6 String Desire

When I was researching my guitar, one of the common recommendations that I found was to change the strings as soon as you get the guitar.  Apparently factory strings are not the best.   Since I have had my new guitar for a few months now, I decided to attempt this.   I ordered some new Martin Acoustic SP Light strings and a string winder from Musicians Friend.   After reading some detailed instructions from several websites, I proceeded to change the strings.   While tuning the new strings,   I managed to break one of them.   I also was not happy with the way the strings were wrapped around the pegs.

Second attempt:

I picked up a new set of strings from my local guitar store.  This time I picked up some D’Addario Phosphor Bronze Light’s.   I took my time and successfully installed them.  Being a beginner still,  I am not sure I really notice a difference in the sound of the guitar with the new strings.   At least now I can say that I have changed guitar strings before.

The journey continues…

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This year, my loving wife gave me the beginner guitar package I had wanted. She purchased an Ibanez IJV50 Dreadnought Acoustic. The guitar sounds really great and will make a fantastic instrument to learn on. I have been using some free internet lessons to get familiar with things. So far, I have learned how to use the electronic tuner to tune the guitar and have started to learn a few basic cords. My wife also gave me a gift card to our local music store to be used for lessons. I think I am going to do as much as I can on my own first, then when I hit the learning wall…. I will sign up for some lessons. My fingers are already sore after the first day. I am going to have to pace myself for the first few weeks until my fingers toughen up.

The other day I saw an ad for Fretlight Guitars. This is truly unique beginner guitar. The neck of the guitar has embedded LED lights that when connected to some computer software, show the correct finger placements. I would really love to try one of these out. They range in price from $399 for an acoustic model up to the top of the line Electric for $899. Definitely worth checking out.

You can’t do any internet searching for beginner guitar packages without running across his name.  He is all over the place.  His infomercials run on late night television and there are ton’s of websites that are selling his guitars.  Fortunately, I also found several reviews claiming his guitars are absolute crap.  Since I don’t own one and have never played one,  I will reserve my opinion.
Esteban,  if you are reading my Blog,  how about sending me a guitar to review? 

In doing research for my beginner guitar,  I came across a website selling what they call “EZ-Play” guitars.   The site is for Zager Guitars.  The guitars are setup by master guitar luthier,  Denny Zager.  Denny is a one-hit wonder musician from the late 60’s.  He was part of the duo of “Zager & Evens” that was responsible for the 1969 hit recording of “In the Year 2525”.   Denny claims that his guitars are 50% easier to play and sound just as good as guitars costing five times more. 

As I read more about his guitars, I learned what he does is called “String Science”.  Basically he lowers the action and spreads the strings out to make the guitars easier to play.  This is basically the same things the salesman at my local guitar store told me I should look for in a good beginner guitar.

 Like most commercial websites, this one is full of testimonials and review telling the same wonderful story.  The Zager EZ-Play guitars start at about $500.00 and go up.  I am sure these are wonderful guitars and are exactly what I am looking for,  but at this price,  they are out of my Budget.

Denny,  if you are reading my blog,  how about  sending me a guitar to review?

Last week, I visited two guitar shops in my home town.  My goal was to talk to them about beginner acoustic guitar packages and get their recommendations.   The first shop that I visited was a very small locally owned store.   As I entered the store, the first thing that I noticed was the store seemed to be mostly centered on Electric Guitars.  I told the owner that I was a new player looking for a beginner acoustic package.   He didn’t really have any beginner packages, but spent some time telling me what I should look for in a starter guitar.   He told me that I should look for a guitar with a “low action”.  This would make the guitar easier to play for beginners.   The guy was very helpful, but unfortunately he really didn’t have any guitars in my price range.   He did show me a Kona guitar that he said he could lower the action on, but the $300 price range was more that I had planned.

 
The next store I went to was part of a 6 store chain of Music stores.  This store had more then just guitars.  It was a full service music store with a full selection of guitars, drums, keyboards and amps of all sizes.   The person that waited on me was in his early 20’s and seemed very knowledgeable about guitars.  I told him I was a beginner and was looking for a starter acoustic guitar.   He had three different starter guitar packages to show me.  The first package was from Fender and included a solid top guitar.  He also had two cheaper packages from Yamaha and Ibanez that didn’t have solid tops, but were still very nice starter packages.   All of these starter packages included a gig bag, tuner, strap and some type of DVD learning package.  After listening to him play all three guitars, and holding all of them myself, I would have to say that I am leaning towards the Ibanez.  I really like the looks of the Fender, but as a beginner, I am not sure it is worth the extra money.  I can always purchase a better acoustic after I have been playing for a few years.  The Ibanez just seemed more comfortable in my hands.  I can’t really explain it, but the Yamaha just didn’t feel as comfortable to me.

Since I have no experience with any guitar, I have been researching the best guitar for beginners. What I have found is that the general consensus is that Electric guitars are easier to play. Electric guitars take less finger strength to play and beginner’s can make progress much faster. The only downside is that players that learn on an electric have more difficulty switching to acoustic later on. I have been told that if you learn to play on an acoustic guitar, switching to an electric is pretty easy. Since I really have a desire to play both types of guitars, I think starting on an acoustic is the best move for me. My nest step is to research acoustic guitars and find the right one for me.