Any guitar players here?

[Wayne]

So now I have a question about learning guitar...

Originally I bought the Les Paul knockoff because I really love the shape. It really defines "rock and roll" to me (I'm an old guy I guess). It didn't help that the guitar I bought is not what I received (it would have gone back anyway) but when I tried to "play" it, I noticed that my fingers were all bunched up and crampy. I've got big hands.. I was also stepping on other strings and everything, but the Les Paul is what "everyone" was suggesting for a good beginner guitar.

So, after that, I bought the Squier Strat, which is very comfortable to me, feels very solid and everything, but.. The Les Paul had a 24.75" scale neck. The Stratocaster has a 25.5" scale neck. What I'm finding as I get deeper into learning (books, listening, Fender Play lessons) is that it's difficult to physically stretch my fingers far enough apart to go from, say fret 1 with my pointer finger to fret 3 with my ring finger. Using my pinky finger at this point seems virtually impossible...

Oh yeah, so what was my question again? So, by buying the larger guitar, did I make a mistake with the larger scale, or is this pretty much normal for beginners?

Wayne

 

[Robert]

... it's difficult to physically stretch my fingers far enough apart to go from, say fret 1 with my pointer finger to fret 3 with my ring finger. Using my pinky finger at this point seems virtually impossible...

.... is this pretty much normal for beginners?

Yes.
I've been 'playing' on and off for about 20 years and still struggle with finger stretch.
Keep trying with your pinkie though - it'll slowly get stronger and easier to use.

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

Oh yeah, so what was my question again? So, by buying the larger guitar, did I make a mistake with the larger scale, or is this pretty much normal for beginners?

Wayne

Practice practice practice. Playing a guitar where your fingers are bumping into each other all the time is more annoying than missing a stretch or two. Having said that, you have to deal with the fingers you have. I have friends with long skinny spidery fingers who can get everywhere on a fret board and I will never have those fingers. I play the things I can play, fake what I can get away with and leave the rest to those who can do 'em. That said, if you work at playing for a bit you'll be surprised how far you can stretch and you'll wonder why you ever thought it was a problem. Nothing will come if you don't try.

 

[Wayne]

Someone has to help me understand my obsessive nature here.

• When I got into bicycling, I bought several, then abandoned it after I hurt my knee.
• When I got into Hackintoshes, I built -- I believe -- three. One small box, one by request to sell, and one that I still use as my primary box.
• When I got into button making, I bought professional presses and punches (about $1000 a decade ago).
  
• When I got into pretty much any hobby I've ever had, I jump in both feet spending thousands and thousands of dollars on my latest obsession.

Now that I'm trying to learn how to play guitar, I have a beautiful, perfectly usable Squier Stratocaster, but all I can think about is starting a collection of them. Help me, I'm obsessed!


1) The Gretch G5435

2) The Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro

 

[Wayne]

I should clarify, I haven't bought the three guitars above. They're just pretty, and on my radar...

 

[Robert]

Someone has to help me understand my obsessive nature here.

• When I got into bicycling, I bought several, then abandoned it after I hurt my knee.
• When I got into Hackintoshes, I built -- I believe -- three. One small box, one by request to sell, and one that I still use as my primary box.
• When I got into button making, I bought professional presses and punches (about $1000 a decade ago).
  
• When I got into pretty much any hobby I've ever had, I jump in both feet spending thousands and thousands of dollars on my latest obsession.

Now that I'm trying to learn how to play guitar, I have a beautiful, perfectly usable Squier Stratocaster, but all I can think about is starting a collection of them. Help me, I'm obsessed!


1) The Gretch G5435

2) The Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro

Welcome to the club!
I have over a dozen guitars, a bass, two banjos, two ukuleles, a mandolin and countless other bits of guitar related paraphernalia.
And I can barely play any of them.

That said, I didn't start accumulating them right away. My first guitar was a very cheap Les Paul copy and practice amp which I bought when I turned 18. I barely learned two chords before discovering the joy of two turntables and a bunch of records. I promptly donated that guitar to a family member - never to be seen again - and DJ-ing, coupled with OctaMED, satisfied my creative side for the next ten years or so.
Eventually OctaMED and, more generally, song writing, led me to buy an acoustic guitar when I was around 27 or so. This time I actually learned to play a wee bit and that's when the rest of the collection started to build up.

