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Educate me- adult beginner acoustic guitar

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    #31
    Originally posted by Bill View Post

    A friend suggested considering an electric to start- easier to play/ learn on. Plus he points out practicing with headphones works well.

    I would disagree Bill. Since you are just learning, you will be in an acoustic setting much more often. Get a stand and put it in the living room, where it is easy to grab and work on things. No setting up, amp to lug, wires, etc. An electric might be easier on your fingers, but it won't make the chords for you. Think of it like learning to drive on a manual transmission, once you learn, an automatic is a piece of cake.

    Hogboy

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      #32
      Originally posted by TacticalCowboy View Post
      Used seagull would be my pick
      I bought a new Seagull S-6 cedar top for about 300.00 many years ago. Everyone I played with loved the sound of that guitar. I had a acoustic pickup installed so I could play through an amp. So I agree with tactical cowboy.

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        #33
        I went to the Guitar store in Bozeman today. I had less than 30 minutes, hardly time to make a decision, but a chance to pick up and strum some guitars. They sell Martin, Gibson and Taylor.

        What I found was the smaller guitars felt more comfortable to hold. Standard size felt almost clumsy.

        The 2 I thought felt the best were a Martin DJR10 and a Taylor GS mini-e. They’re more expensive ($500 and $800) but my budget can expand.

        I was reading that the smaller guitars are popular now and have good sound.


        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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          #34
          Electric guitars are not easier to play. It's just that most people put really light gauge strings on electric guitars, and most people put medium gauge strings on acoustics. Lighter strings require less tension to be tuned to proper pitch, so that makes them easier to press down against the frets. You can put light strings on an acoustic, and it will play exactly the same as an electric guitar with the same light gauge strings on it.

          The trade-off with light strings is that they're also easier to bend, so when you are learning it is easy to bend them when you shouldn't be bending them. That makes the notes go sharp a little, so your chords can sound a bit out of tune if you're not careful. But it's easier to play..... The other trade-off is that lighter strings don't have quite as much volume and tone as heavier strings do. Not a big deal when you're just trying to learn, but once you're able to play it's nice to have a richer tone with heavier strings.

          Strings are cheap, and they need to be changed every month or two anyway. So you can start with light strings and eventually start trying different strings in medium/light and then medium gauges later on.

          Any of the budget Martin, Taylor, or Gibson guitars will be good quality instruments that can be set up with easy-to-play actions. They will have decent tone. They won't sound like a $5,000 guitar, but they will be plenty good to learn on and enjoy for years. They'll also hold their value better than some of the cheaper guitars will.

          Body size has trade-offs too. A bigger body will give you a fuller, richer sound and tone with more bass and more volume. But it comes with more bulk. A smaller body guitar will be more comfortable to hold. It won't have a full of a sound, but they can still have a very nice sound. Just different.

          The Taylor Mini-e and the Martin DJR10 are both shorter scale "junior" sized guitars. Not bad to learn on, especially for someone with smaller hands. If you have larger hands, the narrower necks and narrower string spacing can be harder to deal with when you're learning.

          I'd recommend you look at something like a Martin 000. They make that body size/style in several different grades of guitar. Here's an entry level version: https://www.musiciansfriend.com/guit...uitar-natural/

          It's a full sized neck, so it would fit an average man's hands better. And the body isn't as large or deep as a dreadnaught guitar, so it's more comfortable to hold and play. The 000 is a good compromise between junior sized guitars and big dreadnaughts.

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            #35
            I bought a Martin Dreadnought Junior E and had it setup with Martin Lite strings.
            If you're willing to spend about $650 it's the best tone out there. Good luck finding one.
            Otherwise, there's Taylor and Fender acoustic guitars out there for less than $200. Good stuff fora the price.
            A chord chart, Snark tuner, YouTube, a lyric and chord app = your best friends.
            Everyone seems to pick their own path in the Learning process. If you can figure out a tune on an accordion, a guitar is a piece of cake.

