mfarre03 Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 I have never played a guitar or even picked one up for that matter. 12 years ago I began thinking about learning how to play but never went farther than just a thought. Fast forward to last week, I traded a 12 ga Ithaca Shotgun for this beautiful Epi. I was going to go Acoustic but just couldn't pass up this deal. I don't have an Amp or tuner. What size amp should I get? What type of tuner? I have a Guitar Center just up the street. I see there are a ton of online help that I am going to start looking at. Guess I just need a little guidance. Thanks in advance, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugatu Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Seeing as you're just going to be learning for a while yet, you only need a little practice amp. If you have a standard sized house / apartment to practice in, then something around 15 watts is plenty. I have a Fender practice amp (can't recall the model as it's not in front of me!) which is quite fun as it lets you play with a few different sounds and effects. I also have a Marshall 30w MG30DFX which is quite fun too... I know the model number of that as it's sat right here in my office! I bought that used for £60 (about $130?). You don't need to pay more than about £100 (approx $220) for a new practice amp, or go for a used one in good condition for maybe half that. Lots of people sell nearly new practice amps when they realise guitar is not for them, so you should be able to get a good bargain. Tuners are much of a muchness... as long as it is from a reliable make and has inputs for your lead (Not all do, some are mic pickup only). Mine is a fender one with a row of coloured LEDs, you get a green LED when you're in tune. That was pretty reasonbly priced and very easy to use. Congrats on buying a nice guitar, I hope you enjoy playing it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButchCassidy Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Nice guitar! Stay steady on learning it! I would advise to a beginner to get a 5-15 watt amp. Depending on what you want to learn and play, maybe something with some built in overdrive of distortion so you don't have to mess with pedals. I've never tried one, but if I were starting and getting a new amp, I'd probably get a Roland micro cube.... simply because everyone on this site seems to like them and they meet the criteria for someone who'd like to play different styles possibly. I think all tuners work for the most part. Don't recall ever using one I didn't think did. Just get one that appeals to you for whatever reason. ps- let's see some pics of this thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan 58 Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 If you'll look back a few pages you'll find a 6 page thread about what to do if you a new guitar player. The post was started by SomeIdiotDreamer. Its very helpful. Stan. Nevermind the forum only goes back 9 pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Don't listen to our British friend, his prices are completely wrong... well, not wrong, but they're British and much higher than here in western New York. A starter amp can cost anywhere from $60 to $200. This one is very nice, and at the upper-end of practice amps. People around here swear by them, and their larger counterparts. It's very basic, but it has a great tube tone: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Valve-Junior-Combo-Amp?sku=480260 If you want to go cheaper, this little Fender is nice. It's about as small as you can get, without getting into the "pocket amp" category (though you may want to check one out too, in case you ever get trapped in your car in these Buffalo winters). I have a Squier version, with fewer features, and it's plenty loud for starting out. http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Frontman-10G-10W-Guitar-Combo-Amp?sku=481602 Of course, if you're just down the road from Guitar Center, go in and start trying them. Fender makes the G-DEC series (I don't know what price they start at), which have backing tracks. Also, there's no reason to limit yourself just because you're a beginner. You can go all-out and buy a Marshall stack, if you want, as long as the neighbours don't mind. If they do, Marshall also makes the micro-stack... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 What kind of music do you aspire to learn/play? Rock, Blues, Jazz, etc.? Roland Cube amps, are really good choices, for a reasonable cost. The new Fender G-Decks seem pretty cool, too. As does their newer "Super Champ" all tube amp. Vox "Valvestates" too. All decent priced, and good quality. But, there are a LOT of choices, nowadays...from many manufacturers. So, like the other's have said...Go to that GC "down the street," and try as many as you can/want. One will "speak" to your needs/preferences, I'm sure. