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Well, looking at getting an electric guitar setup...

Tyrion

By Tyrion
in Yoda’s Swamp

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Tyrion Newbie

Tyrion

Posted
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And yes Acrylic...you better damn well reply!

 

Anyway, for my birthday my dad is willing to buy me a guitar and an amp. I have until October to choose, so I figure now's the time as any to look. So far, I'm looking for something that while has features, is more of a classic 60-70's guitar that doesn't use a vibrato bar(whammy bar).

 

http://www.rondomusic.net/al3000rghtleft.html

 

Agile 3000M Prestige...looks awesome and seems to fit everything I want. I've read reviews and it's extremely durable, which is nice for my left-is-right balancing ability. The tone I've heard is also top, and that although it's a Les Paul offshoot it's still 90% the quality for alot less the price. Oh, and it looks awesome.

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/482256/

 

Spider II Amp...I actually have no clue on what amp to get, so I'm asking you all mostly for advice on this. I just picked this amped because of it's rating...but if anyone knows a 150ish dollar amp that's good for 60-70's music, please list it.

 

Thanks.

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Father Torque Newbie

Father Torque

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Hmmmm, I think I might have found a sweet deal for you Ty. I found a Epiphone Les Paul Classic Quilt Top. I actually wanted to get it a year or so back but it was too expensive. At Guitar Center, this beautiful guitar is 500 bucks off. It has relatively similar features as the Agile guitar you want but I believe it will have better sound quality.

 

I think in years past I have tried out an Agile guitar and I was unimpressed with the sometimes fuzzy quality it produced... maybe it was the amp.

 

There is also the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar which is pretty much the same as the classic but offers more color variety and has a bit different setup

 

For amps I would suggest the Marshall MG15DFX Combo. It is $ 169 and is made by Marshall which is one of the best amp companies.

 

It is a small 15 W but you probably dont need anymore than that. It also has custom built in effects such as chorus, reverb, delay and flange which will allow you to experiment to the fullest. It has 2 channels which means a buddy can hook up with you and it has CD inputs so you can hook your CD player up and the amp will play your CD, allowing you to jam along.

 

Finally, if you want a good learning bookI would suggest the Hal Leonard Play Guitar Today Pack

 

Good luck with your descision. :thumbsup:

 

EDIT: Bad Linkies.... changed.

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Acrylic Newbie

Acrylic

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Alright, here's my advice.

 

As far as a guitar goes, I don't recommend going for something over $200 for your first guitar. Les Pauls are generally more heavier than strats. My Les Paul is about as heavy as 2 of my strats.

I recommend starting off with a strat style guitar personally, because that's what I did. (I have a Samick strat from like 2000...I don't think they make those strats like they do now :()

 

But most importantly, what you NEED to do is test the specific guitar you're going to buy before hand. Not a guitar similar to it, the exact guitar. All guitars are made differently, even if they're the same.

 

The same goes for amps. Once you pick out a guitar you really like and think sounds just grand, try it out on a few amps. See what the guitar sounds like on different amps, and if you find a sound you really like, then get that amp.

 

When I first got my guitar, I had a really crappy generic Peavey amp that was made for keyboards. Then a year later, I got a different amp. A Peavey Rage 158. For that price, it's a pretty good amp.

 

But MOST DEFINATELY go to a local music shop, and TRY OUT THE EXACT GUITAR YOU ARE GOING TO BUY. I know I said it already, but I can't stress it enough.

 

If you have any more questions, just ask.

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edlib Newbie

edlib

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My guess is with that guitar you'll probably want to have the pickups, (and possibly the hardware,) replaced at some point. Those are the areas that companies cut the most to save money.

Save up for some genuine Gibson or Seymour Duncan pickups down the road.

 

Either way, my first action with a guitar like that is to take it to a qualified guitar repair shop and get a proper setup put on it before you ever try to play it. Few production-line guitars come out of the box setup properly, (and the cheaper the guitar the worse it usually is,) and can make your life miserable. It might cost another $100 bucks or so, but can make a huge difference in the playability and sound over the stock config.

 

Other than that it looks pretty good for a Gibson knock-off... and the Line 6 stuff is pretty killer, no problems there. You could do a lot worse.

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Tyrion Newbie

Tyrion

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Thanks everybody. I'll follow your advice on personally playing the guitar I want, Acrylic. Torque, do you have any experience on Ibanez/Fender guitars? I'm learning guitar on an acoustic anyway so I don't need a book(even got a teacher!). Edlib, were I to get an in-store guitar like Acrylic recommends, should I still take it to a profession for fine tuning?

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Father Torque Newbie

Father Torque

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Ya Ty, I have played a couple Ibanez guitars. Heck, my bass is an Ibanez SR810 Sound Gear Bass. I like the company in that they produce quality instruments for your money.

 

My ex-band mate had a fairly nice and cheap Ibanez, think it was an Ibanez Artcore AF75. It sounded better than an guitar I have heard in an amp, plus it looked awesome.

 

If you want good tone with and even without an amp Ibanez is a great company for you. They also will last a long time if you take care of it.

 

Im not so great with Fender. I own a Fender Amp for my bass which i'm not too pleased with, but I also had a cheap $ 129 Squire as my "learning" guitar. It was pretty good to learn on but had some pickup problems, and the stock strings were pretty crappy. I haven't personally played many higher end fender's like the Strat but I've heard some people play them and they dont sound bad.

