This is the easiest guitar to play with your fingers
When you want a guitar that absolutely will not hurt your hands and is effortless to play, you want one of these.
Take the Fender FA-15N. Yes, you can afford it. It is a real Fender guitar, so if you always wanted a Fender, wanted it new and wanted it cheap, there you go.
More importantly however, what I'm talking about here is the type of guitar that is, without question, the easiest to play with fingers. It's the 3/4 scale classical acoustic.
There are tons of 3/4 scale acoustics on Amazon. The better brands are Fender, Yamaha and Cordoba.
"Classical" means "uses nylon strings", and 3/4 size means it's a smaller body, typically with a scale length of under 24 inches.
Classical guitars are supposed to be played with nothing but fingers. Yes, you can use a pick if you wish, but you're not supposed to because that can wreck the strings fast. However, the workaround for that is to use wooden guitar picks, as they have a very soft pick strike.
When you play a 3/4 size classical guitar, the combination of short scale, fat neck (which most have) and nylon strings make for the easiest playing guitar you'll ever have.
Playing nylon strings even on a full size classical (a.k.a. a concert size) is already easy, but playing on a 3/4 size with a short scale neck is even easier. You barely need any force to press the strings to the frets. It is way easier to play on nylon strings compared to steel.
Is a 3/4 size too small of a guitar?
No.
The 3/4 size classical acoustic is somewhat similar in size to a parlor acoustic steel string guitar.
Playing a 3/4 scale doesn't feel wrong nor does it look goofy playing one live in front of people. While not the full size of a regular dreadnought shape acoustic, it's certainly larger than a ukulele.
In other words, yes, you will get along with the size just fine.
You will also notice many 3/4 size classical guitars don't even have 20 frets. Some like the Fender shown at top only have 18. Is that enough? Yes. I can confidently say that it's very unlikely you will ever go past the 12th fret on a classical guitar. Nylon strings lose a lot of vibration the higher you go on the neck, much more so than steel string. On the classical, most if not all of what you play will only use the first 7 frets at most.
Does it project?
No. A 3/4 size classical is a quiet guitar by nature. And even if you bought a bigger concert size classical, it's not all that much louder.
Does that mean you should get one with a piezo pickup in it? You can if you want, but only if you intend on playing live in front of people. For home recording, the best way to record a classical is with a microphone on a stand pointed at the 12th fret. (A beginner's mistake is to point the microphone at the sound hole - don't do that because you'll hear nothing but finger noise. Point it at the 12th fret.)
When you want easy-to-play, it really doesn't get any easier than the 3/4 size classical. Right size, obviously light in weight, really easy on the fingers, easy-grip neck, it's all there.
Black Friday electric guitars for 2020
An interesting mix for the most-wished-for guitars this year on guitar shopping sites.
2020 has obviously been a real rough year. Where guitars are concerned, yes they have been selling, but most people are concentrating mainly on "safe" designs with cool colors. And that's fine.
These will be listed highest-to-lowest where prices are concerned.
Fender Player Plus Top Stratocaster HSSFor whatever reason, people are buying a ton of HSS Strats, and where Fenders are concerned, I can see why people go for this one. Great color, great price. For a Fender, that is.
Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop PROThe killer color this year for the Epiphone Les Paul is Cherry, which is what you see above. This is not a solid color as there is some tiger flame going on, which suits the guitar very nicely. It is labeled as a "Triple AAA Flame Veneer Top".
If you've played an Epiphone Les Paul Standard before, you already know this guitar well. But the Cherry with the flame top? That makes this better. Very nice looker.
ESP LTD EC-256FMAgain, it's the color that makes people want this guitar. The color is Cobalt Blue. With the thin flame style on the top, it has a pair-of-jeans look to it. The chrome hardware works very nicely with the finish, and compared to other models, this has black knobs instead of gold (which in all honesty does work better with the color).
You can consider this a more modernized Les Paul. It's like the Epiphone but will be easier for those that like to play on the higher frets more often.
Squier Classic Vibe '70s Stratocaster HSSEver since Squier released this black Strat with the big headstock, people can't get enough of it. This is absolutely the classic '70s Strat look, but fortunately feels and sounds a lot better (original 1970's Stratocasters did not have a reverse wound pickup in the middle for hum canceling on the 2 and 4 pickup positions).