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              #36
              Um, pah, pah
              Um, pah, pah

              So, the smaller guitar worked out well for you?


              Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                #37
                Originally posted by Bill View Post
                Um, pah, pah
                Um, pah, pah

                So, the smaller guitar worked out well for you?


                Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                Indeed! And it's a "couch" guitar which is why they are popular. When I play open mic I grab the Martin D 18.

                A left handed friend got a quote for the dreadnaught junior and the delivery was estimated to be March of 2022.
                Last edited by Bluesman; 02-27-2021, 06:37 PM.

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                  #38
                  Originally posted by Bill View Post
                  Um, pah, pah
                  Um, pah, pah

                  So, the smaller guitar worked out well for you?


                  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                  Indeed! And it's a "couch" guitar which is why they are popular. When I play open mic I grab the Martin D 18.

                  A left handed friend got a quote for the dreadnaught junior and the delivery was estimated to be March of 2022.

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                    #39
                    Is there any advantage to ordering online from a firm like Sweetwater instead of from a local music shop? The price is the same, no tax or shipping.


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                      #40
                      Sweetwater rocks.
                      Zero interest and will take anything back.
                      That company will bend over backwards to keep customers satisfied.
                      Huge fan.
                      Their sales folks are very knowledgable, axes come setup pretty good, intonated and ready to rock.
                      And why wouldn’t they, as they don’t want you sending it back.

                      You don’t need to spend a lot, you are not going to sound good at first on anything anyway.

                      If it’s between guitar center locally or Sweetwater, go Sweetwater.
                      Good luck and send us pics of what you decide on!

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                        #41
                        Originally posted by Bill View Post
                        Is there any advantage to ordering online from a firm like Sweetwater instead of from a local music shop? The price is the same, no tax or shipping.


                        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                        If price is the same, I'd order local. Support the local shop, plus they hopefully have someone knowledgeable enough to set up the action on the guitar for you so it will play easily.

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                          #42
                          Thanks- there’s expression here. The area was the 1st Montana gold rush in 1863- lots of Confederate deserters the history books say.

                          Spend yer gold where ya earned it.


                          Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                            #43
                            I’m leaning towards the Taylor GS mini, electric acoustic in koa. More $ than mahogany but pretty.

                            I found an article from 2019 that Taylor is building 45,000 of them a year. I had no idea.

                            I read that George Strait plays a Taylor- what could be better?








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                              #44
                              Taylors are quality guitars. George Strait plays a LOT of different quality guitars.

                              Wood choice is part looks and part tone. Each kind of wood has a different tonal quality. And the type of wood used for the soundboard (top) comes through, as does the type of wood used for the back and sides of the guitar body. Solid wood will give you more of the wood type's tone than a laminated wood will typically, as well. The koa guitars I've played had more of a brighter, treble-focused tone. Mahogany guitars, to me, have a flatter, more mid-range focused tone - especially if the top is mahogany as well as the body. A mahogany body with a spruce top will usually offer more clarity than an all mahogany guitar. My personal favorite wood combination for a guitar is rosewood body with a spruce top. Rosewood seems to project more volume while giving you more bass and resonant overtones (kinda reverb-ish tone) that makes it sound richer. And the spruce gives you more clarity in the mids and highs. But it's all subjective. Other people's ears like other woods and tones. There's no wrong answer. Just differences.

                              And some players enjoy the looks more than the minor tonal differences, so they might choose wood based on that. Again, no wrong answers. There's lots of different kinds of beautiful wood.

                              The GS Mini guitars, like most entry level guitars, are made of laminated back and side woods with solid wood tops. The solid tops help the tone sound better than a cheaper laminated top would sound. And the laminated woods on the body bring the price down without adversely affecting the tone as much as a laminated top would. And laminated body woods make it cheaper. Not a bad middle ground for a quality entry level guitar.

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                                #45
                                I dropped a little extra cash on a Seagull Solid Wood Series (Seagull Maritime SWS Rosewood SG). Sounds as good as guitars 4x the price. I'm not great but I pick at it as best I can

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