Blues Guitar for Beginner

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Hi All,

Iā€™m a beginner but really into blues and need some advice on getting a blues guitar to learn to play.
I live in Austria and going to Thomann on Monday to have a look around.

Any suggestions for a beginners blues guitar around the ā‚¬250-ā‚¬500 price range.

I know, itā€™s all subjective but any help will be greatly appreciated

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Just find a guitar youā€™re comfortable playing, thereā€™s no such a thing as a blues guitar, you can play blues on anything. Donā€™t get hung up on what others are playing with or what it looks like. Blues (or any style) is in the fingers, not the guitar.

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@rachelcoles Blues is a broad subject. Are you talking Blues played on an electric guitar like SRV or electic guitar like BB King or acoustic BLue like the old Bluemen from the 20ā€™s - 40ā€™s.
Martin is right you can play Blues on any guitar. SRVā€™s Life By The Drop is played on a 12 string acoustic.

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Hi @purplecat and @stitch

Thank you for replying, I appreciate it.
I have realised itā€™s about what guitar feels comfortable for you and makes you to play every time you see it. I do enjoy a mixture of both BB King and SRV but I know they used different guitars to get their sounds. I suppose at the end of the day, itā€™s all about the sound that I enjoy and produce, not the guitarā€¦

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I think Thomann will sell you a great guitar that will do just about anything and in your price range. Their house brand Harley Benton is very good, I have had them in the past and could not believe the quality for the price.
When people talk about blues, metal, rock etc, the sound is more to do with the stuff you play your guitar through than the guitar itself. A nice digital multi effects pedal will give you all the range of tones you need, or a digital amp with a range of presets. Thomann will definitely be able to help you and demo the products for you as well. Just remember itā€™s going to need a bit of work from yourself if you want to sound like whoever your favourite guitarist is, itā€™s a journey, one you will hopefully enjoy. Look forward to hearing from you on the forum!:+1:

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Hi again Rachel!
I would encourage you to check out Dā€™Angelico guitars. They have 3 different lines with their Premier line the most affordable. I have 2 Dā€™Angelico guitars and absolutely love both of them!

Also, I purchased a Katana 50w amp on Justinā€™s recommendation & enjoy the Blues tones I get from it a lot!

Good luck shopping!!!

Tod

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Hi Rachel!

Exciting! A question, do you go to their main (only?) store near Nuremberg, in Burgebrach-Treppendorf, or does Thomann have a store in Austria also?
A couple of thoughts.

  • I highly suggest to come a bit prepared. At home I would create a shortlist of guitars that fit the body shape you want, the look, the price range, etc. This will help that you donā€™t feel overwhelmed with their huuuge amount of guitars they have there.
  • If you find a guitar and want to take it home then you can ask them to do a ā€œsetupā€. They donā€™t have that on their official pricelist or website. And most likely their staff will not proactively offer it to you. You have to (and should) ask them for that. Adjusting the string action of the guitar they might do for free even. A full inspection they call ā€œGitarre QS Serviceā€. This includes hardware- and electronics check and adjustments, fretboard rounding and other improvements of the playability and costs 45ā‚¬.
  • Their return policy also applies when you buy in the shop. They call it 30 Day Money Back Guarantee, so I recommend to take the packing material home.
  • At their headquarter in Burgebrach: If a guitar you are specificly interested in, is not in their shop, then you can just go to the desk and ask them to get it for you from their storage. That takes 60-90 minutes and no committments need to be made.
  • At their headquarter in Burgebrach they also have a nice cantine and serve (not only) warm food from noon to 6 p.m. or so. They call it their ā€œt.kitchenā€ :smiley:

Wishing you an awesome day at Thomann!!! :guitar: :smiley:
Franz

P.S.: their website lists more than 1000 choices. Can you narrow down your preferences already? Electric or acoustic? Body shape? Solidbody or (semi-)hollowbody?

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BB plays hollow body es-335/330 style guitars with dual humbuckers

SRV is famous for playing a strat with 3 single coils.

Which only goes to show its not about the guitar!

