# To purchase a guitar or not



## cedricm (Jul 5, 2022)

I'm hesitant about purchasing a basic electric guitar for fun, sound design and recording small passages to be processed in a daw.

Unless I'm getting bit by the bug, I won't spend more than a couple of hours a week learning the guitar. I have no delusion of becoming the next Mark Knopfler. 

Given this, a question, especially for guitar players : should I go ahead or should I instead continue on improving the mastery of virtual guitars?


----------



## d.healey (Jul 5, 2022)

Yes go and buy one (a cheap one). Don't take it seriously, have fun, pick it up when you feel like it. If you go in with that attitude you can't be disappointed. If you find you really enjoy it you can always buy a fancy expensive one in the future - and if you do enjoy it you will buy more


----------



## Awoo Composer (Jul 5, 2022)

Hell yeah, do it. Even cheap electric guitars these days are really good. My most expensive is a Fender Player Strat HSH that I got for around $850, but I have an Ibanez that's very capable that only cost $400. If you don't care about headstock branding premiums there are many good bargains you can find.


----------



## Double Helix (Jul 5, 2022)

cedricm said:


> . . . should I go ahead or should I instead continue on improving the mastery of virtual guitars?


The official VI-C reply to this is "Both"


----------



## Pier (Jul 5, 2022)

Since I discovered the ebow I've wanted to get one just for doing sound design and making ambient textural stuff.


----------



## veranad (Jul 5, 2022)

Yes!

Guitars are fun to play since day 1 (okay, maybe day 2). And as it has been said already, you can get a good sounding guitar for not so much money. 

So yes, do buy a guitar!


----------



## Justin L. Franks (Jul 5, 2022)

Go for it. There are plenty of great guitars for $400 and less.


----------



## EanS (Jul 5, 2022)

Get a guitar, Sire is a nice affordable brand for instance.

Every note you play in a guitar is a single articulation (unless runs and mechanical scale playimg) and for proficiency is better learn how to. Only recorded loops sound real on vi electric guitar, and pads, swells.

Just remember it's a 6 string instrument with 5 superimposed octaves on them meaning same phrase played in different parts of the neck do make a difference.


----------



## EanS (Jul 5, 2022)

You can even play your vstI's with a regular guitar now  . For instance PLCK using this plugin (Jamorigin Midiguitar) has a different and more natural attack on notes, strumming if it holds, etc.
Arturia Analoglab patch (lyle mays - are you going with me intro key)


----------



## SupremeFist (Jul 5, 2022)

VI guitars are all terrible. Buy a Fender Squier: they are great quality for the price (far better than the guitar I learned on). Practise boring stuff like picking technique and scales. Soon enough you'll have eight guitars!


----------



## MartinH. (Jul 5, 2022)

Buy a used guitar for a good price, almost no loss of value if you decide to sell it again (likely to buy a better one because you'll probably enjoy playing guitar). 

Don't overdo it with the practicing in the beginning to avoid injuries, if you don't have experience with other stringed instruments. Maybe look up a video or two about good posture and ergonomics while playing.


----------



## GtrString (Jul 5, 2022)

Learn 3 chords in one key, and buy a capo. It is a chord multiplier plug-on for guitar.. 3 chords becomes 36 when you plug in on.


----------



## cedricm (Jul 5, 2022)

Thanks guys, the trend is quite clear!


----------



## gyprock (Jul 5, 2022)

Get a bass instead. Check out Davie504 on YouTube. He’s got 11.9M subscribers.


----------



## EanS (Jul 5, 2022)

gyprock said:


> Get a bass instead. Check out Davie504 on YouTube. He’s got 11.9M subscribers.


