Acoustic Guitars

[_Jersey Girl]

I want to buy a used acoustic guitar. No, I don't know how to play one--yet. I've been looking on craigslist (which I'm fully addicted to) and I don't know how to figure out what I want.

Yes, I know you don't get paid to figure for me.

What's a good label? I'm slightly interested in Washburn because I like the name. :-) I also like the sound of "Oscar Schmidt" (since I have one of their autoharps).

How do I know what make of acoustic guitar I will like the sound of?

How much of a difference is there in sounds of acoustic guitars?

Does the size of the guitar matter to the sound quality?

I'd like something sort of mellow.

I think.

Advice please.

Also, is there anyone here who plays a hammered dulcimer and how hard is that to learn? Not a mountain dulcimer, a hammered dulcimer.

[_Jersey Girl]

More questions...is it hard to tune an acoustic guitar? We're just talking 6 strings, right? I have a chromatic tuner that I use to tune the autoharp. The autoharp has about (don't quote me) 36 strings on it. It used to take me a full hour to tune it to concert pitch, now I'm down to about 30 minutes.

Should I use the chromatic tuner for the guitar that I don't have yet?

What keys are the 6 strings tuned to?

Yes, I know I can find websites for this. Why can't you just be nice and answer the questions?

:-)

[_JohnStuartMill]

I'm pleased with my EpiphoneAJ-200, which I got for $120 brand-new a few years ago (although that line has been discontinued, I think). My buddy just got a ca. 1980 Yamaha that sounds incredible. If I were you, I'd surf eBay for a while to get an idea of what kind of stuff is available, and research the models you find there on other sites to see what they're like.

Yes, you can use your chromatic tuner to tune the guitar. The strings are tuned to E, A, D, g, b, and e (lowest to highest). Have fun!

[_Jersey Girl]

I'm pleased with my EpiphoneAJ-200, which I got for $120 brand-new a few years ago (although that line has been discontinued, I think). My buddy just got a ca. 1980 Yamaha that sounds incredible. If I were you, I'd surf eBay for a while to get an idea of what kind of stuff is available, and research the models you find there on other sites to see what they're like.

Yes, you can use your chromatic tuner to tune the guitar. The strings are tuned to E, A, D, g, b, and e (lowest to highest). Have fun!

JohnStuartMill,

You are the only nice person on this board (who knows about the guitar)!

Thank you for your advice!

Are the frets the way to change octaves? I just need to learn to play chords.

[_personage]

The frets are just where the notes lie. The octave change comes at the 12th fret.
As far as tuning goes, it takes just a few minutes tops.
I would suggest that you look into a Taylor Dreadnought series guitar. You will pay more than you may want to but they are the cream of the crop and if you ever decide to sell it (which you never will) you will get top dollar for it.
Good luck

[_cinepro]

Congrats on learning to play the guitar.

I highly recommend this site for your first guitar:

Rondo Music

I've purchased three of their guitars, and they have all been great for the price.

When it comes to "acoustic" guitars, do be aware that there are two kinds: nylon string (typically referred to as "classical" or "folk"), and steel string (pop and country music etc.). Unless you know you want to learn classical guitar, go for steel string.

The SX "Mentor Acoustic" is available in several different colors, and is a great guitar; it's easily as good as the "entry-level" guitars made by Fender, Ibanez etc. If you continue to play and invest in better guitars in the future, it still makes a great guitar to take camping and stuff.

Costco and Sam's Club also carry some good deals on guitars at this time of year; our local Costco had a nice Yamaha acoustic a few weeks ago. That might be worth checking out as well.


As far as learning, I've looked at dozens of "beginner" books for my kids, and this is the absolute best "Learn to Play Guitar" book out there:

Guitar From Scratch



The first book will introduce you to the basics of different styles of playing (chord style, fingerstyle), and then you can continue from there. The whole series is great, especially the Christmas music books (which are available in both chord style and fingerstyle versions).

If you don't want to spend the $16 on "Guitar From Scratch", check out your local library. It probably has "Guitar for Dummies", which is pretty good as well.

You can also learn quite a bit from free sites on the internet, but of course the quality varies. For example, you could spend your first few weeks just learning these chords and be off to a really good start (check additional sites to find the recommended fingering for those chords).

Good luck!

[_Chadillac]

I use to play classical guitar. I've only owned a few guitars, but my favorite was a nylon-stringed acoustic-electric Takamine. It was very easy to play and sounded great. Even after 10 years of owning it, it still looks and smells brand new.

If you're thinking about learning how to play the classical guitar, I've got a few books that I'd recommend. I'll just have to find them because I don't remember the titles.

[_cinepro]

Also know that humidity and temperature are very important considerations if you plan to keep your guitar for a while

The biggest danger of buying a used acoustic guitar is that you don't know how the previous owner addressed these issues. No matter what the brand or cost of the guitar, a few seasons of improper humidity and temperature could make it worse than a "First Act" guitar from Walmart.

For example, read this:

Care and Feeding of your Acoustic Guitar

[_Jersey Girl]

What is the deal on temperature and humidity?

How does one address it?

[_cinepro]

What is the deal on temperature and humidity?

How does one address it?

The easiest thing to do is to buy a really inexpensive guitar that you won't worry about to begin with ;)

If you invest in a nice guitar, then you need to try to keep it around 50% humidity. This can be done with a room humidifier (or dehumidifier), or with a small humidifier that fits in the sound hole. There are other solutions; here's the eHow. Remember that humidity can drastically change from summer to winter, so it's a year-round consideration.

You also need to avoid very hot or cold temperatures (above 100f or below freezing), and drastic temperatures swings . That's why it's also good to have a cheap guitar that you can travel with (and take to your sold-out concerts), and then have your "good" guitar that you keep at home.