Guitar for Garageband

Garagaband is one of the best best software that I ever cme across with. Honest !

Now I am planning to buy a entry level Guitar to learn. But I don't know anything about Guitars, electric, acoustic etc etc

So suggest me a good one which can be used with Garageband. My max budget is 4000 INR / 90 USD [is it very less for a basic Guitar ?]

First, so long as you have the plug that will take you from the 1/4 inch to the 1/8 inch any guitar with a hookup will work. OR, same plug, but you can mic an acoustic.

check out Guitars, Musical Instruments, and Musical Equipment from Guitar Center for probably one of the best comprehensive lists.

Thanks for replying !

So I have two choices, acoustic with mic or electronic with plug ?

I think Acoustic guitars are better, guitar n00b here

I dont play myself, but quite a few of my friends do. They have a mix of guitars.

You have 2 choices - mic an acoustic or plug the electric. There is a cable adapter designed for the ipad, guitarcenter has those as well.

I don't own iPad [have Nook Color].

What is mix of Guitars ? like acoustic cum electronic, something like that ? Any idea how much would cheapest mic cost ?

Electro Acoustic guitars are generally quite expensive. If you really want to use it with Garageband, as Deckyon said, you need a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter, or an audio interface to connect it to the Mac, to be able to record.

The most sound piece i have had as a guitarist of five years is never buy a guitar without playing it first.

I know you have no experience playing, but just hold it in your hands, press down on the frets, make sure it is comfortable before you buy it. I would sincerely recommend not buying a guitar off the internet for this reason. Plug it into an amp, try it out, maybe ask the sales assistant for a quick chord pattern just so you can see how it sounds.

You may not be in the budget for an amazing guitar, but the choice is littered with rubbish, so make sure you aren't buying a dud. Go to a reputable shop and talk to the Staff about it.

avin7000 said:

Garagaband is one of the best best software that I ever cme across with. Honest !

Now I am planning to buy a entry level Guitar to learn. But I don't know anything about Guitars, electric, acoustic etc etc

So suggest me a good one which can be used with Garageband. My max budget is 4000 INR / 90 USD [is it very less for a basic Guitar ?]

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I am strictly an amateur guitarist, but I would suggest you take some lessons before purchasing. After you get an idea of how to handle a guitar and some feel for it a trip to a local guitar store (Guitar Center for one) to put hands on would be a good next step.
Bottomline: If it doesn't feel right in your hands you are not likely to play it as much. And, this is only a first guitar . . . if you stick with it you will be upgrading later.

EDIT: I see Rob beat me to the punch. Good advice IMO. Also, with your budget you will probably be better off looking for a used guitar (I've seen some very good and very bad deals in Pawn Shops). Have no direct experience with Craig's List, but suspect it might be a good source.

robduck - Actually I was buying online only, so thanks a lot for the reply ! Will head to store soon.

Thing is first I wanna purchase cheapest one for learning. Once I am good, can afford Guitar upto 500USD [Thanks to parents ]

razormac - thank you for replying !

So I will buy Acoustic one as electro acoustic are out of my budget. Any idea how much a mic would cost ??

avin7000 said:

So I will buy Acoustic one as electro acoustic are out of my budget. Any idea how much a mic would cost ??

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A mic? for a decent one, at least around the same as you are paying for your guitar.

I find the electric guitar slightly easier to play over the acoustic; acoustics are less forgiving to mistakes made. Also the action (the height of the strings over the fretboard) is usually slightly lower on electrics, making it easier to play.

You can spend thousands on a mic. I would recommend a Condenser Mic for acoustic, but you will need a preamp controler for it in order to power the mic. Those controllers can cost into the hundreds but an M-Audio 2 channel should be about $100.

Get into the store and check both electric and acoustic. In the long run, the electric guitar may be cheaper, even with an amp.

I'm going to take the counterpoint here.

Going back to the old old truism GIGO. There is no real reason to do high-def recording of what a beginner is realistically going to be able to produce. Also, as with almost any endeavor a beginner is not going to be willing to spend what it takes or be knowledgable enough to select what will ultimately be the best for him/her.

A cheap mic and a banger acoustic guitar is all that will come close to fitting into a $90 USD budget, which is why I suggested used.

Most people who take up the guitar abandon it after they learn they don't have a magical knack for it and learning it takes work.

My main advice here is not to worry about Garageband, or mic-ing your music. Find out first if you really want to play the guitar, work on that and the rest will follow.

robduckyworth said:

A mic? for a decent one, at least around the same as you are paying for your guitar.

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robduckyworth said:

I find the electric guitar slightly easier to play over the acoustic; acoustics are less forgiving to mistakes made. Also the action (the height of the strings over the fretboard) is usually slightly lower on electrics, making it easier to play.