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msuspartansfan Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 I'd get a Line 6 spider III, as a matter of fact, that's what I got! It's a modeling amp, gives you the ability to get an unlimited amount of sounds/tones so you can actually get that rock and roll sound right away while still only being able to play crap. The thing with getting the Valeve Jr or any other non-modelling amp to start is that you'll still sound like crap, only louder. With a Line 6, you'll get some neat sounds out of your guitar and be inspired to learn more. http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Line-6-Spider-III-75-Combo-Amplifier?sku=482272 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluelake07 Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 The Korg CA-30 tuner is excellent and is about $20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 I like my roland micro cube.. 5 watts.. small speaker.. several amp sounds.. plus efx plus headphones.. it sounds good enough to run into my bigger amp, too. check one out. haven't used a tuner in years so I'll let someone else recommend that. that little micro cube.. has roland clean.. fender, vox, marshall mesa and more.. modulation efx.. rev. delay.. and really sounds excellent.. even pic dynamic on most settings.. a keeper for me and I've sold and traded a lot of small or practice amps off, including marshall and behringer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Get a Vox AD15VT or a AD30VT. They are great "hybrid" amps that have a lot of different amp models and effects, and come close to sounding like a tube amp. I love my AD30VT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvyelwhiteflag Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Get a modelling amp, play everyday for 20 minutes, find songs to play on the internet and don't put it down 'til you can ACTUALLY play it :0) Probably a year or so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 The Korg CA-30 tuner is excellent and is about $20. +1. Great little tuner for the price. I have a Roland Cube30X that I like a lot, and as TWANG suggested, their micro cube gets great reviews too. Do a youtube search to get an idea of what it will do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfarre03 Posted November 24, 2008 Author Share Posted November 24, 2008 Guys, great suggestions! I will probably stop off at GC and check out the practice Amps. That Spider is the same one my buddy suggested, just out of the price range right now (kids, xmas, etc, lol) I attempted to tune the guitar by ear using some online tuners and it sounds pretty good, I will pick up a tuner though. I will add a few pics tomorrow, have to get some sleep before work, 3rd shifter! fun Oh and as far as what music I would like to play...blues, country, rock, probably not death metal , lol. I figured the DOT would give me the sound I was looking for. What websites have good lessons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Oh and as far as what music I would like to play...blues' date=' country, rock, probably not death metal , lol. I figured the DOT would give me the sound I was looking for. What websites have good lessons?[/quote'] You made a good choice of guitars then. The Dot is pretty versatile. As for website lessons, www.justinguitar.com pretty much covers the gamut, especially for free, although he does ask for contributions (you'll soon feel guilty and send money) and he's recently started selling a couple of cd/dvd sets. I've learned a lot from him, plus he's pretty laid back & personable, making his lessons fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelodyMaker1 Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Try Justinguitars.com. He has a beginners curriculum that's pretty good and its all free. From videos to see how a particular technique is done, to the written tab so you can learn to read that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjones200x Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 I had a yamaha 10 watt practice amp when i started (GA10 i think) which got me going but didnt inspire me much as it was cool to begin with but got bored of the two sounds it did, clean and distorted. i wouldnt buy the cheapest as you'll soon be bored. Also i wouldnt buy the Epiphone Valve junior just yet as it is awsome but a one trick pony and is louder than you'd think. I really started enjoying playing once i got my VOX AD-30-VT as it has clean 11 diff amp type sounds from clean to crunchy to heavy rock to metal and more. Also with added effects you can get similar sounds to your idols with a few tweeks. I started off learning little licks from my favourite songs and artists to inspire me and it helps as you feel your getting somewhere to begin with and you wont loose hope. I learnt stuff like the intro riff from "Smells like teen spirit" by nirvana. Easy as its powerchords too. Also "Smoke on the water" by deep purple another easy one. I learnt on the acoustic to begin with so i had learnt to play chords quite well so other easy songs were like AC-DC stuff like "Back in Black" 3 chords for main riff (A,D,E) Like others have said justinguitar is good for lessons and free and also i learnt from vguitarlesson.com from a guy called Ben Lowery. He does some free lessons for begineers and also full lesson for a few dollars. There pretty good too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfarre03 Posted November 25, 2008 Author Share Posted November 25, 2008 Looks like justinguitar is my next stop. Thanks fellas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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