Calling all guitar experts!

[Kat Walker]

I need your help!

I don't play guitar or know much about the instrument, so I need some expert advice on what type you think a proficient player would enjoy. I'm hoping to get him either a bday/Christmas gift (both are in December ^^; )

Anyway, here's some possible pertinent information/questions:

-- He plays acoustic guitar. As far as I know, he's not much of a heavy metal kind of guy. He plays at church all the time too.

-- He owns a guitar already, kind of an average type with nylon strings, I believe. Very old. Do you think steel strings would be a better choice? Which sounds better? Which is higher quality?

-- Classical guitar, Folk guitar, or Jazz guitar? I know he's a big jazz fan, but Im not sure if there's a significant enough of a difference between a Jazz guitar and other types. Anyone know?

-- My budget is probably 300 or so....Ill use every penny I can but that is the bare minimum. Anyone know of any wholesale/outlet instrument stores or good deals online? How's e-bay?

-- In the event that I can't get him an actual guitar, what kind of accessories/repair kits/tuning stuff and whatnot are really good for a serious guitar player? Something that he'd really appreciate. Any and all comments are apreciated for this one, because at the moment it seems like my best choice. ^^;;;;;;

Anyway, thanks for reading guys, and any and all advice/ideas/help/comments/or resources would be highly highly appreciated!

[Kat Walker]

EDIT: please forgive the multiple-thread posting. It was an accident, the server was slow and I didnt think it had gotten the thread posted (the loading bar wasn't showing anything). Stupid school LAN. Anyway, my apologies to any mod that has to delete all that.

[shooraijin]

*tips hat*

[Dragon Master]

Hm, well if you are looking for an acousic guitar I have a Yamaha FG413S, its a steel string very nice, price range around $300. I reall like it and it sounds nice. I would recomend a steel string but it hurts your fingers for the first week or two. And you would need a pick. Although, It is actually better to let the player to try them out and see what is best for them though because what may feel good to me or you may not be the best for them. The player needs to be comfortable playing the guitar or it just won't work. I hope this helps!

[Riku777]

ok... in the way of accoustics, there's bnot tooo many accessories (sp?) I have the same model, steel strings, double coil (doesn't matter what kind of steel it is, i just have 2 double coils cause they keep breaking allll the time! ), nylon is really for slow, well not really slow, more for strumming and soft songs. if he wants to play heavily with all the works ie. hammering, bending, pull offs, pick scratching etc. steel is better. But since it sounds like he's not into really picking off, i'd say nylon, they sound really nice when played, but break easier thean steal.

picks, like dragon master said, is entirly optional. i started to use a 1/2 mill pic, but i couldn't get thehang of wear the strings were. so i just use my fingers and that works perfectly for me. but dragon master said too, in a different way, every1's different.

tuning... ummm... electrical tuners are really only efficient (sp?) for elec. guitars, how ever if you feel like coughing up som extra dough, they work fine to on accoustics. but they're a little tricky to get the hang of. Ijust listen sound of the strings when I'm tuning manually.

umm... yuo can go all out crazy. you can decide to take of the pick guard, install a wammy bar (usually for elc. guitar only) blah blah blah blah.

extra strings, maybe some money for a repair shop, that's all i can think of if tyou can't buy a new guitar.

and if he really only plays chordes and sings at churches, i'd say a folk guitar, if he's more into picking songs, i'd say classic. it's all up to what kind of style he plays in.

hope i could help! good luck christmas shopping ^_^

[Spencer]

Well I'm no guitar expert, but I'll do my best. ^^

-- He owns a guitar already, kind of an average type with nylon strings, I believe. Very old. Do you think steel strings would be a better choice? Which sounds better? Which is higher quality?

I think nylon strings are primarily for classical guitar or flamenco (spanish kind of stuff). They're slippery, and mostly used for really fast paced finger picking. I would personally go with steel strings.

-- Classical guitar, Folk guitar, or Jazz guitar? I know he's a big jazz fan, but Im not sure if there's a significant enough of a difference between a Jazz guitar and other types. Anyone know?

Classical, again, is really fast picking (I think, someone go ahead and correct me if I'm wrong) so if he's gonna be doing strumming, then I wouldn't get one of those.

-- My budget is probably 300 or so....Ill use every penny I can but that is the bare minimum. Anyone know of any wholesale/outlet instrument stores or good deals online? How's e-bay?

A few I can think of off the top of my head:

- Guitar Center (My personal favorite ^^)
- MusiciansFriend.com
- Music123.com
- Music-Go-Round
- H&H music
- There are also usually some local places you can go to. ^^

I dunno about eBay, I've never tried it myself.

-- In the event that I can't get him an actual guitar, what kind of accessories/repair kits/tuning stuff and whatnot are really good for a serious guitar player? Something that he'd really appreciate. Any and all comments are apreciated for this one, because at the moment it seems like my best choice. ^^;;;;;;

If it were me personally, I think that getting a pickup for my acoustic would be realy awesome so I could play it in front of large audiences and not have to use a mic. You can get a simple one you just pop in the soundhole (the big hole in the body) for around 30 bucks.

