Sound: The sound is excellent. It sounds alot louder than it looks. Once again, I recommend changing the strings to fit what you want. The factory stock strings sound great out of the box, but wear very easily and it wont be long until you start to get pretty severe buzzing. Great for playing Classic Rock like Beatles and Led Zeppelin.
Action, Fit & Finish: For it’s price, I don’t think this could’ve gotten any better. The spacing between the strings and frets is fairly even from the nut all the way to the body. The only problem I have is when I got from the house in Lake Havasu, Az to the house in Orange, Ca. Going from the dry to moist climate started to make the strings buzz on the frets. But switching to Medium gauge strings from Light seems to have fixed that.
Reliability & Durability: This guitar would be awesome for playing on a street corner or small live performances. I wouldn’t use it for anything bigger than that. The strap buttons are more solid than any electric I’ve ever owned. So there’s no fear of dropping it when strapped to my back. So far, I’ve owned it for a little less than a year and it hasn’t disappointed yet.
Impression: I play a pretty wide range of styles from Psychedelic, British Invasion, Progressive Rock, Alternative. This guitar has been pretty good for my needs. For it’s price, I would definitely buy this again. The only problem I have with it is it has no cutaway for the top 7 frets. But I never go up there on Acoustic anyway, so it’s fine.
This guitar was featured in our how to pick your first guitar article
Takamine Guitars are crafted from the finest handpicked tonewoods, hand-crafted by expert luthiers, all providing players with an unmatched excellence and surprising affordability. Play one today and you’ll play one for a lifetime.
This guitar was featured in our how to pick your first guitar article
Firstly, there are so many guitars out there, guitars like: acoustics, electric, bass, steel and so many others. Unfortunately, not all of these are good for the average beginner if not all.
It would be very easy for a rock fan for example, to go out and buy an electric guitar. From that point of view, it makes complete sense for a rock fan that wants to learn to play, to go out and get the guitar they see rock stars playing.
But if one is serious about playing the guitar, it would be in their best interest to get a guitar that is suitable for their playing level; especially if they are novices. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that the acoustic is the only one a beginner can play; it is just the easiest one to learn with.
So now you know that you need an acoustic guitar, but you are still left with the frustrating ordeal of finding the right deal, store, brand or particular model. Sounds like hard work doesn’t it, I know it does. Fortunately for you, it won’t be, since you will know exactly what you will be doing.
Before you start searching for your first guitar, you have to know what you are looking for. Most popular models are: Seagull S6, Yamaha F310, Takamine G-440, Fender DG-8, Epiphone DR-100 and many lovely models. At this point I think I should tell you something.
Since you are a rookie, and yet you want to become the ultimate guitarist, it would be wise to go with a reputable company. The reason for this is straight forward; since you are just starting out, you do not want to experiment with bad guitars as that would be detrimental.
The brands to go for are: Yamaha, Ibanez, Fender, Gibson, Ovation, Martin and Taylor (though there are others, these ones are among the top ones).
Now we know what kind, model and brand of guitar to buy. The only thing that we have left is to figure out how much and where to buy. Spend the most that you can afford, you can get a good guitar for $250 to $500. Like I said before, you need to get a good guitar if you are to have the experience you want from guitar playing.
Honestly, for a beginner, I suggest staying away from the internet, unless you know what you are doing. A music store is the best bet for you. In a music store you can negotiate with the sales person to give you a discount; you can play the guitar and get a feel of it; you can examine it thoroughly making sure that the gluing is not sloppy.
You can play on all the frets as loud as you can making sure there is no buzz sound and so many other things.
See more of this guitar click here
Winner of several awards, the S6 is the instrument that best represents the Seagull philosophy. The S6 is affordable and gives entry-level players the opportunity to experience the great feel and superb sound provided by a hand-finished neck, solid cedar top and genuine lacquer finish. Gorgeous domestic wild cherry back and sides provide a unique tone between the warmth of mahogany with the crisp definition of maple. The silver leaf maple neck on a shorter 24.84″ scale with a rosewood fretboard is easy on the fingers, while specially aligned machine heads make for quick, stable tuning.
