Guitar question

[RobC]

As much as I try to convince myself that synthesizers are all I need, this childhood dream of buying a guitar just won't leave me alone.
The instrument preamp on the Focusrite thingy didn't make this feeling any better either.

I mostly liked the sound of a classic acoustic guitar, with that soft sound of nylon strings. However, while I do have a professional microphone setup, and I will acoustically treat the vocal-recording-studio ~ it will still be optimized for just that, vocals. As such, it might not work for an acoustic guitar, I'm affraid. I fear extreme odd room resonances and even some notes cancelling out happening. Unless I'm mistaken, and it wouldn't be that different (acoustically) from a male voice.

Another option, and perhaps more versatile, might be a stratocaster electric guitar. At least I hope that's what has that typical 70's disco sound to it. Think classics like Ma Baker (Boney M), Rapture (Blondie), or The Breaks (Curtis Blow). Where the guitar either had a basic chord progression, or just played a simple chord, pretty much like a supporting melodic and rhythmic element for the given song.
Of course, I also know it can go further with distortion and whatnot.
But I wonder, if it's affected in any way by room acoustics; and if it can be just connected straight to the instriment preamp. No speaker cabinet whatsoever (never liked those, never understood the point of them).
If an electric guitar isn't affected by the room and can go straight into the interface, that would be ideal and can be used anywhere then.
Of course, they are a step more expensive in the beginner price category, than acoustic guitars.

Then there are electric bass guitars - I think I mostly liked the sound of picked bass, which has some high frequency content with that lovely sharp picking sound. Note sure why some don't like that. It adds such nice character.
Questions are same as with electric guitars ~ whether room affects the sound, and if it can be sent straight and clean to an interface?

Bonus question: for a fast learning, hyper-enthusiastic person, how long would it take to learn how to play that guitar part of 'Curtis Blow - The Breaks' for example?

[MrFigg]

Bonus question: for a fast learning, hyper-enthusiastic person, how long would it take to learn how to play that guitar part of 'Curtis Blow - The Breaks' for example?

When one eye is fixed upon the destination, there is only one eye left with which to find the way .
Buy a guitar and remember that money spent in instruments, no matter what they may be, is never money wasted.

[Loque]

Why not start cheap?

Get out your last cigar box, add some rubbers or stirngs with a connetion, add 1 or 2 pickups, connect it to Objekt and let the things get started... And do not forget, that the rubber and strings is optional since you only need an exciter

[Przemyslaw]

I had a similar experience, although it's probably a standard that specialists in one instrument are delighted with others, guitarists with pianists, pianists with guitarists, etc. I started with the piano many years ago, but when I got the hang of the game, then I wanted more, I've always loved the sound of guitars and it annoyed me is that I can't faithfully reproduce their keyboard playing. I had an acoustic guitar but learning to play is a pain for the fingers, unless you put on super thin strings, so I went electric, bought a Fender, fantastic deal, great adventure, I recommend, fun to play. I knew that I would not become a guitarist, but the fact that you open up to the world of music with a different tool is amazing. I recently bought a bass, similar story, amazing thing, it's a pity that there is so little time to learn and practice.

[jfrichards]

For one of the high level guitars, and relatively cheap, I recommend the Squier Classic Vibe 60's or 50's Strat ($430). Stunning sound, perfect playability, well made and precise. It's better than most Fender Strats. One of my songs heavy with a strat:

[Jackjackdaw]

To answer your q about speaker cabs… When it comes to electric guitar they are an essential element of shaping the tone into what you would recognise as an electric guitar. If you plug straight in to the desk you will need an amp/cab sim otherwise your guitar will sound awful.

If you are going acoustic then you don’t need to worry about cabs but you will want a nice preamp and eq.

When it come to how long to learn, it is directly proportional to how much you practice.

[jfrichards]

This is a very good site for NK guitars:
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1101096166

I have an NK and it's great, I use it as much as my Strat.