-EDIT-
So, just to be clear, OctaMED is not only partly-responsible for leading me to this website but also for my absurd collection of noise making equipment.

 

[Wayne]

@Robert

I actually found myself looking at actual "Chibson" guitars today (incredibly cheap, probably illegal Chinese Gibson 1:1 clones for like $200)...

Yeah, they're cheap knockoffs, and yeah, I don't care about the name on the headstock, but some of them are gorgeous and from what I can tell by Youtube reviews, they're worth the price if you don't have the money (or don't want to spend it) on an actual Gibson. Then again, if the Oscar Schmidt OE20 I had bought off Amazon came in and had looked like what I ordered, I'd probably still have it instead of the Squier Strat I have now...

Youtube is replete with people taking $200 Chibsons direct from China, putting Gibson pickups and stuff in them and just being happy with the result... (I'm *NOT* in any way condoning or supporting the sale of Chibsons as bonafide Gibsons... Just pointing out that sometimes, if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, who cares if it's really a goose?)

Wayne

 

[Kesa]

Practice practice practice. Playing a guitar where your fingers are bumping into each other all the time is more annoying than missing a stretch or two. Having said that, you have to deal with the fingers you have. I have friends with long skinny spidery fingers who can get everywhere on a fret board and I will never have those fingers. I play the things I can play, fake what I can get away with and leave the rest to those who can do 'em. That said, if you work at playing for a bit you'll be surprised how far you can stretch and you'll wonder why you ever thought it was a problem. Nothing will come if you don't try.

Maybe you could remove a couple of digits to make room?

 

[Kesa]

@Robert

I actually found myself looking at actual "Chibson" guitars today (incredibly cheap, probably illegal Chinese Gibson 1:1 clones for like $200)...

Yeah, they're cheap knockoffs, and yeah, I don't care about the name on the headstock, but some of them are gorgeous and from what I can tell by Youtube reviews, they're worth the price if you don't have the money (or don't want to spend it) on an actual Gibson. Then again, if the Oscar Schmidt OE20 I had bought off Amazon came in and had looked like what I ordered, I'd probably still have it instead of the Squier Strat I have now...

Youtube is replete with people taking $200 Chibsons direct from China, putting Gibson pickups and stuff in them and just being happy with the result... (I'm *NOT* in any way condoning or supporting the sale of Chibsons as bonafide Gibsons... Just pointing out that sometimes, if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, who cares if it's really a goose?)

Wayne

If guitars are anything like bicycles then all guitars should be pretty much the same. All the worlds bikes are made in only 4 factories. The 4 biggest bike brands (Trek, Giant, Specialized and Cannondale) and most others have their bikes made at the Giant factory at Taiwan. The only difference is marketing. You should dig a little to see where those guitars really come from.

 

[Robert]

If guitars are anything like bicycles then all guitars should be pretty much the same. All the worlds bikes are made in only 4 factories. The 4 biggest bike brands (Trek, Giant, Specialized and Cannondale) and most others have their bikes made at the Giant factory at Taiwan. The only difference is marketing. You should dig a little to see where those guitars really come from.

Yes and no.
I have two nylon strung, classical acoustics - pretty similar to each other but completely different to all the rest.
I have a 12 string acoustic - different from all the rest.
I have two jumbo acoustics, one Tanglewood, one Fender, plus a left-handed Yamaha jumbo. They all sound pretty similar to each other but different from the rest.
etc...

 

[Wayne]

Sorry about the crappy image quality. Turns out my install of Fireworks got killed, so I don't have anything on the mac to size the image correctly, and it seems I used what programs I had SO often that Fireworks (my preferred) got scrapped and I didn't even notice.

That being said, in the short span of what, 3-4 weeks, I've added a new baby to the mix. A Gretsch ProJet seen below.

I told you, someone's gotta stop me. Now all I can think about is buying a DIY Les Paul guitar kit...

Wayne

 

[Robert]

Very nice, Wayne.