I live a reasonable distance from a decent guitar store so when I was working in a city today, I took the opportunity to pop in to a huge store and was like a kid in a candy store!
I did speak with one of the staff who was a jolly nice chap as I was going to buy a pedal but they were out of stock. He said I can phone in my order the day before I next visit and get stock from another store for me. Prices were good. All in all, a great place I think.
But today’s visit made me think… I’m not sure I’m going to have the confidence to try a new guitar in-store when I come to buy my next guitar! There were a couple of guys in there trying out various models and they sounded great and were obviously very competent players.
So I think I have a new mid-term goal. No new guitar until I have the confidence and ability to not sound like a complete newbie!
Everyone starts out sounding same, even very competent players. So don’t let being a newbie stop you from playing or buying a guitar in a music store. You may find those very competent player very helpful in making your choose. Not every shredder is a jerk some are actually real people
I can relate to your nerves at the store. I still feel that way because my soloing is really ordinary so when i go I just play rhythm parts of the songs I’m good at.
Yet, your approach of waiting has one side benefit. you’ll focus on getting better with the guitar you have which (unless the guitar is really badly setup) is more likely to improve your skills as compared to buying a new guitar. In my early days of playing I thought i needed a better guitar to improve whereas what I really needed to do was practice a lot more with the guitar I had.
Don’t worry too much about how you sound, while it’s a common anxiety, playing your new guitar as much as possible before buying it is a critical part of choosing the right next guitar. I learned the hard way that a new guitar doesn’t tend to change that much after you buy it (other than the often talked about opening up). I bought a guitar that wasn’t really suited to me because I liked the brand and the looks of it and ended up selling it some time later wishing I’d paid more attention to what wasn’t working before I bought it.
Gosh I really felt like that too. Made more anxious by being a girl!
But actually if you go in there with a bit of a clue and ask for help they are generally pretty good. I had a budget and had made a wish list of guitars I wanted to try and they brought them to me and let me have a go in peace. Then when I thought I’d found one I liked I asked them to play it for me too so I could listen. Of course, they love that .
If you can take a friend too, that always makes it easier.
Sounds like you’ve been havin some fun there. I understand your way of thinking though. A new guitar becomes a reward for all the work your puttin in. You have great will power my friend.
Lookin forward to pictures of the new guitar you’ll be buying next week
You just have to go in a play like you own the place. There’s always a better player and even they were beginners once upon a time.
On the other hand, setting a goal before you buy a new guitar is good motivation. Maybe learn a more complex song or improvise your own riff or two you can play at the store before you allow yourself to buy a new guitar or make that new guitar a reward for meeting said goal.
I used to play a bit and could play Seek and Destroy, Pipeline and Highway to Hell at full speed. All great songs that rip. Very fun to try out new guitars and no one knew those were the only songs I knew.
Just because folk are in the store soloing doesn’t mean you have or its expected of you. Just tell them your new to this game and ask to try something and play some open chords and get a feel for the guitar. Wash rinse repeat. If you wait to get to that “level” or that degree of confidence you’ll still be bricking it, when you jack in at the store and it will fall apart. Just do something simple, no one is going to judge you and if they do, then they are jerks or as Rick indicated possible shredders.
(apologies to our shredding community, I am sure you’re out there somewhere )
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