[motuscott]

For starters you can get a perfectly fine $200 electric (in USA). A friend didn't want to leave one of his good gits at my space and bought a Donner for there. I myself own a $200 electric bass. Mind you, I'm a drummer so take this with a grain of salt

[MrFigg]

To answer your q about speaker cabs… When it comes to electric guitar they are an essential element of shaping the tone into what you would recognise as an electric guitar. If you plug straight in to the desk you will need an amp/cab sim otherwise your guitar will sound awful.

If you are going acoustic then you don’t need to worry about cabs but you will want a nice preamp and eq.

When it come to how long to learn, it is directly proportional to how much you practice.

IR loader

[RobC]

Bonus question: for a fast learning, hyper-enthusiastic person, how long would it take to learn how to play that guitar part of 'Curtis Blow - The Breaks' for example?

When one eye is fixed upon the destination, there is only one eye left with which to find the way .
Buy a guitar and remember that money spent in instruments, no matter what they may be, is never money wasted.

I still better know what I need to have/buy and the costs and what to expect. Otherwise I end up with something that I can't use until I have every tool. That's why I prepare.

[RobC]

Why not start cheap?

Get out your last cigar box, add some rubbers or stirngs with a connetion, add 1 or 2 pickups, connect it to Objekt and let the things get started... And do not forget, that the rubber and strings is optional since you only need an exciter

From the price of objekt, I can get physical instruments though. : )

I did mess around with a plastic string though, between two hands. It had a neat bass sound, and I could play it okay, just by stretching it. x D

[MrFigg]

When one eye is fixed upon the destination, there is only one eye left with which to find the way .
Buy a guitar and remember that money spent in instruments, no matter what they may be, is never money wasted.

I still better know what I need to have/buy and the costs and what to expect. Otherwise I end up with something that I can't use until I have every tool. That's why I prepare.

Harley Benton electric guitars from Thomann are actually pretty good and don’t cost a lot. I had 7 guitars a while back including a ‘54 Hofner and a ‘74 SG. I sold them all and bought a Harley Benton Jazzmaster copy for €120 and it was one of the best guitars I’ve ever had.

[RobC]

I had a similar experience, although it's probably a standard that specialists in one instrument are delighted with others, guitarists with pianists, pianists with guitarists, etc. I started with the piano many years ago, but when I got the hang of the game, then I wanted more, I've always loved the sound of guitars and it annoyed me is that I can't faithfully reproduce their keyboard playing. I had an acoustic guitar but learning to play is a pain for the fingers, unless you put on super thin strings, so I went electric, bought a Fender, fantastic deal, great adventure, I recommend, fun to play. I knew that I would not become a guitarist, but the fact that you open up to the world of music with a different tool is amazing. I recently bought a bass, similar story, amazing thing, it's a pity that there is so little time to learn and practice.

I'd say I'm just a composer on keys, never bothered to learn it like a performer, but MIDI keyboards are more like controllers than a real piano for example.
And yes, the acoustic experience is something I'm after. I never felt music would be complete with either just synthesizers - or acoustic instruments only. Both are needed for me.
Personally, I'd always use a pick to protect fingers. Even if it comes with some compromise.
I think, for music production you still can learn parts and record them until it's as perfect as you like. If everything would be perfect, I'd get all three, too. But for now, my options are limited.

[RobC]

For one of the high level guitars, and relatively cheap, I recommend the Squier Classic Vibe 60's or 50's Strat ($430). Stunning sound, perfect playability, well made and precise. It's better than most Fender Strats. One of my songs heavy with a strat:

I can only spare 150 EUR, so that barely touches the cheapo beginner guitars. x D But yeah, that's probably the stratocaster sound I'm after. Though I'm still more of a sucker for the disco-type rhythmic chords.

[RobC]

To answer your q about speaker cabs… When it comes to electric guitar they are an essential element of shaping the tone into what you would recognise as an electric guitar. If you plug straight in to the desk you will need an amp/cab sim otherwise your guitar will sound awful.

If you are going acoustic then you don’t need to worry about cabs but you will want a nice preamp and eq.

When it come to how long to learn, it is directly proportional to how much you practice.

Ah, I thought that typical disco sound was already just a clean guitar, but I guess it's a "clean" amp sound. But with a simulator, I can just connect a guitar directly to an interface's instrument-in preamp, and it's okay that way?

