Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

[treyhaislip]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

Jackson JS series is worth a look! JS20 or JS30 series. Insane quality for the price, mine (JS22) was flawless and plays better than most 500-700€ axes

Totally should have recommended the Jackson JS series! Awesome guitars!


Seems like we have a new forum bro major disagreement similar to do tonewoods matter–are acoustics good for practicing! lol Several forum bros have mentioned from experience that playing/practicing acoustic made them better on electric–if you disagree thats fine, but its not BS–it is real world experience.

I think a guitar player loses out on a lot of great tones and experience by forgoing acoustic. I mean, even Robert Trujilo enjoys an acoustic every now and then

[Lovegun]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

To the OP. I would recommend that if you have a guitar shop near you to go check out a few candidates. Check out the neck profiles. I mean the guitars suggested here have a wide range of neck profiles from the flat thin Ibanez to the thicker neck of the Epiphone.

[dominus]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

People are bringing up a good point. Are you "better" at playing because the acoustic has thicker strings? I've been using 56-13s on my (6 string) electrics for years.

That reminds me. I've got a pair of Fender Stratacoustics here that I got good deals on and have never touched. I think I'll sell them.

F___ acoustics.

[Godin15]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

This is one thing that always gets me. If someone told me to get an acoustic when I asked for advice on an electric, my reply would be GFY. Just because something works for *you*, doesn't mean it's for everyone, and doesn't answer their question. (I just



addressed this in a thread of my own.) The reason to get an acoustic is if you *want* an acoustic. If my first guitar was an acoustic, I *never* would have stayed interested.




To the OP - The Squier 51 is a great guitar. The Ibanez (also being
hardtail) would be a close second. Both of those would serve you well, and would be easy to upgrade in the future.

More students learning guitar with acoustics quit.

[treyhaislip]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

More students learning guitar with acoustics quit.

Any stats/reference to back that up?

[blueman335]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

More students learning guitar with acoustics quit.

The biggest appeal of acoustics is that you don't need an amp to be heard across the room. Less investment, less stuff to haul around...key selling points. The 'grab-and-go' free spirit thing. However, the thick wound strings and high actions are hard on tender finger tips. I suspect most acoustics spend most of their lives sitting in a corner, and not being played after the initial flurry. Anyone I know wanting to start guitar, I advise them to get an inexpensive electric. Much easier on the fingers. The average person isn't going to be a virtuoso, neither are the vast majority of members on this forum.

[regan]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

More students learning guitar with acoustics quit.

Gotta call bullsh*t on this

[treyhaislip]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

The biggest appeal of acoustics is that you don't need an amp to be heard across the room. Less investment, less stuff to haul around...key selling points. The 'grab-and-go' free spirit thing. However, the thick wound strings and high actions are hard on tender finger tips. I suspect most acoustics spend most of their lives sitting in a corner, and not being played after the initial flurry. Anyone I know wanting to start guitar, I advise them to get an inexpensive electric. Much easier on the fingers. The average person isn't going to be a virtuoso, neither are the vast majority of members on this forum.

Definitely not the biggest appeal to me bro–acoustics get tones that an electric can't get (acoustic simulators and piezos are cool but they don't do the acoustic sound to my ears.)

Thick strings and high action? I've played many electrics with thick strings and high action...can't label them all like that.

You are painting a very broad picture of acoustics here man...very broad indeed. Which, btw, did you watch any of those videos I included in post #17

[regan]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

Gotta chime in here, all those who think developing your technique on an acoustic making you a better electric player is BS is woefully naive

Would they argue learning how to sketch properly would not make you better at oil painting?

[blueman335]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

did you watch any of those videos I included in post #17

Yes, nice playing but not what I was talking about. There are things you can do on an electric that you can't do on an acoustic, like deep, fast vibrato bends. Watch the Fleetwood Mac video of them live onstage playing 'Like it This Way'. Peter Green and Danny Kirwan are trading off riffs and doing one great bend after another. That's the style I play, that's what I practice: British blues. That kind of playing is what made Peter Green a legend. Again, I've never seen anybody do that kind of bending on an acoustic.

[blueman335]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

Gotta chime in here, all those who think developing your technique on an acoustic making you a better electric player is BS is woefully naive

Would they argue learning how to sketch properly would not make you better at oil painting?

You guys keep derailing the OP's thread, probably scared him off. It's not up to you to tell someone how they should practice, and then keep harping on it. What are you going to do next, tell him how to dress? He just wants to know which of those 3 guitars we'd recommend.

