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[Darth Loo-knee]

I will go to the music shop and have a strum on a few see which feels at home when I hold it.
I had a go of my nephews acoustic and the body of it felt really wide...
I had a Les Paul copy (think it was a Hohner) years ago managed to play wonderful tonight, just got fed up with just playing the same tune so sold it as I didn't use it for a while.
The guy who was showing me couldn't explain the answers to the questions I was trying to ask, which was frustrating..

[Bandit127]

An acoustic being used properly...
[media]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=S-jCNySpWiM&feature=related[/media]

[Bandit127]

A voice being used properly...
[media]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jVgCtUB_7jQ&feature=related[/media]
How the break did she do that?

Top skills.

[Martin_1962]

My friends always seemed to go for Fenders or had custom built.

I think one had a Gibson Flying V or a clone of one

[Bandit127]

Sorry it's not a video, but this is one of the best examples of 'rhyming guitars' there is. Both Gibsons.
[media]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RmayGJ4D7L8&eurl=http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?hl=en&lr=&pwst=1&resnum=0&q=gone%20shootin&um=1&ie=UTF-8iurl=http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/RmayGJ4D7L8/hqdefault.jpg[/media]

[amigov6]

These chords are being picked, easier to strum them but a good song to lehttp://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=o7PHHS3Wo08&feature=relatedarn with..+ she's lovely is'nt she?

[amigov6]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=o7PHHS3Wo08&feature=related
   Sorry, pissed forgot to drop cursor!!!!

[albitz]

If you get serious about it Daz,I have a very nice U.S Stratocaster I rarely use,might be for sale some time soon. not swapping it for a Thunderace though.

[Darth Loo-knee]

If you get serious about it Daz,I have a very nice U.S Stratocaster I rarely use,might be for sale some time soon. not swapping it for a Thunderace though.

That was my first thought actually mate  

[Turk]

ebuyer.com have mega cheap Strat copies for under £30.00
They'll need a new set of strings and a decent set up, but at £30, if you don't take to it,  it won't matter if it ends up on the wall as an ornament.

[Bandit127]

ebuyer.com have mega cheap Strat copies for under £30.00
They'll need a new set of strings and a decent set up, but at £30, if you don't take to it,  it won't matter if it ends up on the wall as an ornament.



 

Sorry Turk, but unless you want an ornament I would not buy a £30 guitar.

My first guitar was bought in 1979. For £120 and it was cheap then.

I now have a proper Les Paul Custom which I got fairly good with. I've had various others, including a Jackson.

I probably couldn't play 50% of our set on the cheap guitar I started with. Leave aside the poor sound quality.

If someone is keen on learning guitar and wants to budget for something that won't limit their playing, £250-£300 is about right.
Mexican Fenders. Epiphone Gibsons. Korean Jacksons are all there. They would all need a proper setup, but wouldn't embarass the greats if they had to gig with one, for playability or sound quality.

[Big_Al]

Been reading through the replies, seems to be a fair bit of different opinion on this one. So heres mine.
I've been playing guitar for over 40 years now and the guitars that my mates & I started on back in the 60's were real "Dogs" compared to what you can get as a beginners or budget instument nowadays.
My first electric was a Watkins Rapier 33 & I seem to recall it cost 33gns from Bell music in Surrey. Fenders & Gibsons were available but of course they were much to highly priced for Mum & Dad to buy.
To me  back then the Rapier it was fantastic , it wasn't until much later I realised that the thing was almost unplayble.
I would suggest you visit a fairly large music shop & see what is available, try a few out & see what suits you & your budget.
Cannot agree with the opinions that cheap guitars are no good though.For a beginner they are the only way to go.
Have a look on E-bay just tap in  ALBA  on E bay searh for . Friends of mine have brought  10 or more of these strat copies for £28 .00 each + shipping £16.00 from Germany and these are really unbelievable for the money & much better than the Chinese Squires that are over a £100  The secret with "Strat" style guitars though is  -they do need a proper set up to suit you & your string gauge
Good Luck,  regards Al  8-) 8-) 8-)

[JesterRT]

