Tips on buying a Guitar

[TRDGUY]

What would one look for when buying a Guitar basically . Im now putting things in place to start learning( no previous knowledge) how to play so any tips will be appreciated .

[Daran]

should have 6 strings at least

[maj. tom]

[speedmelter]

you should start off with an acoustic if youre now learning.

i dont suggest that you get the ridiculously cheap stuff like the 600 dollar crap from radioshak etc like rollins, or the ones hanging up in tunapuna.

if youre on a budget get maybe a yamaha 6 string, its pretty decent and would cost you around 1000 or less. if you can afford better come back here and say.

also budget for a decent tuner, prob around 70 dollars and some picks and maybe a couple spare set of strings.

try out the guitar before you buy it of course and you should look for the ones that has a sharper sound to it. if the sound is too muffled or low and distorted its probably a bad sign.

try to buy one with a cutaway if u can, i.e the one where u have access to about 22 frets and not the standard 12 frets. this will be much more useful later.

better brands are like martin, washburn, fender, ibanez is pretty good, gibson.. to name a few.

dont buy the rollins, i dont think they are any good

[Mudboy]

Try RS on St James street in Sando....get a nylon stringed guitar to start with and get the hang of it before to move to steel. They have some good starter....Martin

Not more than 900TT

[shaq090]

if you are sure you want to play guitar then if u have the $ buy a good guitar one time and done, reason being, once ur skills start to progress eventually your going to outgrow the starter and youll notice that the starter guitar wont be able to properly do mid - advance acoustic techniques. always buy a good guitar and done, never lets ur skills outgrow the guitar, let the guitar grow your skills

[ichiniisama99]

if you are sure you want to play guitar then if u have the $ buy a good guitar one time and done, reason being, once ur skills start to progress eventually your going to outgrow the starter and youll notice that the starter guitar wont be able to properly do mid - advance acoustic techniques. always buy a good guitar and done, never lets ur skills outgrow the guitar, let the guitar grow your skills

I agree... wish i knew this a year ago. the amount of guitars i bought within that space of time i coulda buy a 100 watt amp and a $5000 electric and still have a decent steel string acoustic. When u advance from a starter set your ear becomes better trained and you realise how crappy your setup sounds.

[ichiniisama99]

you should start off with an acoustic if youre now learning.

i dont suggest that you get the ridiculously cheap stuff like the 600 dollar crap from radioshak etc like rollins, or the ones hanging up in tunapuna.

if youre on a budget get maybe a yamaha 6 string, its pretty decent and would cost you around 1000 or less. if you can afford better come back here and say.

also budget for a decent tuner, prob around 70 dollars and some picks and maybe a couple spare set of strings.

try out the guitar before you buy it of course and you should look for the ones that has a sharper sound to it. if the sound is too muffled or low and distorted its probably a bad sign.

try to buy one with a cutaway if u can, i.e the one where u have access to about 22 frets and not the standard 12 frets. this will be much more useful later.

better brands are like martin, washburn, fender, ibanez is pretty good, gibson.. to name a few.

dont buy the rollins, i dont think they are any good

lol... rollins yes... cant even find a proper website for them, much less for a review. Speaking of which, i remember going into radioshack out of curiosity to try out one, they said "yeah man go ahead..." so i asked "where d amp?" they watch me and say "Amp? am...na we doh have dat..." i walk out yes.

Where you know in trinidad sells Martin guitars? I've been lookin to get a martin or taylor acoustic, as you know they expensive so i dont know who in trinidad will bring in those. Do you know by chance?

[speedmelter]

you can use a skybox service and you will be very surprised of the savings. i brought in an epiphone les paul and just paid vat plus 300 dollars to clear it. (came up to about 500tt), shipping was cheap, about 250tt. and the guitar cost was clost to 500usd. i dont know of anywhere here selling them but im sure there are places. however you would save alot if you import it yourself.

about the rollins lol. i can bad talk them for quality but i do owe it to them for starting me off with the guitar. i was walkin tru the mall one day after buying some pet feed, saw the sale on the glass of radioshak and i went in to look. i saw the rollins acoustic on sale for 599, went into my pocket and had exactly 6 100 dollar bills. ended up buying it and it was so much fun after that. a few monts later the neck bent under normal circumstances and there is a crack also flex where the neck meets the body. the guitar no longer holds tune due to this. i wont recommend rollins to anyone. it doesnt sound very good.

a big part of learning to play i believe is enjoying it. if the guitar to u isnt sexy, doesnt feel right in your hand, doesnt sound good, if its something you cant have pride over, you would not feel to play it and would end up losing the habit. on the other hand if its the contrary you would find urself having alot of fun and enjoyment.

ichiniisama99 if you are really desperate to get one and is willing to shell out the money check live-n-loud. it would cost you more than bringing it in yourself but its an avenue. good luck

[TRDGUY]

great thanks guys, so i should buy a well enough decent guitar and not a starter ..... i dont mind spending for a decent guitar

[JoKeR1980]

could've checked here

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=212680&hilit=guitar

[ichiniisama99]

you can use a skybox service and you will be very surprised of the savings. i brought in an epiphone les paul and just paid vat plus 300 dollars to clear it. (came up to about 500tt), shipping was cheap, about 250tt. and the guitar cost was clost to 500usd. i dont know of anywhere here selling them but im sure there are places. however you would save alot if you import it yourself.

