Of guitars and gender roles

[bitter_sweet_symphony]

OK. After months of consideration, I chose to learn the guitar over the violin. There are many online resources which claim to cover the basics of playing the guitar and after viewing the videos, I had made my decision. The next step was to buy the thing and I asked my friend's boyfriend to accompany me to the guitar store. And he told me that girls shouldn't play guitars and that he'd feel "ashamed" to go with a girl to the guitar store :x I was like WTH? Gave him a piece of my mind right there and then.

I am sick of people who think like this. Women should be "feminine" and men should be "masculine". Some people even advised me against doing my graduation in Computer Engineering, cause it was a "Male" area of expertise!!! :x

Why should someone not be allowed to do take part in activities that interest them just because the activities are "feminine" or "masculine". And what's the argument behind classifying an activity or a musical instrument as "for men"/"for women"?

And now, thanks to this attitude, I don't know how I should go about buying my first guitar. Maybe I should just walk into a guitar store and buy a reasonably priced Gibson or Fender. Most likely, I'll get conned. If only some people didn't have such a narrow viewpoint :sigh.

[MommaSquid]

There are plenty of beautiful, feminine women who play the guitar.  Nancy Wilson of Heart comes to mind.

You don't have to buy from a local guitar store if you feel they will rip you off.  Try different guitars on for size at the store, and then compare prices online.

Happy hunting.

[Whitney]

I never have thought of the guitar as a "guy thing"...it's almost just as common for women to play here as it is for men.  Yet, I get your problem.  At one point I drove a race car for a few nights and that really pissed off some of the backwards rednecks who didn't like a woman racing against them, especially didn't like if I happened to pass one of them.

When you do buy a guitar, go for a cheaper one to start with...around here you can pick up what are casually referred to as starter guitars for around 200 usd.  Most people like electric but I think acoustic is better to start since you don't need an amp.

I started to learn how to play guitar in high school but stopped when I left for college and didn't really have the room to bring my guitar...especially since mine is a good one and i didn't want it stolen.  I've been thinking about getting a cheap one so that if I knock it over it won't be a big deal if the neck breaks...my dad and I already broke one cheap one just from knocking it over (I think that may have been the one I was using to practice...now it's a lamp...)

My career brings me into what has traditionally been a man's field...architecture.  It has just been within the last couple generations that women have been easily accepted in it here.   Still...people assume I'm a guy until they meet or speak with me on the phone because there are a lot more men in the field and my name can be used for both men and women.

[SteveS]

Hey bitter_sweet --- I agree with you, of course, on the sexism issues.  I played clarinet and I'm male: I chose the instrument because I thought it sounded nice.  Yes - the vast majority of clarinet players were female.  I certainly didn't feel non-masculine.  In fact, once I became more sexually aware, I actually appreciated this gender imbalance.  :wink:  

Anyway, on top of my basic objection to this sort of gender-bias, I really don't understand why a guitar would not be considered feminine?  I don't ever remember looking at a woman playing a guitar and thinking "wow - kinda butch to play that guitar".  So - the whole idea is nonsense.

Unfortunately I know next to nothing about guitars, so I can't offer you any specific advice.  In general, I would say if you are just starting, you should go for something good enough to hold and keep your interest but not something "top of the line".  I.e. junk is going to be frustrating - so don't buy junk.  But don't sell the farm for the 'best' guitar either - once you've acquired experience you'll better understand what you're looking for and will be able to make a much better choice on the high-end gear.

[shoruke]

I can understand what you're saying, even though I'm a guy. I play- get ready for this- flute. In a marching band. I'm just saying, it goes both ways, and it sucks for both. One way of looking at is that, when you're a male flautist in a sectional, the girl to guy ratio is higher than 10:1...

[donkeyhoty]

The second most important thing to buy when getting your first guitar is a tuner.

[Squid]

1) Sorry, but your friend's boyfriend is stupid.

2) Girls playing guitar is friggin' hot.

3) As a beginner I wouldn't even worry about going for the Fender Strat or the Gibson Flying V or anything like that.  Don't even pay attention to the name on the headstock at all.  First and foremost, find a guitar that feels comfortable for you to play.  Next would come the overall construction of the guitar - that is the quality of the construction.  Make sure the action (distance between the frets and the strings) isn't high, the strings don't buzz on any fret, the thing keeps tune even after liberal bending.  I'd avoid a locking tremolo for a beginner and actually would recommend ignoring a tremolo all together - if the guitar comes with a trem arm, take it off and put it up for now, forget you even have it.

