An Acoustic Guitar. Now what?

Question

I have a new acoustic guitar and I am completely new to music. I have been wanting to play for over 3 years but I never got around to buying a guitar. Now that I have one i'm puzzled. I was on a budget, I bought a Washburn acoustic for about $150. I heard that when you get a new guitar (especially a low-budget) you should take it to a music store and have them fix it up. Is this necessary? If so what should I tell the people or anything I should ask for? Price Range? I'm really new to this, however I'm serious about continuing this for life. Any other tips would be great! Thankyou.

Answer 1

Shouldn't need setting up.Get urself a tuner. Electronic if poss. Get a book of chord shapes & a few easy songs. Choose 2 or 3 easy chords A D E are good. Practise playing them , making sure that all the strings sound clear. Work towards changing between them quickly, then have a go at some simple songs. Going to the Zoo is easy, so is He's Got the Whole World in his hands. It will hurt ur fingering hand at first, but it will wear off.Oh, and get a plectrum as well.Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Classical guitar style is very different from normal acoustic playing. The most obvious difference is that while an acoustic guitarist will normally use a pick to play, the classical guitarist uses his fingernails. This is not to say you can't fingerpick on a normal steel string acoustic, lots of people do, it's just that classical guitar style is exclusively fingerpicking. Keep in mind, however, that there is nothing about an acoustic guitar that prevents a person from using their fingernails to play, it's just that normally classical guitarists play on classical guitars. It is somewhat difficult to use a pick on a classical guitar. The other major differences is that structurally, on a classical guitar the space between each string is wider and the fretboard is generally flatter and broader. This makes it more difficult to perform bar chords on a classical guitar than on an acoustic, but the gap between the strings also makes right handed finger picking easy. Switching between the two is very doable it just takes a little getting used to. I would say it's easier to switch from playing a classical guitar to an acoustic than from an acoustic to a classical.

Answer 3

As a beginner it probably won't be necessary for you, unless the guitar is just plain bad. But for most guitar players with experience you should take any new guitar to the store where you bought it to have it set up for your playing style. For instance, I play almost completely on an electric guitar, but I tend to use heavier strings and higher action than most people, so any guitar straight off the rack isn't going to work like I would want it too. Thankfully, I do my own setup work, so I don't need to hit the stores, unless I screw up!

http://www.chaddukes.org

Answer 4

You should only have it set up if you are having problems with it. Like if it has a lot of fret buzz, or has difficult action. That means it takes a lot of finger pressure to make chords. Washburn makes a decent sounding guitar, so you need to give it a chance. Get some easy guitar music. Maybe start either teaching yourself musical notation or find easy tablature on the net (guitar tabs).

Answer 5

Good advice from everyone, but the first thing I'd do is change the strings.

To each their own but I prefer D'Adarrio J-16's, I believe?

Your guitar shouldn't need any set up. Change the strings and find a fellow player to evaluate it for you. A music store may just say.."Sure $35-50 and we'll check it out for you," when all they may do is slap a new set of strings on it.

Answer 6

Because you didn't purchase the guitar at the music store you will have to bear the cost of any adjustments they make. Nevertheless, it's best to have the professionals look it over and make those necessary adjustments before you begin your guitar career with it.

While you're at the store ask about guitar instruction and a beginner's guitar book having basic chords, music theory, and additional instruction in it.

Answer 7

If my new guitar needed to be taken for fixing up, I wouldn't have bought it in the first place. Whoever told you that was full of it.