New to this!

[Anchor1982]

Hi folks. I am new to the forum and playing guitar in general. I had wanted to learn to play for some years now but had never found the time to get around to it and procrastinated like hell. However, I recently spotted what I thought to be a good deal on a used Taylor 410 acoustic guitar for sale on the classified ads, so I bit the bullet and treated myself. I'm clearly no expert so I'm not even sure if it is the most appropriate guitar to learn with, but I'm happy with it and have undertaken an online video tutorial course specialising in blues and I'm slowly learning the basics. I'm here to learn what I can and immerse myself in the subject. I'm vaguely aware of the function of a pickup, but I was wondering at what point and level of experience I should consider purchasing one. (Sorry if this is a stupid question). Any advice hugely appreciated.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: New to this!

Welcome to the forum

You'd only need a pickup at the point you need the guitar to be heard over other instruments, like in a band situation. The other point would be if your goal was to play a particular style of music that required amplifying the sound to play it properly.

 

[Anchor1982]

Re: New to this!

Thanks for the pointer beaubrummels. I'm not quite at that stage yet as I'm sure you can guess but at least now I understand their purpose. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[AlexR]

Re: New to this!

Looks like you have bought a very nice guitar to start on.

You would only need a pickup for a situation where you play live with a band, and micing the guitar directly is not possible/convenient.

Taylor are I think known for their acoustics that play more like an electric....so that should make the task of learning as easy as it can be really. Its somewhat ironic that 'beginner' acoustic guitars actually tend to discourage more than anything else with high action and less rich tone.

 

[Darg1911]

Re: New to this!

Looks like you have bought a very nice guitar to start on.

You would only need a pickup for a situation where you play live with a band, and micing the guitar directly is not possible/convenient.

Taylor are I think known for their acoustics that play more like an electric....so that should make the task of learning as easy as it can be really. Its somewhat ironic that 'beginner' acoustic guitars actually tend to discourage more than anything else with high action and less rich tone.

This is true ... the tone part for me, anyway. I took lessons briefly when I was a kid, in the 70's. I had an acoustic and while my teacher is teaching me Tom Dooley, I was thinking Iron Man.

 

[Diego]

Re: New to this!

Hey, welcome to the forum and the guitar world!

As others have pointed out, you're starting out with an excellent instrument. Taylors are wonderful. And nothing's more discouraging than a mediocre instrument for beginner hands.
So you're doing more than fine on this one.

I always suggest that a new instrument is checked by a guitar tech, because there's elements like string gauge, string action and neck tension that can really affect the playability of a new guitar, which is something absolutely critical in the early stages of playing - you want a guitar that doesn't get in your way - and new guitars usually aren't setup as good as they could be from factory.

Cheers!

 

[Aceman]

Re: New to this!

Great purchase!

On a pickup - you only need it if you want to
a) Amplify the sound so it can be heard in a band or over a PA
b) Add effects to the sound such as chorus, delay, reverb etc…

And as for learning, I'll say this; Learn all of the open chords or "cowboy chords" as we call them here. Being able to SING and play really makes people happy. It's what they expect/want - not shredding Vai/Satch/Malmsteen solos.

I mean, learn to shred too! But if I had to live my life over…. For now, just learn to play and enjoy it.

Enjoy!!!!