Cromagnum said:

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EagleFordEarl said:

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Learn to read tabs, easy peasy

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And learn major and minor chord names/shapes to start.

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this. Once you can nail the old lady, you're golden.

Seagull would be my first choice.

Ovation is nice too. Yamaha is serviceable guitar at lower end.

I would not start out with nylon strings.

I think silk & steel strings are good for beginners because they're easy on your fingers.

I'd suggest looking at Yamaha guitars. They have a good sound and don't break the bank for a first guitar. I wasn't as careful as I should've been with my first guitar so I'm glad I had a really cheap starter.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Yamaha/FG820-Dreadnought-Acoustic-Guitar.gc

These FG820s have a great sound for a $250 guitar. I played one the other day and was very impressed.

Takamine G series is also a great suggestion made by many and that's what I have at the house. It's the 5th anniversary edition...looks amazing and sounds really nice.

Ovations are great sounding guitars but the back of them drive me crazy. They have a weird rounded back that makes it very challenging to sit and play them.

Neil's recommendation of a solid top versus laminate is spot on IMO. I would rule out every laminate top guitar for sure.

Strings...important decision and err on the side of lighter strings for a while. I had some extra light phosphor bronze D'Addario strings for a year or so and loved them. Start with the lightest you can get then move up to something else down the road. I have some 80/20 light strings now and enjoy them because I've begun picking a lot more. If I was just going to strum rhythm, I'd stick with the extra lights.

Good luck on your decision. I've been playing guitar for about 4 years now and it's such a fun hobby. I'm never bored at the house now for sure.

BoDog said:

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As a 40 something white guy with kids and a mortgage, having never played and cannot read music, are my chances of learning slim to none?

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If you already have a video game console, you could always try to learn thru Rocksmith. This video is outdated, they have versions for Xbox One and PS4

Seagull is a good starter.

But if money really isn't an issue just go for it. Get a Taylor or Martin and then you won't have to worry about upgrading. Plus learning to play on a nice guitar is much easier.

I started with an extremely cheap Rogue at about 13 and it's a miracle I didn't quit. Bought a Takamine G Series next and played it for a few years. Then bought a Taylor and wondered why the heck I wasted all that time with a Takamine.

Have been playing my Taylor for the past 10 years.

Buy this beautiful acoustic/electric Ovation Guitar for $369 and have fun. This guitar is available at your nearest guitar center.

Go in an actually play the guitars before you order from a website!

BoDog said:

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As a 40 something white guy with kids and a mortgage, having never played and cannot read music, are my chances of learning slim to none?

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I'm 38 and picked up my first guitar at 34. Completely self taught. I taught myself the G, C, Em, and D chords at first and I was surprised at how many songs I could play with just those chords. Now I can also play Bm, variations of the D chord, variations of the A chord as well.

I can't read tabs very well but there's plenty of apps like GuitarTabs or Chordify that tells you the chords to play as the lyrics scroll. With that app I can play about 150 songs and there's another 20 or so that I just know by heart.

If you're interested, go pickup a guitar and commit to practicing for 6 months. If you still like it then keep going. If you don't, get rid of it and know you tried.

BoDog said:

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As a 40 something white guy with kids and a mortgage, having never played and cannot read music, are my chances of learning slim to none?

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I taught myself how to play guitar, and I didn't even know how to play it!

BoDog said:

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As a 40 something white guy with kids and a mortgage, having never played and cannot read music, are my chances of learning slim to none?

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I learned at the age of 34. 4 years later I can play about 8-9 chords and I've learned about 15-20 songs I can play by memory and about 100 others if I use an app like GuitarTabs. Guitar tabs is great because it scrolls through the song while laying out the chords to be played with the lyrics.

I learned the G, E, A, and D chords within a month and l learned my first song a couple weeks later. I then learned the C and Bm chords and learned a bunch of songs within the next few months.

You can definitely do it. I always wanted to learn and just bought a guitar on a whim....and I'm damn glad I did it. Get a used guitar and try. Worst case scenario, you find out you don't like it and sell the guitar for what you bought it and know you at least tried.

Seagull is probably the best starter. Steel string. If it were me, spend a little more and get a 15 series Martin. You'll have it for life, and if you don't like it, you can always sell it.

OregonAggie said:

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BoDog said:

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As a 40 something white guy with kids and a mortgage, having never played and cannot read music, are my chances of learning slim to none?

