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Joe Bonamassa Forum → Marketplace → Buying a Guitar
All,
I could use some help and guidance....I want to buy my boyfriend a guitar for his birthday. He's been looking and talking about getting one for quite some time, but I am not sure he knows where to start. He's played drums his whole life and really wants to learn something new. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Marci
What is your budget and does like strat or les paul styles?
Well first off tell him it doesn't matter if he prefers acoustic or electric to start. Who ever came up with the "you should start on an acoustic" is an idiot. Which ever feels best to him is the way to go. After all, he's the one playing. You don't have to spend a lot of money nowadays for a good "first" guitar either. Probably a good idea if he isn't sure what he wants is to go to a Guitar Center if you have one nearby and just try out a bunch of stuff to get an idea of how different guitars sound and feel. Not all the sales people there are creeps, some are knowledgable but don't feel the need to buy. Just use it as a stepping stone to see whats out there and what he likes.
If you only have a small music shop near you thats fine too, but most of them try and push and talk up only what they have. There usually isn't much variety either, but doesn't hurt to check out. Also, buying used guitars is great. And if he's seriously into it, I'd maybe shy away from getting a real cheap-o guitar. Those are mainly for kids who might want to play but kids change their minds and go through phases so you don't lose much should you buy a lovely guitar from Walmart or BestBuy.. Ibanez makes great guitars for the money and the Mexican Strats are pretty nice too, and affordable.
Good advice, before I knew any better I was told to get an acoustic. Did not take me long to realise electrics were far easier to learn on. Did some homework and the Yamaha Pacifica kept in cropping up, bought in and they are a brilliant guiatr for the money and perfectly ok for gigging with too.
If you only have a small music shop near you thats fine too, but most of them try and push and talk up only what they have. There usually isn't much variety either, but doesn't hurt to check out. Also, buying used guitars is great. And if he's seriously into it, I'd maybe shy away from getting a real cheap-o guitar. Those are mainly for kids who might want to play but kids change their minds and go through phases so you don't lose much should you buy a lovely guitar from Walmart or BestBuy.. Ibanez makes great guitars for the money and the Mexican Strats are pretty nice too, and affordable.
Thanks everyone...sounds like maybe instead of surprising him, I really need him with me when I buy him one and I need to do a little more research.
You could "surprise" him with a trip to guitar center or something like that to pick out a guitar of his liking. I'm sure he could find something he liked. When I was 11 or 12 and first picked up a guitar, they all were cool so I wasn't picky. I didn't notice much differences in them because I was only starting out. So if you can plan a trip somewhere to a larger music store, you could make a day of it and I'm sure he'd love that.
Good advice, before I knew any better I was told to get an acoustic. Did not take me long to realise electrics were far easier to learn on. Did some homework and the Yamaha Pacifica kept in cropping up, bought in and they are a brilliant guiatr for the money and perfectly ok for gigging with too.
helrazr84 wrote:If you only have a small music shop near you thats fine too, but most of them try and push and talk up only what they have. There usually isn't much variety either, but doesn't hurt to check out. Also, buying used guitars is great. And if he's seriously into it, I'd maybe shy away from getting a real cheap-o guitar. Those are mainly for kids who might want to play but kids change their minds and go through phases so you don't lose much should you buy a lovely guitar from Walmart or BestBuy.. Ibanez makes great guitars for the money and the Mexican Strats are pretty nice too, and affordable.
Sadly, people seem to go by that rule of thumb. If you give a kid an acoustic and he wants an electric -he's not going to enjoy it and probably will lose the desire to play.
Joe Bonamassa Forum → Marketplace → Buying a Guitar
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