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Help with new guitar


Tad

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I have been playing with my sons $100.00 Pevey for about two months (I am a beginner) and am not happy with the sound or the feel. I have been looking for a new guitar for weeks. I like Marshal tucker, Clapton, Santana, Hendrix, and the allman Bros. I like the Fender American Strat HH with s1 switching. I don't want to pay more than $1000.00 for guitar. Could I get some good advice on a new guitar....

Can you also give me some advice on an amp. I need something I can grow with over the next few years. Effects would be nice.

 

Thanks for all the responses :eek:

 

Play on! :thu:

Play On!
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Welcome Tad.

 

For a grand, judging from what sort of stuff you like...well, you can buy a new Am Std Strat for under a grand. That'll swing ya through the Clapton and Hendrix. But, for the Allmans and Marshall Tucker stuff, you might want to pick up a Les Paul Standard. You probably won't be able to buy a new one for a grand, but you oughta be able to pick up a good used one for that. For my money, I think a Strat is arguably more versatile than a Les Paul...but, it's a matter of opinion.

"Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine"
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Hi Tad.

Welcome to the forum. :wave:

 

For under $1,000 there are a lot of options. Tedster makes a pretty good point (as always), that some kind of strat will probably be a little more versatile (especially if you do get one with humbucker(s) and a coil-tap). Keep in mind though, that the scale (neck length) is a little longer on a strat than on a Gibson-style guitar; as a beginner, that may effect your playing.

 

You might also want to look at some of the Ibanez models. Their Artcore series are some sweet axes, and they are WAY under $1,000. They have a couple different styles, so try 'em out.

 

The best advice I can give is to just go into your local music shops and just play as many guitars as you can get your hands on. Pretty soon you'll start to realize what things you like and what things you don't.

 

Good luck!

:thu:

May all your thoughts be random!

- Neil

www.McFaddenArts.com

www.MikesGarageRocks.com

 

 

 

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Go with a Fender Standard (made in Mexico) Strat. A brand new one will cost as little as $349. I play one myself, and, in my opinion at least, it'll do just about anything that one could want. You can also get a Standard "fat" (with humbuckers) Strat for about $50 more. Anyhow, that's my suggestion.

Robert J. ("Bob") Welch III

 

"If you were the only person who ever lived, God still would have sent Jesus His only Son to die on the cross for YOU, because that is how much HE LOVES YOU!"

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Definitely Welcome to Tad :wave:

 

(a Chef and a Guitar Player...You'll fit in well ;) )

 

Ditto on the info...hang around for a little while and you'll get TONS of info on EVERY variety of guitar around :rolleyes:

 

But the fun thing is to go to the store and just pick em up and try em......

 

With $1000 budget you can get a lotta good stuff!

Lynn G
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Welcome to the forum, Tad. Notice the recurring theme from other members of trying as many different guitars as you can to find one that feels right to you. That holds true even if you narrow your choice down to one particular instrument. My two cents, I just bought an American Deluxe Strat (I'm a lefty so don't have the option of trying out many guitars) and love it to death. I also have a Mexican strat, but there's just no comparison, particularly the neck. Keep in mind that we're talking $400 guitar vs. $1,000 guitar, too. By the time I paid a luthier to set up the Mexican strat properly, then upgraded the pickups, for a couple hundred more bucks I could have just bought an American and been done with it. The old hindsight is 20/20 gig. Have fun in your search!

Bruce

I was born at night but I wasn't born last night...
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Hey Tad, welcome. I have a Gibson SG "Faded", that you can easily get for less than $1000. I really like this guitar.

 

I'm sure you can get American Strats and Teles for less than $1000. Used G & L's could be had also.

 

Any of these and probably more would serve you.

 

As you're a beginger, I'd consider if you have a smaller hand than most then avoid the strat as it has the longest scale length. Tele's and SGs have shorter scale lengths than Strats (and Jags or Jazzmasters for that matter).

check out some comedy I've done:

http://louhasspoken.tumblr.com/

My Unitarian Jihad Name: Brother Broadsword of Enlightened Compassion.

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Thanks for all the responses. I was playing an american strat today and thought the fret board had a great feel. I'll keep playing as many guitars as I can for awhile and make my decision.

 

I was also wondering about an amp I could buy and grow with for a couple of years. Effects would be nice too. Right now I am just playing in the house so I don't need too much power. Could someone help with brand and size.

