Skinnyman

Welcome Lee! And there are plenty of people who have taken up guitar later in life (I was in my fifties) so you’re not alone! At one time I’d have said that it’s best to find a tutor and have lessons (and, to be honest, that’s still the best way) but lockdowns and the like mean that there are a whole raft of alternative resources out there to get you going. My recommendation would still be to have a few lessons at some stage but you can cover a lot of the basics online. As I’m sure you’ve found, there are lots of YouTube videos of varying quality as well as “games” to help you learn your way around the strings and fretboard. There are also a lot of online tutors who will do one-on-one lessons as well as online courses that are you through a full curriculum. My favourite of these is the Justin Guitar set of courses which are free (although you can pay for extras and apps but there’s a huge amount of free material available) and I like Justin’s style and approach. Good luck on the journey and get ready for advice and guidance to be given (whether you want it or not!).

Now sold Selling my 2014 Korean-made Epiphone ES175 Premium. It’s in lovely condition and comes with a Hiscox hard case. Currently strung with d’addario flat wounds for that real 3am jazz club vibe. Nice. There’s a little light bubbling of the paint at the heel of the neck (see pictures) along the joint which was present when I bought the guitar a few years ago and hasn’t got any worse - I’ve not tried to do anything about it as I figure it’s the start of the guitar building itself some mojo. Ideally, I’m looking for a straight sale but I might consider trades - what have you got? Price is for collection only (or a meet somewhere within reasonable travelling distance). I will consider shipping in the UK at extra cost to long-standing GC or BC members if I can find a suitable box. Please PM for details.

I can’t say that I have a good answer to this as I’ve been trying to address the same issue myself. I’ve spent quite a while learning guitar solos that I like and trying to identify handy licks and riffs to, er, borrow. I also try and analyse the solo to see what’s being played over the underlying chord. And finally, I try and get a melody in my head and play that, then extemporise around it. At least, that’s what I try to do. Results are patchy at the moment but I do get the occasional “ooh that was nice” bit and not always by accident.

Thanks, Lefty. My rehabilitation is almost complete and I should be back soon!

An interesting question and not one I have an answer to - other than the fact that the Tele seems to be the one guitar that crosses all genres

Another one for Northwest...good range and great service. And I’m now interested in trying a set of the Wilkinsons

The advert I saw claimed these were liquidation stock and showed a load of guitars in open boxes. Strangely, all of the boxes were identical size and shape, were unlike any of the Gibson, Fender or Rickenbacker boxes I’ve ever seen and had no hard cases or gig bags. I think they’re probably not genuine

I looked at the original iRig when it first came out but didn’t really have a need for it. The iRig2 looks to be more versatile. I’m still not sure I need one - but I think I want one now Curse this GAS!

That’s nice. Very nice indeed

Hi PS!

Hiya Papadon! Looking forward for the day when I can visit Vegas again! Welcome to the forum

Greetings Hardkase and welcome to the forum! I have a Fender GDec amp and think it’s excellent. Shame they discontinued it... Anyway, welcome!

Eclectic mix there, nice

You could also look at Faith guitars. Great value and perform way above their price point.

Twenty - or even ten - years ago, quality at the “budget” end could be very variable. With modern CNC cutting and improved QC it’s hard to buy a “bad” guitar nowadays. But you can still buy a guitar that doesn’t suit you which is why it’s important to try them to see what feels most comfortable. The chances are that the guitars you’ve mentioned are put together in the same factory - in any event, there won’t be much to choose between them in terms of quality. And another vote for Yamaha as a good, well-made instrument that would also sit well on your shortlist. Good luck whatever you get, have fun with it