I've been playing on and off for about ten years or so.  I'm still a beginner - but then I aspire to play like the big names so I'll probably never get there, but I have had great fun trying.  I've got a range of guitars - acoustics, semi-acoustics, electro-acoustics, steel, and solid body's (still waiting for the next one to be built).  I started on a battered acoustic (and I mean battered - it was recovered from a plane crash and the neck was split and the body had a hole in).  I learned to bash the chords out of that.  I got a really bad imitation strat after that and a really cheap amp.  That was detrimental to my playing, I'm sure.  The amp buzzed constantly, the guitar just wouldn't stay in tune, frets buzzed and the fret board wasn't accurate enough (so things genuinely sounded out of tune).
If I was starting again I'd spend around £150 and get something that's decent enough quality to sound 'ok' and hold it's tune.  Tanglewood, Westfield, Epiphone, Fender, Yamaha - they all make guitars in that price range.  Play it.  Play it a lot.  Find someone else who's just starting out too.  Play together.  I learned really fast when I was living with someone who was also learning and it just became a competition to get better, learn more complicated stuff, learn the latest oasis number, etc.  It made a massive difference.
For £150 you'll get a guitar that you could reasonably learn with and not feel that you're battling against the instrument to produce a decent sound.  If you stay with it then you'll begin to realise which direction you want to go in - strat / les paul / classical / cut-away acoustic etc.
I've played on some of the more expensive acoustics and electrics (american custom strats & teles, breedlove acoustics, taylors).  They were easier to play.  They sounded better (mostly, although I would argue that some of the really expensive stuff doesn't sound *that* much different if at all to something half it's cost), but, the only reason they sounded better is because I had a vague idea of where to stick my great podgey fingers.  Learn on a £30 guitar, learn on a £3000 guitar - you'll still hit bum notes, bugger chords up, mistime picks, and feel lost to start with.

Whatever you choose - have great fun , stick with it and consider getting the instrument set up professionally.  Stuff coming straight out the factory is rarely set up well (so the strings are a mile high off the fretboard making it harder to hit chords and notes cleanly).

[BigAl]

Been reading through the replies, seems to be a fair bit of different opinion on this one. So heres mine.
I've been playing guitar for over 40 years now and the guitars that my mates & I started on back in the 60's were real "Dogs" compared to what you can get as a beginners or budget instument nowadays.
My first electric was a Watkins Rapier 33 & I seem to recall it cost 33gns from Bell music in Surrey. Fenders & Gibsons were available but of course they were much to highly priced for Mum & Dad to buy.
To me  back then the Rapier it was fantastic , it wasn't until much later I realised that the thing was almost unplayble.
I would suggest you visit a fairly large music shop & see what is available, try a few out & see what suits you & your budget.
Cannot agree with the opinions that cheap guitars are no good though.For a beginner they are the only way to go.
Have a look on E-bay just tap in  ALBA  on E bay searh for . Friends of mine have brought  10 or more of these strat copies for £28 .00 each + shipping £16.00 from Germany and these are really unbelievable for the money & much better than the Chinese Squires that are over a £100  The secret with "Strat" style guitars though is  -they do need a proper set up to suit you & your string gauge
Good Luck,  regards Al  8-) 8-) 8-)

That's worth searching for - nice pictures  

[humbucker]

ive got 11 guitars, including a customised les paul and a completely custom fender stratocaster.

if you're starting out then i would recommend a fender strat copy. the strat is the most popular guitar ever made for a number of reasons; the versatility of tone is second to none, the weight and shape of the guitar mean that the thin neck makes it easier to play than many other guitars, and also the price is good due to mass production and wood type.

the les paul guitar (not including studio versions) is more expensive due to the quality of the workmanship and the sheer quality of the components used. its as though an entire oak tree has been used to fashion each one! that said, the neck is a lot wider and is heavier on your wrists and fingers than a strat, thus making it more difficult to play.

a world of effects units and outboard gear are at your disposal to mould your own sounds, however, the key is to determine what it is you want to play and then get your guitar based on that; the strat has single coil pickups whereas the les paul has humbuckers. these are very very different and depending on what you want to play may cause you a disability; hence me having one of each in my collection.

as a guide, les pauls are a heavier rockier / metal sound and also provide rich deep jazz tones on clean. think slash, frampton, zeppelin. the strat is a lighter poppier tone but also capable of good rock sounds. think clapton, gilmour, hendrix.

hope that's of some help...