i figure its time i got off my ass and learned how to play, so what should i be looking for in a used guitar? you might want to keep in mind that i have limited knowledge, so i might not know what youre talking about.

ditto.

if you want something that lasts, don't buy a cheap knockoff. Invest a few hundred in a nice used brand name. I recommend starting off with either a standard fender telecaster or a standard fender stratocaster. They have the most diverse range of sounds. I think the tele in particular is a great rhythm guitar

But how's a good way to learn to play for a self-proclaimed musical 'tard?

Kung fu,

My college roommate bought a brand new Takamine acoustic for around $450 when we were sophmores and it's still one of the best sounding guitars I've ever heard.

Spade's right. It's best not to skimp on one because eventually you will get to where you can play and you'll want it to sound good.

The best way to learn, IMO, is to get yourself one of those chord/fingering books and learn, correctly, the major and minor chords. If you know the major and minor chords you can play probably 80% of the worlds songs. Practice playing each of them and going from one chord to the next. To me guitar is something you grow into if your playing for pleasure. It takes time to learn but is totally worth it. I didn't pick one up until college and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Also, give your fingers time to callous over. They will get shredded for awhile until the skin hardens up a bit.

Next, go to any number of guitar tablature sites and find a few songs that you like that have only 3-4 chords and start to learn them. It's always fun to learn songs and be able to play them and it's more fun than just practicing chords for no reason.

Give it time and be patient because once you learn it's something you can enjoy for a lifetime.

Gracias.

first, acoustic or electric.

If electric, you need an amp.

Phil's picks for good starter acoustic guitars, or what I'd recommend to my private students.

new $250-500:
Seagull
Yamaha

Seagulls are solid wood, yamahas are solid top, ply back and sides. You need a solid top, 90% of the sound comes out of the top. Want a pickup so you can plug it in to a p.a. or amp? You can buy one installed, or install one later. Seagull uses L.R. Baggs, high end stuff without breaking the bank.

used? You can find a lot of great stuff used.

Electrics: Mexican Fender Strats and Teles are good starters. Stay away from Epiphones if you can. Godin makes great electric guitars too, and many are very affordable and they're a consistent manufacturer, so if you play one in a store and like it, go buy it used on ebay. Godin and Seagull have the same parent company, La Patrie. Great canadian company. Even their cheap stuff is totally pro.

Amps: Fender Blues Jr., about $300 new at Guitar Center. Trust me on this one piece of gear.

Get guitarist friends to shop with you, they'd love to go. Have them play the instrument for you, so you can hear it.

And the biggest piece of advice, no matter where you buy it, take it to a shop right away, get it professionally set up with fresh strings. Change those strings every few months please. Every month if you play alot. Every two weeks if you're me. Get a professional set up twice a year. Don't argue, just do it. Going into winter, and coming out of spring.

To learn, have friends show you songs, or look up chord charts and tabs online and have someone show you how to read it if you doubt yourself. Practice slow and steady, then speed up. Treat chords as shapes. Memorize the shapes, not finger by finger. Practice moving slowly, steadily, smoothly through chord changes.
Slow, mindless repetition is the key to teaching your muscles new movements. Break down problem spots to one or two motions and repeat them ad nauseum. THEN speed it up. Then when you think you have it, do it without looking. Practicing while watching t.v. is a great exercise, because it divdes your attention making your peripheral nervous system really LEARN the motion, as opposed to having it reside more in the CNS.

Hope this helps.

-Phil

there are actually plenty of resources online from chord forms to scalses and lessons--this is one. there's also olga, the online guitar archive, which has tons of posted songs from just about everyone. i found that learning songs was a fun way to get comfortable playing (dexterity, hand strength, callouses, etc.) because the better you get the more the songs you're playing start sounding like the actual songs and i got real sense of accomplishment out of that when i was starting out.

c.

please please please get this
[img][365:500]http://cheaptrick.com/images/var4.jpg[/img]

www.guitarnoise.com has some good lessons.