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Thanks for this ! So I should better go with electric, cos less error prone, easy to hands and no extra spending on mic.

Deckyon said:

Get into the store and check both electric and acoustic. In the long run, the electric guitar may be cheaper, even with an amp.

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Yeah, will head to a nearest store soon.

Razormac said:

There is no real reason to do high-def recording of what a beginner is realistically going to be able to produce. Also, as with almost any endeavor a beginner is not going to be willing to spend what it takes or be knowledgable enough to select what will ultimately be the best for him/her.

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Totally agreed

Razormac said:

Find out first if you really want to play the guitar, work on that and the rest will follow.

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Yes, I do !

Razormac said:

My main advice here is not to worry about Garageband, or mic-ing your music.

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Problem is I can't go to Guitar classes because of my stupid college timings. So Garageband is my option, about which I am totally impressed. So as of now, Garageband will be my teacher. Later [read after 4 months] then I am gonna join classes.

Razormac said:

A cheap mic and a banger acoustic guitar is all that will come close to fitting into a $90 USD budget, which is why I suggested used.

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So you suggesting me to go for used acoustic + mic. Hmm...good suggestion though.

So which I should consider ?

Electric - easy on hands, good for beginners, no extra money for mic
Acoustic - need to buy extra mic.

Guys one more n00b Guitar query - using electric guitar will I be able to produce soft music which comes from Acoustic ones ? I DONT intend to play Rock etc, want to learn something soothing and peaceful on mind

You don't really need a mic at all to use Garageband as a teacher (I think). As far as the Acoustic vs Electric decision, that is up to you--just remember if you go electric you will need either a decent pair of head phones or an amp--although you could use the iPad headphones--you may have to buy an adaptor, but they are cheap).

A bigger consideration to me is what is it you want to play. If your desire is lead guitar in a Rock Band then by all means go electric. If you are looking for rhythym accompaniment to vocal, then acoustic may be a better choice. As far as easier to play that really depends--there are some really crappy electrics and acoustics out there.
Again, if you have a friend with a guitar (preferrably both acoustic and electric) try them out before purchasing.

Razormac said:

You don't really need a mic at all to use Garageband as a teacher (I think).

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You sure about this ? It asks to connect Guitar in middle of lessons somewhere I guess.

Razormac said:

If you are looking for rhythym accompaniment to vocal, then acoustic may be a better choice.

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This !! reduces the half of the search !

No rock music, so I better go with Acoustic ones. I have friend who has guitar, I don't know which one it is [forgot], will contact him soon. Also I don't be having any problem trying them out in a store.

So I made up my mind for Acoustic ones. But, what about Elecrto-acoustic ? They are also only for Rock ?

I found few electro - acoustic ones :
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with garageband, you can make the guitar sound however you want it to sound, including wahwah pedals and other effects.

Practically ? I don't intend to learn Rock.

So electro acoustic can be used for vocals, non rock ??

As far as needing the mic for guitar lessons--I haven't done them so I can't say for sure. Not really certain why you would need to, but this doesn't have to be expensive.

I have all three types:
1) Electric
2) Acoustic
3) Acoustic-electric

The last, an acoustic-electric is essentially an acoustic guitar with an electric pickup added for external amplification. Again, for $90 you are probably not going to be able to get much. I would look heavily at used and take someone with you who knows what to look for. For me the price vs quality would probably be the main deciding factor.
I would far rather by a decent acoustic box than a cheap electric or acoustic-electric. You can always find some way to get it into Garageband, but it will be a lot easier to get decent sound out of a quality instrument.

EDIT: As far as your question about using on rock or non-rock. You can play almost anything on anything if you have the talent and practice. You could play Led Zepplin on a kazoo. But in general, lead guitar--in particular Rock lends itself to electric, rhythm and vocals backup works well on acoustic/acoustic-electric, but again can be done very well on electric.

Hmm...that was helpful !

So I can go for either electro acoustic guitar or acoustic.

If I buy acoustic I have to buy one mic also, but if I electro acoustic I don't need to spend money on mic right ? As it is electric, it can be directly connected to Garageband or am I missing here something

avin7000 said:

Hmm...that was helpful !

So I can go for either electro acoustic guitar or acoustic.

If I buy acoustic I have to buy one mic also, but if I electro acoustic I don't need to spend money on mic right ? As it is electric, it can be directly connected to Garageband or am I missing here something

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That's pretty much it.

Find yourself a decent instrument and we will help you figure out how to make the connection if you need help.

I better go with electro acoustic as I don't need to spend money on mic.

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