I need your help and advice - any guitar experts out there? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Rerun · 12-20-2009, 09:49 PM

I want to buy my wife an acoustic guitar for Christmas.

She has never played the guitar before but she wants to learn. I don't know anything about guitars. Any advice on what to get a beginner? Where is a good place to go where I can get a decent guitar for a good price? I don't want to pay anymore than $250. Is that a reasonable price for a beginner guitar?

Any help that I can get here is greatly appreciated because I'm completely lost here and don't have a clue on where to go or what to buy.

CMPunk · 12-20-2009, 09:53 PM

Axe Music might be a good place to start

KevanGuy · 12-20-2009, 09:58 PM

This is a pretty safe buy:

http://www.axemusic.com/product.asp?...11280&PT_ID=34

Matata · 12-20-2009, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CMPunk

Guitar Works might be a good place to start

Guitar works is the devil, at least they were, I haven't shopped there in a very long time. I've only had good experiences with Long & McQuade, Axe and Mothers Music, so I stick with them.

$250 will get you a good acoustic, you need to be playing a while before you can really appreciate a more expensive guitar. Buying a smaller guitar will probably be more comfortable for your wife to play and be a little cheaper. The brand doesn't matter, as long as you go to a reputable dealer you'll be fine.

I bought a smaller, used acoustic/electric from Mothers for $250 and I love it.

Hack&Lube · 12-20-2009, 10:05 PM

Don't goto Guitarworks. They don't have that much selection and their stores tend to ride newbies from my experience. A BAD BAD place IMHO.

Axe music has been friendlier and better to the customer in my opinion and Long & McQuade is good too.

pylon · 12-20-2009, 10:05 PM

Go to axemusic.com. If it is on their site, it is likely in their showroom. Click the clearance centre button on the right side of the page and it will bring up lots of great bargains.

I just picked up this guitar out of there for 365 + gst:

Store link:

http://www.axemusic.com/product.asp?...=all&PT_ID=all

For 365 + gst.

Beautiful guitar for the money if you are OK stretching the budget a bit, which I recommend. I have a $950 acoustic, and the action and sound on this Ibanez is equal to, if not better, plus it has onboard electronics, and a tuner which is a nice plus.

Whatever you do, don't cheap out too far. One of the biggest reasons a lot of people give up too soon is because they buy crappy instruments that suck to play. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to learn on a guitar that is set up wrong with the strings to high off the fretboard, and all sorts of twangs and buzzes going on. It makes you think you are doing something wrong, when really the only mistake made was buying a crappy guitar.

That Ibanez I linked has beautiful action, and you hardly have to put any pressure on the strings to start forming the basic chords.

Hope this helps.

DionPlett · 12-20-2009, 10:09 PM

I've dealt with Axe before too and they're good to deal with, good staff and I think they have a better selection/price range too. Not sure what quality of accoustic guitar you'll be getting though for $250. You may be better off spending a bit more and getting an electric with an amp.

troutman · 12-20-2009, 10:15 PM

Good new guitars can be had for as little as $250 now.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...=sierra+guitar

pylon · 12-20-2009, 10:18 PM

From the sounds of it rerun, the board seems to prefer Axe. And now that its been said... I will say it to. Avoid guitar works. I was in there just to check out their new store a few months back, and they really try to Jam stuff down your throat, and will see a noob from a mile away, and try and rip you off.

The absolute safest place would be Long and Mcquade, as I know factually that their guys are not on commision. Plus they tend to carry a lot of really good "high end low end" stuff and deal with a lot of schools etc. So your not going to run into 'Spyke' from the band 'Blood Mosh War Smasher' just holding a day job until the big contract from 'Apocalyptic Deathzone Records' comes in.

troutman · 12-20-2009, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DionPlett

You may be better off spending a bit more and getting an electric with an amp.

Those don't work so well around the campfire, (or in a condo).

DionPlett · 12-20-2009, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troutman

Those don't work so well around the campfire, (or in a condo).

I got a small fender amp with an accoustic setting on it and it works good. I suppose one of the benefits of an accoustic is to be able to take it with you easily. I'll probaly get a decent one eventually too.

