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Sat Oct 08, 2005 04:46
+Lithium+
Beginner
Joined : 08 Oct 2005
Posts : 4
Age : 17
Location : Australia |
Lead Guitar
me & my mates are starting a band, however i know nothing about the instruments.
i've been assigned to Lead Guitar.
how much does an Electric guitar cost?
do i need any accessories?
i've heard something about a pedalboard, whats that?
and how do i get started?
Thanx Alwayz,
Lithy |
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Tue Oct 18, 2005 18:45
hacker2005
Beginner
Joined : 18 Oct 2005
Posts : 2 |
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Tue Oct 18, 2005 18:45
hacker2005
Beginner
Joined : 18 Oct 2005
Posts : 2 |
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Sun Oct 23, 2005 09:08
Mudvaynerock
Beginner
Joined : 23 Oct 2005
Posts : 6 |
topic'd
me & my mates are starting a band, however i know nothing about the instruments.
A: Good For You Thats A shame, your lucky im here to help
i've been assigned to Lead Guitar.
A: Nice, thats The Best Part In A Band
how much does an Electric guitar cost?
do i need any accessories?
A: Electrics can cost from 200$ to 10000$ (daron malakians Custom Signed Guitar he used for 3 years)
Your also going to want an amp, that will be the biggest financial commitment.
i've heard something about a pedalboard, whats that?
A: Pedalboard is a small little pedal that plugs into the amp. when you press it once it goes to distortion, tap it again and your back to regular
and how do i get started?
Thanx Alwayz,
A: no problem
Lithy
A: Nice name
Mudvayne rock forever  |
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Sun Oct 23, 2005 09:18
+Lithium+
Beginner
Joined : 08 Oct 2005
Posts : 4
Age : 17
Location : Australia |
Thankyou for your help, and i'll keep it in mind.
yes, i'm suicidal |
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Thu Oct 27, 2005 10:50
Mudvaynerock
Beginner
Joined : 23 Oct 2005
Posts : 6 |
what am i saying?
amps vary in size and power and you could pick up one for no more then 50$, though a very small one, if your playing with drums your going to want to spend a good 150$ on an amp.
definately get a fender though. ( best brand )
my bass amp was 1500$ from musos corner
Mudvayne rock forever |
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Sun Nov 06, 2005 00:09
+Lithium+
Beginner
Joined : 08 Oct 2005
Posts : 4
Age : 17
Location : Australia |
yeh, one of my mates went to Cash Converters, just to see the prices. they were $60, they were tiny.
plus i called my bf's mobile fomr the home phone, so i have to pay the bill which is gonna take money from my budget, but oh well...
yes, i'm suicidal |
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Thu Nov 10, 2005 13:06
halleluja666
Beginner
Joined : 27 Aug 2005
Posts : 49
Location : Australia |
Intro to Guitar
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down, mate.
Okay, first - nice to meet you.
Second, I think it'd be helpful if you got the pricing tips from someone who lives in Australia lol.
Basically, the key question is always - (No, not 'how do I get started?') - but what *GENRE* is the band going to be playing?
If you want a guitar, any dumbnut will tell you different guitars have different qualities. A Fender is a PUNK genre guitar. A Jackson guitar on the other hand, is a METAL genre guitar.
And this is a fact - they sound different. You'll have to know what genre you're gonna play if you wanna play at all. Playing metal with a punk guitar is just like painting with a fork. It just doesn't work out that way.
My next point is pricing. Since you are an ameteur who has absolutely no idea apparently of the basics of guitar, you won't have to worry about that for a looooooooong time. The band will ultimately fall apart if you can't play anything since you're the lead guitarist (or guitarist to-be should I say?). Basically, you wanna learn a fair bit of guitar before you buy anything. I first learnt all the strings, notes, names of guitar parts, etc in 1 day. And then, I could understand tabs (which are numbers used to write music on lines instead of notes on manuscript). So I could read music. Then, slowly, I became familiar with techniques such as hammer ons, pull-offs, slides, palm mutting, etc.
The first day I learnt stuff about the guitar, that night, I went shopping (late-night shopping Thursday) and bought a guitar.
