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Welcome Pongo :beer: I recently started playing at age 40, so you've already got some years on me. This place has some great folks- you'll love it.

Oh, and go ahead and go to Sam's or somewhere and buy a case of Rolaids. GAS is gonna get ya before you know it....

p.s and go count your wife's shoes. Trust me! :D
 
Nah,... she doesn't have that many shoes, unless she's hiding them somewhere! I bought her a pinball machine last year though, so maybe she still owes me? Unfortunately it still doesn't come close to all the cash I spent on racing before we were married, so I guess not.

Anyways, it looks like I'll try to buy *something* tomorrow. I'm pretty much set on the pocket pod right now. I tend to agree with what JJ said about the effects stuff, but to be honest that is something I really want to play with, and it's so nice and portable it will work great for me.

That leaves me about $200 for a guitar.

Here are some options I've seen: (Opinions welcome)
-Squire Standard series HSS $199 This is up from the affinity ones I was looking at before. (better?, worth it?)

-Ibanez GSA60 or Yamaha 112 don't know anything about these, but are in the right price range.

- Squier "made in Mexico" available at a used shop for $150. 3 single coils.

- Hohner OSC Again, don't know anything about this, but I saw it at a used place and liked the look. This one is brand new and priced at $199. I haven't been able to find out much about it by searching other than it seems to have sold for higher than that (discontinued model?)


Thanks again for the advice, hopefully I'm not driving you too crazy by ignoring it.
 
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There are some Squire experts here that can tell you more, and one I know is also an Ibanez expert. I'll let him weigh in there. I also am a semi newb, just starting in my 40s a year and 3/4 ago. I went with a nicer Mexican Fender strat, and have loved it. It was $450 barely used from a local musician. There are some really nice Squire options out there too. But I was personally glad I purchased what I did. If I were you, I might keep looking at decent used MIM Fenders, but try to stay '06 and newer. There were some significant upgrades to the bridge block and some other stuff that year.

Here is a link to an auction I just found for one like mine. No affiliation, etc. Just an example auction for an option.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-60th-Ann...ryZ38082QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
Welcome. Squier or the SX knockoffs at rondomusic.com are both good choices.

Here's another option-- if you don't have an acoustic yet, get one of those first. It gives you some advantages. First, you can sink your whole budget into the instrument without having to buy an amp as well. Second, if you learn on an acoustic, playing electric a little later will be cake. Not so vice-versa.

As with any other product, buying used will get you more guitar for your dollar.
 
I still think you need to search for a Mexican Fender Strat on Craigslist. I see them for $200 - $250 all the time. In fact I have 2 of them here I got for that I use gigging. But if you want a Squier, instead for the same price, go for it.
 
I don't know if you're like me, Pongo, and like to buy "new" stuff. If so, I might agree with Spud about Rondo. At a $200 budget, I have read (I don't own) a lot of positive reviews about the Agile line there. They have a forum as well and people there rave about these guitars for the price. OR, just throw your budget out the window and buy one of everything that's been recommended (all great suggestions btw)! Good luck.
 
Pongo, Welcome to The Fret.

I am a Newb as well, both to guitar, and to the board. I'm homing in on my first acoustic purchase. I was a bit intimidated by the guitar shops at first as well, but my advice is find sometime on a weekday afternoon when there is noone in them, find one that you like, and find a salesman (or better yet, manager/owner) that you like and feel is trustworthy to give you honest and knowledgable advice. If they act like they don't have time for you, this is not where you want to buy a guitar anyway. I've got a shop across the street from my house where I carry my son in his carseat into the store, sit down with 5 or 6 different guits, and mess around practicing chords and stuff on them all until he wakes up. I've decided that this is where I'm going to buy my guitar, its just a matter of when.
 
