Advice on 1st electric
moster78
Posts: 1,591
I trust everyone's opinions here, so I figured I'd throw this out there to you for some feedback.
I've been taking guitar lessons for the past 4 months and, according to my teacher, am progressing quite well (even though I don't notice it sometimes!). I've been playing on an acoustic that I got over 4 years ago when I graduated from college, thinking I could teach myself, but never did. Finally got around to taking lessons in June, and have been loving it ever since.
Only thing is, as much as I love my acoustic, a lot of the stuff that I want to play and mess around with just doesn't sound good on an acoustic. There's only so many acoustic Pearl Jam songs! The plan was to aim for my first electric by the end of the year, but after going to Guitar Center yesterday and messing around on a few electrics there (the first time I've ever really played one) I really, really want one now.
I first grabbed a Les Paul off the wall, and as nice as that sounded plugged into an amp that cost more than the guitar, I can't see myself, or justify to myself spending over 2K on a guitar. On the other hand, I think I can totally justify the price of an American Strat, which costs less than half the price of the Les Paul, and which I took to a little more than the LP.
What do you guys think? And then there's always the question of an amp, as I obviously don't have one and would need one. Nothing too huge or expensive. Plus I live in a house with three women, so there's a noise issue I'd have to be just a little bit respectful of.
Thanks in advance everyone!
I've been taking guitar lessons for the past 4 months and, according to my teacher, am progressing quite well (even though I don't notice it sometimes!). I've been playing on an acoustic that I got over 4 years ago when I graduated from college, thinking I could teach myself, but never did. Finally got around to taking lessons in June, and have been loving it ever since.
Only thing is, as much as I love my acoustic, a lot of the stuff that I want to play and mess around with just doesn't sound good on an acoustic. There's only so many acoustic Pearl Jam songs! The plan was to aim for my first electric by the end of the year, but after going to Guitar Center yesterday and messing around on a few electrics there (the first time I've ever really played one) I really, really want one now.
I first grabbed a Les Paul off the wall, and as nice as that sounded plugged into an amp that cost more than the guitar, I can't see myself, or justify to myself spending over 2K on a guitar. On the other hand, I think I can totally justify the price of an American Strat, which costs less than half the price of the Les Paul, and which I took to a little more than the LP.
What do you guys think? And then there's always the question of an amp, as I obviously don't have one and would need one. Nothing too huge or expensive. Plus I live in a house with three women, so there's a noise issue I'd have to be just a little bit respectful of.
Thanks in advance everyone!
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i'm certainly no hendrix myself, but i know people who are freak talents (i'm talking jaw-dropping stuff here) and they tend to pull their best sounds out of their teddy-bear guitars, their personal favourites, broken down pieces of firewood with pickups, just because that's what they're used to. i used to have an ibanez that i adored and could play pretty well, since i lost that guitar i can't really enjoy or get enthused about playing, it just doesn't feel quite right.
so like i said, i'm no musical authority but i think you'd be well advised to try a few quality guitars in your price range and go with whatever feels best to your hands and sounds best to your ears... there's no guitar that's definatively better than a comparable instrument from a different manufacturer, it's a matter of personal preference, know what i mean?
best of luck
try all of them if you wish! just try a lot.
Since you probably won't be playing lead guitars for a while the Telecaster would be a fine choice i think... its what ed plays.
what he plays now.. and before Riot Act..
he picked up an SG for RA tour.
(just in case you're realllllly a beginer, no offense
http://www.wishlistfoundation.org
Oh my, they dropped the leash.
Morgan Freeman/Clint Eastwood 08' for President!
"Make our day"
I know its a little pricey for my first electric, but it is within my budget and I have the feeling it'll last me a good long while. Worst case scenario, if somewhere down the road I don't like it, or give it up, I'm sure it'll still have a decent resale value. Although I hope it'll never come to that.
So what do you guys think? I'm also curious about an amp as well. Nothing too powerful or loud, as I do live with three women who may not appreciate it as much as I would. Thanks again!
feedbacks cool ...... :cool: mmmmmmmmmm.....feed
As for the amp, whats the best place to look for a used one? eBay? And how much should I expect to pay for one?
I absolutely love strats. All you got to do now is pick the color.
The amp should run you between 200 and 350. 375-400 is probably what they are going for now, but I think you can find a good one between 200 and 350. They are outstanding for what you want out of them. the "blackface models" (pre cbs 1967 buyout) have a bit more mojo and they are a little dirtier sounding but you pay for it. they are usually between 500 and 750 and mostly purchased now by collectors which is ashamed. A 68 is the same blackface specs but the cosmetics were changed to the silverface and occasionally you'll find a steal on these. "Super Champs" were built during the rivera era at fender and have a few special features they are usually around 400 bucks. But once you get into that range you might start looking at the Deluxe Reverb RI's (one of the greatest amps ever designed is the fender deluxe) and Blues Deluxes are good in that range too. But play everything you might like a different brand better. Peavy makes a good budget tube amp too, especially the Delta Blues and the Classic series.
