My First Guitar!!

[WORLD]

So I've decided I finally want to buy that first electric guitar, and become the next white Jimmy Hendrix. I've done a bit of research on differences between brands, but it's all a bit overwhelming when your a newbie.

I have a budget of about $250-300 max. I know its not a lot, but I'm sure I could find something out there that's decent for a beginner.

So, what should I be looking for? What brands, what attributes? Basically I want to walk into a store knowing what I'm looking for instead of being suckered into buying a guitar that looks cool. I've heard that a lot of these stores sell a majority of their guitars to people with the attitude "If it looks good, it sounds good".

Thanks

[BFGUITAR]

Ah welcome to the world of guitar! Do not give up no matter how bad it seems (youll see what I mean soon enough lol).

Well first let me say, if your only going to lay down 300 bucks on an electric guitar and amp your going to be very disappointed. Your guitar's playability and feel is dictated by the instrument itself but it's sound is highly dependent on the amp its running through.

If you were to pump up your budget 150 bucks you could get A LOT more for your money. For 300 bucks you can get a decent starter guitar and for 150 you can get a nice, small tube amp (dont get suckered into digital its not worth it).

As for the guitar... I need to know your style of music as different guitars cater to different styles (blues, rock, fusion, shredding, country...).

As for the amp... I know you may not like this idea but go to small music stores with second hand amps and get a used tube amp. My dad and I go to these music stores and pick up really nice amps just because the price is so good. For 150 dollars you can get a better used amp from a small store than a new one froma big store.

Before you do ANY buying, dedicate a weekend at a music store. Go there and play every single instrument through every amp you can. Try out digital ones and tube ones so you can hear the difference. Ask the guys there to direct you to a tube amp and to a digital one. Dont listen to what they have to say for the most part they are trying to make some money of you. Their opinion means nothing to you. Its your instrument not theirs.

Just a personal experience... My dad came home and brought this OLD OLD tube amp from the 50s. It was the sweetest sounding thing ever! He payed less than 100 bucks for it! I honestly love the thing.

[WORLD]

Ah welcome to the world of guitar! Do not give up no matter how bad it seems (youll see what I mean soon enough lol).

Well first let me say, if your only going to lay down 300 bucks on an electric guitar and amp your going to be very disappointed. Your guitar's playability and feel is dictated by the instrument itself but it's sound is highly dependent on the amp its running through.

If you were to pump up your budget 150 bucks you could get A LOT more for your money. For 300 bucks you can get a decent starter guitar and for 150 you can get a nice, small tube amp (dont get suckered into digital its not worth it).

As for the guitar... I need to know your style of music as different guitars cater to different styles (blues, rock, fusion, shredding, country...).

As for the amp... I know you may not like this idea but go to small music stores with second hand amps and get a used tube amp. My dad and I go to these music stores and pick up really nice amps just because the price is so good. For 150 dollars you can get a better used amp from a small store than a new one froma big store.

Before you do ANY buying, dedicate a weekend at a music store. Go there and play every single instrument through every amp you can. Try out digital ones and tube ones so you can hear the difference. Ask the guys there to direct you to a tube amp and to a digital one. Dont listen to what they have to say for the most part they are trying to make some money of you. Their opinion means nothing to you. Its your instrument not theirs.

Just a personal experience... My dad came home and brought this OLD OLD tube amp from the 50s. It was the sweetest sounding thing ever! He payed less than 100 bucks for it! I honestly love the thing.

Haha I had a feeling I'd find you on this thread.

For one, I never knew an amp was that important. I thought that as a beginner, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a good sounding amp and a poor one. I've also never heard of a tune amp, but I'll read up on it.

I will be playing mostly rock.

The thing with going to a music store and playing everything in there is I won't be able to tell the difference between one guitar's sound and another. I also don't know how to play anything, so I would basically be strumming random notes. I wish I had a buddy who was more experienced to come along with me.

[RickTheDestroyer]

I'd steer away from buying a new guitar- find a decent used one. If it feels good and sounds good unplugged, then you can fiddle with electronics to get the sound you want plugged in. I'd honestly be more concerned with finding an ax you like than I would be about finding an amp... period. A decent little tube amp is the way to go, but early on you'd be fine with a little practice amp.

[Spartan936]

Different kinds of rock and rollers use different types of electric guitars. Hendrix used Fender, Slash uses some sort of gibson I believe... Some people think blues and straight rock often sound better with single coil pickups, whereas metal and harder sounds come mostly from humbuckers... There are many many different types of guitars. It all comes down to the sound and the feel (and the look) you enjoy more.