Also, extra picks, strings, or a new capo would be handy. Guitar Center has a ton of stuff to choose from, so if there is one of those around, I'd definately recommend it. You could also ask one of the employees there about a guitar or accessories, they'll probably know more than me. ^^

As for brands, my acoustic is an Epiphone. It's the best acoustic I've evern played myself, and I can't bear to be away from it. ^^ My cousin has a Takamine, but those can tend to be a little pricey. Of course, brand name isn't everything. You don't have to have a Martin or Gibson (both high end brands ^^) to be a good guitar player. The guitar doesn't make the player, as they say. ^^

Okay, I've rambled on enough now. Hope that helped at least a little bit. Good luck with shopping. Hope you find a good deal. ^^

[PumpkinKoRn52]

Here's what I would do. Ask him what type's of guitar's he likes, and every detail you mentioned. Sound really interested so he won't think your getting him it. Then go to Samash.com or Musiciansfriend.com and find the one closest to your budget.

[SpikeSpiegel306]

He owns a guitar already, kind of an average type with nylon strings, I believe. Very old. Do you think steel strings would be a better choice? Which sounds better? Which is higher quality?

Nylon strings means the guitar is Classical. DO NOT buy steel strings for a Classical guitar as they will bend the neck.

Classical guitar, Folk guitar, or Jazz guitar? I know he's a big jazz fan, but Im not sure if there's a significant enough of a difference between a Jazz guitar and other types. Anyone know?

Jazz guitar incorporates a device called a "slide" they only cost about 10-15 dollars if you wanted to get him something for that. When talking about acoustic guitars, there are not many differences between guitar types with the exception of the Classical guitar.

My budget is probably 300 or so....Ill use every penny I can but that is the bare minimum. Anyone know of any wholesale/outlet instrument stores or good deals online? How's e-bay?

With a three hundred dollar budget, I personally would recommend just giving him the money and letting him save it up for a guitar that he would really want, but if you feel compelled to buy him a guitar I would look in the classifieds for a used one or try to find a used one a Guitar Center or Brook Mays. Best Cheap Acoustic Guitar Brands: Ovation, Ibanez, and Peavy

I hope that helps you, good luck!

[Mithrandir]

I second SS's advice. I'm considering saving up for a guitar to replace the one I have (old, get's the job done) but they are not cheap. If I get the one I really want, it's nearly a grand. That's not the kind of money to drop easily. You can get some decent guitars for $300.00, but the kind *I* would save up for are in the 600-700 range -min-.

In my experiance, musicians are very picky about their instruments, and there are a LOT of choices out there... I just can't recommend getting him one... It's not as special to give him the money, but if you told him what you were planning, and had him go with you to the store, then pretend it's too expensive... Hmm... I still don't know.

Good luck in whatever choice you make, though. Sorry if this was depressing...

[Zedian]

Steel strings are more durable and are more appealing due to their broader sense of sound...nylon is more for quick finger picking and flamenco style guitaring. You can find raelly good Takemine or Yamaha accoustics online for really good prices, try Amazon or Half.

If he is really considering playing for the long-term, make a long-term investment. Save up a little longer and get him a guitar in the 400-600 dollar price range...then again it depends on his skill too. Fender and Ibanez when it comes to electric are great for novices, amatuers and intermediate players alike.

[Zero One]

personally I usually go with nylon strings for like more classical type songs or songs from The Wolf's Rain OST ^_^ such a great OST with all it's acoustic guitariness. But other than that I prefer steel strings as far as finger pickin on it you should get used to it within in a short time if you've allready been playin for a while, or at least I did, but um...I'm not sure what kind of model of acoustic to get, I have two but one was a simple beginner's and the second I got while traveling in Guatemala very nicely made guitar. I like to shop for my guitar stuff at Guitar Center they usually have some of the lower prices especially if you can take in an ad they'll beat it, or if your like 10 bucks short they'll give it to you for what you have. I recently went to try to buy a Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal and I was like about 9.70 short and the guy was like you know what I'll just give it to you for that much, which made my day. So I would recommend guitar center if there's one in your area. As far as looking on Ebay just be very careful, I honestly wouldn't recommend that unless you have him look at it first, there's alot of greedy people on there. So I hope this helps some!

[Kat Walker]

Thank you everyone! ^^

Since then I've been paying closer attention to his tastes, and I've decided a steel string jazz guitar would be the best pick for him. One of his friends has one, and he's been kind of envious. XD

I also just got a web design job that'll pay me about 200 bucks...God sure does provide! I really hope I'll be able to get him something nice. If not, the person who told me to just give him the money gave me an idea -- I think I'll drop him a gift certificate for the local music store or something. Thanks again, guys! ^^