Beginner

I have been wanting to play guitar ever since I first heard green day but should I start out with electric or acoustic?? What is a good starting out guitar at a reasonable price? Also, I play clarinet already (boring I know) so am I already a step ahead in learning to play the guitar with the reading music and stuff??

Well, if you buy an acoustic you won't need to buy an amp, which will save you some cash. If you buy an electric you will need an amp and a cable to plug the guitar into the amp. I started on an acoustic and now I have an electric as well. I think starting on an acoustic is better 'cause you focus more on playing. Whereas with an electric you can easliy get sidetracked with tweaking knobs and changing tone and totally forget what you sat down to play in the first place. What's your budget look like?

my budget is like no more then 500....

I would suggest an acoustic. 500 is a nice chunk o change but you will spend that alone on a nice electric. You want to make sure you buy an instrument you won't outgrow after the first year of playing. I think yamaha makes some nice acoustics and I also like alvarez acoustics. The MOST IMPORTANT THING is to go and play some of them at your local shop and see what feels good to you. Different companies build their guitars different. When picking out a new guitar, I always look at the width of the fretboard at the nut. I am 6'3" and have pretty big hands so this makes a big difference for me. Also look at the action also known as string height. This affects playability. Light strings are easier to play than mediums and that might help you too. Also, different brands of strings sound different on an acoustic. I tried a set of Dean Markley strings on my Martin and they killed my tone, so I went back to using Martin SP light strings. Love'em. Anyway, you can get a very nice acoustic for that kind of money, shop around.

Originally Posted by: hagridshut01Also, I play clarinet already (boring I know)

BORING!? Dude, the clarinetist with Fats Waller's jazz group is an inspiration to all musicians.

I used to play the trombone. I can dig the clarinet playin.

I play the nose trumpet! :D

Yea it's alright for some types of music but not for like rock.. lol.. try playing american idiot on it.. sounds so strange.... anyway, is it a good idea to buy a guitar online or is it better to go to a music store?? It's just online all diferent sizes and I'm 5'6 so I don't know what I'd be.

Originally Posted by: hagridshut01Yea it's alright for some types of music but not for like rock.. lol.. try playing american idiot on it.. sounds so strange.... anyway, is it a good idea to buy a guitar online or is it better to go to a music store?? It's just online all diferent sizes and I'm 5'6 so I don't know what I'd be.

You'd get a normal guitar. Don't get a youth size or anything. As far as fret size goes, that's more for technique really. Go to a music store for your first guitar, that way you can at least hold it, haha.

I have bought guitars online before. But I went to my local store and played the brand I wanted. For example, I knew I wanted a Jackson DKMG. I went to the store and played it. I knew I hated the EMG HZ pickups that came with it. New at the store they are like 650. I got one off EBAY for 450 in mint condition. This saved me enough cash to buy the pickups I wanted and I put them in myself which saved me another 50 bucks. ;)