With the HSS configuration, you get hum canceling on positions 1, 2 and 4 instead of just 2 and 4, so that's a bonus.
If the Fender HSS is priced too high for your liking, you get the Squier instead.
I actually like the look of the Squier better than the Fender.
Squier Affinity StratocasterI said recently that I don't like the look of this guitar, and I still feel the same way. It has to do with the headstock. The logo treatment really needs a redo on this model...
...but I do understand why people buy this guitar so much and still do. It is the easiest and cheapest way to get a decent quality Strat in Surf Green. This guitar is notably better than the Bullet Strat and I don't deny that.
Also, the Surf Green on the Affinity Series is one of the better versions of this color. Some Surf Greens look dopey but this one gets it right.
Squier Affinity TelecasterThis is a guitar where I absolutely do like the look. Love it, in fact. This finish by Squier is called Arctic White, which is a banana yellow color or "vintage white" depending on your point of view. I think the color is great. One of my SX Furrians is in this color and looks very similar to this guitar.
The Affinity Tele is a solid Telecaster and a very easy player. And, again, it is notably better compared to the Bullet Telecaster. You'll especially notice it in the tuners. The Affinity Series has a nice set of them, and this can also be said for the Strats.
Ibanez AX120I owned one of these before. Great guitar.
The most amazing thing about this guitar is the fact the super low price has not changed since introduction. It can still be had for the same price I bought mine for when I had one.
Great build, great feel, great everything. I'm just more of a Telecaster guy which is why I parted with mine. However, if you like the SG guitar, you will like the AX120 a whole lot.
There are times I do miss this guitar. Sounds fantastic and looks great too, especially with those block inlays on the neck.
This is the best Pacifica guitar
When you bump up to level 5, you really get something good.
The Yamaha Pacifica is a guitar I've mentioned before but am mentioning again, because if you want to put some money into something you can call "the good guitar", this is it, the PAC611HFM. It's well under $1,000 even though it could easily sell for that much.
There are several finish options available, including a rather awesome Translucent Black and even a ridiculously cool Translucent Purple. Don't like purple? You will after seeing how Yamaha does theirs.
Pacifica comes in 5 model ranges with 600 series being the best one. Unfortunately, it's ordinarily true the only one you see in guitar stores is the low end 100 series, but there is 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 on the upper end. Are there higher levels? Yes. Standard and Professional. But those get a little too expensive for most players. The PAC611HFM is just-right both for features and price.
What makes the 600 a rather large jump up compared to the 100 is a TUSQ nut, real-deal Seymour Duncan pickups, full push-pull split control on the humbucker, real-deal Graph Tech string saver saddles and real-deal Grover locking tuners. Yes, locking tuners. The body is maple and alder, and of course the fingerboard is real rosewood.
In other words, zero modifications are needed to make this guitar great. What you get out of the box is already great.
The Pacifica 600 series is for many players a dream guitar, and the only reason more people don't buy it is because they weren't aware it even existed. Hardtail Strat style body, well-voiced splittable humbucker at the bridge, awesome P90 at the neck, great body shape, balanced just right (absolutely zero neck dive), clean understated look without looking dopey... everything is there.
It's also nice that Yamaha did not put a paper thin neck on this guitar. First fret neck depth measures at 20.9mm (0.82") and 22.9mm (0.90") at the 12th. It's a very nice thickness.
The fingerboard is nice and flat at 350mm (13.77"), allowing for ridiculously low action and easy note bending.
Pacifica 600 is built to be a player's guitar first, and it's nice it exists. What you pay for here is "all guitar", which is an increasingly rare thing these days.
For the guy who can't decide between a Strat and a Tele - Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster
So you want both a Strat and a Tele in the same guitar. This is it.
There's something I need to go over first. An oddity when it comes to Fender guitars is that you can go Tele-to-Strat tone but can't go Strat-to-Tele.
Why? It's because you don't have the overwound single-coil pickup on the bridge side in a Strat. That pickup is the "foundation" of Telecaster tone.
Could you install an overwound single-coil bridge pickup in a Strat? Sure. But it still won't sound right. The Tele configuration of the bridge side pickup in the middle of a metal plate with no vibrato (which Fender calls tremolo) just sounds way different than a Strat bridge pickup in a plastic guard with vibrato.
And that brings us to the Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster.