He can't slap tho... 😔


----------



## gyprock (Jul 5, 2022)

EanS said:


> He can't slap tho... 😔


His girlfriend is a pretty good slapper though😉


----------



## soundslike72 (Jul 5, 2022)

I sold all of my VI guitars a few years back, and started practising on a real one. I figured that all the time I spent trying to make the VI's sound realistic, I could spend making the real thing sound even better. I haven't looked back since, and it's a lot more fun. I do recommend practising with a metronome; it'll really improve your timing and thus require less (or no) editing afterwards. Also set a timer - I started with just 15 mins of dedicated practice a day during lockdown. Now I'm spending an hour a few days a week. Like you I have no desire to be the next *anyone* on guitar, but it really is a lot more fun when you feel your playing is getting better. Also that one guitar has grown into three and I'm current looking into buying a bass


----------



## Jish (Jul 5, 2022)

EanS said:


> You can even play your vstI's with a regular guitar now  . For instance PLCK using this plugin (Jamorigin Midiguitar) has a different and more natural attack on notes, strumming if it holds, etc.
> Arturia Analoglab patch (lyle mays - are you going with me intro key)



Some great tracking on that clip, never felt I had that level of 'control' using any guitar on the Jamorigin software. Fun to play, but always felt unreliable and that the lines I wanted to usually play had more misfires or just an overall in-baked latency. But that little solo was accurate and inspired, along with a pretty nice instrument to boot, of course 

Even if it's a cheaper one, I like to play them in person (if possible) prior to buying. So many people get turned off permanently by the instrument if they happen to get one that has needlessly higher action, or just an overall 'feel' that the setup was less-than ideal for mere mortal hands. There are some really nice one's out there for below three hundred these days, the 3/4 scale SX 'Strat' that I got off Rondo music about three years ago for around $180 receives more of my attention than several 4-700 range models I somewhat regretfully purchased in the past.


----------



## Roger Newton (Jul 5, 2022)

I own 3 electric guitars and an acoustic. Two combos to plug them into and I can also plug them in direct to a DAW via a Universal Twin. I am a crap guitarist. But I enjoy it. It's relaxing.


----------



## tressie5 (Jul 5, 2022)

It's so weird how you're trying to get into guitar when I'm trying to get out! I've been playing for years, but recently, I completely switched gears and focus 100% on my keyboard skills. But yeah, at least I have that background behind me. It comes in handy when I'm trying to work out chord progressions I can hear in my head.


----------



## Alchemedia (Jul 5, 2022)

Pier said:


> Since I discovered the ebow I've wanted to get one just for doing sound design and making ambient textural stuff.



When I moved to LA in the early '80's, the first thing I did was make an appointment to meet Greg Heet, inventor of the EBow and bought one directly from him. He taught me how to use it and signed it for me. Still use it to this day! Heet invented the EBow in 1969, introduced it in 1976 and patented in 1978.


----------



## PeterN (Jul 5, 2022)

cedricm said:


> I'm hesitant about purchasing a basic electric guitar for fun, sound design and recording small passages to be processed in a daw.
> 
> Unless I'm getting bit by the bug, I won't spend more than a couple of hours a week learning the guitar. I have no delusion of becoming the next Mark Knopfler.
> 
> Given this, a question, especially for guitar players : should I go ahead or should I instead continue on improving the mastery of virtual guitars?


In my experience, the virtual guitars feel and sound fake. Some sound great, but are hard to tweak. Even a crap guitar recording brings tracks into life, compared to virtual guitars. But they are not useless, they can do fills etc.

Which one has most round robins anyway. And velocity layers. Has someone made a virtual guitar with 10 or more round robins and 20 velocity layers or so? You need hell a lot round robins and velocity layers to get some realism.


----------



## J-M (Jul 5, 2022)

Absolutely, never hurts to learn a new instrument!


----------



## tc9000 (Jul 5, 2022)

For sure! I bought a cheap Ibanez and though I am awful I have have lots of fun with it. I had so much fun I bought a cheap Ibanez bass aswell!


----------



## Nico5 (Jul 5, 2022)

One thing I'd add to the thinking / consideration process:

The lowest barrier to entry to the guitar could be argued to be a nylon stringed acoustic guitar (classical / spanish).

Advantages of acoustic guitars over electrics include:

doesn't need anything else to make it sound nice (no amps, cables, stomp boxes)
couch
camp fire
beach
park

Advantages of nylon stringed guitars over steel stringed:

nylon strings are easier on the fingers at first
a bit more room between strings, so easier path to the different hand shapes for various chords

p.s.
Nylon stringed acoustic guitars need flat capo's, rather than slightly curved one's, due to the fretboard being flat rather than slightly curved

p.p.s. Many acoustic guitars come with builtin pickups and tuners - I'm very biased towards those. But pickups as well as tuners are widely available as separate add-ons, if the interest in the instrument remains.


