buying an electric guitar

[humpo]

Hi all

Im considering buying an electric guitar, can anyone recommend something that would suffice a complete novice?

[foetus eagle]

How much are you willing to spend?

The beginners dilemma is that the more you spend, the easier the guitar is to play. But, obviously, you won't want to spend thousands at this stage.

The Squier range have been first guitars for a lot of people.

[AJ]

The key is money. Squire(Fender), Epiphone(Gibson) make cheap versions of the more famous guitar brands, but, even within those cheaper versions there are a couple of tiers. There are 3 levels of Epiphone Les Pauls for example, and the quality is noticeable.
IMO, the best thing to do is go into a music store and try out a number of guitars in your price range and see which ones feel better.
In my days of living in Croydon, I used to go to Rockbottom Music shop in London Road(past West Croydon train station) and they used to have loads of used electrics for great prices. Used electrics are often made better than new ones, for a couple of reasons. The wood used was better as were the parts and the craftsmanship was a lot better. Many new guitars are made in SE Asia these days and are really one step up from a piece of junk.
With any electric make sure you plug it into an amp before buying. Also, make sure the amp you plug into, is the an amp in the price range you would be looking to spend. If you plug a poor guitar into a top of the line Marshall stack, then it'll sound pretty good.

[Chris Leitch]

Dont want to highjack the thread, however my question doesn't really warrant its own.

Does anyone know a place to get a cheap little synthesizer by any chance?

[ever hopeful!]

Originally Posted by AJ

The key is money. Squire(Fender), Epiphone(Gibson) make cheap versions of the more famous guitar brands, but, even within those cheaper versions there are a couple of tiers. There are 3 levels of Epiphone Les Pauls for example, and the quality is noticeable.
IMO, the best thing to do is go into a music store and try out a number of guitars in your price range and see which ones feel better.
In my days of living in Croydon, I used to go to Rockbottom Music shop in London Road(past West Croydon train station) and they used to have loads of used electrics for great prices. Used electrics are often made better than new ones, for a couple of reasons. The wood used was better as were the parts and the craftsmanship was a lot better. Many new guitars are made in SE Asia these days and are really one step up from a piece of junk.
With any electric make sure you plug it into an amp before buying. Also, make sure the amp you plug into, is the an amp in the price range you would be looking to spend. If you plug a poor guitar into a top of the line Marshall stack, then it'll sound pretty good.

Yeah, I'd go along with that.

[AJ]

Originally Posted by Chris Leitch

Dont want to highjack the thread, however my question doesn't really warrant its own.

Does anyone know a place to get a cheap little synthesizer by any chance?

Ebay

[IAN WALSH]

does anyone know where i can buy a triangle from, thinking about bringing one dow the palace to accompany the drummer

[humpo]

cheers for the tips all, will take your advice and check out the Squier and Epiphone guitar ranges.

[doof]

There are lots of cheap guitars on gumtree and you can usually get them even cheaper if you haggle.

Here's a cheap Squier strat >> To view the link you have to Register or Login

Here's a cheap Squier Telecaster >> To view the link you have to Register or Login

Here's a nice SG that is nicer than the Squiers and cheap >> To view the link you have to Register or Login

Here's an epiphone with an amp and pedal which is quite a good deal as it is everything you need. >> To view the link you have to Register or Login

[anti-addick]

I've recently started playing, something I always wanted to do but needed to get that will into my fingers. I started on my daughters £18 3/4 sized acoustic from Argos, then when I realised i'd stick with it I bought one second hand from a music store from a pro musician who'd traded it in. Tanglewood Evolution with smooth G-string and petzo (sp?) for electro-acoustic. It is in mint condition and came with a hard case so i'm chuffed for 200 quid.

Fingers have all hardened up now, just working on switching chords as quick as I can The plan is acoustic then electric.

