Electric Guitar to get into Blues?

[RockyRacc00n]

I want to learn blues and I want to follow this lesson from JustinGuitar

https://www.justinguitar.com/en/BL-4...LeadGuitar.php

He uses an electronic and I see that there is a lot of bending.

I tried with one of my dreadnaught acoustics which has mediums and it’s pretty hard. Not sure how much of that difficulty is due to me just getting started.

I was thinking about stringing up my other dreadnaught with lights but not sure if that will make it any easier. So was wondering if it would be better to get an electric.

I’ve always wanted to get into playing an electric guitar but never had a reason to get one since I mostly play to accompany my singing and I can do that fine with my acoustics. But I got interested in blues recently and want to try it.

Any advice from you guys would be appreciated.

[mr. beaumont]

If you're getting into electric style blues, with all the bending, it's a great excuse to have an electric guitar. You might start with .09's or .010 gauge strings, although you'll hear stories of some bluesmen using heavier strings...but no need to hurt yourself when starting out.

As for guitars, a good Strat or Tele will be perfect. You can get Squiers at pretty low prices to get started, if you can afford a bit more, Squier's "Classic Vibe" series are just great, as are the Made in Mexico Fenders.

[skitoolong]

Originally Posted by RockyRacc00n

I want to learn blues and I want to follow this lesson from JustinGuitar

https://www.justinguitar.com/en/BL-4...LeadGuitar.php

He uses an electronic and I see that there is a lot of bending.

I tried with one of my dreadnaught acoustics which has mediums and it’s pretty hard. Not sure how much of that difficulty is due to me just getting started.

I was thinking about stringing up my other dreadnaught with lights but not sure if that will make it any easier. So was wondering if it would be better to get an electric.

......

I can only tell you what I did.

I've just started learning lead this year. While it certainly can work on the acoustic, I chose to get an electric because it's so much easier on my hands. I'm 56 and found that during the first couple of months doing drills/scales/etc my joints were getting pretty sore.

I didn't want to get some kind of a use injury while putting in "hours" getting some muscle memory built up so I chose to take the easy way out and do that on an electric. I've been starting to move the skills over to acoustic, but the bulk of my "work" is on electric. The tone bends with the wound G string on my acoustics are pretty tough sledding right now.

[jfitz81]

Trying to bend a full step (or more) is very difficult for me on an acoustic (I use mediums), and darn-near impossible on anything but my high E. Switching to lights might help, as would moving higher on the fretboard, but I think the short answer is that yes, you'll have an easier time bending strings on an electric guitar. You can work around it and sound great, but I wouldn't expect to start playing Albert King licks on an acoustic.

By itself, string-bending wouldn't prompt me to get a new guitar. But if you're wanting to play electrified blues, then go for it!

[51 Relic]

Depends what style of tone you are after . One school is the Les Paul camp i.e. A Les Paul a valve amp and a good overdrive pedal . Or the Strat / Tele camp 1 60s style Strat or 50s Tele and a Fender amp with a low gain overdrive .

Good luck

[1neeto]

Strat on the neck pickup + overdrive pedal = blues bliss. Start with 9’s if you wanna get into aggressive bending.

[RockyRacc00n]

Thanks. I’m going to look into electrics. But I have no idea what you guys are talking about as far as equipment and what not... pedal, gain, overdrive, etc.

One of the reasons why I stayed away from electrics because there seems to be so many things to consider, unlike an acoustic which is very simple. It’s just you and the hollow wood. Heck. I don’t even plug in when I play my acoustics so all this is very foreign to me.

So how should I start my research? I keep hearing about Les Paul, Tele, Strat. I guess start looking into those? But what are some of the factors I should be aware of?

[mr. beaumont]

It's a bit of a myth perpetuated here that playing electric somehow requires you to have a floor full of little boxes your guitar's signal goes through. It's just not true.

Guitar players use words like "overdrive" and "distortion" to describe the raucous, somewhat fuzzy sound of a tube amp being pushed hard. There are boxes/pedals on the market meant to replicate that tone...but you don't necessarily need one.

I think, if you're completely new to electric, there's two routes you can take...

Obviously you need a guitar...that's the easy part. Play a bunch and buy what feels good. You can play the blues on anything, really. Some folks get into the "look," as part of the package, but it doesn't effect playability.