 

If I were you I would stick with either the Ibanez guitar company or another company. Even the Agile you found would be a more well rounded choice.

 

And it's good that you found a teacher. I didn't have one and I'm sure I would be alot better if I did. Just make sure that you practice scales and such on the side. They may be frustrating and cheesy/tedious but they come in handy when playing more advance music and solos. Especially look at the Blues Scales, they are used in many classic rock songs and give a different sound to the song you are playing or even writing.

 

BTW, do you have the Kennely Keys or Mills Music chains in your area of Cali. If you do then those would be ideal stores to go to for accesories and what not. I would say Guitar Center has the best selection of guitars, but I dunno if they exist in Compton, i mean Cali.

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Tyrion Newbie

Tyrion

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Yeah, I'll try to look out for Ibanez then. I'm not a fan of the Stratocaster look as well. The only I'm concern about is the whammy bar- is it that hard to put new strings in them? I've heard Floyd Rose style locks are very tough to string, but I'm not so sure about the regular ones. Could tuning also be a problem?

 

About the scales, ahead of ya there. Practicing with one of the basic ones for a week or so; really helps with getting my finger coordination down. I'm not sure if we have Kennelys or Mills down here, but I know we have Sam's Ash and lots of Guitar Centers. So no problem there.

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CapNColostomy Newbie

CapNColostomy

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Ibanez are good guitars. I've played several and owned some. Almost every guitar I've owned has had a Floyd Rose and trem. The trems just unscrew, so they have no effect on the difficulty of changing the strings. As for it being hard to string through a Floyd Rose, I don't think it's hard at all and there are some benefits to using them.

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edlib Newbie

edlib

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Ibanez = Good.

Cheap Fender = Mostly bad.

Expensive Fender = Super Cool!!!!!

 

If the guitar is used, then you probably won't need to get it set up, at least not right away. If it's inexpensive and brand new, then most likely it a good idea.

 

Setting up a guitar means adjusting the action (how close the strings are to the fretboard = how easy it is to play) and intonation (how in tune it stays as you play up the neck) to the gauge of strings you pick out. This is a process of adjusting the tension on the neck, the height of the bridge, (and possibly the nut,) as well as polishing down any high frets on the neck that might cause buzzes.

It's something that most beginners won't know how to do properly right off the bat, but can make a huge difference in how it plays.

It's something that needs to be re-done any time you wish to change the gauge of the strings you use, although after a while you'll learn what to do yourself.

 

These are steps that tend to get rushed through and shortchanged on cheaply mass-produced production-line instruments.

Expensive guitars (top of the line Gibsons, Fenders, Paul Reed Smiths, etc...) spend a little more time checking those things at the factory before they go out the door,.. but even still, things can happen during shipping as well as hanging on a guitar store wall for months before being sold. Especially if the guitar was made in a very different climate than the one it's being sold in. A change of temperature and humidity can throw a guitar neck pretty far out of whack.

 

A used guitar will have probably had some adjustments made to it already, either by the owner or a tech.

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Father Torque Newbie

Father Torque

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Originally posted by Tyrion

Hush, you love Aerosmith. :p

 

Weird, im listening to Aerosmith right now.... :D

 

Ya, The Angus Young SG is like super duperly, amazingly, fantasticaly, awesomely, exuberantly, marvellously, stupendously, magnificoly (.:confused: ), brilliantLY, extrordinarily, insane-o-ly, tubularly.... mediocre.

 

:o

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Acrylic Newbie

Acrylic

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Originally posted by ZBomber

Screw everything everyone else said and get an Angus Young Signature Gibson SG. Best guitar eva. :p

 

Yeah, it really isn't all that good.

 

I wouldn't recommend signature guitars, since you kind of want to develop your own sound over time, not SRV's, Jimmy Page's, ERic Clapton's, or Angus Young's.

 

</2 cents>

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Father Torque Newbie

Father Torque

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Originally posted by ZBomber

Aerosmith > AC/DC

Joe Perry < Angus Young

 

Father Torque > Zbomber :D

 

Originally posted by Acrylic

I wouldn't recommend signature guitars, since you kind of want to develop your own sound over time, not SRV's, Jimmy Page's, ERic Clapton's, or Angus Young's.

 

Ya, getting a Sig series guitar is not a smart option for a beginner, even for a professional musician. Don't get us wrong Ty, they are great guitars but they for stupid heads like Z.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is stupid head still cool to say? :confused:

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Tyrion Newbie

Tyrion

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Ya, getting a Sig series guitar is not a smart option for a beginner, even for a professional musician. Don't get us wrong Ty, they are great guitars but they for stupid heads like Z.

 

Yeah, I didn't care much for singature guitars anyway. Rather create my own sound than copy that of a professional. Although I wouldn't mind going for a Santana guitar...

 

Is stupid head still cool to say? :confused:

 

If cool is what you're trying to go for, then saying stupid head is the least of your problems. :p

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Tyrion Newbie

Tyrion

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Originally posted by ZBomber

HA! Bump. :p

 

I am also getting a guitar for my birthday! :p However, I'm not gonna play in a band or anything, I just wanna fool around. So, I need a guitar that costs less or about 250 dollars. :p Anyone got ideas? :p

 

http://www.rondomusic.net/Agile2500blk.htm

 

I heard that that was pretty good for the price. Especially the fact that it's durable...which is good for your...activities....:p

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