It’s a slippery slope so we might as well enjoy it! Welcome

Hi RamblinAnd! Welcome to the forum

Reduced to £795 Up for sale is my Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster in Faded Cherry burst with a replacement pick guard loaded with Kinman AVn series noiseless pickups and new controls. Price also includes hard case and the original pick guard which contains the standard controls and the Fender N3 pickups that were originally on the guitar. It’s a simple job to swap back to the original - just two wires to connect. I bought this new from Coda Music in 2013. It’s a beautiful guitar and has the compound radius neck which is a joy to play. It also comes with locking tuners (labelled as Fender but they look very much like Gotohs), a good quality hard case, all the usual case candy (lead, Allen keys, setup manual, etc) and the aforementioned N3 pickups. I found the N3s to be a little lacking in “character” (whatever that is!) and so I built up a new (white) pickguard with the Kinman AVn noiseless pickups. I really like these as they give the guitar a real “bite”, particularly on the bridge pickup. More information about the Kinman pickups can be found here; https://www.mobile.kinman.com/products/stratocaster-pickups.php. As mentioned above, I’ll include the original “parchment” ‘guard and pickups in the price so the guitar can be put back to original spec if required. The guitar is immaculate with no marks, scratches or dings that I can see. The rear plate still has the factory plastic wrap on it.There are a couple of small marks on the case (see pics). I’d prefer a direct sale but if you have a trade let me know. There’s nothing I’m really looking for so I’ll probably decline but you never know.... I’d prefer not to ship this if possible and would rather hand over the guitar in person. PM me with your location and let’s discuss options. In any event, I would only consider shipping within the UK to long-standing forum (here or Basschat) members with positive feedback. Please PM me with any questions.

Hiya! Fleetwood, eh? I used to live in Cleveleys, just down the road! welcome

As Kiwi has gone to all the trouble of setting up this section, it seems churlish not to use it so I’ll ask the first question - and although I’m no longer an absolute beginner, it’s one that I’m not sure of the answer as I can see pros and cons of each. Anyway, my question to the panel is; What’s the best choice for a complete beginner - electric or acoustic or classical? Obviously, with an electric you have the added complication of an amp but I wonder which is the easiest for a beginner to get to grips with in the very early days when it’s all about learning some chords and getting your fingers toughened up?

Most of my YouTube favourites are, like Ezbass, bass related or are bands but from a pure guitar perspective I subscribe to this young lady’s channel https://m.youtube.com/user/Lloydieex besides her obvious photogenic qualities, she’s a damn fine guitarist and I used to work with her Dad so I feel like I’ve known her for years.

Along with his easy charm and matinee-idol looks*, the other thing I inherited from my dad was his essential tremor. This looks a bit like early-stage Parkinson’s but it’s not constant and only triggers when the hand is in certain positions (drinking the final drops of a cup of tea is a particularly messy one for me - watching my dad trying to carve a Sunday joint was a frightening experience for us all). Mine has been quite mild for most of my life but it’s effectively prevented me from playing with a pick. The frustrating thing is that most of the time I’m tremor-free and can play with a pick perfectly well - but randomly and without warning, my hand will suddenly start shaking and it’s then anyone’s guess as to what string I’m going to play and how many times. I don’t have an issue if I play acoustic finger-style or if I play the guitar like a bass - but neither method really lends itself to playing and soloing with any great speed or fluency. I’ve studied people like Mike Oldfield and Mark Knopfler to see if I can mimic their finger style but I can’t make either approach feel natural or intuitive. Caffeine makes it worse (triggered more easily) but nothing seems to help calm it down. Is anyone else having similar issues and, if so, how are you getting round it? *This is a lie. Both my father and myself have been used by mothers to show toddlers what happens if you don’t eat your vegetables.

What Dad and Ezbass say..... There are loads of re-stringing videos on YT but I found the Taylor one to be the most helpful when I first started doing my acoustic

Hi Wuggis! I suspect a few of us (certainly me, anyway) have had a similar journey - I had many false starts before I finally knuckled down to learning properly in my early fifties. You’re right about the availability and relatively low cost of gear these days - which, of course, is both a curse and a blessing as it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of buying, upgrading and customising rather than actually playing (guilty as charged on that one....). But as hobbies go, this one costs me less than my motorsport addiction did and I stay dryer than when I played golf.....

That’s the Les Paul, Strat and Tele now sorted. The only thing that’s still noisy is a K-Line San Bernardino which has P90s in it. I might see if DiMarzio have a similar fix for that