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I learned at the age of 34. 4 years later I can play about 8-9 chords......

I learned the G, E, A, and D chords within a month

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Damn so it took you 3 years and 11 months to learn your next 4-5 chords?


Per-sis-tent

62strat said:

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OregonAggie said:

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BoDog said:

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As a 40 something white guy with kids and a mortgage, having never played and cannot read music, are my chances of learning slim to none?

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I learned at the age of 34. 4 years later I can play about 8-9 chords......

I learned the G, E, A, and D chords within a month

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Damn so it took you 3 years and 11 months to learn your next 4-5 chords?


Per-sis-tent

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Hahaha

I can't do any bar chords so that limits me a bit. I can play quite a bit of stuff with the 8-9 chords I've learned. Hell when I can play damn near every song I want to without learning more chords...why keep going?

OregonAggie said:

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62strat said:

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OregonAggie said:

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BoDog said:

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As a 40 something white guy with kids and a mortgage, having never played and cannot read music, are my chances of learning slim to none?

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I learned at the age of 34. 4 years later I can play about 8-9 chords......

I learned the G, E, A, and D chords within a month

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Damn so it took you 3 years and 11 months to learn your next 4-5 chords?


Per-sis-tent

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Hahaha

I can't do any bar chords so that limits me a bit. I can play quite a bit of stuff with the 8-9 chords I've learned. Hell when I can play damn near every song I want to without learning more chords...why keep going?

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You must be a country fan. Not sure why you spent the time to learn 8-9 when you only needed about 4!

I didn't learn any full chords until probably 5 years into my guitar playing. But I could play 80% of metallica songs up to that point

Ask an experienced guitar player to go with you to pawn shops. I've owned probably 30 guitars in my life. Several high-end ones. The BEST of them all, that I will never part with, is a 50 yr old Ventura that I bought at a pawn shop for $150. The neck & action fell like a finely-tuned Les Paul.

Learning to play on a guitar with poor action is more difficult.

WestGalvestonAggie said:

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Seagull is probably the best starter. Steel string. If it were me, spend a little more and get a 15 series Martin. You'll have it for life, and if you don't like it, you can always sell it.

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Seagull huh ?

my kids know that I am wishing I could play after having spent years getting them lessons... They think this might be the ticket-
http://www.seagullguitars.com/en/products/m4

Have them buy you a 6 string unless you want to start a collection of guitars and guitar like instruments.

No worries- I have plenty of guitars... steel string, classical, electric, bass and other instruments, ukes, contrabass, cello, violin, and mandolin.

BoDog said:

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As a 40 something white guy with kids and a mortgage, having never played and cannot read music, are my chances of learning slim to none?

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I started when I was 40

Play all the time now

Never too late as long as your fingers still work

As to the OP, I like Seagull for a beginner much more
Than a low end Takamine... they just sound much better

One thing to know is most of the Seagull guitars, including the base S6, have a nut width of 1.8". This is wider than most acoustic guitars of any brand...

This is very good in that your fingers have more room to work.... but if you ever move over to another guitar or brand, you will have to get used to the standard 1.72" width

Seagull does make a model with 1.72" nut with.. the "Entourage" model, I think

Have fun learning! I sure did!

I've been thinking about this thread for a couple of days and decided I should share a short story with y'all.

I was friends with Roy Orbison's guitarist before he died a few years back. He knew guitars, knew tones very well. I am a terrible player despite many years working at it.

One day I told him that I was going to buy the kids a cheap guitar to learn on and see if it sticks, then buy them a better guitar.

His response was classic. :If you buy them a crappy guitar, then everything they play will sound like crap and it will be your fault because you bought them a crappy guitar. Get a good one and sell it if it does not fit."

They have a Baby Martin.

I also told him I was going to treat myself to the "dream guitar" when I was ready to retire. He said "if you just buy the guitar you want now, think about how good you will be in 30 years when you can retire and you will have bought a guitar that is worth more then than now. Do you know how much a Martin would be worth now if I had one from when I was a kid? Just get the guitar you want and you will be happy."

I got a Martin DC16 a year later on his advice. I am so grateful I did that, it was a few years back and a good guitar does instill a bit of confidence as a player..

