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[sYn]
[Moderator] Elitist
Posts: 8374
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 Posted: Sat, 25th Jun 2011 20:09 Post subject: Electric Guitar + iRig |
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I've decided I want to try and learn the guitar in my spare time (what little of it I have). Obviously I don't want to spend huge amounts but equally I don't want some shitty guitar.
I've decided I'm going to grab a iRig for the guitar as I want to be able to play and mess around using headphones.. I'll be playing at night when the kids and missus are in bed and that seems like a decent enough option (plus its pretty cheap!).
Any advice?
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Lutzifer
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[sYn]
[Moderator] Elitist
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| Posted: Sat, 25th Jun 2011 21:19 Post subject: |
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Any better / similar priced options for headphone based device for practising ?
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| Posted: Sat, 25th Jun 2011 21:24 Post subject: |
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Ibanez is good but I don't like their stock pickups...actually I just hate passive pickups period.
I'm a personal fan of ESP/LTD, they'll have something good in your price range, I dunno what shops you can order from so i can't say which to go for.
Something to always keep in mine is a huge deal of the sound quality in ANY guitar is very very based on the pickups in the guitar. So if you were to throw some active seymore duncans or EMG (my favorite) into your guitar it'll sound almost as good as the 239482 dollar guitars.
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| Posted: Sat, 25th Jun 2011 21:28 Post subject: |
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I don't know what a good beginners guitar is, anything that's cheap really a beginner can't go wrong because he doesn't need anything more, I've always played on the expensive ones so I couldn't say.
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Lutzifer
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| Posted: Sat, 25th Jun 2011 21:29 Post subject: |
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i m a Dimarzio fanboy myself when it comes to pickups 
and Syn, no, i doubt you ll find something similarly priced. You can always get a Line6 Pod, a Boss or a Zoom multieffects board (i love the Zoom G7.1ut), but all of those are far more pricey
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| Posted: Sat, 25th Jun 2011 21:32 Post subject: |
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Pickups really depend on the sound you want out of your guitar. EMG are for heavy sound, DiMarzio can give you nice and clear sound, but as a beginner you really don't need to bother that much. If you buy a decent guitar like Lutzi suggested, you'd be good to go imo.
And forget about any irig shit 
You can buy those small Fender amps, they are a bargain these days xD
Or if you have a nice sound card, you can play with GuitarRig, I love that program ^^
"Quantum mechanics is actually, contrary to it's reputation, unbeliveably simple, once you take the physics out."
Scott Aaronson | chiv wrote: | | thats true you know. newton didnt discover gravity. the apple told him about it, and then he killed it. the core was never found. |
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| Posted: Sat, 25th Jun 2011 21:40 Post subject: |
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| Lutzifer wrote: | i m a Dimarzio fanboy myself when it comes to pickups
and Syn, no, i doubt you ll find something similarly priced. You can always get a Line6 Pod, a Boss or a Zoom multieffects board (i love the Zoom G7.1ut), but all of those are far more pricey |
line 6 pods are a lot of fun. I'm a personal fan of the Boss GT series boards though...god I had so much fun with those things. I still like the GT6 the best though |
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Frant
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[sYn]
[Moderator] Elitist
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Lutzifer
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| Posted: Sat, 25th Jun 2011 22:18 Post subject: |
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no, you need a small preamp for PC with guitar-rig as well, which would also set you down the same money as the iRig thingy and guitar rig also costs money (if you dont use a scene version)
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Frant
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| Posted: Sat, 25th Jun 2011 22:22 Post subject: |
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| Lutzifer wrote: | | no, you need a small preamp for PC with guitar-rig as well, which would also set you down the same money as the iRig thingy and guitar rig also costs money (if you dont use a scene version) |
Ah, forgot about that. I have the X-Fi Platinum with the input/output panel which takes a guitar cord.
Then it comes down to quality of the soundcard, if it supports ASIO v1/v2, the latencies etc.. With my old X-Fi Platinum the latency is ~5-6ms, inaudible latency.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!