Note: that just happened by chance. I recommend you study guitar for 3 months before purchasing anything. Otherwise, go ahead and get ripped-off. Music requires patience. Years of it. That's you're first lesson.
I bought a steel string acoustic guitar, instead of classical country acoustic. Which is my next point. Steel string guitars are more sharp. True, it's always best to start with the classical guitars (which have nilon strings, instead of steel), but if you can take the pain (believe me, at first - it's worse than cutting yourself) then go ahead!! Because you can get a pretty nifty acoustic for AUD$100. I got a discount on mine. I got a steel string guitar and padded guitar case for AUD$115, with a free pick (the case was $30). You just gotta know how to bargain. And you can only do that if you know what you're after. If you're an ameteur, they will
RIP
YOU
OFF
It's that simple.
So anyway... First, you have to start off with an acoustic guitar. I recommend you buy one to practise at home whilst you take lessons which you can have for free at skool. Your skool should have guitars so don't bother taking yours unless you can carry it around, afford to lose it or have it stolen, or you're just plain weird. Start with a steel stringed one, because otherwise you'll spend x2 the amount you should be spending on acoustics. Which brings me to my next point.
Electric guitars can be bought in bundle packages which are much more cost-effective. For AUD$300, my friend bought a Fender imitation, leads (which are the cables used to plug the guitar into the amp) as well as a carry case and amplifier! It's really sweet. Her music skool sells the packages so they know the good stuff from the bad. And it's not a - .
A good place to get electric guitars sold seperately is from once-a-year warehouse clearances. It's amazing what you can get. A friend of mine bought a brand-new recent Ibanez for AUD$185 with a small amp. I mean, c'mon - seriously, when these things happen, you just gotta go and check 'em out. People will talk about them for a week or two before they happen so keep your ears open to any news. And you can go to just get an idea or buy music books, tutorials, etc. They're pretty good. And especially if you can read music. Otherwise, if you're like me, you'll have to hunt a bit further for tabs (which I can teach you on-line in literally 5 minutes. I run a free on-line & unofficial music skool of basics for bass guitar and guitar).
Okay, so you've learnt guitar. And you've practised on the acoustic. Now you want an electric. You can either save up again, or sell your acoustic (make sure you keep it in good condition with tags, manuals, and all). By the way, new acoustic guitars cost AUD$100. You can get 2nd-hand ones, just as good, for half the price.
You have to understand though that you have to start off with something that's not so cheap it's crap, but cheap enough that it works well with everyone else's instruments. You're not famous yet, and who knows - the personalities of the band members may just not mesh and then it'll all fall apart. Not to sound pessimistic (which is a specialty of mine), but that's what happens most of time. So start off cheap. That way, you don't regret it so much if you lose a lot of money when you try to sell the instrument.
Then, when you're all rich and famous, you can rock out on the big boy's guitars.
A brand-new Fender alone costs you AUD$2100. Where do you live? Because that differs prices as well. If you live in Sydney, I can direct you to some good music stores. You'll have to learn to play properly though on the guitar, otherwise you will break strings and need to have them replaced. Some guitars allow you to DIY, others need to be seen by the professionals (like mine, which hasn't been fixed since I broke the thin E string 5 months ago). Some stores won't fix it, so you have to go around for a while until someone is willing to. You also get discounts from stores if you say you're a music student still in skool. Always remember that. And show them ID if need be. It usually doesn't go that far though. If such happens, I suggest you leave the store and head for another because they're most likely the ppl that are stingy when it comes to money and will likely rip you off.
Another point which concerns genre is the number of frets on the fretboard (or fingerboard). Full-size acoustics have 20. Electrics have 22-24, as well as basses. With an electric, 22 frets for any genre is about enough. For bass, the neck is long enough as it is, so 22 is usually best as well. Frets are the lines on the 'neck' of the guitar. These are used to change the sound that string gives off. You'll become familiar with them soon enough.
