just bought my first electric guitar.

[onethatcares]

now how the heck do I play this thing? It's an Agile SG twin humbuckers, two volume, two tone switiches and the standard rhythm, treble three way switch.

I play a bit of acoustic and have always wanted to try sounding like Ozzie or whoever.

What's the secret?

I guess I should get a good amp instead of the first act pos I have presently, Huh?

[arcane1]

1. Congratulations! An amp is definitely the important thing.

If your amp doesn't have a gain knob, try getting a cheap distortion pedal to start yourself off with

[DFW]

2. Definitely get a good amp

The best guitar in the world can't sound like it should with a crappy amp.

I haven't played electric for decades (was turned on to Leo Kottke in the 70s and was hooked forever on the 12 string), but I remember the days well.

[IDemo]

4. If you can play anything like Leo Kottke

you have my greatest respect.

One of my favorites - "Blue Dot"

[DFW]

5. I can play lots of pieces by Kottke

Blue Dot is NOT one of them!

[Scuba]

9. Gonna see Leo in January. Woo hoo!!

[DFW]

11. I'm jealous

He just turned 70 this year. First time I saw him, he was 27. He still has it, too!

[Scuba]

12. I saw him about 15 years ago at the Woodstock Opera House, Woodstock Illinois. Great show.

This time will be at the Sentry Theater in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Really looking forward to it.

https://www.uwsp.edu/urc/news/Pages/Centertainment-LeoKottke15.aspx

[ProfessorGAC]

20. Same Here DFW

I still play a lot if electric but if i'm playing acoustic i'm either playing a Kottke song or trying to noodle around in a Leo style.

Met him once. And, my doctor, when he was a resident at Mayo, was Leo's doctor!

They still exchange christmas cards.

[DFW]

22. I was such a fanatic in earlier times

It wasn't enough to play like him. I even sought out the guy who made his guitars at the time, and had him make about 8 different ones over the years. Amazing instruments, and I kept every one. 6 X 12 strings and 2 X 6 strings. Not only do they sound like no other guitars, they are optical works of art. The guy is an old Serb who now lives in Florida. I met him almost 40 years ago when he had his studio in Escondido, California.

[ProfessorGAC]

24. My Buddy Has One of His Guitars

Bozo (sorry i don't know how to put the inflection symbol over the the 'z').

I knew a guy that also gave Leo a handmade guitar. A doubleneck acoustic. When Leo agreed to endorse Sigma (the Japanese made Martins) they sent the guitar my friend gave Leo to Martin. They sent a letter to my friend to offer him a pretty big chunk of change for the patent he had on the bracing pattern.

A couple years later, Sigma introduced the doubleneck acoustic to the market. My buddy not only got his original back from Leo, but got a freebie from Sigma too.

BTW: He bought(!) a house with the money he got for that patent.

[DFW]

27. Cool story! And as for the punctuation.....

Božo can be correctly spelled with a little effort on most computers. Actually, since he is Serbian, they use the Cyrillic alphabet ( Божо ), but you can find all that stuff on your computer.

Start
All Programs
Accessories
System Tools
Character Map

Select what you want, and hit copy when you're done. Then just Control+V just like pasting anything else.

[ProfessorGAC]

28. You Know. . .

. . .i knew that. I guess i wasn't sure it would work on an internet page. I've had to use greek symbols for mathematical equations in papers and training documents for 3 decades.

I should have figured that out!

Thanks.

[onethatcares]

3. there are a lot of amps out there

I don't want to break the bank but do you think spending 200 at the guitarcenter online for a 40w with modeling will speed up the process?

Also, strings????? it has 10s on it, whatever they are. How does one decide on stringage?

[cemaphonic]

6. For a hobbyist/practice amp, the Roland Microcube is an incredibly great amp for the money

It's only 3w though, so it's not gonna keep up with a drummer, let alone any type of performance situation.

10s are probably a good starting point, especially coming from acoustic playing, but it's mostly up to personal preference. Try a few different gauges over the next couple of months and stick with what seems to work best.

[reddread]

31. +1

Fifty bucks on eBay. Don't mess around. They can do some really nice things.

[clarice]

29. Yes...Fender mustang III highly recommended........

Also, the "action" (closeness of strings to the neck) is VERY important.
Take it to a reputable guitar shop and have them do a 'set up" on the guitar.
They will make the adjustments to make your guitar MUCH more playable. About $30.00

[Juicy_Bellows]

7. Don't get overwhelmed by all of those knobs/switches.

Last edited Sun Dec 27, 2015, 04:00 AM - Edit history (1)

For the most part, I would keep all knobs at 10 and your switches other than the three way switch enabled. Then play with the three way switch - usually ignoring the middle setting. This is a very general rule, your guitar may vary but I think you'll be pleased with this. Limiting your sounds from one of two major changes.

Amps are another story - how much do you want to spend and what are you wanting to play (style and venue? Metal at home, jazz at a bar?)

As far as string gauge the lighter the easier to bend but you may lose slightly on the tone. If you are coming from acoustic you were likely playing on 12 or thereabouts. 9 or 10 as the high e gauge is pretty common and versatile - you probably already noticed chords are a bit easier to pull of on an electric.