----------



## cedricm (Jul 5, 2022)

Nico5 said:


> One thing I'd add to the thinking / consideration process:
> 
> The lowest barrier to entry to the guitar could be argued to be a nylon stringed acoustic guitar (classical / spanish).
> 
> ...


Acoustic is also on my mind, but probably as a second guitar.

I"m thinking I'll mostly play, at first in any case, with an electric guitar directly plugged into my Antelope Audio interface, which comes with many amps/cabs/effects.

Plus I also have NI Guitar Rig 6 Pro, IKM Amplitude 5. So lots of possibilities.


----------



## patrick76 (Jul 5, 2022)

Here’s a good starter guitar for a decent price. Used to be able to get them a little cheaper, but inflation I guess.. $650 on sale right now.









Fender Player Stratocaster


Limited Edition Player Stratocaster Electric Guitar, Maple Fingerboard, Lake Placid Blue




www.adorama.com


----------



## EanS (Jul 5, 2022)

Jish said:


> Some great tracking on that clip, never felt I had that level of 'control' using any guitar on the Jamorigin software.


Your input and a legato patch and yes, you need to adapt your playing.

Add any pedal before the interface that helps you get with a good input signal. 

And open a very playable legato instrument like Joshua Bell violin. 

But still, check well again there are artifacts triggered in between due to bad tracking.


----------



## Arbee (Jul 5, 2022)

My experience (with sax, viola and cello) is that any "hands on" time spent with a real instrument, even if you never reach a proficient level, helps a lot with the arranging and VI experience. You start to make better and more informed articulation, voicing and dynamic choices. I play guitar pretty well but still use VI guitars sometimes if it suits better sonically.


----------



## newbreednet (Jul 5, 2022)

Hell yeah do it. Feel music being created from your actual fingers, even if it's just for sound design experiments (let yourself go crazy with delays and loops!)


----------



## Justin L. Franks (Jul 5, 2022)

patrick76 said:


> Here’s a good starter guitar for a decent price. Used to be able to get them a little cheaper, but inflation I guess.. $650 on sale right now.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I generally prefer the higher-end Squier models (Classic Vibe or Contemporary series) over the lower-end Fenders (Player series, or the older Mexican Standard series if buying used).


----------



## Awoo Composer (Jul 5, 2022)

Justin L. Franks said:


> I generally prefer the higher-end Squier models (Classic Vibe or Contemporary series) over the lower-end Fenders (Player series, or the older Mexican Standard series if buying used).


The Mexi-strats are good value for your money; I agree though, the high end Squiers are very good (don't let the headstock fool you). I love the CV series; I haven't been able to look at a contemporary strat though, which sucks because that's more my style since I play heavier stuff.


----------



## Nico5 (Jul 5, 2022)

Yes indeed - there's many very good models from the houses of Fender and Gibson.

But for the very best in value for money electrics, I typically have Ibanez, Godin and Yamaha on the top of my list. Especially in the 2nd hand market, these brands regularly get undervalued relative to the big US guitar company brands. 

Other great value sleepers can include guitars made in Korea until about 8-10 years ago. The quality of several Korean factories had become very high before the prices eventually followed and because of that, in recent years lots of the lower cost guitar manufacturing has moved on from Korea to Indonesia.


----------



## Chris Schmidt (Jul 5, 2022)

Buy a guitar

You'll get a better sound than any VST if you learn to play it well, as well as drown in women.

Look at me, I had to clear all the scattered lingerie off my keyboard just to write this.


----------



## CATDAD (Jul 5, 2022)

Don't think, just do it! I did this last year and I've been slapping myself silly about not having done it sooner.

You can still do some post-editing and composite recording like it's a VI, only you'll have to do that less and less over time as you get better. But nothing is stopping you from just recording a few bars at a time and hacking it together to get the ball rolling!