Look for something with some decent pickups - I'd recommend a single coil, single coil, humbucker configuration for starting out.  Plug it in and see how it sounds on a clean channel - is there any buzzing?  Is there is too much twang (assuming there's no effects being used on the amp itself)?  Then see how each pickup setting sounds eventually working down to the humbuckers - don't forget about the tone knob or knobs.  Play around with it and the sound.  Compare the sound with other guitars and try out different amps.

With an electric guitar, don't forget that the amp can make or break the sound just as easily as the guitar.  I can plug a $4000 Zakk Wylde signature Gibson into a crap amp and it'll sound crappy.  Unfortuantely, it doesn't work the other way around - I can't plug a piece of junk guitar into a kick ass Mesa Boogie and make it sound spectacular, just doesn't work that way.

An alternative to an amp would be to buy something like the Line6 TonePort which uses software on your PC to simulate amps and cabinets and uses a USB interface to plug your guitar into.  I have their older GuitarPort and love it.  I actually haven't played on my Randall amp in a very long time.

If you go to a guitar store like a Guitar Center or something like that I doubt you'll have to worry about getting conned.  It's very different from buying a car or furniture (which is oddly becoming just as painful as trying to get a good deal on a car...very weird).  In most cases the guys and girls that work there are musicians themselves and tend to be extremely helpful to beginners.  I've actually learned a lot from other, more experienced musicians as I was learning by just hanging out, talking and jamming in a guitar store.

When you have some practice time under your belt and start to advance as  a player, then you can begin to worry about things like different effects, amp heads, cabinets, stomp boxes or multieffects processors, standard or locking or double locking tremolo systems et cetera.

Also definitely see if you can get extras thrown in for buying a guitar like straps, picks, maybe even a case.  They usually will if you ask.  And I will give you the best piece of advice I ever received and thing every beginning guitarist should do - buy a metronome and use it all the time.

[SteveS]

Geez Squid ---- I read your post and now I want to buy a guitar!

[Squid]

Hehe, it's great fun going and shopping for a good guitar.  If I was closer to a decent music shop, I'd probably be there all the time trying out every single guitar they had.

[bitter_sweet_symphony]

I can understand what you're saying, even though I'm a guy. I play- get ready for this- flute. In a marching band. I'm just saying, it goes both ways, and it sucks for both. One way of looking at is that, when you're a male flautist in a sectional, the girl to guy ratio is higher than 10:1...

And here the flute is played mostly by men!! I haven't seen ANY girl play the flute, ever! I guess gender stereotyping too is region-specific  :?:

Anyway, on top of my basic objection to this sort of gender-bias, I really don't understand why a guitar would not be considered feminine? I don't ever remember looking at a woman playing a guitar and thinking "wow - kinda butch to play that guitar". So - the whole idea is nonsense.

It is a little different here. Driving a car was considered butch a decade ago! Can anything beat that?

1) Sorry, but your friend's boyfriend is stupid.

2) Girls playing guitar is friggin' hot.

3) As a beginner I wouldn't even worry about going for the Fender Strat or the Gibson Flying V or anything like that. Don't even pay attention to the name on the headstock at all. First and foremost, find a guitar that feels comfortable for you to play. Next would come the overall construction of the guitar - that is the quality of the construction. Make sure the action (distance between the frets and the strings) isn't high, the strings don't buzz on any fret, the thing keeps tune even after liberal bending. I'd avoid a locking tremolo for a beginner and actually would recommend ignoring a tremolo all together - if the guitar comes with a trem arm, take it off and put it up for now, forget you even have it.

Look for something with some decent pickups - I'd recommend a single coil, single coil, humbucker configuration for starting out. Plug it in and see how it sounds on a clean channel - is there any buzzing? Is there is too much twang (assuming there's no effects being used on the amp itself)? Then see how each pickup setting sounds eventually working down to the humbuckers - don't forget about the tone knob or knobs. Play around with it and the sound. Compare the sound with other guitars and try out different amps.

With an electric guitar, don't forget that the amp can make or break the sound just as easily as the guitar. I can plug a $4000 Zakk Wylde signature Gibson into a crap amp and it'll sound crappy. Unfortuantely, it doesn't work the other way around - I can't plug a piece of junk guitar into a kick ass Mesa Boogie and make it sound spectacular, just doesn't work that way.

An alternative to an amp would be to buy something like the Line6 TonePort which uses software on your PC to simulate amps and cabinets and uses a USB interface to plug your guitar into. I have their older GuitarPort and love it. I actually haven't played on my Randall amp in a very long time.

