That was a very facinating read and watch thank you he is actually a very good guitar player, imagine having someone like John Petrucci on tap for advise, that would be the dream.

 

yes! As you see the progress, your self-esteem will automatically increase!

"-I am not going to be the next Yngwie-"
believe u could! but honstly u have to play A LOT the guitar, everyday starting now 8hours around... and play slow cause playing fast, doing anything but hittin those notes, its useless, hinders your progress.

"simple guitar solos to my music that would be the goal for me"
so pentatonic its your best friend! i reccommend not only learns the " ways" u can walk a pentatonic, but their grades!! once u remember, u can play ANY mode u want! beatiful, but no ones tells me this in the beggining... i figured out with youtube 5 years after x_x
remember that any "feel" that u want, lives in a especific note! so it is wonderfull to know the grades! approach that we have minds and have the ability to remember things by repeating them!!

"I play synth guitar which I love"
never play one of those! sound kinda funny!! for me, an instrument is an instrument... do u know the kalimba? its a piece of wood with some pieces of metal... wtf? xd but it has a beatiful sound !!!

last note: if u find it hard to play , check the separation betwen the string and the wood, calibrating the guitar u can place the string more closer so your fingers works less in the " jumps " !, GREAT difference, more for shred!

 

Your age isn't really a factor in this. It comes down to the mindset, Many people say I'd like to play guitar, which sounds like maybe one day but it keeps getting put off. Verses I'm going to learn starting now. There's Loads of ways to learn and there's nothing to stop you teaching yourself by ear which is how i learned in the early 80s. Private Lessons could be helpful as well to point out technical technique things you maybe doing wrong. Above all, don't wait for everything to fall into place before starting just start now and figure it out as you go along. It's never been easier than it is right now to start learning guitar. If you have a burning passion for it you will do it, if it's just a I'd like to learn guitar one day it will never happen

 

I think it's completely doable if you're determined. I know from personal experience the hardest things in the beginning will be getting the basic technique down, especially muting the strings you don't wanna hear, as well as building up callouses in your finger tips and finger strength. Which can get a little tedious, but with regular practice, these things will stop getting in the way and you can focus more on playing actual music. A good way to build up callouses and strength is to actually start out with a higher string gauge like 11 or 10 and once you can play that comfortably, including string bends, go down 1 string gauge. It will feel like you're flying across the fretboard.

 

get one of these clip on tuners, they are great for tuning ,but easy to break..much easier than looking at your phone every time you want to tune your guitar - fits in your guitar case.


https://www.amazon.com/Snark-ST-2-M...words=guitar+tuner&qid=1719408056&sr=8-5&th=1

 

you will need a guitar stand, they go from cheap to stupid money. these are cheap and well built I own 5 of them, no problems. 13$ from amazon - sold under a lot of names and brands
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X6FW9TQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

you'll find having your guitar waiting obiedeintly in a stand, much easier to play on a whim, than having to unpack it from a case etc.

 

You aren't that much older than me.

Only recently have all these profilers, cab simulation and other guitar related software have really quickly become acceptable to many players. That's another reason you should get the guitar. You won't have to worry about the increased risk of hernia at your advanced age, when moving your amp to the Emergency Cooling Center in this heat wave.

If you put a better handle on the top, it can double as a backup Mobility Improvement Device.

 

if your budget allows it, this is a great all in one practice device, amp, and usb interface, with built in mp3 recording, 2 guitar inputs so you can play with teacher or friends. it allows one to play prerecorder mp3's with the guitar part removed so you can play with a band, without having to listen to the drummer bitch about his neighbor.

its a bit pricy, but it will make you play more often and it will teach guitar fx without having to program them yourself
new about350$ amazon, used ebay around 200$. be aware there is an earlier model the JS-8, they look very similiar, but the JS-10 has dual inputs, 2.1 speaker system - so stereo with subwoofer and many other improvements.
https://www.amazon.com/BOSS-JS-10-B...mzn1.fos.1740e8b9-be2d-46a4-a376-9d8efb903409

 

js-10 overview

 

nah it won't support more than about 20lbs, and the bottom doohickey that holds the bass bout, spins like a windmill when its not on the ground,. but yeah looks cool when stumbling home from a gig drunk..

 

on the upside, most of the groupies your age have false teeth......

