Guitar Newbie

[chapo]

I try not to post a lot and just soak it all in, but, I have a question some of the music gurus here can help answer. I have always wanted to play guitar. Pushing 50, is it too late? Should I go acoustic or electric? I like all music but would like to learn the staples, Cash, Stones, Berry, etc. I am left handed but the instrument feels natural righty.
Advice, thoughts?

[ckissick]

It's never too late, so push that idea right out of your mind.

Buy an acoustic guitar and play it righty. Just because you write and throw left doesn't mean your have to play left. You are required to use both hands dexterously, so I've never thought that it mattered much which way you learn. Either way will feel equally awkward at first.

Get a steel string guitar and learn all the basic chords until you can switch from chord to chord quickly. Get a guitar with easy, low action. Find some good three-chord songs and learn them. There are a lot of nice songs that use just E, A, and G chords.

The internet is a great resource. When I was learning I relied on my buddies and song books. Speaking of which, find someone to jam with. That's the best part.

[LWJ]

Take a buddy who plays and buy a pawn shop steel string acoustic that plays well. See if you can get a jam buddy or two. Learn some stuff. You would be floored if you knew how much you can learn in one month. Guitar is really easy to move into the intermediate level. Take private lessons!!!

Have fun. Music is a big deal in my house.

[Rick Lee]

If you're at that stage where you can afford it, buy whatever guitar is going to make you want to play all the time. Doesn't have to be an acoustic, though they're good to learn on and pretty challenging to play well. And learn the music you love. You won't practice if you're playing stuff you don't like. You can find anything online these days. Look up the songs you want to learn on Youtube and Songsterr.com.

[targa911S]

all good advice here, but i play bass what the hell do i know?

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

If you're at that stage where you can afford it, buy whatever guitar is going to make you want to play all the time. Doesn't have to be an acoustic, though they're good to learn on and pretty challenging to play well. And learn the music you love. You won't practice if you're playing stuff you don't like. You can find anything online these days. Look up the songs you want to learn on Youtube and Songsterr.com.

^^^This times ten thousand, yes, a steel string acoustic will strengthen your hands and make you a better player... but it could frustrate you and make you want to drop the hobby before you start.
IMHO go to Guitar center and pick up a Mexican Strat, a small fender practice amp and go at it.

Originally Posted by targa911S

all good advice here, but i play bass what the hell do i know?

Silly bass player! (bass player here)

[wildthing]

I suppose if you're 50, steel is fine. I was trying to get my daughter (who was 11 at the time) interested, but I only have steel, and she says it was too hard. Bought her a ukulele and she learned pretty quickly. She would've probably taken up guitar if I bought her one with some nylons...

[NutmegCarrera]

Don't discount the humble nylon string.
Willie Nelson has been limping his along for a few years now...

[gwmac]

I have a buddy started playeing at 50, at 60 he is pretty darn good, has a three piece band and they gig in the area playing blues, rock and country.Gotta have some chops to play guitar in a three piece.

[daepp]

Here's a tip I got when I was 12, and I'm very thankful for - still playing at 53:

Whatever acoustic guitar you end up with, have the shop string the bottom three strings (E, B, & G) with nylon strings, and save the steel ones. Just for a month or two. It's totally unconventional, but I have seen SOOOO many people get discouraged from the pain of no finger-tip callouses.

You get past the pain part a little easier, and get to enjoying it sooner. Just don't wait too long to put the steels ones back on.

[HardDrive]

I started playing when I was 40. I like to tinker and learn new chords. No big goals, I just find it very relaxing.

Let me give you a very concrete recommendation for a guitar. Yamaha FG800. Solid spruce top, good price point. I have the predecessor, the FG700S. Get yourself a stand to put it on.

Yamaha FG800 Folk Acoustic Guitar Natural | Guitar Center

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by NutmegCarrera

Don't discount the humble nylon string.
Willie Nelson has been limping his along for a few years now...

Willie who?

[LWJ]

Good suggestion from Hardrive.

Another thing is to string it with extra light gauge strings. You can tune down 1/2 step as well which may or may not make it easier.

[Por_sha911]

Advice on guitars is like advice on financial investment. First it is best to know what you want to achieve and what your pain threshold is to get there.

If you are the kind of person that quits if it doesn't come easy and fast then start with nylon strings or an electric guitar. If you are the kind that can tough out the early hard going then steel string acoustic will do you well in the long run.

The other thing that can be a factor is are you just wanting to piddle around or do you love music and want to learn to seriously play well. If you just want to dabble for fun but not really get seriously into it then get whatever you want and do whatever.

Lastly, lessons from a good teacher (not a hack that does kids but has no skill) will help with fundamentals. Start learning with bad habits will hinder your long term success. Also, as others have said, find people to jam with who play better than you. I have found it is amazing how much I learned by playing with others on a regular basis (we would play every Saturday night from 9-?). It also helped me to practice more since I wanted to look good next week when we jam again.

[Charles Freeborn]

Go for it!
https://www.homespun.com for a huge variety of instructional materials.
-C
:: Freeborn Guitars ::

[jwgn777]

A Squire Tele or Stat for 149.00 at Musician Friend is a good inexpensive start. I have hi end guitars and I purchased this one just to bang around. It surprised me be cause I was able to play it right out of the box.
I suggest that you should learn four cord progressions to start. One progression at a time.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Other said before, but I would add again-
Buy /play right handed guitar.
I'm left handed but wanted to learn right handed. Like you, it just felt right. Also, larger selection of instruments and easier to learn in the sense you don't have to reverse everything.

Also, jump right into Cash, etc... Learning the songs that inspire will give the incentive to stick through the learning phase. Once you have some basic chords down, If I were learning, I would go to bars to find cover players who plays the stuff I like, and ask them if they teach lessons. Many of them are willing to help, or at least know someone who can. Those homespun videos have always been good. I think I have a Jorma Kaukonen vhs tape somewhere around here.

Big difference between learning some chords and bringing a song to life. The live players can make that second part happen. I still haven't really learned that second part!

[T77911S]

takamine makes great entry level acoustics.
take someone that knows how to play.
too many times newbies buy guitars with bad action and that can discourage you and you don't understand why.

there are also some nice low end electrics.
squire
japan strats
epiphone

[livi]

If you look up DocFluffer on youtube you will know that I am in no position to give any advice what so ever.

[Aragorn]

Never to late to learn. I would start with finding a correct sized acoustic guitar to begin with. Go to a few different shops and pull a few different styles off the rack to see what fits your hands the best. Once you find a style and brand that fits your hands, play it for a few minutes strumming the G C and D cords. Do your wrists feel tired? Does your thumb behind the neck feel numb? Put that guitar down and move to the next one. It may seem silly, but different brands will feel different in your hands even though the guitars look similar. You will know when you find the right guitar. Then sign up for some lessons. Also, don't spend a lot on your first guitar. You don't need to spend over $500 on a good learning acoustic guitar and will probably find one you like in the $150-$250 range used.