Guitar

MusiKKLVR · Post by **MusiKKLVR** » Thursday Nov 11, 2004

I am looking into buying my first guitar some folks tell me "fender" some say " Les Paul" and some say "Ibanez" etc.. what guitar would some of you veterans recommend?

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Thursday Nov 11, 2004

I suggest buying a used mid-level instrument like a Mexi Fender or Ibanez. You don't want to invest too much money into a first instrument, but you want to be sure that you are getting a quality guitar. Many budding players have given up because their instrument was of more quaility, which made it even more difficult to play.

You may also want to check out http://www.rondomusic.net/electricguitar.html The SX guitars/basses are suppose to be of similar quaility to lower-priced Fenders (that's what I've heard from other players).

kurtsbug · Post by **kurtsbug** » Thursday Nov 11, 2004

You have a PM

FatVin · Post by **FatVin** » Thursday Nov 11, 2004

Get yourself a little squier strat or a tele.

A LES Paul? are you kidding, 32 lbs around the neck of a novice, bad idea , also $1200 is a little much for a beginner . While Ibanez and Fender make a fine product they run what about $600 you wanna pay about a 1/3 of that.

A little Squier (Squier is a division of Fender by the way) tele, will never go out of style, the quality is excellant for the price, they are rugged and well built and only cost around $200.

I'd be suspiciuos of paying less than $200 and more than that for something that may well end up in the closet is a waste of money.

Some people think tele's aren't cool enough but consider this.

In the 50's and 60's Muddy Waters played a Tele

In the 70's Jimmy Page played a Tele (recorded the Solo for Stair way on one)

In the 80's, Pete Townshend, Prince and Springsteen all played a Tele.

so a Squier Tele is a good bet for a beginner.

lonewolf · Post by **lonewolf** » Thursday Nov 11, 2004

Some of the Gibson Epiphones are around $200 street, but you should have an experienced guitarist try it before buying it. The reason I say this is that more than one dealer has told me that the main difference between a Gibson and an Epiphone is consistency. 99.9999% of Gibsons are high-quality, but Epiphones are pot luck. You get what you pay for, but if you manage to find a higher-quality Epiphone, there is very little difference from its Gibson big-brother and you end up with a real gem.

Ibanez has several models around $200 street and I can't say enough about the Squier's that Vinny mentioned. I think ToneFight made his guitar partly from Squier parts.

Don't forget eBay.

esa · Post by **esa** » Thursday Nov 11, 2004

If it's an accustic beauty? Go ovation. Those things are "manufactured" for beatings. And the'yre pretty too!

Electric? Fernandez. I don't see them too much.. but mine has a beautiful sound to it. That's all I can offer. ::just waits for a side comment about them being sucky guitars or somethin::

f.sciarrillo · Post by **f.sciarrillo** » Thursday Nov 11, 2004

Get the cheapest guitar you can find. You don't want to pay a couple of hundred bucks for something you don't know how to play. You can find kits at a music store with the amp, guitar, and accessories for around 200.00 or so.

Here is something that would even work: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=g ... id/519658/

I bought a Rogue practice guitar for $100.00 ..

tonefight · Post by **tonefight** » Thursday Nov 11, 2004

If you've got the cash buy a good used instrument like someone else mentioned if its hard to play it will discourage you. And if it is used you shouldn't have a hard time getting close to what you paid for it.

Banned · Post by **Banned** » Thursday Nov 11, 2004

lonewolf wrote:have an experienced guitarist try it before buying it.

^^^^ Excellent advice right there.

Other suggestions:

- Avoid whammy bars like the plague, at least at first. They will drive you nuts trying to keep the guitar in tune. Go for a fixed bridge guitar like a Tele or Paul. Or get a Strat and don't use the bar.

- Whatever you buy, have a qualified tech set it up for you. The string height, action, and intonation will make a HUGE difference in the playability and sound of the instrument. A cheap guitar with a good setup will beat an expensive guitar with a bad setup any day.

- Don't hesitate to upgrade the electronics. Cheap guitars come with cheap electronics, but putting in a better pickup will cost you under $100 and can make it sound much better.

I'd also recommend the Mexican-made Fenders/Squiers (the Korean ones are pretty dodgy). Very good instruments for very little bling.

Punkinhead · Post by **Punkinhead** » Thursday Nov 11, 2004

Mexican Strats are great starters...It's where I started and you can get one cheap...on down the road if you love it to pieces put killer pick ups in it and you have a damn nice axe...

DMFJ03 · Post by **DMFJ03** » Friday Nov 12, 2004

Schecter's!!!

songsmith · Post by **songsmith** » Friday Nov 12, 2004

I love those old Jap Squiers... the electronics were decent, and the fit & finish is as good as anything factory-made today.
I have a couple of Fernandez Tele's, too... not bad, except the fretwire is soft, and I wore them out too quick (I don't even play that much!)
This thread is a good indication that you don't have to drop a G-note on a playable guitar. I'm really into the whole pawnshop-treasure thing. I had an Aria Les Paul copy that I would put up right alongside any Les Paul I ever owned, as a stage tool. It stayed in tune MUCH better, and played and looked just the same (okay, it would have benefitted from actual Gibson PAF's). One of the most playable guitars I ever had was a Hondo that went $149 brand new, with a slim maple neck like buttah (guitars were more expensive, even for crap, 15 years ago... machine do all the old hand-sawing and forming now, so labor is almost nil). It had a crack running through the body that somehow made it sound groovier, like a Mosrite.
I missed out on a Les Paul double cutaway, handmade by Billy Zeigler. My cousin paid $150 for it in a second-hand store. Handmade.
I could go on and on (and often do!) but you get the point. Buy cheap, stay away from plywood, and stay away from Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, and other places where little kids put them together in kindergarten/sweat shops.---->JMS

daveb · Post by **daveb** » Friday Nov 12, 2004

Great advice all around. The price thing is right out the window. I've owned 3 Les Pauls. I still have one. I have a mid 90's Fernandes strat that is my main, all around axe. Last weekend I played a Squire Tele that had a price tag of $169.00 that I would be proud to own. Take a player with you when you go shopping. You'll be glad you did.