A New Guitar Enthusiast

[manuelrivero]

Hi, everyone! My name is Manuel, and I've been thinking about getting into music.

I've wanted to learn to play the guitar for a while now, and I've finally decided to give it a try. My goal is to enjoy the process, learn a few songs, and make progress little by little, without rushing.

What advice would you have liked to receive when you first started? I'm also interested in knowing which accessories are really necessary at the beginning and which ones can wait.

I hope to learn a lot from you all. I have other hobbies as well, in case you'd like to know more about me. Best regards! 

[B0WIE]

Welcome to the forum, Manuel! As far as learning goes, I feel it really depends on what you want to do. There's are so many reasons to play, so many styles, etc. A person that wants to play along with their favorite songs is going to take a different path than someone who wants to improv with other musicians. I knew almost nothing when I started but that was still enough to play live shows in front of hundreds of people. However, these days I like studying complex jazz and that requires deep levels of theory and finger skill. It's all about learning what is necessary to meet your goals.

I will say that the best thing one can do is find an instructor. You don't necessarily need one right away, but an instructor will show you what you are doing wrong and that can make learning much easier, faster, and more pleasant. I never had a guitar instructor and I wish I had. I would have learned correctly, and faster, with less frustration. I did get instructors for singing and I learned incredibly fast.

 As far as accessories go, just don't let people convince you of problems you don't have. When you need an accessory, you'll know. When starting, I think the only things I consider to be "must haves" are;
A good tuner (phone apps are fine)
Bridge pin puller (if your pins are snug)
String clipper.
Quality cleaning cloths. I personally use one for the strings (to make them last longer) and one for the body.
A humidification system of some sort.

You may also want;
A string winder (Larrivee sells an awesome ebony one).
A capo for playing in other keys, especially if you sing.
A guitar cleaner for times when a cloth isn't enough.

Common things you'll see sold that you don't really need;
Special bridge pins like brass and titanium to improve tone (they sometimes make it worse).
Fret board oil (it doesn't actually need nourishing).
String lubricant.
Expensive tuners (the best one I've ever used is a free phone app).
Pickup or amp unless a venue calls for it.

That's all personal opinion, take it for what you will.
Also, I like the tools and cleaners sold at StewMac. They can be expensive but most of them just make guitar life easier.

[unclrob]

Learn chords and work on rythm playing strumming.If you get a capo get a dunlap screw type NEVER a kyser type .

[teh]

First, welcome to the forum. You'll meet lots of nice and knowledgeable people here who are willing to share their experience, advice and opinions. I've been playing guitar since 1967 and made the switch after a year of piano lessons. I'm mostly a porch picker/solo player but here are a few suggestions to consider:

1) There are lots of great resources online including instructional lessons and performances from many great players and singer songwriters. The first two things to learn are tuning and timing. A guitar that is not in tune will never sound good and keeping time is important. Many hand held tuners include a built in metronome to help with both tuning your guitar and keeping time while practicing and playing.

2) Don't buy the cheapest guitar out there.  You can find a nice guitar at a really good price that will suit your needs and allow you to gain experience. A couple of years ago, I found a used Alvarez Artist guitar that I bought for $200. I refer to this guitar as my poor man's Martin D-18.

3) If you like the sound, a nylon string guitar is easier on your fingers until the callouses on your fretting hand build up. I prefer the sound of light gauge, steel strings which are easier to play. I just bought a three pack of D'Addario phosphor bronze light gauge strings on Friday at Guitar Center. I prefer shopping at local independent music stores but I have no problem with Guitar Center if I'm in the neighborhood.

4) If you can, take a knowledgable friend who knows how to play along with you and take your time when buying a guitar. I went into a really nice shop in April on a Tuesday morning while everyone else was at work and had the acoustic room to myself for three hours. I found three really nice guitars that I liked and came back two days later and brought one home with me. After almost five months of playing, I bought another keeper. Good luck.

[BlueBowman]

Excellent advice on both the DO's and the DONT's so far.

I'll add a little: pick songs you love and know by heart, and then learn the rhythm parts (with correct timing) from beginning to end. Learn how to play the song accurately before moving on to the next one. And have fun, lots of fun. Playing with others better than you is a very good way to progress faster.

Welcome to the forum!