"The sky was the color of a TV tuned to a dead station" - Neuromancer
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Lutzifer
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| Posted: Sat, 25th Jun 2011 22:30 Post subject: |
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oh yeah, if you have an instrument input already, go for only a guitar and amp sims on the pc!
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[sYn]
[Moderator] Elitist
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Lutzifer
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| Posted: Sat, 25th Jun 2011 23:25 Post subject: |
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no, i meant, the x-fi panel thingy (i think its called i/o drive). If that already has an instrument-in then your fine with only guitar and guitar-cable. You ll only need software amp sims then 
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| Posted: Sat, 25th Jun 2011 23:27 Post subject: |
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All you need is a cable (after you got the guitar ofc xD), guitar rig and asio4all driver. Plug the guitar in the line in and voila!
Works for me great and I don't have sound card
"Quantum mechanics is actually, contrary to it's reputation, unbeliveably simple, once you take the physics out."
Scott Aaronson | chiv wrote: | | thats true you know. newton didnt discover gravity. the apple told him about it, and then he killed it. the core was never found. |
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Lutzifer
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[sYn]
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Frant
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| Posted: Sun, 26th Jun 2011 00:55 Post subject: |
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| Posted: Sun, 26th Jun 2011 08:01 Post subject: |
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Our setup is guitar to computer (amplitude fender) and into headphones.
We use AmpliTube Fender program, I think it was $150 can. We bought it because it came with guitar to computer interface (can't d/l that). It has 100 amp. possibilities or settings. You can take songs off Itures and slow them down without changing the pitch. Really good for figuring songs out.
Fender Strat,, Gibson SG are the guitars.
As far as learning songs and watching chord changes, Youtube is great for that.
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| Posted: Sun, 26th Jun 2011 08:31 Post subject: |
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I meant the sound card that you plug into mb xD 
And thnx for the article  I'm just learning for exam tomorrow experimental techniques in physics, and there is a lot about noises, input/output impedance etc.
"Quantum mechanics is actually, contrary to it's reputation, unbeliveably simple, once you take the physics out."
Scott Aaronson | chiv wrote: | | thats true you know. newton didnt discover gravity. the apple told him about it, and then he killed it. the core was never found. |
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| Posted: Mon, 27th Jun 2011 05:49 Post subject: |
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When I started playing guitar a few years ago I used the tutorials on www.justinguitar.com <- this guy is great at teaching the basics and you will learn a lot.
I have tried a bunch of these amp sims on the computer (ampltitube, guitar rig etc.) using the line-in on my computers integrated sound card (using a 6,3mm->3,5mm adapter) and I have got some pretty good sounds out of them. It's not perfect, though, becasue you can get a lot of noise or some pretty noticable lag. You can probably get rid of these problems by using a proper sound card.
So I didn't really use those amp sims for practice. Instead I used a Roland Cube 30x and that is the amp I reccommend you use. It might not be as portable as iRig+iPad and not have as many sounds, but the sounds it can produce are all great and usable (unlike 80% of the crappy presets on those amp sims) AND you can plug your headphones in it! I used normal headphones so the sound was a little muddy, probably because it is a modeling amp so you really want to use some studio headphones (there are good cheap ones).
If you want more bang for your buck you don't want to buy a cheap beginner guitar from one of the big brands (fender, gibson(epiphone), ibanez etc.). Instead, you should look at brands like J&D (Jack & Danny Brothers) made by one of the biggest OEM manufacturers in China: Yeou Chern. I personally had (and still have) one of their cheapest strat copies and it is still very good, the pickups are the only weak point. Another brand which I have heard a lot of good things about is Agile. Also a brand called "Vintage" is good.
If you don't want to buy one of the unknown brand guitars then you should atleast stay away from the 100-200€ guitars. Buy a Mexican Fender.
My current setup is Avid Eleven Rack -> Studio Headphones or 2 Studio Monitor speakers. I have the previously mentioned J&D strat copy, an EVH Wolfgang special and Korean Les Paul copy (no name, straight from the factory).
