Well, you guys convinced me to buy an electric guitar (don't worry, I won't tell my wife it's your fault), but when I went into the store to look, I felt like when I went for the first time to pick an acoustic. It's all very well saying i need to play guitars until one feels "right", but it's all so new I don't know where to start "feeling".
Okay, I know you get it all the time, so I won't ask "what electric guitar should I get".
What I would like is a point in the right direction...what should I know about electric guitars? What makes them different? What should I know about effects? What's the difference between hollow bodied and solid bodied? Types of pickup? For an intermediate-begginer, is the amp or the guitar more important (having effects is a must, as I can play my acoustic if I'm going for a straight sound).
Kind of wanting to do my research properly.
Thanks!
it can be very overwhelming and we feel your pain, honestly we do :wink:
my process of deciding which way to go involved narrowing it down to which guitar would give me the broadest pallet to work with, or the most variety of tones. some will argue that you can make any guitar sound like just about any other guitar these days through modelers and such but that's not what i'm talking about.
another factor in your search would be to pick a guitar that suits the type of music you play mostly. or maybe the type/model of guitar that you enjoy listening to the most.
then there is budget (yes the dreaded "B" word) you need to have a good practice amp also
hope that helps.
#4491....
It's all very well saying i need to play guitars until one feels "right", but it's all so new I don't know where to start "feeling".
What I do is while I am playing the guitar I try to figure out what things about it I like ex. good neck feel, good tone controls. ect. and what things about it bother me, does it seem like I'm fighting with the fretboard, am I having a hard time getting the tones I want or at least tones that I like, ect. I then try this with another guitar and compare the two. most of the time I find that even though I am trying to stay objective I will start to favor one specific guitar. Now even if this guitar seems to have faults that the others may not have it is the guitar that I generally go with. It seems odd but when you play the right electric you will know it.
that said, everyone is differen't and everyone has differen't unique opinions, tastes, and descriptions of everything. so I would recommend going out and playing as many guitars as you can. then you can form your own opinion of what the differen't types of guitars sound like.
also if your looking for a good practice amp with effects I'd take a look at a roland minicube or one of it's larger versions. they're not half bad for the price.
anyway hope this helps :wink:
wherever you go, there you are.
I have a difficult time deciding which guitar I like the best/want the most. So I bought three!
The beauty of the guitar is that the entire experience is a journey. You don't need to find the PERFECT guitar right now. You know... "I'm not looking for Ms. Right, I'm looking for Ms. Right Now.'
Search around and play a few and see what feels best for you. I'm not sure what is available in SA, but start with the basics: Strat, SG, Tele, or Les Paul. If you like the strat feel, try the "super strats" like Jackson or Ibanez. If you like the LP, maybe look at some of the other "similar" styles.
I love electric guitar because if I buy one and it sounds crappy I can do something about it - buy new pickups, get an effects processor, etc...
So, don't view this as the "end all" - it is a beginning. If you buy something and you hate it, you can always trade it in and look for something else.
-=- Steve
"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"
Ok, I re-read your email. Here is my suggestion:
Get a decent amp with a few effects. You don't need crazy effects, maybe something with some basic distortion.
Pickups are irrelevent. They can be changed. Get something that feels good. Look for name brand tuners. Nothing more annoying than a guitar that won't stay in tune.
You can get a good amp for $100 US and probably a decent guitar for $100 - 300 US. My personal suggestion would be to look at the second-hand Import Hamer guitars. They look like a PRS and they are well made. Always a few available on eBay. They run about $265 US and come with Duncan Designed pickups. Soild guitar.
-=- Steve
"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"
I think the most important thing when picking out an electric is to play it unplugged. You can tell a lot about an electric guitar unplugged. A great electric will sound great unplugged and even better fired up. No matter how great a guitar looks or feels, if it sounds dead unplugged then move on. It will sound dead plugged in too.
I look for a guitar that feels comfortable to me. I play each string at each fret up and down the neck and listen for fret buzz. I feel for fret burrs alongside the neck. I turn the tuners. I like tuners that feel solid and turn smoothly. I flip the switches and turn the knobs. I like them to feel firm and smooth too.
Then fire the guitar up and play it awhile. Try different pickups and turn the volume and tone knobs. Listen to the tones you get out of the guitar. Listen for noise or scratchiness when turning the knobs or flipping switches. You don't want that.
But the most important thing is to find a guitar with a tone you love that feels comfortable. If the guitar looks good, that is a bonus.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