You can also continue to use your guitar VIs when you need something easy and clean to support, only you'll quickly get better at natural phrasing, fingering, and muting with them too.

One potential downside is you may have to troubleshoot getting a relatively noise-free signal depending on your location and setup. It may also be something you don't have to deal with it all though, especially if you aren't going super-hi-gain and have a simple signal chain going in.

You can even just use it as a textural instrument for sound design, playing a guitar through granular FX, delays, and reverb is absolutely otherworldly and isn't necessarily technically demanding.



But aside from all that, worst case scenario you discover the joy of guitar, how bad can that be?


----------



## ChrisHarrison (Jul 5, 2022)

I agree with all that said, vst guitars sound fake. They just do. A Mexican strat will get you just about anything you need. Get one with a humbucker in the bridge and you’re good. 

On the other hand, the vst plug-in amps are really there. With a cheap guitar set up well and the neural dsp amp simulators, you can get any sound studio quality and no one can tell. Guitar is fun too! 

One other idea: if you’re playing more lead guitar type one note at a time playing, I think tuning a guitar in all 4ths is a cool idea. The fingerings would be parallel across the whole instrument, so you’d learn quick. Tuning EADGCF instead of EADGBE. 

Scales would just be straight across the neck. Just an idea.


----------



## cedricm (Jul 5, 2022)

Being a Daniel Lanois fan, I was thinking about Les Paul / Single Cut more than telecaster.
Is it a mistake?


----------



## tressie5 (Jul 5, 2022)

I bought this because I was influenced by Neil Schon and Alex Lifeson who both use Les Pauls with Floyd Roses, and Alex uses an Epiphone model which is cheaper than Gibson's.


NEW! PRO555 Floyd Tremolo Coil Tap Kwikplug Flamed Maple Top


----------



## Justin L. Franks (Jul 5, 2022)

MartinH. said:


> Buy a used guitar for a good price, almost no loss of value if you decide to sell it again (likely to buy a better one because you'll probably enjoy playing guitar).


Buying used can definitely be a great value. All but one of my small collection of four guitars was purchased used, and the one bought new was only done so because it was a newly-released limited-run model that wasn't available used yet. I was able to get a $600 guitar for $225, and a $1000 one for $350, both in almost perfect condition. But I knew how to evaluate a used guitar.

And that's why it can be difficult for me to recommend a used guitar to a new player with no experience. You don't know what to look for, how to check functionality and playability, and so forth. Buying used from a dealer with a good return policy lessens the risk dramatically, but you still have to be able to recognize any issues during the return period. And you're left at the whims and skills of the guitar techs at each particular store.

For example, of the six Guitar Centers within a 30-minute drive for me, when it comes to used guitars, two I would buy one without any hesitation, as they always fix any issues before putting a used guitar on the sale floor. Three of the others range from hit-or-miss to pretty consistently good. And one just doesn't care at all, basically putting any guitar which isn't cracked in half directly on the floor without any inspections or repairs.


----------



## Justin L. Franks (Jul 5, 2022)

cedricm said:


> Being a Daniel Lanois fan, I was thinking about Les Paul / Single Cut more than telecaster.
> Is it a mistake?


Absolutely not! I have both a Tele and a PRS SE245 (singlecut / Les Paul style). Both are quite flexible, and both sound and play great. Always go for whichever type inspires you more, as it will draw you in and make you want to play it more.

What sort of budget do you have?


----------



## tmhuud (Jul 5, 2022)

(Ah… I guess I’m late to this party.) DO IT! you’ll love the possibilities. And MOST importantly, you’ll have a lot of fun.


----------



## MartinH. (Jul 6, 2022)

Justin L. Franks said:


> Buying used can definitely be a great value. All but one of my small collection of four guitars was purchased used, and the one bought new was only done so because it was a newly-released limited-run model that wasn't available used yet. I was able to get a $600 guitar for $225, and a $1000 one for $350, both in almost perfect condition. But I knew how to evaluate a used guitar.
> 
> And that's why it can be difficult for me to recommend a used guitar to a new player with no experience. You don't know what to look for, how to check functionality and playability, and so forth. Buying used from a dealer with a good return policy lessens the risk dramatically, but you still have to be able to recognize any issues during the return period. And you're left at the whims and skills of the guitar techs at each particular store.
> 
> For example, of the six Guitar Centers within a 30-minute drive for me, when it comes to used guitars, two I would buy one without any hesitation, as they always fix any issues before putting a used guitar on the sale floor. Three of the others range from hit-or-miss to pretty consistently good. And one just doesn't care at all, basically putting any guitar which isn't cracked in half directly on the floor without any inspections or repairs.