[treyhaislip]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

Yes, nice playing but not what I was talking about. There are things you can do on an electric that you can't do on an acoustic, like deep, fast vibrato bends. Watch the Fleetwood Mac video of them live onstage playing 'Like it This Way'. Peter Green and Danny Kirwan are trading off riffs and doing one great bend after another. That's the style I play, that's what I practice: British blues. That kind of playing is what made Peter Green a legend. Again, I've never seen anybody do that kind of bending on an acoustic.

So your whole style revolves around just doing string bends? That Stumbler cover I posted does some pretty cool strings bends if you listened past the first 20 seconds.

The Phil Keaggy leads involve string bends and crazy licks that are rare to hear on an electric.

I'd say you are very limited then if you can't possibly do your "style" on an acoustic. But I digress.

You guys keep derailing the OP's thread, probably scared him off. It's not up to you to tell someone how they should practice, and then keep harping on it. What are you going to do next, tell him how to dress? He just wants to know which of those 3 guitars we'd recommend.

How did we derail the thread?

I'm basically looking for a wood with strings on it to practice.

Last time I checked acoustics were wooden with strings on it....but what do I know, not going to be a virtuoso so why even bother playing acoustic.

EDIT: Where am I telling the OP how to practice? How in the world did you get from recommending an acoustic for practice to us telling him how to dress? Talk about extremes lol

So you are telling me you have never given an option that wasn't specifically listed in the OP on this forum? C'mon man, this is an online forum and we give advice.

I've been playing for over 20 years now and am just giving advice from my journey as a guitar player. If that bothers you then sorry, but last time I checked this wasn't blueman's forum.

[regan]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

The biggest appeal of acoustics is that you don't need an amp to be heard across the room. Less investment, less stuff to haul around...key selling points. The 'grab-and-go' free spirit thing. However, the thick wound strings and high actions are hard on tender finger tips. I suspect most acoustics spend most of their lives sitting in a corner, and not being played after the initial flurry. Anyone I know wanting to start guitar, I advise them to get an inexpensive electric. Much easier on the fingers. The average person isn't going to be a virtuoso, neither are the vast majority of members on this forum.

I've owned acoustics (Taylors, takamines & yamahas) whose playability would embarrass many an off the peg electrics, My Taylor which is my primary finger style guitar is set up with tens and past the 7th fret I can bend up to a tone and half, and execute the odd pinch harmonic or two on it. My yammie is permanently tuned to open D or dadgad, both sit on stands at the end of my sofa always ready,beginners fingertips will be sore no matter what due to steel strings not the guitar, a 25.5" scale guitar will be under the same tension regardless if its electric or acoustic & action can be adjusted on acoustics also.
Sure some acoustics (like golf clubs fishing rods etc) gather dust probably fewer than abandoned electrics, but a lot have had years of playing the key selling point for an electric is wanting to be a guitar hero like slash when your average 13 year old realises it takes effort it's dicarded, the selling point of an acoustic is strumming 3 chords to play a song, thats where you should start, EVERYTHING leads on from here.

If anything it's my electrics that sit in the case to gather dust, if I want to noodle for 10 mins or try to work out a riff or progression etc I don't pull out my strat and amp and cables and wah and OD and reverb pedal (you get the picture), I grab my acoustic and play around for ten mins which often turns into hours, I don't practice nearly as much as I should, but when I did and was putting a couple of hours a day into the guitar it would be on acoustic.

Practicing at home with a electric is a pita you can't get the amp loud enough to react properly, you'll spend hours with the gain on full and the master practically at zero which is completely counter productive for 'real' electric playing. Understanding the dynamics of an acoustic is not too far from understanding the dynamics of 'real' electric playing with the master volume opened up or god forbid no master volume at all

[blueman335]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

- So your whole style revolves around just doing string bends? That Stumbler cover I posted does some pretty cool strings bends if you listened past the first 20 seconds.

- The Phil Keaggy leads involve string bends and crazy licks that are rare to hear on an electric.

- I'd say you are very limited then if you can't possibly do your "style" on an acoustic. But I digress.

- How did we derail the thread?

- I listened to the 3 videos you posted, start to finish. Good players at what they do, but neither of them came anywhere close to doing what Kirwan and Green did with their wild bends. Most guys can't do that on electrics.

- I don't need your approval about my playing, anymore than you need mine. I get a lot of compliments from audiences, musicians, and band members; I'm happy with my playing style. I like to expand my skills and one way I do that is by assimilating different scales and modes, and trying them in new places. Acoustic playing isn't the direction I want to go.

- By going on and on about acoustics when the OP asked about electrics. You guys are too pushy. Lighten up.

[regan]

Re: Need a cheap guitar just for practice. What's the best I can get?

The irony on display in this thread is hilarious,