Play On!
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Originally posted by musicalhair:

Hey Tad, welcome. I have a Gibson SG "Faded", that you can easily get for less than $1000. I really like this guitar.

oh sweet mamasita...i love the sg faded. as most here already know. unfortunately, it's better for balls out rawk than it is for versitility. get the best of both worlds and pick up a fender stratosonic. get the gibson feel with the versatility you crave from a strat. it retails for just under a grand, but you can talk most places down. excellent guitar.

http://www.fender.com/new_repository/fender_guitars/images/0114700_md.jpg

oh yeah and welcome to the board brutha.

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oh yeah, amp... well you can buy a piece o crap crate amp with onboard effects electronics, or you can buy a slightly better line 6 amp (flextone II or III is pretty decent for all around stuff, don't waste money on a spider), which all have effects built in.

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/48/482242.jpg

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Hey Tad, if you go with the American Standard Strat, I bet you'd be happy. I have a "Rivera era" Fender Harvard Reverb II that has served me well since around 1986. I'm not familiar with the smaller fender amps available today but I'm sure some of them would serve you as well as my little practice amp has me.

 

I've been very interested in the Orange AD15 or the bigger version of that amp.

 

I'd lay off effects for a while while your fingers develop the touch needed to play well-- rather than an effect get a metronome, and tuner and make sure the guitar is set up nicely.

 

Roland and Carvin make small amps that work fine.

check out some comedy I've done:

http://louhasspoken.tumblr.com/

My Unitarian Jihad Name: Brother Broadsword of Enlightened Compassion.

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The absolute best deal on solid body electric guitars right now is the Rickenbacker 650D Dakota. Walnut body and a maple neck, tung oil finish that can be applied over and over again to keep it looking nice, humbucking pickups with absolutely no noise, unbelievable craftsmanship, comfortable, 24 frets...

 

and they're $700 brand new. And they'll last forever.

http://www.rickenbacker.com/images/650d.gif

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:D Thanks for the response Sean. I am not famailiar with the rickenbacker 650d. It is a good looking guitar. Could you tell me more. What is the tone like? Is it as versatile as a strat. All info you have would be great. :thu:
Play On!
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That Rick looks sweet, I've loved that line of Ricks for some time, but I've not seen a lefty to test out.

 

Hey Tad, Strats are as "versatile" as any other guitar in my opinion. I've been using my strat most lately but I've got one project that just decided to go electric, where the guy is using a tele and I'm not sure if he gets the "bassy and thick" tele tone or the twangy or something else. He is useing a VHT amp, and I don't remember ever playing through one of those. My other project the guy plays a Heritage "Les Paul" type guitar get gets a warm tone out of a Fender amp. I could use just about any guitar I have but my ASAT, Strat, SG, and even the Jazzmaster to a lesser extent will standout from him easily. I actually get a ratty tone that would never work alone but when in the mix of the instruments makes it work just fine.

 

Strats get a "quack" that is especially useful on chords (especially funk and old r&b or blues), and the Robin Trower middle pickup tone is unique to strats to the tone obsessed.

 

I'm sure the Rick would work in any playing situation you enter, it is a beauty and if I saw a lefty I could tell you a lot more about it because I'd have one. Strat ,tele, SG, ASAT, Commanche, Legacy, Tribute (G&L or Alembic for that matter-- I think Alembic is making a "tribute" model now), and Rick for that matter should keep you happy.

check out some comedy I've done:

http://louhasspoken.tumblr.com/

My Unitarian Jihad Name: Brother Broadsword of Enlightened Compassion.

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Originally posted by Sean Eldon:

The absolute best deal on solid body electric guitars right now is the Rickenbacker 650D Dakota. Walnut body and a maple neck, tung oil finish that can be applied over and over again to keep it looking nice, humbucking pickups with absolutely no noise, unbelievable craftsmanship, comfortable, 24 frets...

 

and they're $700 brand new. And they'll last forever.

http://www.rickenbacker.com/images/650d.gif

I'm curious about this guitar. Two questions:

 

1) Does it sound like a Rick? I am not familiar with their humbucking pick-up.

 

2) Does it have the super skinny neck found on other Ricks? I have big hands that make most Ricks a challenge to play.

Mudcat's music on Soundclick

 

"Work hard. Rock hard. Eat hard. Sleep hard. Grow big. Wear glasses if you need 'em."-The Webb Wilder Credo-

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It sounds like a Ric, but not as jangly as the hollowbody models. It's got it's own sound, and with the light oil finish and the walnut build, it's got a really deep, dark sound, great for throwing on some drive (and it owns the clean tones, too). The sustain on this guitar rings out forever.

 

The 650D also has the widest neck that Ric makes, and it really is wide. A real glove fitting type thing. Dual truss rods make neck adjustments very easy, and self-setups are totally doable.

 

Best solidbody guitar on the market.

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