So the two routes comes to amps...

You can get a small, simple tube amp, like a Fender Champ, crank it up, and you'll instantly be at a classic blues type "overdrive" you'll recognize. Problem is, even though it's a small amp--it's still going to be pretty loud! The simplicity here is the selling point, just a few knobs, no extra cables, pedals, etc. Plug in, turn up, play.

The other option these days that's great for beginners is a modeling amp, like a Roland Cube. These have more options, as they are designed to replicate the sounds of various different amps. So there's a learning curve--but the nice thing is-- you'll be able to use them to get that great, bluesy, overdriven sound at a much lower volume. Also, because all the sounds/models/effects are built in, again, no need for a floor full of boxes.

Good luck in your search.

[Hotspur]

So I think a Made-in-Mexico strat is probably a great place to start for someone who doesn't know how into electric they're going to get. If you want something that feels a little more modern look at the PRS SE line.

You could upgrade to made-in-America if you're willing to spend over a grand - if so, I might look at the PRS S2 line, too. But it's really hard to go wrong with a strat as a first guitar especially as you're an acoustic player who wants to do some blues (If you were a metalhead I might make a different suggestion).

I encourage people who don't know that they want a les paul to avoid les-paul style guitars. If it's what you want, you know you want it, and that's fine, but they're heavy and awkward. Sometimes you just want a les paul and that's okay.

But, also, all of that is secondary to: go to a locally-owned guitar store and play everything in your price range. Buy the guitar that calls your name.

As far as amps, I have a recommendation: Vox AV15. It's only like $250, and I think you are very unlikely to outgrow it anytime soon. Fantastic tone and very flexible (and includes a couple of basic effects). I have the AV30 and absolutely love it - and it's loud enough to keep up with a drummer. The 15 might not be, but for home playing I think you'd be hard pressed to do much better.

Between that and a Mexi-strat you've got a solid setup for under $900.

[RockyRacc00n]

Thanks again for the further advice. I will keep checking back here for more input as I start to look around.

[DukeX]

Just as Toby Walker and others here say about playing acoustic blues: "You can play it on anything," the same goes for electric blues.

Tele, Strat, Les Paul, PRS, Semi Hollow...etc.

[DukeX]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

It's a bit of a myth perpetuated here that playing electric somehow requires you to have a floor full of little boxes your guitar's signal goes through. It's just not true.

Guitar players use words like "overdrive" and "distortion" to describe the raucous, somewhat fuzzy sound of a tube amp being pushed hard. There are boxes/pedals on the market meant to replicate that tone...but you don't necessarily need one.

I think, if you're completely new to electric, there's two routes you can take...

Obviously you need a guitar...that's the easy part. Play a bunch and buy what feels good. You can play the blues on anything, really. Some folks get into the "look," as part of the package, but it doesn't effect playability.

So the two routes comes to amps...

You can get a small, simple tube amp, like a Fender Champ, crank it up, and you'll instantly be at a classic blues type "overdrive" you'll recognize. Problem is, even though it's a small amp--it's still going to be pretty loud! The simplicity here is the selling point, just a few knobs, no extra cables, pedals, etc. Plug in, turn up, play.

The other option these days that's great for beginners is a modeling amp, like a Roland Cube. These have more options, as they are designed to replicate the sounds of various different amps. So there's a learning curve--but the nice thing is-- you'll be able to use them to get that great, bluesy, overdriven sound at a much lower volume. Also, because all the sounds/models/effects are built in, again, no need for a floor full of boxes.

Good luck in your search.

Well put mr. Beaumont. I prefer the simple route: guitar, low-watt tube amp.

[jazzguy]

Any electric will do - but if your respect yourself and the entire genre, get a Stratocaster. lol

[jazzguy]

Originally Posted by jazzguy

Any electric will do - but if your respect yourself and the entire genre, get a Stratocaster. lol

https://youtu.be/UtLwuPCUEdg

[RockyRacc00n]

Just so I have some grounding when I go into a store... a dumb question. When someone says Fender "Strat", is that like saying Martin D18 or Martin Dread? I'm thinking things get more specific then just "Strat". but wondering how things are differentiated.