question.

I've got a question about bending, is it mainly for electric or what? I can't really make the differnce out without my amp plugged into my acoustic guitar.. I thought maye i just might not be pressing hard enough, i'm just afraid to break a string, anyway, any tips would be greatly apperciated.

Bending isn't a specifically electric technique, but it is easier on an electric guitar.

The string tension on your acoustic will be higher and the strings probably a higher gauge - which will make it harder to bend them. Try bending the strings higher up the neck where it's easier.

You can bend strings up a good tone and a half (3 frets) without even worrying about breaking them....

I used to have the same problem starting out untill I saw a video of someone bending the string real far. Turns out thats just how far you have to bend for it to sound a full step up.

Try this out:

Use the 3rd string, 12th fret, which is probably the easiest to bend (kinda hard to control since its easy to bend to far aka sharp) Use your middle finger on the 12th fret, and your index on the 11th for better support. Play the 12th fret, then play the 13th. Then play the 12th and bend untill it sounds exactly the same as the 13th. That is bending a half step. Now do the same, except do it with the 12th and 14th frets. This is bending a full step.

As ren said, electrics are a lot more touchy since its amplified, but it is still highly do-able on an acoustic.

Im in the same boat as you junkie. I can do decent bends on my electric but have a difficult time with my acoustic. What really sucks is I can play that sweet solo intro for Wish You Where Here on electric but sounds bad on my acoustic.

On my guitar, I play a half to a whole step down in tuning, it just makes it so much easier to bend


http://www.rockhousemethod.com/?friend=18879

If you want to know more about bending, I suggest these tutorials.

Bending - Rock
http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=9359

Bending - Country
http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=8843

Bending - Blues
http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=8571&s_id=87

Originally Posted by: J.R.On my guitar, I play a half to a whole step down in tuning, it just makes it so much easier to bend


http://www.rockhousemethod.com/?friend=18879

This may sound stupid, but I don't think I would want to down tune my guitar, because I can't tune my own guitar, I can, but I don't feel confident that I could put it back into tune.

Originally Posted by: GuitarJunkie23This may sound stupid, but I don't think I would want to down tune my guitar, because I can't tune my own guitar, I can, but I don't feel confident that I could put it back into tune.

I used to feel that way too but if you want to gain confidence in something, just keep doing it over and over and over. After a while you'll be able to pick up your guitar and just bring in tune without thinking about it. :)

Is there a way to tell if it's in tune, without something like an eletric tuner?

Originally Posted by: GuitarJunkie23Is there a way to tell if it's in tune, without something like an eletric tuner?

You can tune to C if you have a piano in your house. Other than that, you just learn what it's supposed to sound like and go by ear. The other way, and this is the way I do it, is to tune it off the 5th fret method. All you have to do is get the low E right and you can get the rest. There are lessons here for it. :D

There's a tuner here at GT. http://www.guitartricks.com/tuner/ Also if you wanna just test a string here and there you can match up 5th fret to open on most of the strings (all but the G to B which is 4th fret) as outlined in the beginner's guide http://www.guotartricks.com/guide.php

Thank you both for the help.. I don't have a piano, but the tuner would help if i went out of tune.

I remember in my first years in college I didn't have a tuner, so I used the dial tone of a pay phone lol That was kinda funny standing up in front of the pay phone (inside not outside ... that would have been plain crazy lookin') with people walking by .....

I was told it was an F so I tuned it with the 6th string / 1st fret then tuned the rest by using the fifth fret.

Not sure it's an actual F tho but it was close enough :) Maybe somebody was messing with me but it got me through the year alright.

Originally Posted by: BenoitI remember in my first years in college I didn't have a tuner, so I used the dial tone of a pay phone lol That was kinda funny standing up in front of the pay phone (inside not outside ... that would have been plain crazy lookin') with people walking by .....

I was told it was an F so I tuned it with the 6th string / 1st fret then tuned the rest by using the fifth fret.

Not sure it's an actual F tho but it was close enough :) Maybe somebody was messing with me but it got me through the year alright.

Man that is to cool....

lol, I think that's the craziest way to tune your guitar. I've been using the 5th fret method now.

Originally Posted by: BenoitI remember in my first years in college I didn't have a tuner, so I used the dial tone of a pay phone lol That was kinda funny standing up in front of the pay phone (inside not outside ... that would have been plain crazy lookin') with people walking by .....

I was told it was an F so I tuned it with the 6th string / 1st fret then tuned the rest by using the fifth fret.

Not sure it's an actual F tho but it was close enough :) Maybe somebody was messing with me but it got me through the year alright.

I remember those days. A lot of my friends used the ol' dial tone. I used the intro harmonics Steve Howe of Yes played in the song round-a-bout back then.
You can buy an inexpensive tuning fork if you prefer, but chromatic tuners are easy to use, have multiple uses and are very affordable these days. That's your best bet, imo, if you want to get serious with playing.