Then, there's 'picks'. These are the triange-looking pieces of plastic you see people playing the guitar with. You can pluck the strings with your fingers, but it's usually easier to start off with a pick for accuracy. They can be of a thickness from 0.5mm to 2mm. I suggest 1mm Fender Heavy Duty picks. They do the trick just fine. I've had mine for almost 6 months. Picks cost differently depending on what you're buying. The 0.5mm ones are cheap 50c pieces of plastic that break too easily and they're very flimsy. You don't want it bending whilst you're playing. The 1mm ones are only a buck and they're the best to use. The 2mm ones can be found for $1.20. You can buy picks in packs for value, or if you're like me - pick them out yourself. Some have nice designs, star signs, etc. Just adds a bit more excitement into playing the guitar ;) I find it a method that usually encourages people.
Another point it straps. If you're sitting down, you can play the guitar with no problems. But when you wanna stand up (which is the worst part about learning guitar), it's very hard. Not only is it a new thing to you, but the straps that hold the guitar on your shoulders might be annoying or uncomfortable. Some acoustic and electric guitars come with straps, others like mine don't. The more expensive ones have a knob at the base of the guitar to hook one of the strap ends to it and attach the other strap end to the neck of the guitar. Ones without the knob simply can't have straps. Straps can come in a lot of different materials to suit your likes and allergies. The durability of them will also vary. They come plain, colorful, printed, you can even get custom designed ones. They usually cost AUD$10-15. And if you don't like the color of your electric guitar, you can buy 'shell replacements'. The shell is the colored part - the body of your guitar. They can be removed and you can put a new one on for show. Shells usually cost AUD$30. Or, if you want to keep your current shell but want something special, you can get the logo of your favorite band air-brushed on the back. You can DIY or ask your parents to take it to a painter or hardware store. They'll do it for free or a low fee. But be sure to check the compatibility of the shell's paint and the paint you'll be using for the air-brush design. Also, your guitar strings will naturally not sound as good as when you first bought your guitar as time progresses. When you realize a change in sound, or sometimes you'll notice that the color (paint) of the strings is peeling, it means you need new strings. It's great having a pretty slick guitar, but what's the point if it looks good but sounds bad? Replacement string costs vary depending on which string you need replaced. It can cost from AUD$3-9. Always keep good maintenence of your guitar so that when it's time to sell, people will buy it without hesitation. It saves you a lot of trouble. Take sound into consideration before looks. Music is about sound, not pictures so music videos shouldn't be an issue at the moment. When the band finally does come together, you'll want to record the music and vocals separately so you can adjust the volumes to match each other. Screaming over the drums for 5 minutes means 2 weeks of sucking on cough lollies endlessly. A good audio-editing program is CakeWalk. It's very common and very professional if you're a perfectionist. I know I've been skipping around on a lot of different issues relating to the guitar, etc, but that's hard to avoid. Side issues need to be addressed to comprehend the whole picture. But the general rules that you MUST remember are:
1. PATIENCE: Making good music takes years.
2. PRACTISE: You should be able to put what you buy into use.
3. SEARCH: Know all your prices before you purchase and consult people who know.
4. STUDY: Knowing the history of the instrument adds depth into your passion.
5. THINK: Before you do something new. If it's not your thing, then you wasted a lot of time, money, and effort.
Keep these things in mind. And on a last note to stress the first rule of patience: you are a 'beginner guitarist' for 2 years. After 2 years, you move up. Think about it. 2 years. That's a long time. Music requires patience. Not just skill, passion, committment, but also patience.
I hope I didn't confuse you too much with my rambling.
A good site for more info is here.
Good Luck though. All best to you and your band.
Cheers,
-xXRayeXx
___________________________________
For on-line music lessons, add punkkiiii to your YIM.
~Music lessons are currently on break~
1-2-3-KABOOM!! |
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Sun Dec 11, 2005 13:57
pussycatdoll
Beginner
Joined : 11 Dec 2005
Posts : 5
Age : 12
Location : west yorkshire |
hummm well they cost about $2000
yo i totaly hate my self  |
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Wed Dec 14, 2005 12:45
halleluja666
Beginner
Joined : 27 Aug 2005
Posts : 49
Location : Australia |
In West Yorkshire, but not necessarily in Sydney or Melbourne, Australia .
Cheers,
-xXRayeXx
1-2-3-KABOOM!! |
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