Guitar Aficionados Needed! (Vanity)

Nita Nupress

[MarkWar]

>Guitar help...

I agree with Freeper parcel_of_rogues: "...nothing can kill a kid's interest faster than a crappy instrument."

I just checked around the internet a bit (well, I looked at Music123.com), and it looks like these days you can get a decent, name brand amp for around $150-$200. And they've got some Fenders for less than $250, and some low-end Ovations for around $250.

I'm sure if you check out places like local Guitar Centers you can get equally good deals.

My recommendation is to get your son new equipment, if you can afford it, and stick with solid, name brand stuff. Amps don't have to rock the roof off, just have good tone.

I've got a Telecaster and some low end Fender amp that have played true for more than ten years now. (But, if I were going to splurge today, I'd get a good Ovation and an even smaller amp -- something like a Pignose. They're making them again, and, if you get a contract, you can plug them directly into a mixer...)

Mark W.

[ko_kyi]

Well, I haven't played electric guitar in years but the Squire guitars are ok, epiphones are nice too. I find each guitar has its own feel, even though they might be the same make and model. Probably he should go to the store and pick out 5 or 6 in the right price range then play them each. Don't get to caught up in the sound, playability is the key factor. When he is ready to play somewhere he can upgrade. I have found that if the instrument plays nicely your money is better spent on a quality amp.

I find that if it frets out true all the way up, the action is medium to medium-low, and is equally comfortable to play seated or standing, that is about all you can ask for in that price range.

I once had one of those ibanez jobs with the wierd shape (destroyer?) that was nice but awful to play seated. Never again.

The main thing is to get a decent-to-good instrument so it is easier to play and learn on.

[Cinnamon Girl]

Have you checked out any offers of used guitars at guitar stores in your area? You might find a super expensive guitar for a good price. It would be much better to get an excellent used guitar than an okay new guitar.

[Senator Pardek]

$180.

Little known fact: It's believed by many that the reason he had only one pickup was because he was creating a new look by having a single humbucker in a strat-style guitar. The truth is, he simply did not know had to wire two pickups into his guitar, so he just left it with one!

[monkeyshine]

I've got an old Gibson SG, and it's got '56 gibson gold string pick-ups in it. Bought it used for $350. It was my first guitar after my first electric, the Fender Squire.

[Moby Grape]

Pacificas have a great finish, and very playable necks. I have two Artist Series Samicks, and they are VERY good. The UPPER end Koreans are all good values. Of course if I had the spare change, I would prefer the real American Gibsons, Fenders, and Taylors....in case you are interested, Eric Clapton's 1959 Gibson ES 335 is at Ebay for $100K.

[leadpencil1]

I play and so do my kids. We have two guitars in the house, an Ibanez and a Strat Standard. The kids play the Ibenz and I play the Strat. My advice is to buy his first guitar like you would (or should) buy a couch for the play room. Get an inexpensive model (Squire or fix up your old Ibanez) so when it gets chucked around or falls over you wont freak out. He'll only be trashing the "entry level" guitar untill he figues out how to care for a real one, which he will buy later.

BTW, our Ibenez can be tuned for a very rock friendly, chunky sound.

[Ozarkie]

Yeah, Thought it was in that range. Amazing, huh? By the way. Ain't nice to know so many Freepers play? My friend was at a store in Memphis and fell in love with a Westone of all things. Put some EMG's in it and LOVED it. We recorded with it. It sounded great. And this from a guy who played on an Explorer and a Les Paul. LOL

[william clark]

Check out the Danelectro line. The Convertible is a good acoustic/electric.

[UofHoustonRepublican]

I am just firing off a quick response, I've got to pick up some friends in a bit, so I didn't get to read your whole post, but I do have a pretty universal suggestion. You can get a Mexi-strat for a VERY low price, and a Fender Frontman Champion is a fine amp that won't kill you in the pocket. I have also heard some good things about Washburns, I've never played one though.

Also, I know the tendency is to head off to Guitar Center for the great prices. But, if possible, find a Mom and Pop store with an in house guitar tech, and see if they can't knock 50 odd bucks off the guitar. The in house tech will be real gem in the future if you're son would like some of the fancier mods done on his guitar. Enjoy!

[RightOnline]

Gibson man my ownself. :)

Have really simplified these last years. OK, for some time now. Have an '81 Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty", a latter-'80's Fender Twin ("The Twin"; 100W, tube, 2-12's, one LOUD sumbitch.....), wireless setup, and a Line6 POD (AND the Line6 foot controller; don't leave home without it; trust me). Live, I'll either just run straight into the POD and straight out to the board........or I'll go into the POD, into the Twin, and XLR out to the board.

I get some unholy, killer tones out of the above.

[UofHoustonRepublican]

Oh yeah, just responding to myself, I forgot one thing. My first guitar was a Yamaha Pacifica 112, now I know Yamaha makes you think of noisy crotch-rockets, but really it was a pretty awesome instrument. I will stay by my suggestion to grab a Mexi-strat (pickups are MUCH nicer), but if you want to keep costs as low as possible, a Pacifica can easilly be purchased for 169.00-180.00. And, if you do buy the very nice sounding Yamaha, lock the bridge down...its "vintage tremolo" is useless.

[Aeronaut]

If your experience with it is good (mine is) go to e-bay and have a look. You can get almost anything you want at a pretty good price. Caution is always advised, however.

[UofHoustonRepublican]

Fender Champion, not Frontman! Yikes, I can't type today, I'm in too much of a rush! Gotta go now, see ya folks!

[1Old Pro]

Decades ago I used a Fender & Gibson with a Peavey amp, worked better than great.

[Axeslinger]

As many have alluded to here... look for some of the cheaper combo packs. I know Fender makes one w/ a Squier guitar and a little 15 watt amp. Peavey also makes one, can't remember the model of the guitar. Both of these combo packs run for about 180-200 bucks.

The one thing I would point out that has not been mentioned thus far, is tuning. I would assume that your son knows how to tune a guitar. If yes, when he is selecting the guitar in the music store, have him do some 1 to 2 step string bends (that's fretting a note and then literally bending the strings up to a higher note without fingering a new note). Do that about 4 or 5 times on every string. Then see if it is still in tune. If it isn't, there's no way that it will stay in tune throughout your average rock guitar solo. In other words, your son will soon be pulling his hair out. Similarly, I would check the stiffness of the tuning pegs (knobs). I prefer mine to be definitely on the stiff side, but as I play a lot of Stevie Ray Vaughan style blues(lots of string bends), I don't want anything to slip, tuning wise.

[TheEdge]

You have enough to go on now, so I won't bother to add too much, other than to say I'd always think "Fender" first. (Time-tested and proven to be a terrific instrument at most entry-level price ranges.)

There is an earlier suggestion that you check the neck; excellent advice as you want to make sure the guitar has a metal rod within the neck running the length of the "keyboard" and into the guitar's solid body. This rod helps prevent warping of the guitar neck.

Good luck!