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| Posted: Mon, 27th Jun 2011 06:00 Post subject: |
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I tried most of the amp sims, but in the end never really liked how they sound (i used a small tube preamp to connect to my sound card).
I bought a low-gain 4 tube amp, with a Celestion speaker, no-name, built by a guy in my city (it's loosely based on a Fender amp). Along with some effects (Vox wah, MXR Zakk Wylde overdrive and Electroharmonix Metal Muff) it's overall a much better rig than any emulated one.
My guitars fall into the cheap area : a Fender copy (i installed genuine Fender alnico pickups), an Epiphone Les Paul Standard (i installed Seymour Duncan pickups) and a Yamaha (i installed Bill Lawrence pickups). I will buy next year a USA Fender, keep the Epi for my son and give / sell the others.
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juniR
Posts: 1457
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| Posted: Mon, 27th Jun 2011 14:31 Post subject: |
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Learning to play guitar is all about commitment. Plenty of people think all they have to do is like the idea and off they go. Many think it's a case of being shown a bit and they'll get it. It's not - you need to put shitloads of time and effort into it - unless you just wanna pick out a couple of basic things for short term amusement. The more time the faster the results. But in any case they can come so too slow for some and the majority get bored quickly. If it was that easy everybody would play. That doesn't even cover music theory.
I'd advise any beginner to try and see if they can play through their computer - simply cos it saves money but I guess a small practice amp or portable effects unit w/headphones is ok. Just don't spend too much on that part cos if you end up progressing they will become redundant. If you don't then you overspent... and they will NOT make you play any better - only you can do that.
For a beginner the guitar really doesn't matter as long as it has a decent neck and stays in tune. A beginner wouldn't hear or feel the difference with a more expensive instrument but if you're gonna buy it's best to try and get someone who knows a bit and isn't any kind of fanboy to try and get you summat you can use. If you get to the stage where you are starting to feel some limitations with the instrument you can look for something more appropriate. The more you spend on an instrument the more likely you are to get some decent return if you decide to sell and the more expensive ones can even be worth more if you decide to sell. I can't remember how many guitars I've had over the years but I've sold and traded in a fair few. However, I don't really subscribe to spending loads on them... I have done and also customised but in all honesty I pick one up and play it. The action and electronics don't really bother me. There'll be an optimal sound and approach to playing the guitar and I just look for that.
Been playing for maybe 35 years. It's payed my bills for most of that time tho I did have a couple of years when I had to get a proper job. I taught guitar for several years and whilst it was great coaching the more committed students from zero to decent, I despaired of all the lazy bastards (the vast majority) and eventually as live work increased I stopped teaching. I myself have never had a lesson - I just wanted to play when I was a kid and I had the worst acoustic guitar I ever seen for the first few years lol. Other kids had nice shiny electrics and I was so fuckin' jealous but I was the best player... that was my first taste of being a guitar hero lol. I was lucky I never made it big tho cos I woulda disappeared up my own arse with a plethora of narcotics... I doubt I'd have survived.
I actually hate talking about guitars and gear... I seen good players make planks with wire and a shitty speaker sound cosmic and bad players make the most expensive Gibson and Marshall sound like a fuckin' washing machine. The better you are as a player, the better you will make whatever you use sound - that's a fact. I have loads of guitars/equipment but my fundamental choice of loadout these days is a Line 6 Variax 600 with a POD XT for working live (I use more but I can get away with just those if need be). In the house I use whatever guitar and Guitar Rig (X-Fi card). I play keys as well but got rid of most of my hardware when soft synths came along. I lurv all the emulated stuff - the level of choice and control is unsurpassed imo.
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Frant
King's Bounty
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| Posted: Tue, 28th Jun 2011 02:18 Post subject: |
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I was obsessed with the guitar and could not go a single day without playing. I'd just put on a tape of whatever and jam to it, as long as I could play at least an hour a day (mostly several hours) I was happy. There was a sort of obsessiveness to it, I was so hooked on it that I basically learned by doing.
That said, anybody feeling the interest should just go for it and see where it takes you.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!
"The sky was the color of a TV tuned to a dead station" - Neuromancer
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