I have a Rode NT-1 and a Focusrite Scarlett Solo for now. I still wonder if an acoustic guitar's notes would be much louder and have more pure tone than a human voice ~ and as such, what treatment might do for vocals, could be insufficient for a guitar.

Like I said, I'd practice like a rabid maniac. : )

[RobC]

For starters you can get a perfectly fine $200 electric (in USA). A friend didn't want to leave one of his good gits at my space and bought a Donner for there. I myself own a $200 electric bass. Mind you, I'm a drummer so take this with a grain of salt

Depends what we mean by fine : ) ~ it would be great to achieve a professional sound even with something cheapo. Not saying that it has to sound like a million bucks, but I don't want a crappy sound either.

[RobC]

I still better know what I need to have/buy and the costs and what to expect. Otherwise I end up with something that I can't use until I have every tool. That's why I prepare.

Harley Benton electric guitars from Thomann are actually pretty good and don’t cost a lot. I had 7 guitars a while back including a ‘54 Hofner and a ‘74 SG. I sold them all and bought a Harley Benton Jazzmaster copy for €120 and it was one of the best guitars I’ve ever had.

I was looking at that brand and a review said that it's perfect even for a 2nd guitar, so not just beginner. Best of all is that it's available in the city, so I could open the box in place (the ammount of crap that I got from web orders this year, is ridiculous - sure I can send it back, but I wasted at least 7-14 days total on returning faulty things).

[selig]

I’ve mentioned this in other threads before, but as a total non-guitar player I started with a nylon string guitar, the cheapest I could get that actually sounded OK and had a pickup (so I could record direct and add FX). Through an amp sim it actually sounded fairly decent as an electric.

But the point is that you have ‘soft’ fingertips and it takes a while to build calluses, and a nylon string is the easiest and least painful (yes there will be pain) path to learning to actually play. And then I found a used Strat from a friend when I was ready to move up to the next step and just sat with it for a few weeks , pressing on the strings to build up my calluses enough to play. I still have ‘soft fingers’ but can play enough to get a few tracks recorded (and hacked together in the timeline because I can’t play straight through most songs to save my life!).

My purpose was different though, I just wanted a chordal instrument other than keyboards so I could write/compose new tracks with a different feel, since I tend to fall into familiar patterns with my keyboard ‘chops’! Now I have three electric guitars and my partner has 4 (plus two acoustics), and a Vox AC-15 and a simple little pedal board so it’s kinda getting out of hand - I’ve created a monster!

[RobC]

I’ve mentioned this in other threads before, but as a total non-guitar player I started with a nylon string guitar, the cheapest I could get that actually sounded OK and had a pickup (so I could record direct and add FX). Through an amp sim it actually sounded fairly decent as an electric.

But the point is that you have ‘soft’ fingertips and it takes a while to build calluses, and a nylon string is the easiest and least painful (yes there will be pain) path to learning to actually play. And then I found a used Strat from a friend when I was ready to move up to the next step and just sat with it for a few weeks , pressing on the strings to build up my calluses enough to play. I still have ‘soft fingers’ but can play enough to get a few tracks recorded (and hacked together in the timeline because I can’t play straight through most songs to save my life!).

My purpose was different though, I just wanted a chordal instrument other than keyboards so I could write/compose new tracks with a different feel, since I tend to fall into familiar patterns with my keyboard ‘chops’! Now I have three electric guitars and my partner has 4 (plus two acoustics), and a Vox AC-15 and a simple little pedal board so it’s kinda getting out of hand - I’ve created a monster!

Oh my, I looked up the horror it comes with. Here I thought, it would be just the strumming hand that gets injured.
It kind of looks nasty, so I hope I can find a better solution.
Then I saw one musician having a guitar full of blood after his gig.

It's not just instrumentation for me either; I would look for inspiration with it as well. But also learning a bit more about stringed instruments, which is useful knowledge for me, for synthesis.

As for all those instruments, it's great to hear that it's not unusual that I'd like to use multiple instruments with time. Including all kinds of guitars (unless I chicken out due to the fear of pain and damage); but I also like some fancy woodwind instruments (just not for the cheapest 1000 EUR : D at the moment).