Any guitar players out there?

[Pete]

My son is getting group lessons at his school and it made me remember my old electric acoustic guitar in the garage that hadn't been played for about 17 years. We used to go down to original banana row back in the day and thrash about (very badly!)

Anyway, I decided to get it repaired again and while I was in my local shop doing so I saw one of these and couldn't help myself. Ideal for practising when I'm out at work and good for those who are, ahem, blessed with slightly stubby fingers like myself.

I dug out the old book that taught me the basics all those years ago and only now realise how boring it was. Im not even going to try and look for the accompanying cassette. I persevered with the first few lessons last night though and the tips of my fingers are on fire/numb which feels great.

To anyone who plays, is my choice of guitar OK (over the Squier mini) and is there anything out there, free or otherwise, that's a little bit more interesting to get me started again?

[matty_f]

Have you got an Xbox or PlayStation?

I'd recommend Rocksmith if you have. You get a cable that connects your guitar (which looks very nice by the way - I just got a Squire Stratocaster before Christmas to learn on).


The game teachers you real songs, gives challenges to learn scanners and chords etc.

At the moment I'm working my way through about seven Oasis subs and about the same for Radiohead. It's brilliant playing along to songs you know and love. The difficulty increases as you get better at each song and it goes back a bit if you're struggling.

I've tried a few times to learn and this is by far and away the best imho.

[Pete]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Have you got an Xbox or PlayStation?

I'd recommend Rocksmith if you have. You get a cable that connects your guitar (which looks very nice by the way - I just got a Squire Stratocaster before Christmas to learn on).


The game teachers you real songs, gives challenges to learn scanners and chords etc.

At the moment I'm working my way through about seven Oasis subs and about the same for Radiohead. It's brilliant playing along to songs you know and love. The difficulty increases as you get better at each song and it goes back a bit if you're struggling.

I've tried a few times to learn and this is by far and away the best imho.

I don't have anything but my son has an Xbox one s. I've had a wee look at Rocksmith and it looks really good and gets great reviews.

Is it something a nine year old would appreciate as well or will it be a bit too hard/advanced for him? I'm going to meet a bit of resistance if it's just for me and I have to invade his room to play it.

Edit: ...how much did you pay for it if you don't mind me asking? It looks pretty scarce and very expensive from Amazon etc...!!

[matty_f]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

I don't have anything but my son has an Xbox one s. I've had a wee look at Rocksmith and it looks really good and gets great reviews.

Is it something a nine year old would appreciate as well or will it be a bit too hard/advanced for him? I'm going to meet a bit of resistance if it's just for me and I have to invade his room to play it.

Edit: ...how much did you pay for it if you don't mind me asking? It looks pretty scarce and very expensive from Amazon etc...!!

A nine year old could play it - my daughter has a go on it.

You might be able to get a second hand copy cheaper, I only have the 360 versions otherwise I'd offer you a loan of it to try it out - it's not backwards compatible on Xbox One so I'll wait for the next version to come out before getting it for that.

I think it's brilliant though, I've had a few goes over the years at learning and this is the only one that I've found particularly rewarding.

[Pete]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

A nine year old could play it - my daughter has a go on it.

You might be able to get a second hand copy cheaper, I only have the 360 versions otherwise I'd offer you a loan of it to try it out - it's not backwards compatible on Xbox One so I'll wait for the next version to come out before getting it for that.

I think it's brilliant though, I've had a few goes over the years at learning and this is the only one that I've found particularly rewarding.

Thanks man. I think I will wait for the newer version.

[MSK]

I took up the bass a while back & love it, frustrating at first trying to play chords but a few visits to you tube & now I can play a few songs from The Cure, James, The Pogues etc. I started off with basic riffs using tabs.

I also struggled with learning more than four bars at a time & moreso if I tried to play a more complex song. I bought a couple of books by Hal Leonard, started at basic & Im now between basic & intermediate. Timing was an issue, particularly when playing along to a fast song, I started off well then played as if I was using someone elses fingers 😄

Im now onto learning Stone Roses songs, in particular & relatively easy is She Bangs The Drums, brilliant chunky bass lines. I am struggling with Peter Hook & the Light, Hooks bass playing is on another planet 😄

[snooky]

My advice would be to set aside say 15-30mins every day for a wee practice. You won't notice the small daily improvements but after a few weeks you'll see the difference.
As mentioned, the YouTube lessons are a great free source for learning.
Re. guitars. You usually get what you pay for. Epiphone if you can't afford a Gibson and Squire if you can't afford a real Fender.
If you want a good affordable acoustic beginner's guitar, I recommend the Yamaha F310. You can pick up a 2nd hand one for around £50- £80 on eBay/gumtree. I think they are approx £120 new.

