What guitar do you have?

Sweet!!

Roger that.

My buddies (and fraternity brothers) have a band. Second guitarrist has a Strat Plus with lace sensors (neck/mid) and Hot Rails at the bridge. He gets one incredibly sweet sound, clean or dirty. Plus, he has a Marshall half-stack(!)

I'm still pretty far from having my dream amp -- Hiwatt Dr103 with full-stack of Hiwatt cabs.

So until then I'll have to settle with my mix of a Marshall Ministack, and Hiwatt Ministack (which is on its way here).

Impressive!
A mate of mine has a rather enviable collection though, an Epiphone Les Paul, a Strat-esque thing he built himself, a Marshall halfstack, a full PA system, a moderate drum kit, more pedals (all Marshall) than is fun, a Takamine acoustic, and I think I'm leaving out stuff too.

I'm thinkin', with the price of a good floating bridge these days, I might just go for a high end foreign fender. That's not final, though. I'm kind of on a spree of new guitars, I also got offered a barely used Ibanez for 120, and I'm looking into that on saturday.

Do you guys ever play with one pick for so long that the tip gets sharpened to the point where they confiscate it as a lethal weapon at the airport?
................Yeah...neither do I.

No, but I have rounded a standard fender pick down to about half its original size.

i have a red Les Paul Studio and a 15w vox amp. Me and some friends are starting a band this summer, when all this theater stress is over with. I will by a bigger amp then.

At the present time I have no guitar. I have wanted one since I was a young lad but never got one. I've got a two in mind (one is acoustic/electric, and one is just electric. Now these two very fine guitars are not cheap. But from what I have read they are some of the best out there. My wife of course thinks I should go with something cheap first to learn on and then get something that is the "best". Which makes economic sense. But I think it makes sense to learn on a really nice guitar so you can feel and hear the true potential and satisfaction of playing the guitar.
Anywho, my questions to you experienced fret-heads are these.
A) Should I go for a cheap guitar to learn and give up quality,playability, and possibly sound quality?. Or go ahead and buy a top of the line Fender that is proven to be the best in all such fields?
B) What is easier to learn on, an acoustic or an electric? I've heard you get a "truer" sound with acoustic but it's hell on your fingers at first. And with an electric I've heard it's not as rough and painful to your fingers so you can learn easier.
C) And finally, take guitar lessons from an instructor? Or buy one of those DVD's so I can learn on my own in the comfort of my own home?
So any help from you guitar players would be a wonderful help.
Thanks in advance!
~Brian~

it all depends on economy and how badly you want to learn to play etc etc if you ask me.
i started with an acoustic, ad bought myself an electric pretty soon really. just learned some basic chords from this guitar book. Guitar instructor is really really exspensive right?
but, you can't ask questions to a DVD.
i would try to learn all i could at home first, then after beein able to play songs and such go to an intrsutor for a couple hours to get some tips and finesse to the playing.
but, i'm no genious, hehe. haven't played for that long either, and i rarely have time to practise, i want to practise more than i do too.

let's see if i got a pic of my luverly guitar here :p

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If you already know exactly what kind of guitar you want, and can afford it, you might as well go ahead and buy it. No use spending $150.00 on a Squire if you know you want to end up with an American Deluxe Strat.

Electrics are easier to play, (smaller body, thinner neck and lighter strings) so it would be easier to learn on, but you'll probably end up with both anyway. And with an electric, you've got to get an amp.

I think Malkavian's advise is sound for learning the basics and practicing dexterity excercises on your own before seeking the help of a teacher. (from an economic standpoint) There are lots of good books and internet info for learning the basics.

But it's all for naught if you don't Practice Practice Practice.

Thanks for the info and opinions. I've been leaning towards an electric and buying a dvd along with a book. Besides, I just got a catalog with some acoustic/electrics in it and they are pretty expensive! By the way, I've noticed most of you have a Fender of some kind but I have not seen anyone with a 1957 Re-issue (such as Mr. Gilmour). Is there any reason why? Are they harder to play than just the Standard Strat? Just an observation that took me by surprise. I thought more people in here would have one. Anywho, thanks again for your words of wisdom!
~Brian~

It's mainly expense. I would love to have a '57 reissue Strat (and I would actually prefer a three-way pickup switch - I don't dig those 'in-between' tones too much), but they cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000-up.

And my standard Strat is playing a treat right now. And it cost $300 or thereabouts.

And don't worry. I'm sure a '57 reissue would play like butter, as well.

I bought myself the Squire Electric Strat Pak for Christmas. I printed out some of the tabs on this site, and started playing away with Dave. Right now I'm working on Dogs. Maybe not the best way to learn how to play, but I'm working on it. One of you guys should post the tab to Echoes part 1 from Live In Pompei (I would really like that solo part *please*).

Well I've been itching to get a 57' Reissue for a few years now. I was first looking at a candy apple red (like Davids of course). But I think I'm leaning more towards the natural wood look. Not sunburst. Just natural. I've found some nice deals on a few on line. Just haven't had the balls to order it!
~Brian~