This is my first learning log post. It’s called “10%” because I’m told 90% of people learning guitar give up in the first year. I want to be one of the 10% who keep going.
I’m planning on posting around once a week with an update on progress. If I make it to 04-04-27 with consistent practice I will be one happy bunny. Right now that seems a long way off. I wonder if I will make it.
I’ll be using an electric guitar. I have a PSR Student Edition (SE). I have no idea if this is a good guitar or not. To be honest I bought it mostly because I like the look of it. It seems to sounds okay, but I want to learn about whether I need to have it “set-up” or not - I’m sure there are some resources out there somewhere that can help me with this.
To help me learn I have subscribed to Justin’s App and I’ve also bought a Boss Katana Mini-X. My intermediary goals are to learn a bunch of songs and record things as I go along.
I grew up listening to late 70s and early 80s bands, so that’s where most of my influences come from.
Do you mean a PRS? They’re great guitars and should serve you well for a long time. In any case the most important thing is having a guitar that gets you excited to pick it up.
Welcome to JG and your guitar journey, lots of friendly people on here to help and give constructive feedback. On guitar setup, most guitars nowadays are reasonably setup on leaving the factory, PRS are made in Korea and are supposed to have stricter quality controls. One thing to check is string height and neck setup(I’d be surprised if that was out) string height can make a lot of difference to how hard a guitar is to play and learn.
If and when you get to trying to learn solos and do bends and vibrato I would recommend you change to a set of thinner strings 9s, it is very likely your PRS has 10’s, the thinner they are the easier it is.
Follow Justin’s lessons and you will soon be on your way, a bit further in your journey I would also recommend you pick a couple of favourite songs, nothing too complex and try and work out the chords and rhythm from listening to them. Audacity is free software which you can slow them down without changing pitch and try to play along and work it out.
It will train your ear and can be fun. I would also recommend you do Justin’s Practical Music Theory at some point
The best way to learn about the setup of a guitar is to take it to a luthier and asking him what he did and how he did it.
If you have a good luthier, he"ll have no problems with explaining things.
Believe me, one explanation of a luthier is worth a hundred yt videos. (i’ve learned this the hard way).
A prs is a great guitar that deserves the right kind of tlc.
If you’d have a cheap, second hand guitar lying around that you could use for experimentation, you could use that.
Yes I think you’re right. It does feel like I have to press hard, but I’m not sure if this is normal or not at this stage. I think the PRS did come with 10s, yes. 9s sound like a good idea. Lot’s of good tips in your post. Many thanks!
Which strings will have your preference will become clear in time and playing.
I gravitated to 10’s on my electric (D’addario) and 12’ (D’addario) on my accoustics.
And that was after trying different gauges and brands.
Time will tell, don’t you worry.
Welcome to the guitar world in general, and the Justin Guitar community specifically
I started playing in, what feels like, the dark ages and the first guitar I got should have put me off for life! But I kept at it. With the guitar you have (PRS! Very nice) thats you off to a good start.
Follow Justins lessons, and try not to rush it. I have to laugh at myself for saying that! I should take my own advice sometimes
Update 1:
Not a bad start! Thanks so much for all the encouragement—it really helps.
I’ve been working through Justin’s app quite nicely and have managed to put in around three hours of practice this week. Still very early days, of course. To help keep the momentum going, I’ve decided to treat myself to a new guitar pedal every couple of months (assuming I stick with it), but nothing too expensive.
I know absolutely nothing about pedals, and there seem to be endless options out there. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. I’m thinking a nice, warm distortion pedal might be a good place to start?
For some reason, I keep dropping my plectrums—hopefully that improves with time. My fingers are definitely feeling it too, but I’ve managed to learn the D, E, and A chords without too much trouble. The biggest challenge so far, by a mile, is single-finger riffs—they just seem to completely frazzle my brain.
I think the pedal set up depends a lot on what kind of music you want to play, and also what kind of an amp you have. If you are into 70s and 80s rock, you might want to start with an overdrive pedal. I have a Boss BD2 and it’s great—extremely versatile. A lot of people also love Klons. The real things are ridiculously expensive but you can get Klon “klones” across the price spectrum. Another popular overdrive option would be a Tube Screamer.
Another good pedal to get might be reverb, but a lot of amps will have a reverb effect built in. Or you could go for a simple looper, which is a great practice tool!