[Pete]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

I took up the bass a while back & love it, frustrating at first trying to play chords but a few visits to you tube & now I can play a few songs from The Cure, James, The Pogues etc. I started off with basic riffs using tabs.

I also struggled with learning more than four bars at a time & moreso if I tried to play a more complex song. I bought a couple of books by Hal Leonard, started at basic & Im now between basic & intermediate. Timing was an issue, particularly when playing along to a fast song, I started off well then played as if I was using someone elses fingers 😄

Im now onto learning Stone Roses songs, in particular & relatively easy is She Bangs The Drums, brilliant chunky bass lines. I am struggling with Peter Hook & the Light, Hooks bass playing is on another planet 😄

The bass is cool and something that I'd like to get into once I'm fairly proficient on a normal guitar. I'd probably just end up confusing myself right now.

When you said The Stone Roses, She bangs the drums was the first song that came to mind. A lot of their songs had brilliant basslines.

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

My advice would be to set aside say 15-30mins every day for a wee practice. You won't notice the small daily improvements but after a few weeks you'll see the difference.
As mentioned, the YouTube lessons are a great free source for learning.
Re. guitars. You usually get what you pay for. Epiphone if you can't afford a Gibson and Squire if you can't afford a real Fender.
If you want a good affordable acoustic beginner's guitar, I recommend the Yamaha F310. You can pick up a 2nd hand one for around £50- £80 on eBay/gumtree. I think they are approx £120 new.

Thanks for that. I'm trying to take the little and often approach but time doesn't half fly when you're in the zone and 15 minutes turned into 45! (Very sore fingers and wrist now).

I looked at lots of guitars and decided that it would be Epiphone or Squier over unfamiliar/shops own brands as they are sort of linked to Gibson and Fender (which I can't afford).
It's odd that the 3/4 size squire strat was £30 more expensive than the Epiphone and even £5 more expensive than the full size strat! The guy in the local shop (who I'll be supporting from now on) was really helpful and said that the quality was pretty similar and its down to personal choice.

[Pete]

Hit a brick wall with something evil called the A shaped barre chord. That outrageous finger bending just isn't happening.

Grrr. :-(

[MSK]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Hit a brick wall with something evil called the A shaped barre chord. That outrageous finger bending just isn't happening.

Grrr. :-(

Its all about practice, keep at it & your fingers will soon be in positions you never imagined 😆 I struggled with postitioning on the bass but after a good bit of practice things are coming along well, never did I ever think I would be able to play through whole songs, faves being Stone Roses ( She bangs the drums) Joy Division (Love will tear us apart) & the Cure (Boys dont cry) love throwing off a few riffs too with Fleetwood Macs, the Chain being a good one, keep at it 👍

[Pete]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Its all about practice, keep at it & your fingers will soon be in positions you never imagined 😆 I struggled with postitioning on the bass but after a good bit of practice things are coming along well, never did I ever think I would be able to play through whole songs, faves being Stone Roses ( She bangs the drums) Joy Division (Love will tear us apart) & the Cure (Boys dont cry) love throwing off a few riffs too with Fleetwood Macs, the Chain being a good one, keep at it 👍

Will do mate and I've surprised myself so far by nailing other barre chords fairly quickly by continually practising (and suffering).

However, the tips of all my fingers are bendy apart from the one that needs to be and I'm wondering if it's an old injury from childhood. No room for excuses though and after a bit of reading I've discovered there are other ways to play it, with some famous guitarists using these methods.

Onwards and upwards!

[MSK]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Will do mate and I've surprised myself so far by nailing other barre chords fairly quickly by continually practising (and suffering).

However, the tips of all my fingers are bendy apart from the one that needs to be and I'm wondering if it's an old injury from childhood. No room for excuses though and after a bit of reading I've discovered there are other ways to play it, with some famous guitarists using these methods.

Onwards and upwards!

Good stuff mate, not sure if you are using sheet music or books for chords or tabs, I started using tabs & I am now getting used to chord structure, staffs etc. Went to Red Dog music shop in Grass market & picked up a couple of Hal Leonard books, the books are full of play along rock/alternative songs which are great to learn, they go from beginner to intermediate, to expert etc 👍

[Pete]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Good stuff mate, not sure if you are using sheet music or books for chords or tabs, I started using tabs & I am now getting used to chord structure, staffs etc. Went to Red Dog music shop in Grass market & picked up a couple of Hal Leonard books, the books are full of play along rock/alternative songs which are great to learn, they go from beginner to intermediate, to expert etc ��

The first time around I looked at the boring book for a while then looked at my favourite songs and studied chord diagrams, never got into tabs (still cant really understand them tbh).