This guitar does totally sound like a Tele should, but has a middle pickup like a Stratocaster.
Yes, it has a 5-way selector switch that acts just like a Strat does. It's the same Stratocaster configuration you're very familiar with, but with the Deluxe Nashville Telecaster you get that sweet singing overwound single-coil at the bridge.
There's also another rather nice perk about this Tele. It has a 12" fingerboard radius like a Les Paul. That means you can set the action lower and bend notes more, if that's your thing.
Other goodies about this guitar is that it has the cutaway heel in the back for easier higher fret access, and also has my favorite neck finish, satin urethane. Far less sticky feel compared to high gloss. And because this is an "upper mid tier" model, you get Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups. The bridge and neck are Tele pickups and the middle is a Strat pickup by design.
This guitar looks vintage but it's definitely more modernist, which is to its advantage. The truss rod adjustment location is thankfully at the headstock (no need to remove the neck for an adjustment), and there is no nitro anywhere, meaning no skin irritation.
The best part about this guitar? Very easy player. You don't have to relearn anything. It's a Telecaster with extra Strat tone goodness to it.
Some consider this specific guitar the best of both the Strat and Tele put into one guitar. It is pretty much the only way to get both tone types out of a single guitar. Again, you can't go Strat-to-Tele but you can go Tele-to-Strat, and that's what this guitar is. And it works.
How does a compass work on a smartphone?
This is a really good feature of a smartphone that not too many people know about.
I was asked to make a video on this, but I figured it would also be good to put together an article about it, as this is good information to know.
Ordinarily, the way a plain magnetic compass works is by use of a magnet that allows something to move. If it's a traditional handheld compass, the arrow can be moved by the magnet to tell you which direction you're facing. If the compass is made for marine or car use, there is a ball floating in liquid, and the magnet can move that to indicate direction.
Smartphones have no moving parts, so the way its internal compass works is different.
All modern smartphones have a magnetometer in them. But since that doesn't move, it is assisted by the accelerometer sensors in order to tell you which cardinal direction (as in north, south, east or west) you're facing.
You can turn off location (GPS), data and Wi-Fi and the compass feature of a smartphone will work since it requires no radio signals to function. All you need is a compass app. For Android, the app I prefer is GPS Test Plus, available in the Google Play Store. Apple iPhone does not have that specific app, but a search for "compass" in the app store will get you a compass app that more or less does the same thing.
There are a few very good reasons why it is important to know about the smartphone compass.
It's not just for navigating while in the woods...
When you hear the word compass, you may think of people using a compass outdoors such as for hiking, cycling, or any place where there are not roads marked by signs.
While true a compass comes in very useful for outdoor activities, it also comes in very handy in places like cities, large shopping malls and large parking lots.
The compass is your "backup navigation" for when the radio signals on the phone get blocked for whatever reason.
Is your compass calibrated?
Given the orientation of a phone changes quite a bit just from normal use, you may need to calibrate your compass periodically. This can be done through Google Maps. Launch the app, touch the dot showing your location, choose to calibrate the compass, and then twist your phone in a figure-8 motion to calibrate. The app does show a graphic with instructions.
Having location (GPS) enabled is required to calibrate the compass in Google Maps. Having data enabled is not required. The map will probably show up as blank when you load Google Maps this way, but you can access the compass calibration so the compass works properly.
A simple example of using only a compass
A large shopping mall parking lot is one of the easiest examples.
After parking your car, take out your phone and launch the compass app. Face away from the building you need to enter. Now you know the direction you need to go when exiting the building to get back to your car. Remember this. When you exit the building later on, go that direction and you will be led in the direction of where your car is.
As "connected" as we like to think we are, we're really not
Smartphone navigation is great - when it works. When it fails, it likes to do so in spectacular fashion.
It is nothing short of amazing that even when a phone can determine location by cell tower, Wi-Fi and GPS all at once that it still manages to "get lost", leaving you lost when you need navigation working the most. And the navigation doesn't break just a little bit. When a phone doesn't know where it is, it really doesn't know where it is.
Using the phone's compass does not rely on towers, satellites or data. As long as you're not in a metal box (like an elevator), it will work.
Does a compass give you perfect cardinal direction? No, and it never has. But it's good enough to at least point you mostly where you need to be.
It's better that nothing, and if you need it, it's there.