Rerun · 12-21-2009, 01:30 AM

I did some research over the internet tonight, and a couple of models kept continuously popping up when I typed in "best beginner guitars".

The models were the Seagull S6 and the Yamaha FG700S. Does anybody have experience with these two guitars? Would you recommend them? Which do you prefer?

Again, the guitar is for my wife (she's 5 ft 7" with medium size hands) and I want something that is comfortable for her to play.

stang · 12-21-2009, 06:27 AM

You really cant go wrong with a Seagull. Although to be fair I never played a FG700S.

Like Pylon says. Make sure its setup right. There is nothing more frustrating then trying to play a guitar thats impossible to get to sound good.

pylon · 12-21-2009, 07:00 AM

I will give props to Seagull Guitars as well. Very beautiful simple designs, and top quality workmanship. They are very nice instruments, and an added bonus is they are Canadian made as well. I am not for certain id their lower end models are made in Canada or overseas, but nowadays, it is getting pretty tough to tell quality differences in the Korean and Chinese made guitars from their domestic counterparts.

A lot of the time it is simply a guitar snobbery issue making sure you have a domestic instrument... unless of course you are a professional musician.

Delthefunky · 12-21-2009, 07:18 AM

I give a big big plus for Long & McQuade. They're honest and helpful.

HPLovecraft · 12-21-2009, 07:33 AM

There is no need to spend $250 on an acoustic guitar for a beginner. No need at all. She won't notice the difference, and she won't be good enough to make use of the extra $100 bucks.

You could check craigslist and look for a gently used one, too. It won't sound as stiff and it'll be worked in a bit already for her and tuned.

stang · 12-21-2009, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HPLovecraft

There is no need to spend $250 on an acoustic guitar for a beginner. No need at all. She won't notice the difference, and she won't be good enough to make use of the extra $100 bucks.

You could check craigslist and look for a gently used one, too. It won't sound as stiff and it'll be worked in a bit already for her and tuned.

Disagree. To a point. While there are some nice cheap guitars. There is also alot of garbage at that price. Playablity is a big factor in a new player continuing. Some of the stuff thats in that range is horrible.

Also if she really takes to it, he will find himself upgrading within 6 months, as that extra $100 starts to matter. Also just because someone is new doesnt totally mean they dont figure know the difference in sound. My wife is a total beginner yet she had a better "ear" then I do. She can hear if my guitar is even slightly out of tune.

I would also look down the gently used path. Lots of bargains out there if you know what you are looking for. Kijiji has lots.

HPLovecraft · 12-21-2009, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stang

Disagree. To a point. While there are some nice cheap guitars. There is also alot of garbage at that price. Playablity is a big factor in a new player continuing. Some of the stuff thats in that range is horrible.

Also if she really takes to it, he will find himself upgrading within 6 months, as that extra $100 starts to matter. Also just because someone is new doesnt totally mean they dont figure know the difference in sound. My wife is a total beginner yet she had a better "ear" then I do. She can hear if my guitar is even slightly out of tune.

I would also look down the gently used path. Lots of bargains out there if you know what you are looking for. Kijiji has lots.

If she really takes to it and has learned enough in 6 months to want to upgrade she will likely want to go and choose her own guitar to her own tastes, anyway.

I guess it's a personal choice, but I would never buy a beginner an expensive instrument right away.

stang · 12-21-2009, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HPLovecraft

If she really takes to it and has learned enough in 6 months to want to upgrade she will likely want to go and choose her own guitar to her own tastes, anyway.

I guess it's a personal choice, but I would never buy a beginner an expensive instrument right away.

$250 for an accoustic isnt that expensive. Well not on the guitar price scale.

Sample00 · 12-21-2009, 09:03 AM

here's my recommendation.

its called a Jasmine and its made by Takamine.

its a great starter guitar plus gives you some options in case you want to amplify it. its light weight, easy action and they sound great.

http://www.jasmineguitars.com/ES31C.html

any Takamine dealer in the city will probably carry them.