This time around I feel I want to get the basics right so I'm persisting with the "boring" book, which is actually teaching me about sheet music, notes and scales etc...Ive only been learning about music "properly" for a few months but I can now understand what I'm playing when I look at videos of people telling me how to play my favourite songs. It's maybe back to front in some people's eyes but it's good to know why you're playing a certain note.

Was doing a few bass note excercises last night and I'm digging that. Shame there isn't the same range of equipment as I'd pick up a cheapish mid-range bass if I could. Cheers for the recommendations, I'll look out the books.

[matty_f]

Sure I've recommended it before but get a hold of Rocksmith on Xbox or PlayStation - makes learning songs much more interesting and will teach you chords, scales and different techniques.

[Pete]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Sure I've recommended it before but get a hold of Rocksmith on Xbox or PlayStation - makes learning songs much more interesting and will teach you chords, scales and different techniques.

Yes mate I remember and I went and got it (2014 version but it upgrades to 2016). Been mucking about with it but I'm hopeless at these consoles and keep getting put back to the beginning. :-D

That "lag" is a nightmare though and I have to rig up my amp to get proper sound that isn't a millisecond behind.

[matty_f]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Yes mate I remember and I went and got it (2014 version but it upgrades to 2016). Been mucking about with it but I'm hopeless at these consoles and keep getting put back to the beginning. :-D

That "lag" is a nightmare though and I have to rig up my amp to get proper sound that isn't a millisecond behind.

I've got it through the component cables rather than HDMI and don't really get the lag. Think it recommends doing it through an amp though.

[MSK]

Pete, how are you getting on with your guitar, knocking out any good tunes yet ? I decided to buy an left handed Electro Accoustic (Chord) as I fancied changing between both. I am really enjoying learning the accoustic apart from having sore fingers from the steel strings.

I have learnt a few chords but am slightly sluggish with the chord changes as opposed to doing it with the bass which I am finding easier.

[Pete]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Pete, how are you getting on with your guitar, knocking out any good tunes yet ? I decided to buy an left handed Electro Accoustic (Chord) as I fancied changing between both. I am really enjoying learning the accoustic apart from having sore fingers from the steel strings.

I have learnt a few chords but am slightly sluggish with the chord changes as opposed to doing it with the bass which I am finding easier.

Fine mate, not been playing as much as I’ve changed jobs and don’t have much time to myself nowadays.

One thing I did do was download that ultimate guitar app, which can tell you how play any song (well the chords anyway). It’s great but the best source has been YouTube, where I can get the strumming patterns nailed too. I’m only playing rhythm just now and one thing I’ve realised is how easy to play most of the popular songs are...loads of basic, open chords that are just rearranged a bit differently. Learning these songs is great but I feel like I’m losing all the knowledge I worked so hard to gain at the start as I’m not testing myself by learning new things. Hard to explain.

Anyway, good luck with the electro acoustic, a new instrument is a new motivation. Is it a plastic bowl-back or is it made of wood?

[MSK]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Fine mate, not been playing as much as I’ve changed jobs and don’t have much time to myself nowadays.

One thing I did do was download that ultimate guitar app, which can tell you how play any song (well the chords anyway). It’s great but the best source has been YouTube, where I can get the strumming patterns nailed too. I’m only playing rhythm just now and one thing I’ve realised is how easy to play most of the popular songs are...loads of basic, open chords that are just rearranged a bit differently. Learning these songs is great but I feel like I’m losing all the knowledge I worked so hard to gain at the start as I’m not testing myself by learning new things. Hard to explain.

Anyway, good luck with the electro acoustic, a new instrument is a new motivation. Is it a plastic bowl-back or is it made of wood?

Good stuff mate, Ive not been on the guitar as much as I would like to either due to working silly hours etc, need a good weeks annual leave so I can get wired in again. Guitar I have is flat backed black ash wood, its a 24 fret job but has a short neck (compared to standard length) good to see you are using youtube, I like guitar.com and in some cases it is good for alternative chord/tab patterns. As mentioned above by another poster, Marty Schwartz is good to take tips from as he goes back to basics, the one I have picked & have learned a lot from is Andy Crowley, check his lessons out on Youtube, he is really good.

Stick with it mate��

[overdrive]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Good stuff mate, Ive not been on the guitar as much as I would like to either due to working silly hours etc, need a good weeks annual leave so I can get wired in again. Guitar I have is flat backed black ash wood, its a 24 fret job but has a short neck (compared to standard length) good to see you are using youtube, I like guitar.com and in some cases it is good for alternative chord/tab patterns. As mentioned above by another poster, Marty Schwartz is good to take tips from as he goes back to basics, the one I have picked & have learned a lot from is Andy Crowley, check his lessons out on facebook, he is really good.