That's a good point, but imho it goes all the same when it comes to cheap new guitars. You might get a great deal or you might get a lemon that has tons of issues and as a beginner you won't know the difference. But a used guitar you can still sell with little loss of value once you find out about those issues months down the line and a cheap new guitar will have lost a lot of value the moment you unpack it. Also the first scratch hurts the most, I find it somewhat comforting to buy guitars that already have their first flaws, so it's not quite as bad when I put another dent in it.


My first guitar was so bad, I've never in my life held a worse guitar. The bridge was so sharp you could cut yourself on it, the singlecoil pickups had feedback like crazy, the action was too high, it wouldn't stay in tune, the pickguard was scratched to hell and it was ugly as fuck. And still I enjoyed playing on it. Pretty much any guitar on the market right now is way better, so I really wouldn't overthink the whole quality topic too much, and just roll the dice on a used guitar and start learning.


----------



## lux (Jul 6, 2022)

if you're europe based head to www.thomann.de and get a Harley Benton, and you'll be great.


----------



## cedricm (Jul 6, 2022)

Justin L. Franks said:


> Absolutely not! I have both a Tele and a PRS SE245 (singlecut / Les Paul style). Both are quite flexible, and both sound and play great. Always go for whichever type inspires you more, as it will draw you in and make you want to play it more.
> 
> What sort of budget do you have?


I'm thinking €200-400 which nowadays is almost exactly $200-400.
Here are a few I'm interested in based on customer reviews and YouTube reviews:

Harley Benton SC-450Plus HB Vintage Series​€ 177
Alternative: Epiphone Les Paul VE / Les Paul Studio

Harley Benton SC-550 II PAF​€ 298
Harley Benton SC-550 Plus EMG PAF​€ 377


Other types:
Ibanez GRX70QA-TKS GIO​€ 194

Yamaha PAC112J Pacifica​€ 239

https://www.thomann.de/intl/squier_affinity_strat_hss_lrl_blk_fsr.htm (Squier Affinity Strat HSS LRL BLK FSR)​€ 249


Edit: A € 100 fantastic guitar?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SCkJlLeIZE (Indio Classic Strat)


----------



## Henrik B. Jensen (Jul 6, 2022)

Make stretching exercises for your fingers once a day, do it before you start practicing.


----------



## PaulieDC (Jul 6, 2022)

cedricm said:


> Acoustic is also on my mind, but probably as a second guitar.


Acoustic usually takes a back seat, lol… but if you learn on that, your hands will become stronger and then electric is a breeze. If you consider it, definitely start on steel string. This one sounds and plays great And you can plug it into your interface.

btw, you might enjoy this acoustic piece from pretty much one of the world’s best acoustic guitarists:


----------



## veranad (Jul 6, 2022)

cedricm said:


> I'm thinking €200-400 which nowadays is almost exactly $200-400.
> Here are a few I'm interested in based on customer reviews and YouTube reviews:
> 
> Harley Benton SC-450Plus HB Vintage Series​€ 177
> ...


If you buy new (and even worse if you buy a guitar with poor brand recognition), you will lose lots of money should you decide to sell the guitar down the road.

I would buy a used Fender mexican-japanese-american stratocaster (with humbuckers, if you prefer) depending on the budget, or a Gibson/Epiphone again depending on the budget if you prefer Les Paul type guitars. 

You can buy from a second hand online shop, if you want returns.


----------



## R. Soul (Jul 6, 2022)

As someone who's only been playing for a couple of months...
It's hard motivating yourself if you are not into guitar based music as such. 
Personally, I'm a composer first and foremost, and the idea of learning (other people's) songs, doesn't really appeal to me. I generally want to write music, and when your skill level is at such a low level that it's not worth pressing record for, it can be a bit discouraging. 
But that's just me, YMMV.