I'm happy to bloviate further if you want.



Edit - on any potential future purchases and to those thinking of getting their first electric guitar. If it sounds good unplugged it's going to sound good through an amp. This may sound pretty silly but I can't stress that enough. If you don't yet know how to play and can't bring along a trusted freind that can, have the salesman play unplugged. That way you won't be swayed by fancy amps and fx.

[onethatcares]

8. ahh, I wondered about that

setting the volume and tone knobs at full on and then working through the amp makes sense and I don't have to keep messing with a volume/tone knob while playing. Makes sense.

Amps, I was just hoping to get something with reverb/chorus/and maybe one or two effects. there are a lot of overstock sales right now. I don't gig just play for fun at home but want to go a bit deeper than a 10w vanilla amp and wanted to get away from acoustic for a bit..

Thanks.

btw, the guitar sounded good unplugged and the action is great.

[Juicy_Bellows]

14. Personally for a cheap, versatile tube amp get a Bugera (love the tubes!)

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-BC15-BUGERA/dp/B003LQ2Z8A/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1451246018&sr=1-3&keywords=tube+guitar+amp

This thing is superb for home jamming - you can get excellent fat sounds and clean tones with this little baby.

I reckon you don't want to spend too much so you can't go wrong here!

Hopefully the guitar store near you has one you can try. I am just some schmoe on the internet but if this amp doesn't make you grin ear to ear for the money you spend I'll eat my hat.

Now if you are more interested in something with some built in fx something like a Fender Champion would probably work just fine.

I personally recommend everyone get a tube amp, but some folks like a few bells and whistles and solid state amps have come along way.

Cheers.

[onethatcares]

15. thanks,

just having music come out of my fingers makes me smile, so anything above that is a plus. I'm a novice when it comes to solid state, tube amps and all that. I'm 60 something and like the sound of notes. I have no music background or training, I just like the sound of what comes out/

Wish I would have started a lot earlier, way back when in fact.

[Juicy_Bellows]

16. That is fantastic!

Have fun!

It is a lot of fun to play. May it bring you much happiness!

If you ever have any questions hit me up.

Cheers.

[reddread]

32. keep your tone and volume dialed back a little. especially the tone

A little volume in reserve can be handy and you have to trim the treble with the tone control to find a pleasant sound. Leaving that up to the amp is a mistake. The tone control and capacitor will work together to decide where the happy spot Is just use your Ears!

[Scuba]

10. I love my Fender DSP 2X12 amp. Kick ass, can do everything I want it to.

I string my electric with Ernie Ball 9-42's. Supple, easy to chord which is especially nice with my arthritis (I'm 67).


http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/fender-fm-25-dsp-frontman-combo-amp

[malthaussen]

13. So, you wanna be a rock and roll star...

-- Mal

[GOLGO 13]

17. Thread worthless without pics

Needed for verification purpose of course.

[onethatcares]

19. I'lll post pics

Last edited Mon Dec 28, 2015, 08:24 AM - Edit history (1)

as soon as I can get my wife to show me how. Anyone know how to post pics on this site?

[Joe Shlabotnik]

18. I wouldn't drop a ton of money for your first amp.

I guarantee you, if you are enthusiastic about playing a bit like Ozzie, then you'll succeed, even any cheap amp that has overdrive. Give it try, have fun and then worry about good amps. Your whole perspective might just change after going electric.

[ProfessorGAC]

21. What Joe Said!

There are LOTS of reasonably priced amps with acceptable distortion. Later on, a player may be looking for something more specific in the distortion sound and end up either pedaling up or going higher end tube amp.

But, while i've got a Boogie and a 2 x 12 Marshall, i've also got this nifty little practice amp from Acoustic that has pretty decent distortion and a very nice clear clean tone.

[Iggo]

23. Hundred dollar amp and one of these bad boys...

...and you're in business.

[onethatcares]

25. here's pics

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/pea0l21elja1ogm/AAC9yhBlhP1R8yR1b0pY0hw7a

It's an Agile Valkyrie 624, by Rondo guitars, solid mahogany body with a maple top, set neck, grover die cast tuners and twin humbucker p/u s. The set up is very nice, very very nice. I think I'm going to own this one a long time.

[Throd]

26. Embrace the fact that you're gonna suck for a while and practice, practice, practice...

And don't forget to play it when you're done practicing.

[SeattleVet]

30. Definitely not like Mehdi Sadaghdar

(He does nail the vocals at one point, though!)

Seriously, though - I got a Behringer VT15CD a while ago...goes from *very* clean guitar tone through very heavy distortion. Around $100, but I managed to snag one at Guitar Center when they had them on sale for $49. I really like this little amp.

On the strings, the "10's" refer to the gauge of the high E string. Lighter gauge are easier to bend, but you can lose something in the overall volume and sustain. Most new guitars come strung with somewhat light gauge strings -very good for beginners, easier to fret. Once you develop the calluses and a little finger dexterity try going up a gauge. I usually use 12's (Chrome, flat-wound), but your playing style will help to determine the gauge, string material (there are a LOT of these, each with their own strengths and weaknesses), and type of winding (round, semi-round, or flat).

Good luck - and keep at the practicing!