If you go to a guitar store like a Guitar Center or something like that I doubt you'll have to worry about getting conned. It's very different from buying a car or furniture (which is oddly becoming just as painful as trying to get a good deal on a car...very weird). In most cases the guys and girls that work there are musicians themselves and tend to be extremely helpful to beginners. I've actually learned a lot from other, more experienced musicians as I was learning by just hanging out, talking and jamming in a guitar store.

When you have some practice time under your belt and start to advance as a player, then you can begin to worry about things like different effects, amp heads, cabinets, stomp boxes or multieffects processors, standard or locking or double locking tremolo systems et cetera.

Also definitely see if you can get extras thrown in for buying a guitar like straps, picks, maybe even a case. They usually will if you ask. And I will give you the best piece of advice I ever received and thing every beginning guitarist should do - buy a metronome and use it all the time.

THANKS for the tips. I checked out a local guitar store yesterday. There was a huge price difference between electric and acoustic guitars. Acoustic guitars were priced at around 3.5k (in Indian Rs) and electric at 6.5k, without the amp:? The dealer says that I won't get a significant better deal anywhere else. I'll check out a few stores in the city next month and see what I can find... if I can get over the awkwardness of trying out a guitar in the store   Does anyone have a cure?

[Squid]

No problem.  The electric will cost you more since you'll need not only the guitar but an amp or some kind of setup to amplify the guitar itself.  Now, if the price is an issue for you, you can find a good acoustic too and not have to worry about an amp.  Since you're just wanting to learn, an acoustic should be fine.

When I first started playing I played for years on just an acoustic.  I think it helped my technique and kept it from being sloppy - although there is a lot of popular music in which that type of "sloppy" playing is desirable.

Much of what I said about selecting an electric can apply to an acoustic with exceptions - the acoustic won't have a tremolo system or usually won't have pickups (some acoustics are setup to plug into amplifiers called acoustic/electrics).  And believe or not, I actually have seen an acoustic guitar with a tremolo system.

Anyhow, with an acoustic you can get different types of sounds from different body types and wood the guitar is made from.  Right now I wouldn't worry too much about all that and just focus on the basic stuff:

* Check out the action on the neck, are the strings close to the frets without buzzing when they are struck?  If so, good.

* Do all the strings resonate clearly and do not buzz when played openly or when fretted?  If so, good.

* Dreadnought style guitars are the most popular and most affordable:



* Listen to the sound and see if you like it and also does it feel comfortable to play?

* Again, brands really aren't important right now but if you're interested there are some that I have a preference for.  I currently own a Seagull Acoustic (Seagull Coastline Cedar Grand):



Although Seagulls are usually more expensive.

The first guitar picture I posted is a Takamine model and I've never played a guitar of theirs I didn't like.

Ibanez makes a large selection of decent acoustic guitars too.

One option you may want to try is to look around for a guitar at a shop you like and then see if you can snag that same model for less online from Muscian's Friend or Music 123.  I've dealt with both and never had any problems.  I would be weary of eBay and the like when dealing with guitars.  And never forget about those wonderful pawn shop prizes!  My father and I have run across some great deals at pawn shops and they usually just need a good cleaning and minor adjustments to be back in action.  Not to mention you can usually haggle them down on the price.

As for the awkwardness of trying out a guitar as a beginner, don't be shy.  Even the guy in the corner shredding away like there's no tomorrow was where you're at now.  You'll find that most musicians won't heckle you, talk down to you or the like.  We remember being beginners ourselves and often you'll find that someone will be willing to walk up and help you out and may even show you a few licks or two as well.

I remember being in a guitar center in Dallas last year and I ran into a 16 year old kid and his mother.  The kid had only been playing for a year and could already whip out tunes like Ozzy's Crazy Train like he's an old pro.  I sat down for a few minutes with the kid and he showed me some stuff and I showed him some stuff and we jammed for a bit.  No matter how much you know or how long you've been playing - there's always more to learn.

Another thing may be to frequent the guitar shops and get to know the regulars that hang out there (aside from the employees).  They can probably give you some insight into gear, playing tips, places and people to jam with, where to get professional lessons and so on.

Also, if you're going the self-taught, at home route - places like youtube and Google video usually have lots of tutorial guitar videos on them.  Also, explore the internet and look for guitar lesson sites - there's lots of them!

I'm actually psyched myself since I'll be getting a new job that affords me freetime so I can work on playing again - my guitars have been collecting dust the past few months.

[LSchune]

1) Sorry, but your friend's boyfriend is stupid.

2) Girls playing guitar is friggin' hot.

ROFL.

Agreed wholeheartedly.