[Edo]

Hi..

First of all sorry about my bad english..

Well i would love to start playing guitar (metal).. And over the past few days i have spent hours and hours of reading, and its not easy.. I will hijack my friends cheep guitar just to see if its anything for me.. And if i like it i will buy a better guitar and a good amp..
I know little about guitars in general.. And i have spent a lot of time looking at different brands and models, and there are many to chose from..
and there are two guitars that i find interesting..

Ibanez MTM-2 (Mick Thompson sig.), its not cause its a signature guitar, but i just like the looks price and the way it plays (youtube ) and the Ibanez RGT6EXFX.. Now these to guitars are basicly the same guitar.. They are made from same wood types and all.. The MTM-2 is cheaper then the other one and i guss its because of the pickups.. MTM2 has (V7 (H) neck pu) and (V8 (H) bridge pu).. The RGT6EXFX has (EMG® 85 (H) neck pu) and (EMG® 81 (H) bridge pu)..
Like i said i have spent a lot of time rading and many people say good things about the EMG PUs..

Now cause i havent played guitar befor and dont want to sepnd way to much on my first guitar.. so ofc i am more interested in the MTM2.. But i have a few problems with that guitar.. First is the pickups are they any good compared to the EMGs.. Also the guitar is factory tuned Drop D..

questions..

1: What Pickups would you recomend..

2: the factory tuning.. MTM is drop D.. and when youre new isnt that a bad thing? (from reading i assumed that "High E - B - G - D - A - Low E" is the standard tuning (no idea if thats true or whats thats called)).. Well the question is can you learn to play the guitar as a beginner with Drop D tuning.. Or would it all sound bad to an untrained ear, and make it harder to learn playing..?

3: How to lear playing.. many recomend the "Selfthought" technique.. But where to start..? I found a guide for 29$ that sounds great, and if it doesent work, well 29$ is something i can gamble on that .. But lets say it doesent work, what would you recomend?

4: (This is if the 2 ibonez guitars blow ) As you know i dont know anything about gutars, i just scratched the surface.. and i need some in debth hardware theory.. Just to learn about all bridges, pickups, woods, etc.. Could you point me in the right direction.. and please recoment some other guitars i am open for anything, dont know there is just someting about Ibonez when i look at them..

5: Amps.. well whats good..? What do i need to look for when i buy an amp??


I am from Denmark so buying a used guitar is not that easy, there are not many out there for sale.. and importing one is gonna end up costing me as much as buying a new guitar..

Thanks.. Hope it wasnt to painfull to read this

 

[El CHupacabra]

Alright, seeing as you're being thorough I'll give you all I know that is relevant.

Warning:: Don't try this all at once. Go slowly or get a teacher. Pace yourself and PLAY the guitar. Don't work on the guitar.::You can Google all of these terms and you'll find some good helpful stuff.:: Warning

First all, standard tuning is EADGBE (low to high) and you'd best start off with that. Even if you never use open chords again in your life you should learn them, they're often the basis of riffs and licks in many styles.

After you've learned your open chords move on to Bar Chords and then you can do the power chord, which are more commonly used in your genre of music.

I'd hold off on learning Drop D until you feel comfortable with chording in standard, cause starting in Drop D i've found leads to laziness w/ chords, because in Drop D you just need to put one finger across the 3 lower strings to make a chord, and you should learn the standard way first.

After your first chords you should look at scales, they're essential for soloing and metal style.

Start with the full major and minor scales, learn them in different positions and keys, and then move on to easier scales like the Pentatonic.

WHATS THE DIFFERENCE? Full scales have 7 different notes in them going up (for instance the C Major goes C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C) while the pentatonic has 5 (for instance the C Major Pentatonic has C -D-E-G-A-C) for playing convenience.

One thing to Google would be Guitar Tab, which is essentially this::
E-----------------
b-----------------
g-----------------
d-----------------
a-----------------
E--0-3-5-7-10-12

The number corresponds to the fret you hold down on the string. right here is an E Minor Scale written out all on the big E string.

ON BUYING: I wouldn't recommend buying more than $300 worth of gear as a starter. Go into a guitar store and ask for the cheaper guitars and you might be able to find something that fits your price range. Don't become too enamored with one particular guitar, because it may not be what you're looking for or it may not be in your price range. And it may not work out like you wished. I originally intended to buy a hollow-body electric for my first guitar and instead ended up with a pretty nice acoustic that got me going.
For a beginner, DO NOT BUY ONLINE. Make sure that your first guitar fits like a comfy glove because you're going to be stuck with it for a while, and you can't really get an impression from online (at least this early on). And this early on you shouldn't be worrying about modifying pickups or anything or going on what other people say, they have their own opinions and biases, and may not be helpful in finding YOUR guitar. Just find something that works for you and get an OK amp, but i'd advise against a 15 watt, that just doesn't cut it for me, and for the aspiring metal student It probably won't either. Again, go to a store w/ a budget and a mind open to different guitars and amps and ask clerks for help. Explain yourself, and if they can't help you don't buy from there. In my experience chain stores like Guitar Center have knowledgeable staff and can help you find what you need, that may be a place to start,

Always remember, PLAY The guitar, don't WORK the guitar.

 

[meriwether683]

The only thing anyone ever taught me is how to read tabs, then I went from there.

www.ultimate-guitar.com

^this site became my best friend, because it has almost every song.

as far as the guitar itself, go to a music store, play some in the store, because nothing will tell you which one is right for you, better than playing it yourself.

And learn how to tune your guitar, or play it out of tune, cause if it's anything like mine, the strings will not stay in tune long.