Guitars are great !! (Guitars in general)

Member Name: Ibanez Man

Product:	Guitars in general
Date:	17/08/01 (820 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Rewarding, Great sound, Challenging

Disadvantages: Can be Pricey, Hard to start with

Do you want to be a guitar god in just three weeks ??? Well if you do, unfortunately after these few weeks you will be spectacularly dissappointed. So many people I have seen with such a love for music and guitars, then the obvious progressive step of wanting a guitar and a band come along. But if suddenly this person can't play much inside a few weeks, they jack it in, and probably just end up selling it, Apart from to get out at various occasionals for a horrible twangy version of smeels like teen spirit (thats if they got even to power chords) the guitar will be a big waste.

Basically I am writing this because i'm not one of these sorts of people, I was very determined to be good, and practice hard, so I did. I think people love the teach yourself method, that is before they try it. I did mostly teach myself, but without some musical background, and a few basic books, unless amazingly gifted, you will be pants in no time at all.

I think the guitar has to be one of the most accessable instruments out there, be it an acoustic or electric. I did go through the violin and piano, and got reasonable good on both, but nothing could compare to the first time I picked up an electric guitar.

About five years ago, for my birthday, I was bought an Encore red & white guitar (a poor strat copy) and a Watson practice amp. Well despite the obvious lack of ability at first, I just loved playing anything through it. I think most guitarists would back me up in the sense that the first things you need to learn on a guitar are scales and blues music. Whilst not being everything they are the basis for a hell of alot of music. So I picked myself up a beginner guitar book which had some basic progressions, and information of notes and chords, only basic, but gets you to understand things a little more.

Whilst people playing things like Nirvana when they start out get laughed at in a way, I think these fairly straight forward chor
d progressions really help. It starts you off playing basic open and barred chords, and also keeps your interest up, which I think is very important early on. Also don't limit yourself to simple things early on, as not necessarily playing them, but listening to guitarists, and seeing how things are played is probably the best way to learn.

Anyway, after playing on and off for a few years (yes I did lose faith at times), I finally got back into things when I went to college, and started a band. Not that I could really call it a band, more like a few musicians getting together and seeing what happens. We had the members of a band, minus a singer, but it was still good fun, I don't think anything can substitute actually playing , and interacting with other musicians. Well after we decided we couldn't be bothered playing after a couple of practices I really did start to explore my guitar a bit more, probably in the hope of joining a real band, but all the same still did it because i love playing.

Well I think it takes most people quite a while to find their style, but I must say, when I started listening to Dire Straits, Eric Clapton, then later on Joe Satriani, these guys definitely really influenced my playing. I like to take pieces from different guitarists, like licks and riffs, but it's also good to invent your own, as everyone will have their own unique way of playing.

Well then after these few years, I decided the kind of things I was playing just didn't seem to sound anywhere near as good as they should, despite what I thought playing them perfectly. So it was the choice between a new amp and a new guitar. I know people will use the bad workman always blames his tools, which is quite often the case, but I was sure it was hampering my progress slightly. So anyway I opted for the new guitar, which was yet again a copy of a popular guitar, this time the make was legend, and modelled mainly I say on a PRS. Doe
s look very similar to a Gibson double cutaway but isn't either so doesn't really matter I guess.

I must say, this purchase certainly helped me become a better player, not sure if it was just natural progression, but this sounded and felt alot better to play. Basically the better quality the instrument, the less you need to wrestle with it to get a quality sound, but you still need the ability to start with. I was certainly moving onto more adventurous things by now, like Eric Johnson, and Joe Satriani. Not that I could really play much from them, but it can't harm you learning from the best. So after progressing pretty well, I was saving up from my new job and just decided I really wanted a new guitar, this time an actual big name, and of course, after Mr Satch, an Ibanez was one of my favourites.

So I wandered into my (almost) local guitar shop, like a kid in a candy store, and played on a few guitars. I'm not really what you would call a vein guitarist, so I didn't see one on the racks and think that looks great i'll buy it, sod how it plays. I took a few into the booth with me, and played for an hour or so. Gibson and Ibanez were my main interest, and after playing off between two Ibanez's I opted for the JS-100 in black :) I also realised it was time to upgrade my amp, from the small old practice one, so I went for the Marshall JCM 2000 (valve amp, oh beautiful). Just for an extra little spending onslaught I added a Boss GT-3 multi effects unit.

So from no ability and a now poor setup, I have a great setup and I am a fairly compitent guitarist. I hope this will help the odd youngster starting out, as no matter how useless you are when you start out, if you persevere anything could happen. I don't think Joe Satriani could play a note when he first picked up his guitar.

It is such a great pass time, and for those lucky enough to make it into a career, I couldn't really think
of anything better. I recommend everyone who is able to try something, as music is so rewarding, especially the guitar, but I would say that. A beginner could probably pick up a guitar & amp for about £150, and I doubt many other things will offer you better value for money, so stop thinking about it, do it !!!

As the bottom bits don't really relate to guitars in general, I shall put the stats for my Ibanez :)

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