Never played a Guitar but I want to learn

DodgeTheViper

Ive never played a guitar in my life . . . apart from Guitar Hero on Xbox that is but I really fancy starting to learn.

Where the flammin hell do I start looking for what to purchase ? I've seen these starter packages with a guitar and amp for like £200 ish, is that where I should start ?

Could someone point me somewhere please.

Cheers

DodgeTheViper

I guess i should start by reading through this . . . . . . .

beginners guitar player thread

Axl

Plenty of great help tucked away in these threads too.  An idea of a realistic starting budget would help.  You can put a nice package together yourself and start off very nicely with a fairly small outlay.

Just be aware that if you get into it shinyitis kicks in pretty swiftly.

The learning to play for real thread

The Learning ... Equipment thread!

DodgeTheViper

I'm not too sure what a realistic budget for this would be. What would £300-£400 get me ?

Axl

A lot.  If you buy new you could have a nice electric rig.  Second hand obviously a lot more bang for your buck.  The best thing is to get out and try various guitars to see what you feel comfortable with.  Do you have any idea where you'd start looking? Strat, Telecaster, Les Paul, Prs?  Acoustic only to start?  Would you plan to have lessons?  A lot of guys on here rave about Rocksmith

Purely as an example as there are so many options, this would be a great starter rig.

Fender Mustang III V.2 Guitar Amplifier Combo

Buy the Squier Affinity Strat RW Sunburst

Leaves you 25 quid for a lead, picks etc.  It's a real minefield choosing and that's all part of the fun.

If you go second hand the usual suspects are handy, ebay, gumtree etc.  Kit sometimes comes up on here too.  What guitar shops do you have near you?  Hands on try before you buy is worth it's weight in gold.

hyperfish

That's a sensible budget. My first question would be do you want to play as a beginner? an electric or an acoustic guitar?

edit: cross post, covered my Axl.

DodgeTheViper

My first thought would be to play electric guitar, just seems like more fun. And I havnt looked at anything yet, mainly because I don't know what the hell i'm looking at
I know my head will get wrecked when I start looking.

A shop could be a very good idea. I'm sure there is one reasonably close to me.

hyperfish

It's a personal thing but if I could turn back the clock I would have got a semi acoustic when I started. You can either plug it in or play it as a quiet acoustic so as not to annoy anyone. Unfortunately you missed the Amazon deal on some of these a few weeks ago. It's worth keeping an eye out on Amazon lately.

As for playing, this guy gets the ball rolling.

Justin Guitar | Hundreds of free guitar lessons
Search for JustinGuitar on YouTube

Lost of free tuition clips, and books to buy. I can recommend the Beginners Course book.

reevesy

walk away now.

......while your wallet still has cash left in it

first picked up an acoustic 2 years ago just so I could play a few simple songs along with my daughter who could play a bit.....

3 acoustics...2 electrics....(another one on its way) and 3 amps later

well as I'm sure everyone will tell you...once the bug has bitten.

great hobby though and with the enjoyment it can bring just by picking a guitar up for 5 minutes .........

I still find it very relaxing just to sit there a play a bit of simple stuff.

...where to start when it comes to buying is a toughie as it's a bit of a double edged sword...how can you tell a guitars right for you when you cant play ?........well you can certainly get an idea on how it feels in your hands...and a half decent dealer will give you guidance and point you in the right direction.

for me it was an acoustic ...then off to here
BC-000 • Justin's Beginners Guitar Course  | free guitar lesson from justinguitar.com

...and here
Free Beginner Guitar Course

then once I could play a bit and manage power and barre chords it was off searching for an electric.....

as mention have a look through the above linked threads

........one thing is certain though

it will hurt your fingers ...it will be hard.... and at times it will seem impossible....but persevere and you'll be surprised how quick you can progress.

DodgeTheViper

Brilliant guys, thank you