Ibanez AEL10E Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar?

Question:I have a Ibanez AEL10E Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar and i'm new at playing the guitar i been playing the violin for two yrs so it can help with the guitar i got it 4 x-mas my question is that what strings to i need when they pop or something (how can i tell iwhen i have to changge them)? What are capos are they like mutes ?(what are thye use for and if i use one what would be a good one for it?)and Cleaners and Polish ?And straps and picks? And what are peg winder?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I have a Ibanez AEL10E Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar and i'm new at playing the guitar i been playing the violin for two yrs so it can help with the guitar i got it 4 x-mas my question is that what strings to i need when they pop or something (how can i tell iwhen i have to changge them)? What are capos are they like mutes ?(what are thye use for and if i use one what would be a good one for it?)and Cleaners and Polish ?And straps and picks? And what are peg winder?

How often you change strings depends on how much you play. A professional guitarist will need to change strings once or twice a week. A casual player can usually go a couple of months on one set.

You need to use steel strings (actually, you need a type called phospor-bronze). I like to use D'Addario, but there are other good brands as well. A peg winder fits over the knob of a tuning peg, and allows you to turn it a lot faster. I've never used one, but I've got friends who like them. Like everything else, it comes down to what you prefer.

A capo is a clamp-like device used to change the key of the guitar's tuning. It fits over the fretboard, and clamps down on the strings. For example, place it just above the second fret to raise the tuning two semi-tones, i.e, instead of E-A-D-G-B-e, the guitar would now be tuned to F#-B-E-A-C#-f#.

IMHO, you don't need a cleaner or polish. Just use a soft, lint free cloth to wipe down the guitar's body and neck after playing. A strap is almost a mandatory accessory, but you really only need a basic one; should cost around $10 or so. (unless you REALLY have your heart set on that Heavy Metal death's head skull design. Only kidding.) Picks are also really cheap. In my opinion, nylon works best for acoustic playing. For a couple of dollars, you can get a pack of several picks. For a starter, can a pack with a variety of thicknesses, then try them all and decide which you like best.

You can change the strings once a month or so. When they sound dull, or you are having intonation problems, its time for a new set.
Capos are used instead of bar chording with your index finger.
It is a fast way to change keys and still playin the open position and has nothing to do with muting your sound.
As for picks, use a pick that is closest to the strength of a finger nail which is usually 1.0 mm. Don't use polish on any guitar as it blocks the pores and affects the sound over time.

Peg winder is cool. I use it to. It makes for changing the string much faster in a fraction of the time.

1. Visit the Ibanez website and look up your guitar, it will tell you what guage of strings to use. I prefer D'Addario as a brand.

2. There are different schools of thought about changing strings. Some change them every couple of weeks; others (like the late Michael Hedges and me) don't change them 'til they start to corrode or won't hold pitch anymore. Your peg winder is the tool you use to change strings; you slip the little retangular opening over your tuning key and use it like a crank to loosen the string (change one string at a time, don't remove all six), then when the string is fully slackened, you use the little half-round cut-out on one edge of that rectangular opening to slip over the pin (down beyond the bridge) and pull the pin out. Then you use the thing like a crank again to tighten up the string.

When you first change strings, get an experienced guitarist to help you; there's a couple of tricks to it that can't be shown without diagrams...

3. Capos are clamps that you put on the fingerboard. Effectively, they shorten the length of the guitar strings so that you can play in different keys more easily. My favorite type of capo is a big clamp style, the ones that look like little elastic straps with a rubber-coated metal rod in them are too wimpy for me, and other models are too difficult to attach.

4. Cleaners and polishes--it's a nice idea to get some genuine guitar polish (available at your music store) and a couple of good polishing cloths. I keep my polishing cloth in a zip-lock baggie and use it only on the infrequent occasions when I polish; the other one is for wiping off the guitar when I've bee playing it for very long.

Straps? Try on several and see what you like. A strap that's too narrow is uncomfy. Consider a strap with lock-on ends, it won't embarrass you by dropping your instrument...

Picks? Purchase several different types at your music store and try them out. Playing lead generally involves a thinner pick than playing chords.

Other accessories: a good digital tuner, a hard case (shop on ebay for those to save bucks), perhaps a humidificator if you live in an arid place, and perhaps some spray-on string lubricant (buy at music store).

Future accessories: if you're playing out, a nice amp of at least 100 watts, a monster guitar cable, a guitar stand.

String gauge is a matter of opinion, although acoustic guitars like yours tend to have slightly chunkier strings than most electric guitars.

A peg winder is a cheap but phenomenally useful little tool for turning the machine head (or tuner) when changing strings. Before I had one, it took forever to turn and turn and turn the damn thing whenever I wanted to get the old string off and get the new one up to pitch. With a peg winder, you can do it very quickly. It's like a plastic crank that fits over the machine head.

A capo enables you to play in what classical violinists and guitarists call 'first position' anywhere on the neck. It's a clamp that can be used to hold the strings down, effectively shortening the basic length of the strings. Folk and slide guitarists use them a lot. The late great Albert Collins, master blues guitarist, always used one.

For straps - go with what you can afford and what feels comfortable. With picks, I use Dunlop Tortex .83mm picks for all-purpose bashing and Dunlop Jazz III picks when I want to be intricate and play difficult stuff.

Change strings as often as you like, but they will go dull on you and the older they get the more likely they are to snap. I use D'Addario strings cause they seem to last the longest, but I've never done a serious attempt to compare them to other brands so it could just be habit.