[Silence Dogood]

Welcome to the best guitar forum online!

Find a guitar that you really love the sound of (most any guitar can be adjusted to FEEL good and play better by a professional tech/luthier).  When I first started playing acoustic guitar 35 years ago, I bought a Takamine that just sounded so good to me.  I would pick it up just to hear its sound.  That was what kept me coming back and learning. 

So, find a guitar that you want to listen to and you'll find yourself playing it more.

Get one of those ubiquitous clip-on tuners, some picks in different gauges, and a capo (Rob, there's nothing at all wrong with a Kyser -- thousands of folks use them for a reason). 

Put in the hours.  It's hard, and frustrating, but also one of the most rewarding things in life once it starts to stick.  And once you start learning songs that you can't stop playing, and stumbling upon and creating little musical things of your own, it will enrich your life in ways you'd never have imagined. 

I cannot imagine life without my guitar. 

I wish you well!

[unclrob]

Get one of those ubiquitous clip-on tuners, some picks in different gauges, and a capo (Rob, there's nothing at all wrong with a Kyser -- thousands of folks use them for a reason).  I've seen too much damage from them.
capos should be placed in middle of the frets.if you see a cut appear on the fret cause the string stop using that capo,do not clip your capo to headstock it will damage the headstock.

[Queequeg]

Get one of those ubiquitous clip-on tuners, some picks in different gauges, and a capo (Rob, there's nothing at all wrong with a Kyser -- thousands of folks use them for a reason).  I've seen too much damage from them.
capos should be placed in middle of the frets.if you see a cut appear on the fret cause the string stop using that capo,do not clip your capo to headstock it will damage the headstock.

I personally don't use Kyser capos, either. I figure if that aluminum casting ever fails and the spring escapes, it will poke my eye out. The spring applies a fixed amount of pressure which can't be adjusted. For guitars with light action this heavy pressure can pull sharp or cause extra string or fret wear.
But I understand that Kyser also manufactures a low tension option with a spring that has 25% less tension than the original to mitigate this, which I haven't tried.
And I agree with Rob that I wouldn't clip that to the headstock.

[jpmist]

The spring applies a fixed amount of pressure which can't be adjusted.

Yikes, all due respect, but this is a sadly common misperception. Here's a video showing how to adjust the pressure - https://youtu.be/LbS_0ru9phU?si=JfYX7dOGoHfAyLsX The processi s a tad inelegant and takes a bit of trial and error but I've adjusted all mine and am happy with the results.

[B0WIE]

Not to dog pile, but I personally don't care for Keyser either. I've turned down used guitars that were damaged from them and, even if you avoid potential damage to frets and headstock, I've found they usually sour the tuning because of the uneven pressure. Granted, many capos can do that, but I've found it to be particularly bad with Keysers.

That said, I'm really finicky about such things and great music had been made with every type of capo. Thx Jpmist for linking the video, that's really good to know. I hope more people learn about that because they ship far too tight, IMO.

[Silence Dogood]

I prefer a Paige capo because it looks cooler than a Kyser, stays out of the way, and is easily adjustable: but over the years I've become fond of bending the B-string behind the nut and the Paige makes this impossible. Also, I don't care if the Kyser chews up my headstock.  My guitar ain't entering a beauty contest anytime soon.  😃

[Queequeg]

Yikes, all due respect, but this is a sadly common misperception. Here's a video showing how to adjust the pressure - https://youtu.be/LbS_0ru9phU?si=JfYX7dOGoHfAyLsX The processi s a tad inelegant and takes a bit of trial and error but I've adjusted all mine and am happy with the results.

Much obliged. 

[teh]

Over the years I've tried a wide range of capos including: Hamilton, Dunlop, Ernie Ball, Shubb, Kyser, G7th and even the COOL Shark Capo from Guitar Center. Here are my three favorites ranked in no particular order with comments on each:

Shubb - I have both a 6 string and 12 string capo as well as a partial capo that can mimic DADGAD TUNING or an Open A chord. All three of these capos are built with quality materials, are easy to use and do a great job.

Dunlop - Mine is a black 6 string capo that looks sharp and has a thumb screw to adjust the tension. This is the easiest capo to use and gets the most usage.