Features:
- Wild cherry back and sides
- Rosewood fingerboard and bridge
- Tusq nut and compensated saddle
- Semi-gloss lacquer finish
Warm Appearance and Sound
The S6 has a solid cedar top with beautiful wild cherry sides and back, finished in a semi-gloss lacquer. The saddle and bridge are both made of rosewood. With a sound that lands somewhere between the mellow tone of mahogany and the bright ring of maple, wild cherry has gives an excellent tone to guitars. Because of the mix of cedar and cherry wood, both the sound and appearance is warm, dark, and full.
Solid cedar top is joined with wild cherry sides and back for a warm sound and appearance.
Reverse Headstock
Each Seagull neck starts out as a single piece of mahogany or Silver Leaf maple. The wood is cut at a 45 degree angle after which the top piece–the Headstock–is glued back on with the grain reversed. This is an essential step in the Seagull process for creating incredibly stable necks.
Tuning Made Easy
You may have wondered why it is that even after you have carefully tuned each string, it is often necessary to go back and make further adjustments on a few of the strings. This is because the neck moves slightly as you change the tension of the strings. Therefore you don’t just tune the strings, you “balance” the neck at the same time. The tapered headstock on Seagull guitars provides straight string pull, which minimizes the neck twisting effect. This ensures that it will be easier to get your guitar in tune and keep it that way. This is particularly advantageous for the growing ranks of players who use open tunings.
The Seagull Neck
Neck crafting is an art and the luthiers who sand each Seagull neck to our exacting specifications take their art very seriously. Comfort, sound, and stability are the three key ingredients that Seagull aims for in a guitar neck. Comfort is especially important these days because acoustic players are playing all over the neck–not just open chords below the third fret. A slim, comfortable neck not only accommodates playing all over the neck but also reduces fatigue. On the other hand, the vibration of the neck is an important contributor to the sound of the guitar and if the neck is too slim the guitar will suffer in the sound department.
Features a tapered headstock, which minimizes neck twisting and makes it easier to keep your guitar in tune.
Double Action Truss System
Most guitars employ an adjustable metal rod inside the neck called a truss rod. The truss rod is typically used to straighten the neck when it becomes slightly bowed from string tension and changes in humidity. In the event of a neck becoming back-bowed, the traditional fix is to loosen the truss rod and allow the string tension to pull the neck back to its ideal form. Unfortunately this doesn’t always work which is why we adapted a new double-action truss rod in Seagull necks. The new rod bends in both directions, which provides unprecedented control over the neck whether it is under-bowed or over-bowed.
The Heel
Did you ever notice that a guitar that sounds perfectly in tune needs to be re-tuned slightly when passed from one player to another? This has to do with the fact that different players place varying amounts of weight and pressure on the neck and this affects tuning. Years ago we discovered that this problem could be alleviated by inserting maple dowels through the heel of the neck. This reinforcement makes the neck several times stronger.
Neck Pitch
In order to enjoy all of the advantages of a well-crafted neck, a great deal of care must be given when joining it to the guitar body. The angle of a guitar’s neck attachment–often called “neck pitch”–plays a crucial role in the instrument’s tone. Simply put; if the neck is too far back, the guitar will lose its bass and sound tinny. On the other hand, if the neck angle is too far forward, the guitar will lose its high frequency response and sound muddy. The Seagull neck attachment system insures consistent neck pitch. It also produces the added advantage of a superior neck/body energy transfer because the neck is attached to the body with a clean wood-to-wood connection. There is no glue to impede the vibration between the heel of the neck and the guitars body.
Compensated Seagull Saddle
Seagull guitars feature Tusq nuts and saddles. The fully compensated saddle helps Seagull guitars to play beautifully in-tune all over the neck. See more of this guitar click here
This guitar was featured in our how to pick your first guitar article
by robert coute on November 27, 2010
One of Fenders most popular acoustic guitar package, the DG-8 S features a dreadnought acoustic guitar with a solid spruce top, gig bag, chromatic electronic tuner, instructional DVD, strings, picks and strap. A quality starter pack with everything you need that’ll have you playing in no time. See more of this guitar click here
This guitar was featured in our how to pick your first guitar article
If you’ve been meaning to learn the guitar, this would be the perfect solution for you. Miso Music has some exciting features, which seperate it from any other guitar learning app out there. This looks like one of the best guitar training applications we’ve seen.
Miso Music just won the People’s Choice Award at TechCrunch Disrupt, after receiving the most votes from conference attendees from 2010.