I'm thinking around $300 would be fine for an amp and a guitar. Both would be cheaper versions, and the amplifier would be solid state. For someone learning the guitar this is probably fine. However, if you are really serious about learning the guitar and getting good, then maybe you should look at spending a little more on a tube amplifier and a decent guitar.

[BFGUITAR]

A buddy would help, just remember he will have personal preferences which WILL rub off on you.

Ok so your a rocker, that makes it easy for me lol.
Gibson and Fender are the "style" of guitar you should be looking for.

Now for the sound you want.

Like the sound of The Doors? Zeppelin? Than a Gibson style guitar might be for you. Gibson's typically are expensive but you can find an Epiphone, a brand of Gibson which are cheaper yet have a nice sound (ive ownd one before). These guys have pickups called "humbuckers". They do what they sound like, they remove annoying hum. They are powerful and can really blow your socks off due to the double coil.

Are you a fan of Hendrix? Stevie Ray Vaughen? These guys are known for their playing on a Fender Stratocaster.
Their pickups depend on the model but they typically have 3 seperate single coil pickups (unlike the Gibson humbuckers where each humbucker has 2 coils). Newer models have two in the back, one in the middle and two up front. You may have heard that stratocasters are versatile and thats because you can switch between the pickups to get VERY distinct different sounds. You can use the back pickups only, the back and middle, middle or front, or just the front. Other models allow you to split the pickups themselves. This gives you a lot of different sounds to experiment and is the reason why they prevail in the guitar industry today. Not to mention they have a wammy bar which is a lot of fun.

Only down side, they can be expensive. There are Squire strats but those are the biggest pieces of garbage in the world. People who buy these are the curl jockeys of the guitar world lol. If you could find a used beat up strat your on your way to being the white hendrix lol.

I personally like strats because they are versatile and fell better when playing (the neck is thinner than a gibson). I grew up on these kinds of guitar so that is my bias. Dont listen to me, try what you want and make your own bias.

Fender also has the Telecaster, a great instrument. These things really know how to scream. I owned one back in the day, regret ever giving it up.

So now to the point. Find out what you like at the music store and than go to small stores and find used and slightly beat up guitars/amps for cheap. I like my guitars beat up, they add attitude. This will take a lot of time but you will be learning very valuable information. It is work, but it is fun work. Its kind of like discovering this site back in the day. A little bit of effort WILL give you amazing results.

[mikey4402]

BF gave alot of good advice. You really do need to go any play every guitar.

A good amp can make a crappy guitar sound good and a crappy amp can make a good guitar sound crappy.

But i would spend more money on the guitar

You say rock, could you be more specafic. what kind of bands?

If you want a good guitar that can play just about any type of music check out a Stratocaster. I got a MIM Fender strat for around $400 it sounds amazing. The squire Stratocaster is alot cheaper then the american strat or the MIM strat and is IMO the best sounding strat copy. Although try them all out one might be a gem the next might suck.

As far as amps go BF is right about tube amps being the way to go. However i sugesst checking out a Vox Valvetronix. These amps have built in guitar effects and amp mods. i picked up a 50w for $150 once

Another route to do is to spend more money on the guitar and get a Toneport. The toneport is actually a guitar interface but it comes with alot of amp modes and effects. It also has a data base where you can look up an artist and the toneport emmulates that artists sound. The problem with the is it does run off your computer. The toneport Gx runs around $70.

[anelka]

The thing with going to a music store and playing everything in there is I won't be able to tell the difference between one guitar's sound and another. I also don't know how to play anything, so I would basically be strumming random notes. I wish I had a buddy who was more experienced to come along with me.

If you've never played the guitar before, then I've always heard that you're better off getting an accoustic and learning on that.

[mikey4402]

If you've never played the guitar before, then I've always heard that you're better off getting an accoustic and learning on that.

i think its easier to go from acoustic to electric, just because your fingers maybe stronger from the thicker acoustic strings. In fact i learned this way and cant deal with the more common 9 gauge string on the electric, so i put 12 gauge strings on my electrics the same that are on my accoustic guitars

[BFGUITAR]

If you've never played the guitar before, then I've always heard that you're better off getting an accoustic and learning on that.

This is because of the whole "acoustic guitar is harder to play" deal. I dont buy it. If you like electric guitar rock, buy an electric guitar, period.

Yes, spend more money on the guitar. The instrument feel is critical.