I would avoid anything focused towards metal/math metal etc, 7 strings, high output pickups

Other than that a telecaster/les paul/hollow body/strat style guitar whatever you like the feel of.

Probably the most versatile kind of guitar would be something like JGā€™s strat with a humbucker, a single coil and a p90 (or a HSS strat) or something with splitable humbucker

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Basically any of these would be ok, take a look through them when you go there - donā€™t buy anything unless it asks you to! You will know when you find the right one for you!

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Hi @franzek,

Iā€™m going to the main store in Treppendorf, no store in Austria. Think the best way to purchase a guitar is to try them out first.
Have got my shortlist of guitars I want to have a look at, but going to take my time and make sure the right guitar calls my name :slightly_smiling_face:

Looking forward to the experience.

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I fully agree with the comments about the model of instrument not being what is important in playing blues. sure, adjust your purchase for what you like, but the field is very open!

Folks have been aiming the replies toward electric, but maybe you are looking at acoustic? There are a lot of options there too. if you look that way, watch for body size that is uncomfortable, sharp edges that you find yourself trying to adjust away, that kind of thing. You can find people playing all sorts of sizes from dreadnaught to parlor. You can kind of start with a timbre you like and then test out stuff in that size. shape will make a difference as well. I hear it in the bass resonance.

Donā€™t get caught up in the thought of being a beginner needs a cheap (ā€˜beginnerā€™) instrument. That is a mindset geared more toward a person not sure if they want to learn, so they are sold something that saves money if they quit. If you know you want to learn, be sure to get something generally considered good quality and the experience of playing will be better for you from the start.

If you canā€™t play anything, ask the salesman to play it a bit for you to hear. Better if you get someone who has good experience with your playing goals. Ask them what they like and dislike about the instrument compared to others you are looking at. If you are really new to playing, you wonā€™t have any baseline and will probably want some comparison help from someone who can give it to you. Hopefully they are not too biased.

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If youā€™re planning on getting an Electric Guitar does that budget include amplifier or do you already have an amplifier?

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Hi All,

An update on my guitar purchaseā€¦

Thank you all for the suggestions and comments. I visited Thomann in Germany today and after having a few selected guitars played, I decided on the following guitar.

A PRS McCarty 594 SE, I just fell in love with the sounds of the guitar. I got it in the Tobacco Sunburst colour. It came with a padded PRS gig bag. Iā€™ll also receive a Gift Pack which includes a strap, instrument cable, extra strings, portable headstock tuner and picks (all PRS)

The build quality is exceptional.

The service from Thomann was excellent, they checked the guitar over after my purchase, including lowering the strings and tuning it, checked all the humbuckers and pickups where working correctly and plus a sound check.

I did look at some Epiphones, Fenders and Gretsch etc. but the PRS had everything I was looking for.

So onwards and upwards towards been a great guitar player :grinning:

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Congrats! Thats a gorgeous guitar! Pics?

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It must have been quite a journey for you. Iā€™m glad you have been successful! Wishing you lots of fun with your new guitar! :smiley: :guitar:

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A fine choice. I really like my PRS. Mine is marketed more for metal, but I can set the amp clean and get a very pretty almost acoustic sound. Enjoy your new guitar!

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Happy NGD Rachel !
:sunglasses:

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Hello Rachel :smiley:

So many choices ā€¦ and youā€™ve found the perfect guitar for you :+1:

Congratulations :four_leaf_clover: :bouquet:
This really is a beautiful one. Such a nice colour - and I love these birds on the fretboard.
The guitar reminds me a bit of the one Justin/Nitsuj had played for his left-handed practice in Grade 2. Is it the same model?

Have lots of fun with your new six-string-mate :smiley: :guitar:

Cheers
Gunhild :lady_beetle:

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Hi Rachel,
Happy NGD :sunglasses: :partying_face:

I think because without photos it didnā€™t happen :roll_eyes: :wink:

Greetings :guitar:

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Due to requests to see my new guitar, ā€œproof of purchase :rofl:ā€
Please see attached photoā€™s and definitely loving it.

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