Brian Krashpad said:
Second, if you learn on an acoustic, playing electric a little later will be cake. Not so vice-versa.
Click to expand...
I'd say that is exactly why getting an electric first is the best bet. It helps to lower the "barre" early so you can progress quickly. Once you're hooked, you're hooked & you'll brave any challenge.
 
I finally took the plunge this last Thursday. I ended up going with what felt best at the time, and I'm very happy with things so far.

I managed to get blisters on 3 fingers right away the first night, but they have gone away now and haven't come back yet. Unfortunately I've been working long hours and getting over being sick so I haven't had as much time as I would like. Right now I'm trying to get my fingers into the right positions playing some chords, just to get used to things for a bit. As soon as things clear up a bit I'm going to try to find a book or instructional DVD to get started with.
 
For the amp I bought a pocket pod, and for the guitar I ended up going with the Hohner OSC archtop.

Here's the guitar,... I got the black version.
http://www.hohnerusa.com/index.php?1537

I honestly don't know if it was the "best" choice, but it seemed like the nicest guitar for my budget. So far I really like it a lot, but I'm sure that would have been true with anything.
 
Well, I know absolutely nothing about them, but it looks nice.

If you like it and it makes oyu want to play it, then it was a good choice in my book! :rockon:
 
Kodiak3D said:
Well, I know absolutely nothing about them, but it looks nice.

If you like it and it makes oyu want to play it, then it was a good choice in my book! :rockon:
Click to expand...
all i know is i think prince plays a honer tele style guitar....if it's good enough for him they are probably alright....like kodiak says....if it feels good to you than it is a good choice!

ww
 
Thanks for the comments.

I actually spent a few days thinking about it before I finally made the decision. I don't have any brand loyalty at this point, but I was a bit afraid to go with something I had never heard of. Fortunately I saw a lot of positive comments about it through a bit of searching the web.

I had been looking so much at strats that I thought for sure I would go for one of those, but If I keep at this I'm sure I'll eventually buy another guitar, and at that time I'll be able to try things out a bit more to help decide.

I've been doing some more playing around tonight. Loving every second of it! I really need to get some training materials soon!
 
Well, the book I'm learning from is Mel Bay's Modern Guitar Method Grade 1. It teaches to read music and goes one string at a time. It says it's "Modern" guitar, but it really has a more classical approach.

I've really felt like I've learned a lot and I've only been at it for about 3 weeks. Of course I've also looked around on the net for some guitar tabs to songs I like and worked on them as well.
 
Congrats Pongo! I know nothing about that guitar, but it sure looks nice, and I really believe in buying the one that feels right to you. Welcome to the journey!
 
Pongo said:
For the amp I bought a pocket pod, and for the guitar I ended up going with the Hohner OSC archtop.

Here's the guitar,... I got the black version.
http://www.hohnerusa.com/index.php?1537

I honestly don't know if it was the "best" choice, but it seemed like the nicest guitar for my budget. So far I really like it a lot, but I'm sure that would have been true with anything.
Click to expand...
Very interesting choice Pongo!

Did you get the ARCH I or the ARCH II?

ie is there a humbucker or single coil at the neck?

It's not clear (at least to me) whether these are solid body with an arched cap, or hollow or semi-hollw. Do you know?
 
Nice axe there man, I'm sure you will enjoy it and I'm sure if you check out Mark's web site you will find plenty of lessons that can help you.
:AOK:
 
street music said:
Nice axe there man, I'm sure you will enjoy it and I'm sure if you check out Mark's web site you will find plenty of lessons that can help you.
:AOK:
Click to expand...


What web site is this?
 
Nice looking guit, Pongo! I can only echo what everyone else said, as long as you like playing it, that's what counts.
For what it's worth, the DVD I picked up to start with was Fender- Getting Started, with Keith Wyatt. I have enjoyed it and I feel like it gave me a good foundation so I didn't feel as lost when I started lessons.
I also spent a lot of time online- there are a ton of free video lessons out there.

Good luck and sweet playing!

:bravo:
 

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