If you find it too hard in the beginning, it's worth getting a Ukulele. You can get a quite decent one for like $100. And as it's only 4 strings, chords are much easier to do.

Anyway... Harley Benton is a great discount brand, as you've found out.
I would probably go for one of those if I was to buy another electric. Pretty happy with my Squier Affinity though.

For learning, I've found https://www.justinguitar.com to be a superb course. It covers virtually anything up to intermediate at least, and it's free.


----------



## cedricm (Jul 6, 2022)

veranad said:


> If you buy new (and even worse if you buy a guitar with poor brand recognition), you will lose lots of money should you decide to sell the guitar down the road.
> 
> I would buy a used Fender mexican-japanese-american stratocaster (with humbuckers, if you prefer) depending on the budget, or a Gibson/Epiphone again depending on the budget if you prefer Les Paul type guitars.
> 
> You can buy from a second hand online shop, if you want returns.


I've given a look at Reverb and other 2nd hand marketplaces: it's beyond what I'm willing to pay for a first guitar.


----------



## lychee (Jul 6, 2022)

cedricm said:


> Given this, a question, especially for guitar players : should I go ahead or should I instead continue on improving the mastery of virtual guitars?


I don't understand the purpose of this question, obviously everyone will tell you to buy one.
Between a virtual guitar and a real guitar there is no comparison.
The real question is, are you willing to spend time learning this instrument?
If I take my case, no, I'm too lazy to get started after so many years of composing under piano roll, but it's sure that a real instrument will always sound better than a virtual equivalent.


----------



## SupremeFist (Jul 6, 2022)

cedricm said:


> I've given a look at Reverb and other 2nd hand marketplaces: it's beyond what I'm willing to pay for a first guitar.


I'd strongly recommend buying new, especially if online. Until you're an experienced player you won't be able to tell whether a used guitar is a lemon.


----------



## veranad (Jul 6, 2022)

SupremeFist said:


> I'd strongly recommend buying new, especially if online. Until you're an experienced player you won't be able to tell whether a used guitar is a lemon.


I do not want to derail this thread, but there are new guitars that are lemons too, especially on the "basic" camp.


----------



## cedricm (Jul 6, 2022)

lychee said:


> I don't understand the purpose of this question, obviously everyone will tell you to buy one.
> Between a virtual guitar and a real guitar there is no comparison.
> The real question is, are you willing to spend time learning this instrument?
> If I take my case, no, I'm too lazy to get started after so many years of composing under piano roll, but it's sure that a real instrument will always sound better than a virtual equivalent.


It wasn't obvious to me.
I was expecting some guitar players to answer that, given the budgeted time, I should forget it.


----------



## szczaw (Jul 6, 2022)

I'd get good used guitar instead. It's more motivating to have a nice instrument. To learn I got mint used LTD 1007 HT. This thing is nice to look at.


----------



## ChrisHarrison (Jul 6, 2022)

Les Paul style is a good idea for recording. You won’t have to deal with noisy pickups. 

Honestly…. You’d be surprised at how far you can get with a drop D string (DADGBE tuning). 

1 finger power chords. Loooooots of rock/guitar music uses this. 

Let’s be honest, hanz’s guitar parts he plays are power chords a lot of the time. With a good overdrive, tuck it into the mix, you’ll be really happy. 

Plus, learning curve is not steep for that. 

The other shit, like chord voicing dim drop 2 etc…. That’s a game of patience and practice. But guitar is easy compared to say… any orchestral instrument that takes years to get a sound and play a few scales.


----------



## TomislavEP (Jul 6, 2022)

Introducing at least one "real" instrument will certainly enrich every production primarily based on VI's and libraries, regardless of how good these might be. Also, learning to play an additional instrument is always a fulfilling and rewarding mission. Getting a guitar (electric or acoustic) is probably one of the most cost-effective ways of achieving this. Today, affordable doesn't necessarily mean "bad quality" and something you cannot use if you are hoping for "serious results".