Stick with it mate👍

Andy Crowley is also on YouTube as Andy Guitar. He’s good.

[MSK]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Andy Crowley is also on YouTube as Andy Guitar. He’s good.

Indeed mate, Ive edited my original post, meant to say youtube, not Facebook

[overdrive]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Pete, how are you getting on with your guitar, knocking out any good tunes yet ? I decided to buy an left handed Electro Accoustic (Chord) as I fancied changing between both. I am really enjoying learning the accoustic apart from having sore fingers from the steel strings.

I have learnt a few chords but am slightly sluggish with the chord changes as opposed to doing it with the bass which I am finding easier.

Have you tried using lighter gauge strings to help your fingers? If you are using the strings supplied with the guitar, they are probably 12s or 13s. Try going down to 11s. It won’t eradicate the sore fingers but it will help. Also, you don’t really need to press down all that hard onto the fret board. Try to relax and play a few chords and each time slowly reduce the pressure until you can’t actually hear the notes in the chord clearly. Work back down with slightly more pressure until you find what feels and sounds right.

I’m getting back into guitar after a few years out. The rhythm stuff has never really left me but I’m trying to reteach myself lead. I don’t think my wife is enjoying it, especially when I crank up the effect where I get my name on here from.

[MSK]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Have you tried using lighter gauge strings to help your fingers? If you are using the strings supplied with the guitar, they are probably 12s or 13s. Try going down to 11s. It won’t eradicate the sore fingers but it will help. Also, you don’t really need to press down all that hard onto the fret board. Try to relax and play a few chords and each time slowly reduce the pressure until you can’t actually hear the notes in the chord clearly. Work back down with slightly more pressure until you find what feels and sounds right.

I’m getting back into guitar after a few years out. The rhythm stuff has never really left me but I’m trying to reteach myself lead. I don’t think my wife is enjoying it, especially when I crank up the effect where I get my name on here from.

Thanks for the advice mate, still pretty new to the six string stuff with regards strings etc, next time Im at Red Dog or Scayles I will check them out

[Mantis Toboggan]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Thanks for the advice mate, still pretty new to the six string stuff with regards strings etc, next time Im at Red Dog or Scayles I will check them out

You can also get coated strings by Elixir and a few others which can be a bit more gentle on the fingers. They are more expensive but also last longer than the normal type.

[MSK]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

You can also get coated strings by Elixir and a few others which can be a bit more gentle on the fingers. They are more expensive but also last longer than the normal type.

Cheers bud, funny thing is, my hands are weathered and have taken a fair battering over the years having worked as a Scaffolder and a Drayman, perhaps I just have to man up and get on with it, I dont see Amy Macdonald greeting about having sore fingers 😆

[brianmc]

I've a all black Gibson SG Standard - I'm crap at playing it but it's a lovely piece of kit to have 😁
I imagine if I ever win the lottery and buy a supercar it'll be similar. I won't be any better a driver but I'll look cool as ....

[overdrive]

Yamaha ERG-121. Want a Les Paul though. It’ll be interesting if the impending bankruptcy of Gibson will have any impact on the cost of Gibsons (and Epiphones for that matter).

Also on the hunt for a new acoustic as my old one (a classical guitar) is finished. When changing the high E string it gets to B when I’m tuning it then snaps at the bridge between B and E. Tried various different strings, I think there must be some rough bit in the bridge that I can’t get to sand down that is causing it. It was only cheap.

[Mantis Toboggan]

Gibson SG 50s tribute
Fender Duo Sonic
Also a 3/4 size Freshman acoustic which is a brilliant guitar for the money.

Much prefer the aesthetics of Fenders, especially Jaguars. But the SG is just so much easier to play due to the wider neck, especially for stuff with a lot of string bends, so the Fender barely gets a look in

[MSK]

Putting my bass guitar onto hib-bay tomorrow at some point to fund another accoustic, selling it along with amp, leads, distortion pedal, boss electric tuner & Hal Leonard books. Its a cracking bass for learning, in perfect condition so if anyone is interested or know of anyone interested give me a shout.

Ps-Its a left handed bass 👍

[Pete]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Putting my bass guitar onto hib-bay tomorrow at some point to fund another accoustic, selling it along with amp, leads, distortion pedal, boss electric tuner & Hal Leonard books. Its a cracking bass for learning, in perfect condition so if anyone is interested or know of anyone interested give me a shout.

Ps-Its a left handed bass 👍

I think I’ll be joining you. It’s just sinking in that I ordered a Fender telecaster on my credit card at 3am on Sunday morning. It must be God’s way of telling me I need a Fender telecaster...or God’s way of telling me I need to stop drinking red wine.

So yeah, my current telecaster and mustang are all in mint condition so I’m open to offers. 😁