As far as the vox... Hes new he should stay away from all those crazy settings. It will just confuse him. He should stick to the standard settings... gain, volume, reverb, bas, mid, treble... Which is why a standard tube amp will be for him.
Its like telling a newb to do snatches before hes touched a barbell. Simple is king.

[mikey4402]

This is because of the whole "acoustic guitar is harder to play" deal. I dont buy it. If you like electric guitar rock, buy an electric guitar, period.

Yes, spend more money on the guitar. The instrument feel is critical.

As far as the vox... Hes new he should stay away from all those crazy settings. It will just confuse him. He should stick to the standard settings... gain, volume, reverb, bas, mid, treble... Which is why a standard tube amp will be for him.
Its like telling a newb to do snatches before hes touched a barbell. Simple is king.

I agree with you that simple is king. But most people that i know who start out on a simple practice amp will want to go out and buy a new distortion pedal or a delay. Some people get bored with a clean sound or high gain. The Vox have a decent clean sound plus it will save him money if he wants to buy effects.

I guess its just a battle of are music styles on this. Most of the music i play is loaded with effects (like a John fruscantie/Mike Einziger kindda thing) where you come from what i think is a classical guitar background.

Nice analogy with the snatches though lol

[noahfor123]

I'm sure it's a travesty for a noob to have such a nice guitar (I'm referring to myself), but I got a Jackson SLSMG for $400 on ebay. Pretty nice guitar for the price, from what I hear. It was new, too.

Also, I hear that the Crate Stealth is a really nice amp. It's all tube, and designed by Lee Jackson, some famous amp designer, and they go for like $150-200 on ebay, which is super cheap.

[BFGUITAR]

If you want cool effects get a line 6 pod. The settings arent amazing but they do the job. This way you get quality sound of a tube amp with cool effects.

[bigbabyjesus]

I agree with you that simple is king. But most people that i know who start out on a simple practice amp will want to go out and buy a new distortion pedal or a delay. Some people get bored with a clean sound or high gain. The Vox have a decent clean sound plus it will save him money if he wants to buy effects.

I guess its just a battle of are music styles on this. Most of the music i play is loaded with effects (like a John fruscantie/Mike Einziger kindda thing) where you come from what i think is a classical guitar background.

Nice analogy with the snatches though lol

i have one of those tiny vox amps db5 or something. great lil amp.

i also have some strats i'm lookin to get rid of.

[WORLD]

Thanks for all the great advice guys. I think my best bet is looking for a used one from a trustworthy source. I still don't know what brand to buy. I'll take your advice and look at the ones you all mentioned. As far as an amp goes, I'll stick to a tube amp and find a used one as well. I don't see the purpose of getting something new at my level anyways. As I progress with my learning I'm sure I'll get a better guitar and amp.

When you say try them out, consider that I don't have a clue how to test for the quality of the sound. If I just strum a few notes on each one, what should I try listening to??

Also, comfort should be a concern too right? Are the thickness of their necks different? I think BF mentioned above that they do vary.

And BF, you talked about coil taps. I just looked up what that is and I'm still not 100% on the effects of having them in different places on the guitar. So, what a coil does is basically pick up the vibrations from the strings and send the signal into the guitar, right? So you said different guitars have different variations of coil taps, making them sound different?

This is a cool site I've been browsing through, check it out: http://www.swee****er.com/shop/guita...ying-guide.php

[mikey4402]

When you say try them out, consider that I don't have a clue how to test for the quality of the sound. If I just strum a few notes on each one, what should I try listening to??

Also, comfort should be a concern too right? Are the thickness of their necks different? I think BF mentioned above that they do vary.

I think in your cause just find one that feels good. Some guitar necks are thicker then others. Some guitars have wider fret boards.
Some guitars i think you should check out are Fender Stratocasters (single pick up and humbucker pickups) , Fender telecaster and Gibson les pauls. If your planing on playing metal or anything heavy then i would suggest other guitars.

And BF, you talked about coil taps. I just looked up what that is and I'm still not 100% on the effects of having them in different places on the guitar. So, what a coil does is basically pick up the vibrations from the strings and send the signal into the guitar, right? So you said different guitars have different variations of coil taps, making them sound different?

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-S...10-i1148847.gc
This is a single coil stratocaster. It has three pickups(the things that pick up the sound) The switch on the side controls which pickup or pickups are active. You can sellect the bridge , the bridge and the middle, the middle only, the neck and middle or the neck pickup only. They each have a distinct sound. make sure you switch through all the pickup positions when you try out the guitars. The neck pickup sounds more bassy and the bridge has a high trebble sound.