----------



## SupremeFist (Jul 6, 2022)

veranad said:


> I do not want to derail this thread, but there are new guitars that are lemons too, especially on the "basic" camp.


Sure but at least in that case you have refund/return rights.


----------



## JyTy (Jul 6, 2022)

I have a few of them and I still ask myself that same question every day!!! 😀

But as few people here already recommended, go with Harley Benton from Thomann for starters… huge variety of guitars to chose from and insane value for the money!


----------



## SupremeFist (Jul 6, 2022)

JyTy said:


> I have a few of them and I still ask myself that same question every day!!! 😀
> 
> But as few people here already recommended, go with Harley Benton from Thomann for starters… huge variety of guitars to chose from and insane value for the money!


Yeah I just looked at that cheapest Harley Benton linked and it seems legit. (I have two Gibson Les Pauls, which is obviously not enough.)


----------



## EanS (Jul 6, 2022)

R. Soul said:


> As someone who's only been playing for a couple of months...
> It's hard motivating yourself if you are not into guitar based music as such.
> Personally, I'm a composer first and foremost, and the idea of learning (other people's) songs, doesn't really appeal to me. I generally want to write music, and when your skill level is at such a low level that it's not worth pressing record for, it can be a bit discouraging.
> But that's just me, YMMV.


Check Antoine Michaud on YouTube


----------



## ceemusic (Jul 6, 2022)

cedricm said:


> Given this, a question, especially for guitar players : should I go ahead or should I instead continue on improving the mastery of virtual guitars?


Whether it's worth it or not is totally up to you. There's lots involved...time, study.

Keep in mind that if it doesn't work out or if you don't pursue it the time invested could give you a bit of insight on how to use VI's in a more realistic manner, so that's a plus..

Good luck.


----------



## R. Soul (Jul 6, 2022)

EanS said:


> Check Antoine Michaud on YouTube


Looks like he has a ton of videos about pedals. Why did you recommend him to me?


----------



## Mornats (Jul 6, 2022)

SupremeFist said:


> I'd strongly recommend buying new, especially if online. Until you're an experienced player you won't be able to tell whether a used guitar is a lemon.


That's a good point, although if the OP knows someone who's into guitars then they could take them along to try it and advise.

And to add to the VI vs real guitar question, a real guitar has infinite round robins 

I've got the most entry level Ibanez (can't remember the model sorry) but it's surprisingly good and great to play. I'm a bass player mostly and rate the Squiers quite highly. My no 2 bass is a VM Squire jazz.


----------



## EanS (Jul 6, 2022)

R. Soul said:


> Looks like he has a ton of videos about pedals. Why did you recommend him to me?


Subscribe to his free lessons, you gave up too soon, keep scrolling down.


----------



## cedricm (Jul 11, 2022)

In the end, I just ordered the Yamaha Revstar Element.

Looking forward to playing like this (in many years)


----------



## ChrisHarrison (Jul 11, 2022)

Sick. 

Start with power chords. Probably about 10,000 songs you can learn. 

Then try your cowboy chords, 1st position g c d a e 

Then go to the barre major and minor chords. 

People are weird about tabs. Tabs are great for getting going quickly. They are also often wrong for anything semi… tonal. But your nice rock and roll stuff will be easy to read the tab and get your feet wet. It’s an interesting instrument because most people are self taught from the last generation. The new guys are more deeply studied, but really, with YouTube you can go far as hell. I would also consider a lesson or two in the jazz world. Guitar players take these large chords CM7#11 for example, and just play 3 note voicings. 

Also, “classical” guitar technique is to be avoided in my opinion. Mostly because once you look into a lot of the modern players, they do weird shit like play the bass note with their thumb over the neck and a chord up top. Not just sometimes, but all the time. Like, C on the E string, D major triad up top, you got yourself a nice little chord.

Enjoy. Glad guitar is still alive.  
Now you need a tube screamer. And a pedal obsession.


----------



## Drundfunk (Jul 11, 2022)

Always purchase a guitar if you can. I do as well. That's why I have like 7 or 8.....and I'm a piano player....


----------

