Recommend a decent beginner's accoustic, purdy please!

Tonedef

Hi gang,

I have come to the realization that my two electrics offer way too much distraction for me to learn to play properly. I am forever fiddling around with fx and shit while neglecting the basics. I cant even chord properly yet!

I reckon the 'purity of purpose' of an accoustic is what the doctor ordered. Something cheap but good to get me started. Steel strings and maybe a thinner neck to mimic the electrics. Ultimately I am an electric man but I need something to work the basics without getting distracted.

Ta!

Bob-Dubery

Cort & Tanglewood are good budget acoustics. Takamine may cost a bit more but can be good value. If you can find a 2nd hand Taylor Big Baby you'll get a guitar with a great neck. Not purdy though. Don't worry about purdy. Worry about sound & playability

Bob-Dubery

Oh... And see if there are any of the low end Eastmans left at McGibbon's. I remember a couple of those having a lot of bang for the buck.

Norman86

Tonedef, what are you looking at paying???

my tanglewood cost me R1100 from mercury music in edenvale.
Sure, they had to order it in for me, but i dont regret it at all!
And, its much better, imo, than the corts, ibanez and yamahas of the same price!

The tanglewoods neck is also nice and thin, so its like playing my strat ?

Norman86

http://www.mercurymusic.co.za/pMMTW28CLN/Tanglewood-Evolution-TW28CLN-Acoustic-Guitar.aspx

There we go... R1150 from Mercury Music... And they're MUCH cheaper than Marshall Music... by R700 for the same guitar ?

http://marshallmusic.co.za/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=568&category_id=16&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=106

see?!

costafonix

X-rated Bob wrote: Cort & Tanglewood are good budget acoustics. Takamine may cost a bit more but can be good value. If you can find a 2nd hand Taylor Big Baby you'll get a guitar with a great neck. Not purdy though. Don't worry about purdy. Worry about sound & playability

http://www.junkmail.co.za/v-johannesburg-leisure-musical-instruments-taylor-baby-guitar-mahogany-like-new-QZQYCatQX0177QYRgnQX0001QYAdQXF17752QYEdQX201114
I'm sure if you offered this guy R2500 for this baby you'll get yourself a nice guitar,he's been trying to sell it for a while, not quite entry level but well worth looking into.

Tonedef

Thanks for the grrreat advice, guys! R1.1k is much less than I expected and that hits the spot very nicely indeed! Before I proceed with the purchase though, do you think I am right to want to get an accoustic for learning faster?

Norman86

Well, its a little easier than the electric, not having to plug anything in and all! so ease of use is improved!
Just make sure you have a tuner with a mic then, or a decent clip on tuner to tune your acoustic ?

DaFiz

Absolutely Tonedef... It's great fun strumming an acoustic guitar, and the stiffer fingering manoeuvres come together easier when next you play the electric guitar again. ?

Warren

Tonedef wrote: Thanks for the grrreat advice, guys! R1.1k is much less than I expected and that hits the spot very nicely indeed! Before I proceed with the purchase though, do you think I am right to want to get an accoustic for learning faster?

I think that part of playing electric IS all about learning about interaction with amp, fx and guitar, so if you're keen on electric in general then the stuff you've already spent time learning won't go to waste.

However, I do agree with you that it's easy to waste time on "stuff" than on actual playing, when it comes to electric guitars. For my part, I'm not too bothered about whether my amp has XYZ tubes or whether my GT-8 is as good as independent pedals: I'm still learning to play the guitar. ?

I reckon you're making a good choice. It's also nice to be able to play both electric and acoustic; can't really sing along around a camp-fire or on the beach with an electric!

vic

Tonedef wrote: Thanks for the grrreat advice, guys! R1.1k is much less than I expected and that hits the spot very nicely indeed! Before I proceed with the purchase though, do you think I am right to want to get an accoustic for learning faster?

To be honest I think you should stick to your electric/s...just cut out the messing around with Fx etc... ?

Norman86

Also keep in mind... and i read it here on the forum somewhere...

He who dies with the most guitars wins ?

So far, thats Aubrey who's winning ?

So if you do get the acoustic, you'll be one guitar closer!! ?

Tonedef

Norman86 wrote: Well, its a little easier than the electric, not having to plug anything in and all! so ease of use is improved!
Just make sure you have a tuner with a mic then, or a decent clip on tuner to tune your acoustic ?

ya, I'll have to get me one of thems. I could always get a pickup fitted and use my gt, but then I'd be back to square one! :roflmao:

costafonix

seriously though, dont make the mistake of buying a guitar that's too cheap,, the bad quality will frustrate you. I've seen so many beginners give up simply because they bought a lousy quality instrument (which either sounded terrible of was terrible to play). I would recommend you put away some cash and rather go for a more affordable GOOD quality 2nd hand guitar. The brands mentioned so far are ok though.

Tonedef

vic wrote:
Tonedef wrote: Thanks for the grrreat advice, guys! R1.1k is much less than I expected and that hits the spot very nicely indeed! Before I proceed with the purchase though, do you think I am right to want to get an accoustic for learning faster?
To be honest I think you should stick to your electric/s...just cut out the messing around with Fx etc... ?

Dude! My self-discipline aint what it used to be! ?

Tonedef

CostaFonix wrote: seriously though, dont make the mistake of buying a guitar that's too cheap,, the bad quality will frustrate you. I've seen so many beginners give up simply because they bought a lousy quality instrument (which either sounded terrible of was terrible to play). I would recommend you put away some cash and rather go for a more affordable GOOD quality 2nd hand guitar. The brands mentioned so far are ok though.

+1, I learnt my lesson when I bought my cheapie strat!

RobK

I have a Cort CEC7. Nylon string acoustic and the neck is narrower than a classical nylon. Nice and comfy and sounds pretty good. Been using that for lessons and most practising. I find chords are easier to finger on my electric after learning them on the acoustic. Cost wise it's a bit higher than the few suggested so far, but might be worth a look. Oh, considering these can be plugged into an effects pedal and amp, I doubt the temptation to fiddle with fx is going to go away. ?

costafonix

slight topic diversion - are you finished with your renovations??

Tonedef

Slowly getting there! My neck and back issues put paid to two weeks' worth of graft on the house, and a similar amount of axe practise. ☹

I finished all the wall rinoliting and kak this weekend though, next weekend we can gooi the first lick of paint, then its just the laminate flooring, skirtings and electrical odznenz.

Norman86

btw... i need to get to gearhead sometime, who lives in alberton...
i can bring my tanglewood along if you wanna test it out?!