between truss adjustment and bridge height, but you can still get a better than music store setup without even considering that; it's more of a custom adjustment that varies with instrument, climate and player tendencies. Just using a radius gauge will put you above 90% of music stores. Now just work on your truss adjustment chops.

Once you're killing your setups, we'll talk about recrowning that Squier.

That's a good sign, expecting to hear good things

i hope to have a screaming squire indeed.
i really just want to know how the thing works. i have been working on the exercises and they have been working. i want to know the ins and outs of the instrument too. thanks for all the help all. will keep you updated.

Jmitch

Learning to adjust your setup is a really useful skill

the mechanics of the guitar can become easily screwed up by trying to adjust it yourself without experience, especially if you have a whammy bar. Take it to a respectable shop that customizes or builds guitars and have them set it up. Trust me...if you mess up your guitars adjustments you wont play it and might just give it up. Learn to play as much as possible until you are hooked, then get into adjusting bridge height, truss rods etc. also when they set it up choose your strings and never change the gauge again, it has to be set up for each string gauge.

That was back in the day when there was little info on it. When I was 12 or 13 I decided to replace my bridge pickup, and there was no internet to get an idea; I just went in and did it. By the time I got done only the middle pickup worked. I brought it to a shop and he said I fried the switch (hard to do that) and fried the tone pot (really hard to do that). Meh, so I was out the cost of a new switch and pot (of course I risked screwing the pickup (which I thought I had), but I understood that ahead of time and took extra care).

If he had a Floyd and was changing from 9's to 10's, then I wouldn't recommend he do it himself, but he's got a Squire Strat - pretty basic setup (even if he has to adjust the claw). Also, he has an education degree in music (which means at least one semester of class guitar), and he's been around instruments all his life (e.g., understands it's not like working on a car engine).

As I write in my setup post below from the other thread (intonation I put in a different post, but I only quote this post for the importance of the truss), the truss is where you have to be most careful. The book Gonzo recommended to him will make sure he understands proper relief and how to achieve it. Unless you're just not mechanically inclined at all, it would be hard not to get a good setup with the radius tools he bought.

On the other hand, the guy with the broken neck that wants to do it himself (even though it's in a good spot) I would suggest go to a shop and pay $50 (mostly because you have to break it to fix it).

#0000 steel wool is what you need sir


quadruple aught