about the rollins lol. i can bad talk them for quality but i do owe it to them for starting me off with the guitar. i was walkin tru the mall one day after buying some pet feed, saw the sale on the glass of radioshak and i went in to look. i saw the rollins acoustic on sale for 599, went into my pocket and had exactly 6 100 dollar bills. ended up buying it and it was so much fun after that. a few monts later the neck bent under normal circumstances and there is a crack also flex where the neck meets the body. the guitar no longer holds tune due to this. i wont recommend rollins to anyone. it doesnt sound very good.

a big part of learning to play i believe is enjoying it. if the guitar to u isnt sexy, doesnt feel right in your hand, doesnt sound good, if its something you cant have pride over, you would not feel to play it and would end up losing the habit. on the other hand if its the contrary you would find urself having alot of fun and enjoyment.

ichiniisama99 if you are really desperate to get one and is willing to shell out the money check live-n-loud. it would cost you more than bringing it in yourself but its an avenue. good luck

oh yes live-n-loud. i bought a Dean exotica from them before while they were in sando. Na, I'm not desperate, but i'd really like to play a Martin or Taylor.

I guess importing a guitar is indeed a lot cheaper, but the downside is you don't get to play it yourself before you buy. I've tried many guitars and personally didn't like them, though most were really good, it's just like you said, if to you a guitar isn't nice and doesn't suit you, it just never will be. So i prefer to get personal with a guitar before i buy it. I prefer to pay more for that opportunity.

For example, i played a les paul studio once, its reaallllly nice. But then i played a PRS SE singlecut, and somehow i got attached to it. My mind was telling me the les paul was better but it didnt feel like the singlecut. The majority of persons say Gibson is by far better, which i wouldn't doubt. But i just loved the PRS. It all comes down to preference like you rightly said.

[speedmelter]

i think gibson's are really nice but im no expert. from reading reviews and watching videos etc. i think alot of people prefer PRS for whatever reasons. ive read that gibson doesnt make their stuff as good as before and that there are alot of returns etc nowadays. i know if you want a certain guitar and it isnt available at live-n-loud shyam can bring it down for u but it will be the same scenario where you cant play before you buy in any case.

[DVSTT]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[ichiniisama99]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[~Vēġó~]

informative thread....thinking of getting one to be gifted....

lol @ img.

[Sky]

Watch this, then watch everything else you can from him.

[Sky]

you can use a skybox service and you will be very surprised of the savings. i brought in an epiphone les paul and just paid vat plus 300 dollars to clear it. (came up to about 500tt), shipping was cheap, about 250tt. and the guitar cost was clost to 500usd. i dont know of anywhere here selling them but im sure there are places. however you would save alot if you import it yourself.

about the rollins lol. i can bad talk them for quality but i do owe it to them for starting me off with the guitar. i was walkin tru the mall one day after buying some pet feed, saw the sale on the glass of radioshak and i went in to look. i saw the rollins acoustic on sale for 599, went into my pocket and had exactly 6 100 dollar bills. ended up buying it and it was so much fun after that. a few monts later the neck bent under normal circumstances and there is a crack also flex where the neck meets the body. the guitar no longer holds tune due to this. i wont recommend rollins to anyone. it doesnt sound very good.

a big part of learning to play i believe is enjoying it. if the guitar to u isnt sexy, doesnt feel right in your hand, doesnt sound good, if its something you cant have pride over, you would not feel to play it and would end up losing the habit. on the other hand if its the contrary you would find urself having alot of fun and enjoyment.

ichiniisama99 if you are really desperate to get one and is willing to shell out the money check live-n-loud. it would cost you more than bringing it in yourself but its an avenue. good luck

Not always true. Speed you were lucky.
Brought in my stratocoustic, paid about $1200 to ship and clear.
Brought in my strat body and it came up to about $900 to bring in
Brought in the neck and case. was about $1100.

When I did the maths, I found out that it would cost less to buy a PRS SE form live-n-loud than import from musiciansfriend.com. Same goes for other little things. It was said in the guitar thread that music stores don't pay import duties on instruments, and maybe that's why.
But the selection is so thin in Trinidad I think I'll continue to import stuff.

[MG Man]

www.samash.com

[speedmelter]

Not always true. Speed you were lucky.
Brought in my stratocoustic, paid about $1200 to ship and clear.
Brought in my strat body and it came up to about $900 to bring in
Brought in the neck and case. was about $1100.

When I did the maths, I found out that it would cost less to buy a PRS SE form live-n-loud than import from musiciansfriend.com. Same goes for other little things. It was said in the guitar thread that music stores don't pay import duties on instruments, and maybe that's why.
But the selection is so thin in Trinidad I think I'll continue to import stuff.

hmm so youre comparing the cost of your strat to a prs? i get the idea youre giving but ok yea maybe i was lucky, but me and a few friends all brought in our guitars and amps. we all saw 40% or more in savings every single time.

[Sky]

using the duties. They'll all be classed as the same. Plus weight etc.

[josh.dookie]

Check shyam...at Live N Loud... He will link u, even lessons.. He's got some nice starter ibanez acoustics..!