Cant go wrong with any of the above advice from other posters. Seagull is a great brand. I'd pick one that feels right with a nice low action. If you cannot get the action the way that you want it, go to a luthier. Tell them you want the lowest possible action without a string buzz. You will be able to learn more quickly with a setup like that.

Best of luck to everyone.

That's some damn solid advice.

Racer X said:

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Ask an experienced guitar player to go with you to pawn shops. I've owned probably 30 guitars in my life. Several high-end ones. The BEST of them all, that I will never part with, is a 50 yr old Ventura that I bought at a pawn shop for $150. The neck & action fell like a finely-tuned Les Paul.

Learning to play on a guitar with poor action is more difficult.

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I was thinking about this thread today and decided to go into a pawn shop just to find a kick around guitar based on this advice.

I found a 1987 Fender F270SCE for $200. Damn thing sounds great and looks really cool too. I could probably sell the thing for a couple hundred bucks above that.

Thanks for the advice

air

moneyag said:

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I know its probably been asked a million times, but I don't care. ;-)

I'm looking for a guitar rec. Steel vs nylon, body size? neck size? I'm 50-yrs old and it's way past time. I play piano, but that doesn't travel well. I just want to play "camp-fire" music sitting around the firepit at my ranch. Money isn't the issue, just want something very playable and a little easier to learn on.

All thoughts and input are very much appreciated.

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I would ask how serious are you? There are expensive models such as Gibson, Taylor, and Martin. I am Fender partial, however, most are made in Mexico, they havent been quality guitars since the Fender Corporation force Leo Fender to sell to CBS in '64. If you're not sure if it be seriously played, Epiphone is an excellent choice as well as Alvarez. I have both among mine. The Alvarez, '74, is inexpesive, however, gets better with age. Epiphone is a Gibson copy and has sound quality. Unjless you want to be Willie Nelson Jr. go with steel strings.

aeon-ag said:

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moneyag said:

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I know its probably been asked a million times, but I don't care. ;-)

I'm looking for a guitar rec. Steel vs nylon, body size? neck size? I'm 50-yrs old and it's way past time. I play piano, but that doesn't travel well. I just want to play "camp-fire" music sitting around the firepit at my ranch. Money isn't the issue, just want something very playable and a little easier to learn on.

All thoughts and input are very much appreciated.

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they havent been quality guitars since the Fender Corporation force Leo Fender to sell to CBS in '64.

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uhh.. ok.

laugh/cry face.

Best beginner campfire guitar is a Taylor gs mini followed by a Taylor big baby. The gs mini is sometimes hard to find

Though not so much an answer for OP, but for those seeking a good value electric, check out the PRS Singlecut SE line. You get a lot of guitar in the $600-700 range for a new one. They play well and sound great at this price point. Pair it up with a little $100-200 practice amp and you'll be set until you decide to spend a lot more down the road.

Or just say screw it and buy a real PRS Custom 22 or 24 and a tube amp.

Cromagnum said:

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Though not so much an answer for OP, but for those seeking a good value electric, check out the PRS Singlecut SE line. You get a lot of guitar in the $600-700 range for a new one. They play well and sound great at this price point. Pair it up with a little $100-200 practice amp and you'll be set until you decide to spend a lot more down the road.

Or just say screw it and buy a real PRS Custom 22 or 24 and a tube amp.

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If you're gonna go electric, put more money in the amp than the guitar. A Squier Bullet through a Princeton Reverb will sound better than a MIA Standard through a crap Squier Sidekick.

Best to follow the advice in Cromagnum's last sentence.

Over the past month I've been learning to play on a Epiphone Les Paul from this player pack:
http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Packs/Les-Paul-Player-Pack.aspx

The action at the 12th fret feels high, I measured it at around 5mm. What are y'alls preference for string height?

I think he's referring to just their acoustics.


Or, he has no clue what he's talking about.

tk for tu juan said:

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Over the past month I've been learning to play on a Epiphone Les Paul from this player pack:
http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Packs/Les-Paul-Player-Pack.aspx

The action at the 12th fret feels high, I measured it at around 5mm. What are y'alls preference for string height?

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Whatever string height Guitar Center set up on the Strat you'll trade it in for once you discover what's up.

Haha, I've already wondered into the rabbit hole of information on scale length and intonation problems with Gibson based guitars. Went out and bought a used 100W Fender Mustang amp so I can't hear any of that thru the digital distortion