To experienced guitarists out there... from experience would you say this is a good guitar for a beginner?

Question

The guitar: http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0969901006

I have been playing since the end of december using a guitar made by a company "swift". I feel like I've outgrown it and after some advice from guitarists on yahoo decided to order myself the guitar in the url above.

I would just like your opinions, because you were once a beginner and I am sure you can remember the experience of learning to play and changing guitars etc.

Also theres another thing that I want to know is why after the top dot on my old guitar there are 2 frets but on the new one as you can see there are 4 frets.

Thanks in advance..

You people are very helpful.

Answer 1

My first guitar was an Epiphone Special II.
I still use it and it is great.
It is about $200, and was 500 with an amp, cord, and strap.
Its got the most bang for its buck.
I did, a year later, move on to an ibanez RG which costed 500 dollars used.
I think if you want an acoustic though, I would just look at price.
A good beginner guitar should cost $140 dollars, and that will work fine. Actually, im looking at another acoustic now, and thats probably what price range I will look for. (Mine right now was 20 bucks 40 years ago when my mom used it LOL)
Acoustic guitars are harder to play than electric too, but I think you should have one of each to sample each one because they both have different feels.

With the dots/frets question, most guitars have 22 frets, but some nice guitars (like mine :P) have 24. If you have an acoustic, it doesn't matter how many frets you have because you can barely play the higher notes an acoustics. And even with an electric where you CAN play them, rarely songs ever require them to be played.

I hope that helped :P
Good luck with the guitar playing!
Rock on! haha

Answer 2

The Fender company makes fine acoustics for the beginner and the picture you provided shows a fine one for you.

The dots you mentioned are used as guide references primarily and aesthetics secondly. Some guitar manufacturers will place the first guide dot in the third fret while others may start at the fifth fret. The double-dots are normally in the 12th fret, but some guitars will have double-dots placed in the seventh fret.

All those dots mean are simply guide positions for you to grab a memorized chord--whether standing or sitting. Classical guitars, on the other hand, rarely have guide dots and I cannot answer why.

If you choose to purchase the guitar you've shown us it should work well for you. I recommend that you take it to a reputable music store and have a guitar technician examine it for playability and action. Only you can determine if the neck of the guitar and its projection feels and sounds right for you.

Answer 3

yeah, that guitar looks sweet. however you must remember that 'look' is just one aspect of the fine instrument. it has to feel good & comfortable as you play; you have to be satisfied with it's action; is it too heavy/light; and most importantly does it sound good? If your guitar when you strum doesn't sound the way it does in your head then put it down and find another one - especially with an acoustic.

if you've walked into a music shop, played the guitar on that link and you liked it, then cool. if not, your satisfaction is pot luck

With the dots, it all depends how long your guitar is. With the fender, the last dot is on fret 17, with 4 frets after. on my ibanez, the last dot is on fret 21, with 2 frets after. you may have a short necked guitar?? they're only there for a guide so when you look down to see what chord your playing you don't have to look on the fretboard, just the top of the neck :)

Answer 4

If you like the guitar and the price suits your pocketbook then I would recommend it as a good begnner's guitar. You may want to check out other sites such as Muscian's Friend,
The same guitar may have a lower price.