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Beggining and looking for gear advice

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(@hyperborea)
Prominent Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 827
 

The kind of music you like METAL if I'm not mistaken, yeah the Spider III would be a good bet. However the spiders I've seen get old fast. They do what they do very well, A LOT OF DISTORTION. But as your musical interests grow and your skills grow you may want to explore different genre's. You may decide you love the sound of a clean Fender with a dash of chorus thrown in for good measure. I think you'd be limiting yourself with just the one amp. Thats why I push Multi Efx units like a V-Amp, Pod, Boss GT8, Vox Tonelabs etc. The versatility of these are phenominal.

While I agree that the modeling pedals with all the bells and whistles are great they can become a terrible sinkhole of time especially for a beginner. If the OP is still playing in a year or two then maybe they should think about one of these. For the first while they just need an amp. Sure one of the simple modeling amps is ok since it's often just one or two knobs more than a plain amp but if you go to the full on modeling pedals or even a full on modeling amp that's a lot more knobs and a lot more ways to "waste" time as a beginner. The plinking of an improperly strummed bar chord is going to sound just as wrong no matter what model you've got chosen.

Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson


   
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(@blankrune)
Active Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 10
Topic starter  

While I agree that the modeling pedals with all the bells and whistles are great they can become a terrible sinkhole of time especially for a beginner. If the OP is still playing in a year or two then maybe they should think about one of these. For the first while they just need an amp. Sure one of the simple modeling amps is ok since it's often just one or two knobs more than a plain amp but if you go to the full on modeling pedals or even a full on modeling amp that's a lot more knobs and a lot more ways to "waste" time as a beginner. The plinking of an improperly strummed bar chord is going to sound just as wrong no matter what model you've got chosen.

Do you say this because they generally require a lot of setup to get what you want, or because they induce a lot of fidgeting instead of actual playing?


   
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(@hyperborea)
Prominent Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 827
 

Do you say this because they generally require a lot of setup to get what you want, or because they induce a lot of fidgeting instead of actual playing?

Both. The built-in settings on a lot of these are over the top demos designed to show the full effects of the pedals so they need to be tweaked to get it right. Plus it can become quite easy to play with the pedal rather than play with your guitar. My first real amp (I'm was an older beginner now maybe low-intermediate) was a simple modeling amp - Roland Cube 30. A nice amp with a good range of tones. Simple enough to use that I wasn't spending my time putzing with it rather than working on my barre chords. I have some complex gear now but even still it's a challenge sometimes to focus on what really needs the work - my playing.

Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson


   
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(@dagwood)
Noble Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 1024
 

Do you say this because they generally require a lot of setup to get what you want, or because they induce a lot of fidgeting instead of actual playing?

Both. The built-in settings on a lot of these are over the top demos designed to show the full effects of the pedals so they need to be tweaked to get it right. Plus it can become quite easy to play with the pedal rather than play with your guitar. My first real amp (I'm was an older beginner now maybe low-intermediate) was a simple modeling amp - Roland Cube 30. A nice amp with a good range of tones. Simple enough to use that I wasn't spending my time putzing with it rather than working on my barre chords. I have some complex gear now but even still it's a challenge sometimes to focus on what really needs the work - my playing.

Absolutely, I agree. What I was trying to point out though was that a newbie, could get very bored very fast with one 'general' tone of a standard, no frills amp.

For me the different tones/sounds I got from the V-Amp inspired me and knocked loose some of those sleepy brain-cells on different songs I wanted to learn. I'd change the patch.... and oh that sounds kinda like The Cure.. change again, Yup, that sounds like a 5150 aka EVH, change the patch again.. oh that sounds like some Metal God, etc. For me it was inspiring to have the variety at my finger tips.

To me that's what Electric guitar is all about, if I wanted the same ol same ol I'd only own an acoustic and be done with it (no offense to anyone). And honestly I don't tinker very much with my GT-8. I let others do that and when they want to share a patch and I like it. I take it and use it. God Bless the internet!!!

But your point is spot on too.. There are so many options out there and so much gear. Get a guitar your comfortable with, plug in and learn. Do you finger exercises, learn your chords then learn simple songs and with some hard work and dedication you'll be on your way to playing songs before you know it. :)

Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. - Wernher Von Braun (1912-1977)


   
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(@blankrune)
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Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 10
Topic starter  

I checked out a standard strat the other day and it almost seems like the fretboard is too narrow for my hand. But seeing as basically every electric guitar I've looked at has the same dimensions (or the differences are so small it didnt matter), I'm wondering if it's just something I'll have to learn to deal with or if others have the same problem.

One other guitar that really caught my eye was an Ibanez GSA60. I like the style more on this (mainly in the headpiece), but I dont know if it stands up to the quality of a standard strat....a lot of the reviews I've seen tend to lean more towards the strat. It also features one humbucker and two single coils, while the strat has three single coils....I haven't been able to demo them both recently because they're in two seperate stores and they both close an hour after I get off work. I hear that with a humbucker, you get a more general metal feel, but a small loss of tone...probably isnt anything I should be worried about right now anyway.

I've also been looking into a Roland Micro Cube as no stores carry much else.


   
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(@rparker)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5480
 

BlankRune, there's two different nutwidths. I think the squire is thinner than the Ibanez. If you look at them on something like Musiciansfriend.com, I think they'll list 'em. Small difference, but rather sizable effect.

Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin


   
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(@dennisf6)
Trusted Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 74
 

Get the guitar that makes you want to pick it up and play it.
That's much more important at this point than tone.

I think the Micro Cube is the perfect beginner amp.
It's sounds great for what it is. No matter what you start with you'll probably want something bigger and more expensive later. With a lot of lower priced amps that would mean the new amp makes the old one pretty useless.
With a Micro Cube you will probably still want to keep it around for the portability.

I want to play guitar very badly -
and I do!


   
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(@the-dali)
Noble Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 1409
 

Are you really in Alaska? Cool!

The Ibanez and Micro Cube would serve you well.

-=- Steve

"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"


   
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(@blankrune)
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Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 10
Topic starter  

Yes I'm in alaska :)

It turns out there's only like two music stores in this whole city that sells guitars, and only ONE sells the strat (it's an all Fender store). I was checking one particular guitar out for a while, it sounded and felt decent, but I realized I didnt look close enough and it was an Affinity series. The only Standard series he had was this one... http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Squier-Black-and-Chrome-Fat-Strat-Electric-Guitar?sku=511944 and I totally fell in love with it. Not really sure what difference there is between a normal strat and the "fat" strat, but whatever... Apparently it's said to go out of tune a lot, but I just took off the whammy bar and haven't really had any problems.

No stores here had the Ibanez and I didn't want to order online. Oh well. I did wind up getting the micro cube (from the only other store in town that carried more than Fender brand) and I'm pretty happy with the decision.

I really appreicate all the advice.


   
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(@rparker)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5480
 

Ah, so you geared up? congrats! Looks like a sweet guitar.

Fat vs "Normal" is all about the pickups. A normal one has 3 single coil pickups. Your's has a humbucker (looks like a doubled version of your other two pickups) on the bottom and single coils in the mid and neck positions.

Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin


   
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