G7th - I have both a G7th Newport and a G7th Performance 3 capo. These are the most expensive capos I have but the Performance 3 with gold finish works really well with my 12 fret 000. It doesn't look like it works as well as it should but it does. I will add that the spring on my first Newport capo broke and I emailed the company in England and they sent me a brand new capo at no charge.

The Kyser and the Ernie Ball capos are all clamp on types but I have never had a problem with any of them. As Uncle Rob recommended, place your capo in the middle of the frets; not right behind the fret.

[Silence Dogood]

I don't understand clamping the capo in the middle of the fret?  I've always been told to put it just behind the fret (seems like a luthier even told me that once).  My guitar never sounds in tune when it's in the middle of the fret either.  YMMV. 

On a nerdy note, I've always thought the Kyser-style clamped on the end of the headstock looks so cool.  This goes back to my younger years when I was learning to play.  I used to go to church where the worship leader played a Martin D35.  I would mostly just watch him play the whole time and he was always messing with the capo.  He could change it out faster than anyone I've ever seen, and it would always end up on the end of his guitar's headstock.  I used to think to myself, if I ever learn how to play, I want to do that!  So goofy but such is the folly of youth. 

I went back and re-read my post earlier about the Paige and bending the B-string.  To be more clear, when the Paige isn't in use, it just rolls behind the nut.  Looks super cool and Bluegrassy in the position, but if I want to reach behind the nut and bend the B-string for effect (which I do a lot), the Paige makes it impossible because:
1) it's in the way, and
2) it mutes all the strings behind the nut. 

Come to think of it, I hardly use a capo much anymore -- just when I need a certain key for singing, and it seems like I play mostly instrumental stuff these days.

[jpmist]

Welp. I've written about 3 attempts at defendings Kyser, but thought better of it as they all ran long and screedy. I'll try to keep this short.

Particularly after I went on Kyser's own website and found not a single mention of how necessary it is to adjust the jaw distance to the guitar you plan to use it on. An astonishing failure to me and I can only suspect that their lifetime replacement warrantee is the reason. They simply don't want customers breaking their capos which they'd have to replace. Tsk, tsk.

A note about Kyser damaging guitars. 1) they likely use the same rubber parts everone else uses that contacts the back of the neck and fretboard. 2) the Kyser design is no more suspect than any of the others for whatever deep fret "v" groves you might find on your frets. I don't have fragile nitro and laquer finishes to test, but I do have an OO-05 I bought in 2012 plus a Taylor 322 I got 3 years later. I've been using my Kyser capo on them for over 10 years and see zero marks on the neck, headstock or V grooves in the frets.

I accepted long ago that the Kyser will pull the frets out of tune, so for any serious recording I'm accoustomed to re-tuning. I don't play out so the fact that many other capo designs take 20-30 seconds of fumbling isn't an issue for me. So with the recent Kyser adjustment mention here I tried stretching out a few of mine. I recently ordered new ones for my haram and was surprised at how some had wider distances between the jaws than others - a 30% variation which is yet another baffling Kyser error. I checked the depth/thickness of my neck and widened the Kyser jaws 1/4" shorter. When placing the Kyser, I ended up with a very light amount of pressure on the frets and fretboard.

Like S.Dogood, I've always put my capo close to the lower fret just as I would put my fingers to fret. When I placed it just behind the fret I checked my tuning to see if it needed correction and found that all of the strings were off not more than two cents. Some where exactly in tune with the capo placed.

As always your mileage may vary, but if you happen to have a Kyser you threw in a drawer after cursing your poor decision to buy one, please give the adjustment a try, you might be more than happy with the result.

[teh]

There has been some interesting conversation here. If Manuel is still out there, I'd like to encourage him to join in on the conversation.

Manuel,

Here are a couple of questions to get you started.

1) It would be interesting to know your level of musical ability, I.E. have you played any other instruments or participated in any music classes in the past?

2) What kind of music do you listen to; what kind of guitar are you thinking about and what is your budget?

3) Do you have access to a guitar and if not, are you close to any guitar shops where you can try some guitars out? 

4) What are some of your other hobbies and interests?

[unclrob]

I've repaired sooo much damage from Kyser's.Crush marks on headstocks,back of neck and string cuts in frets but I must say that after almost 60 years of learning my craft an over 200,000. guitars thru my hands I have dislike for them IMHO.