Also look for older fender princetons and tweeds occasionally you'll find a player that is cheap and has been modified. The resale is lower on these because of the mods (collectors are finiky and don't play the amps) but the mods generally help the overall tone, which is nice for us who like to actually play the amps.
Are there any places to look for the amp besides eBay? I found a few on there in varying price ranges, from about 260-340, depending on the year. A few more that were more expensive as well.
Local high end smaller guitar shops usually have several around and I know most guitar centers usually have between 2-5 on the floor or in the "vintage" section at most locations. Yard Sales and the local paper work too. A lot of people have a lot of stuff they don't know anything about or they are just looking to get rid of it. The silverfaces are not as sought after so the price is a lot cheaper.
I'm not entirely sure when I'm going to purchase anything, but when I do, do you suggest going for the tremelo or the hard tail? Like I said, I'm not sure if the one I was playing had it, but I'm guessing it did because touching/pushing the bridge definitely did something.
It dosen't really matter, the hard tail is a bit more stable tuning wise if you don't really use the trem because of the lack of springs and what not but it's nice to have it sometimes. Good luck with the search.
Thanks for all your help man. I'm sure I'll have a thousand more questions before I'm through. I'll keep you updated!
It sounds like that Strat is speaking to you, and the American Standards have gone up in quality lately. Strats are my favorite, too. They're really versatile, and you can always try new pickups in them as time goes by, but the stock ones are great guitars. You can sit on the couch and play them and the cord doesn't dig into the cusions and break. (Ok,,, I relax a lot!
I bet it's a tremelo model. They don't leave the arm in them when they're hanging on the wall. There's usually a little sticker over the hole where the arm goes.
If he's touching the bridge and it's tremeloing,,, and it's a hard tail,,,, something's wrong!
For amps, if you just want something tiny and fun and has a bunch of built in effects for a hundred bucks or so,,, get a Roland Microcube. They're tiny and fun to play with and you can play them really quietly if you want, but for 3 watts they crank pretty loud, too. You aren't going to take it out on tour,,, but they are great little practice amps. They even have a headphone out jack. I love mine, and I have amps amps amps from over the years!
If you want something better and louder try some of the used Mesa Boogies.
Here're a few on ebay that you can watch or buy. They are cool. The DC-3 is an awesome amp. It's a little complicated, and they didn't sell big time, but if you fiddle around, you can really find some great settings and mark them down. They are great quality, and have a master volume
You may want a master volume on your amp you buy, if noise is a limiting factor. The master volume allows you to crank power to the preamp tubes to get some dirty overdrive, and turn down the power to the speakers so it's not so loud. Most of the old Fenders don't have that, but those silverfaced Champs and Deluxe Reverbs are great amps, like Paco said.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mesa-Boogie-Dual-Caliber-DC-3-NO-Reserve_W0QQitemZ7354546862QQcategoryZ43374QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mesa-Boogie-Subway-Blues_W0QQitemZ7354686129QQcategoryZ43374QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Unless you want something REALLY loud.. I have a 1983 Mesa Boogie MarkII 160+ watt head that Mesa first said they never produced,,, then they saw it and went,,, Whoa,,, we made that? It's a beast and sounds amazing, but everyone within a mile will know if you suck or not! It's for sale!
You can break every window in the neighborhood with that!
Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
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Its definitely speaking to me. I think I'm going to head back to Guitar Center this weekend to play it some more, quite possibly might bring it home with me as well. I'm still not sure on the amp. I guess I'll have to see what they have there thats small enough to not piss everyone in my house off, yet still has good tone. In the meantime I have a crappy little practice amp that my friends parents had buried in their basement. It should last me until I find one for myself.
I went back to Guitar Center, grabbed it off the rack, plugged it into an amp, sat down and must've played for another 30-40 minutes before a salesman came over to assist. After talking for awhile, and him demonstrating just what the guitar can do, as well as the amp I was plugged into was capable of (and especially after hearing the 15 months, no interest deal they were offering on a new Guitar Center credit card) I decided to get it, along with the amp I was plugged into, a Blonde Fender Blues Junior.
I honestly couldn't be happier. I brought it all home, plugged in and must've been messing around for at least an hour while the Yankee game was in the background. Despite the amount of change it all runs, I have a feeling this gear will last me for a good long while, it better!
Thanks for all your help everyone. Now that I've entered a new world in my playing I'm sure I'll have a thousand more questions.
my first guitar period was an american std. strat.
That's one of the things the salesman was demonstrating, overdriving the tubes with the volume, but keeping the master low so that I don't anger the neighbors or the roommates, too much.
Quick question, I flipped the guitar over to see just how the strings go in, still unsure of that, but a small black spring popped out from I don't know where. I didn't have the tremelo arm installed, I was curious if it came from that hole, or from elsewhere. All the springs seem to be in the bridge. I'm thinking I should bring it back to the store tomorrow to have them check it out to make sure.
it just helps maintain some resistance in the tremolo arm when it rotates.