 

some folks actually have an allergic reaction to nickel, (like everything in the modern world), but the fender classic strings are pure nickel, and sound pretty good. I've got them on a couple guitars. great things about having loads of guitars, you can try every string under the sun. Bad part, you have to try every string under the sun...

if you get into piezo acoustics and want to put a humbucker or single coil in the soundhole, there are some white bronze (nickel alloy) strings that are brighter than bronze and are magnetic so you can use them with mag pickups as well.



BTW, once you find some strings you like, you can save a fat buck by buying a case of 10 or 12 string sets, as long as you keep them dry, they store forever, especially a lot of newer strings packed in plastic are in fact packed in nitrogen so no rust..
i always cut out the brand and gauge from package and tape them on the back of the headstock, so when its time for a string change i know what I had on there. (also put the date when they were changed - one less thing to remember)

 

Funilly enough that is the exact tuner and colour I also ordered with the guitar along with a wall stand, a floor stand.

I ordered a nice Fender padded bag earlier now I know that I am going to get some face to face lessons.

 

Last edited: Jun 26, 2024

i keep some of my old strings, i have alot of guitars so its handy sometimes to have an old set to put on when doing work that requires loosening and tightening strings over and over, like changing the neck angle with shims. eventually a string will break, especially on string thru bridges. also the wire strings are handy for things like cutting nut slots, to measure your progress, also the high e string is great for applying super glue in tiny drops when you cut that nut slot too deep and have to fill it with baking soda and glue and start over.

So I keep a set or two around, but most folks I'm sure trash them. you could also make a wind chime with the strings and some bamboo, etc. your call. I've also found the brass ring on the bottom of the string handy for tying off nylon strings on my nylon stringed spanish guitars.so i keep those.

Factory strings are usually crap though. I don't know why, most of them turn your fingers black, and have dull tone. best to trash those or use them for tools and replace strings at your earliest convience.

 

This looks fab I will order one now, thank you for the suggestion, this will be very handy to mess about with without having to turn the studio on although I did order this morning sometihng called a Quad Cortex effects unit as a buddy said I should get one whom I jam with, he said you can download captures of amps and stuff which sounds interesting..

 

Thats a good idea, I think I will order a bunch of different ones see what I like, although only having one guitar will be a bit of a pain but I think I will get a Gibson LP as well.

I saw a video of a Yamaha TransAcoustic last night and was blown away? this thing sounded amazing has built in effects for an acoustic guitar. I never knew such a thing existed. What do you think about them? Worth getting one or a gimmick?

 

always a bonus haha

 

you can save a ton of money by getting an epiphone les paul, it has a bolt on neck. a gibson has a glued in neck. Gibson headstocks are prone to cracking due to the string break angle, it puts more pressure on the headstock, if the guitar falls over face first the neck can break just from that fall to the carpet. changing a glued in neck is a pain. a bolt on is just 4 screws and your back in business.

I think if I were you, I'd try a telecaster, its same scale as the strat but a different sound and some models have humbuckers like a gibson, though they are a different style but Seth Lover who designed the gibson humbuckers, also designed humbuckers for fender so they are good quality.

Yamaha guitars are good, i own a half a dozen, like them alot, one is one of my daily players.
The built in fx are kind of a newish thing started around early 2012-1013, i haven't tried one. I have a shit ton of fx pedals etc so I'm covered. I just want a good tone, I can mangle it from there myself...


if you can find one, the Yamaha AEX 500n is a nylon stringed hollow body, that has a narrow neck like an electric but uses nylon strings and a piezo pickup. its a great guitar, hasn't been made in a decade, but still sells for around the original MGF price.



https://reverb.com/item/13822998-yamaha-aex-500n-nylon-acoustic-electric-guitar

by the way, nylon strings are very easy on your fingers, you can play all day, they are like butter
don't expect heavy metal sounds, but they are very pretty in their own way and great for playing unplugged.

 

Go for it! Aside from all the things you need to overcome , like frustration, it's a great hobby & should give you huge satisfaction.

Best to set your expectations realistically though ;)

Who knows, you may be one of the extremely small handful of musicians in the world that are actually musical and can create beautiful original content. You never know until you try. Shredding is cool when you're a teenager trying to look flash and be noticed, but its very limiting to make that your goal.

All the best!

 

Yes, for learning.
Maybe, professionally.
No, to ignore and do something else.