Single coil strats are played by people like JOhn Fruscainte from the RHCP, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, SRV, John mayer. Other heaver bands such as Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana use them too. But they do get a little noisy sometimes.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-H...79-i1167441.gc
This is a Strat with a humbucker on its. See how there are two bridge pickups. Humbuckers sound warmer and fatter then single coils. People like jimmy page, Richie sambora of bon jovi use them.

I truly say, get a single coil Fender stratocaster. its the best guitar in the world!

[BFGUITAR]

The coils have electric fields running through them turning them into a magnet. The strings are metal and when plucked vibrate at different frequencies depending where you hold the string. The magnet picks up these oscillations and convert them into sound. Remember, the pickups dont pick up the physical vibrations the string makes, but rather their oscillation's through the magnetic field. Thats the general idea.

Have coils in different places allows the guitar to sound differently because they pick up the oscillations in different places. The type of coils make a difference as well (Telecaster coils are more tightly wound, giving it a stronger sound for example). The location, orientation (strat pick ups are sometime tilted) and type of coil along with the type of strings and wood all contribute to the sound of the guitar.

Try learning a few simple chords, shouldnt take long. Learn E minor (Em), D major and C major. More or less easy chords.

And really you could just go to the stores and literally dick around with the guitar even if you know nothing. Instruments speak to you. When that happens you respond by buying them lol.

[prizeoasis]

my recommendation:

[Chubrock]

Check out guitar shops that sell used guitars. I was able to pick up an Epiphone Elitist with EMGs for $400. Worth much more than that.

[anelka]

This is because of the whole "acoustic guitar is harder to play" deal. I dont buy it. If you like electric guitar rock, buy an electric guitar, period.

I think the argument is that the distorted sound on the electric hides mistakes and you learn bad habits.

[Organichu]

I think the argument is that the distorted sound on the electric hides mistakes and you learn bad habits.

Yup.

BF, while I applaud your theory that playability with one's favored genre trumps all, I've found that the most inspiring thing for a new learner is becoming proficient in any style- not becoming mediocre in their favored genre.

Everyone's different, I guess, but I always recommend that people start acoustic unless they have the self control to not just distort the hell out of their practice sessions. Few noobies do, I find.

[RickTheDestroyer]

I think the argument is that the distorted sound on the electric hides mistakes and you learn bad habits.

Very true, but you can play an electric clean, or unplugged, for that matter. I think it's really important to be able to have things sound somewhat "right" early on because it can help people keep from getting discouraged. That's been my experience, anyway.

[bigmoney]

Check craigslist and garage sales. I found my first Stratoscaster for only 100 bucks and it was in near perfect condition. Ya never know what you will find.

[noahfor123]

I think the argument is that the distorted sound on the electric hides mistakes and you learn bad habits.

I think my playing sounds alot cleaner on my acoustic or when my electric is unplugged than when my electric is plugged in. When it's plugged in, I can hear every little string bump, sloppily pulled-off-of fret, and notes that I don't stop the ringing of.

[BFGUITAR]

Yup.

BF, while I applaud your theory that playability with one's favored genre trumps all, I've found that the most inspiring thing for a new learner is becoming proficient in any style- not becoming mediocre in their favored genre.

Everyone's different, I guess, but I always recommend that people start acoustic unless they have the self control to not just distort the hell out of their practice sessions. Few noobies do, I find.

Im for playing and mastering different styles. Im in a rock band, play classical guitar half decently, I play blues, and can pull off some jazz and flamenco. But he likes rock and should concentrate on what he likes. Its counter productive to attempt 100 styles at the same time. He can try different styles to see what he likes, but its important to pursue one at a time until you know enough about the instrument to recognize what makes one style so different than the other.

As for the instrument, playing clean on an acoustic steel string guitar is quite easy (mainly because the music is more simple for rock). Being able to control distortion, bends, vibratos, and really getting your guitar to scream in my opinion is much harder. Rock on acoustic guitar is mainly limited to chords. I say MAINLY. There is some ridiculous steel string stuff out there but im talking for his purposes.

As well, he likes rock and should get a guitar that caters to his needs. He can play country, jazz, fusion on his guitar, no question about it. I play all those styles on a strat. But the sound he likes comes from a strat, it sounds more familiar to him. Familiarity is important.

I played blues and rock for 2-3 years before I took up classical guitar. I had a pretty decent understanding of the guitar's fret board and some half assed theory. Did I give up on rock? Hell no, I played classical guitar more than rock, only because it needed more effort. Now im playing more rock than classical because im in a band.