This application might just be the best guitar teacher the ipad and iphone have ever seen!
First, you choose a song; Miso has licensed music from Sony/ATV, which gives them rights to include music from The Beatles, Justin Bieber, Carrie Underwood, and more. After picking a song, you’ll see a bunch of colorful dots scroll across the screen representing each note you’re supposed to play.
Another great feature which got me excited; Miso will actually listen to what you’re playing.
Every time you pluck a string, Miso will use its polyphonic note detection to hear what you’ve played — play the right note and the tab appearing on the screen will scroll a bit, which means you can keep playing continuously without having to turn the page. This really is the highlight of the app, and it’s what separates it from other guitar learning apps.
The application also includes a bunch of virtual instruments, the sounds of which have been licensed from Fender guitars.
Main Features
- Specifically designed for the iPad iPhone platforms!
- Choose from 6 different types of instruments.
- Vibrato, hammer-ons / pull-offs, harmonics the ability to capo frets.
- Use polyphonic note detection software that uses the device’s built-in microphone to determine if the correct notes are being played.
- Includes a strobe tuner accurate enough to tune a drum set!
You can download misoMusic for FREE starting in October. Get ready to Pick, Pluck, Play, and learn to play the guitar today.
One of the most common topics I get questions about is how to play F barre (or bar) chords. This chord seems to trouble just about every guitar learner at some time.
Bar chords are difficult and usually take some time to master. And it’s unfortunate that F both one of the most difficult bar chords to play and often one of the first that players attempt to learn.
It’s far easier to start learning bar chords further up the neck. Using the same shape as F you could play an A major at the fifth fret or C major at the eighth fret with less difficulty.
An Easy F Chord With No Barre
But for those of you that just have to play an F chord, here are two positions you can use to play an easy F chord with no barre.
The first requires only three fingers but includes all the notes of the F major chord – the root (F), major third (A) and fifth (C).
x|---|---|---|
5 |-1-|---|---|
3 |---|-2-|---|
R |---|---|-3-|
x|---|---|---|
x|---|---|---|
Play this one with your first finger at the first fret of the 2nd string. Lean the finger down slightly so it mutes the first string. If you don’t mute this string the extra note will make an F major 7 chord. This can fit in some situations but will sound strange in others. Let your ears guide you and if in doubt mute this note out.
Another Easy F Chord With No Barre
The second position shown below is almost identical but adds an additional fifth (C) note in the bass. In this formation your second, third and fourth fingers are in the same position as they would be if you played an F barre chord – it’s a good way to train for it.
x|---|---|---|
5 |-1-|---|---|
3 |---|-2-|---|
R |---|---|-4-|
5 |---|---|-3-|
x|---|---|---|
If you haven’t yet mastered the F barre chord then these two easy F chords with no barre should come in handy.
Keep in mind that there is always more than one way to achieve your goal on the guitar. Learn how chords and scales are created and get to know your fretboard well and you’ll be able to find lots of alternatives to help you solve all your guitar playing problems.
Jam tracks are a wonderful tool to learn guitar with. Jam tracks train you to play in time, show up wrong notes in your licks and solos, and make practice a lot more fun. It’s easy to find a wealth of great jam tracks recorded by professional musicians in many different musical styles. But while these high-quality tracks are a valuable resource, don’t neglect the power of simple jam tracks you can record for yourself with your guitar.
When you make your own jam tracks you’ll oblige yourself to pay attention to the timing of your rhythm guitar playing. Guitar players who play on their own a lot might not notice if their timing varies. But when you try to play along to your rhythm track you’ll quickly notice timing problems so you can fix them.
Timing is not the only thing we sometimes get a little lazy about. How often do you make the effort to play a song all the way through without any mistakes? Playing all the way through a three or four minute song on your own is a great way to build endurance and concentration (provided you don’t cheat with a looper).
Finally, if you spend much of your practice time soloing over backing tracks you could probably use some extra work on your chord skills. If you have to play a rhythm backing for three or four minutes you’ll soon notice gaps in this area. You’ll be dying to learn some new chord shapes and picking skills so your next backing won’t be so embarrassingly boring.
Let me summarize my three reasons for recording my own backing tracks, at least some of the time.
1. It improves my rhythm guitar timing.
2. It builds endurance and concentration.
3. I learn interesting new chords and accompaniment techniques.