[foetus eagle]

Originally Posted by anti-addick

I've recently started playing, something I always wanted to do but needed to get that will into my fingers. I started on my daughters £18 3/4 sized acoustic from Argos, then when I realised i'd stick with it I bought one second hand from a music store from a pro musician who'd traded it in. Tanglewood Evolution with smooth G-string and petzo (sp?) for electro-acoustic. It is in mint condition and came with a hard case so i'm chuffed for 200 quid.

Fingers have all hardened up now, just working on switching chords as quick as I can The plan is acoustic then electric.

Sounds like you're doing well. Chord changes are the first thing to concentrate on, after a while your fingers will automatically jump to the right positions.

Tanglewood make some nice guitars from what I've seen, sounds a good deal. You will find a decent electric a lot easier on the fingers than an acoustic. Good luck.

[AJ]

Originally Posted by anti-addick

I've recently started playing, something I always wanted to do but needed to get that will into my fingers. I started on my daughters £18 3/4 sized acoustic from Argos, then when I realised i'd stick with it I bought one second hand from a music store from a pro musician who'd traded it in. Tanglewood Evolution with smooth G-string and petzo (sp?) for electro-acoustic. It is in mint condition and came with a hard case so i'm chuffed for 200 quid.

Fingers have all hardened up now, just working on switching chords as quick as I can The plan is acoustic then electric.

Nice..

Piezo is the pickup. They usually sit under the bridge and often feed into a pre-amp. I've been looking at converting one of my acoustics to have a built in pickup, although, I am still not sure whether I want to do it. I got the "bug" after completing an assembly of a Fender Strat clone, where I bought all the parts of ebay. Turned out to be fairly easy to do.

[Chrissayy]

Originally Posted by Chris Leitch

Dont want to highjack the thread, however my question doesn't really warrant its own.

Does anyone know a place to get a cheap little synthesizer by any chance?

Minikorgs are the way to go. Cheap, and insane.

[anti-addick]

I've found To view the link you have to Register or Login a very good site, and you can get you tube song lessons if you are lucky. I can do a rough Coldplay - The Scientist, and i'm working on That's Entertainment by The Jam. Apparently acoustic is harder than electric so the switch is a doddle. Cheers guys and Good Luck Humpo

[Polish Pete]

Yamaha Pacifica. Squire looking . A little pricier BMHO a lot better

[AJ]

Originally Posted by anti-addick

Apparently acoustic is harder than electric so the switch is a doddle.

What's your reasoning on that?

[AJ]

Originally Posted by Polish Pete

Yamaha Pacifica. Squire looking . A little pricier BMHO a lot better

I have always found Yamaha guitars to be quite good. Certainly value for money.

[anti-addick]

Originally Posted by AJ

What's your reasoning on that?

I have none myself, it's what all guitarists have said to me. I guess it all depends what you are playing, but ceteris paribus....

[Casablancas]

Originally Posted by anti-addick

Apparently acoustic is harder than electric so the switch is a doddle.

I used to think that too, and its true to some extent - as a beginner its tougher to hold down the thicker strings on an acoustic and so there's less pain involved if/when you eventually pick up an electric.

But the truth is they're very different beasts. Getting a good tone out of an acoustic involves tweaking your playing style compared to how you rock out on a plugged in electric. Also, both have a variety of different techniques to use - many of which don't really cross over - and the string bends you could get away with on an acoustic don't really cut it on an electric. The level of accuracy needed when your sound is amplified is much higher - every little scratch, bum note and missed bend is much clearer to hear... although distortion can help cover your tracks!

I've only recently had a chance to play an electric again after years of being fingerstyle acoustic-only, and I'm finding that picking up the technical side of things is a bit challenging - especially in soloing, which surprised me as I'd got to thinking I was pretty handy on the old six-string. With more effects, distortion, feedback and the like, there's just so much more you can do on an electric!

[anti-addick]

We are miles apart, I am a n00b. My end goal is rythym and singing, the multitasking is much harder than I thought lol