Topic: First Guitar (Read 7328 times)

Timberwolf · « **on:** January 05, 2005, 04:58:44 PM »

I know if at least one person that can help...my hubbie wants an electric guitar for his birthday. Any recommendations?

needles · « **Reply #1 on:** January 05, 2005, 04:59:44 PM »

an ebony gibson super 400

ivan · « **Reply #2 on:** January 05, 2005, 05:30:24 PM »

Lita Ford likes the BC Rich Warlock.

BC Rich also designed the BC Rich Bich just for Ms. Ford:

BC Rich guitars were originally handmade in El Monte, California, and cost well over a thousand bucks. I worked for a company that did licenced BC knockoffs that retailed for $200 - $300. I think that product line morphed into what is now the BC Rich NJ (stands for New Jersey) series, but I haven't kept up so I'm not sure.

I still have a handmade BC Strat that got marred during a photoshoot and was destined for the junkheap. Good times...

Oh... maybe you should post your general budget and what kind of music your lucky bastard of a husband likes to play.

Anonymous · « **Reply #3 on:** January 05, 2005, 06:19:59 PM »

What is your budget?

Actually, you may want to check out this old HN thread.

Demosthenes · « **Reply #4 on:** January 05, 2005, 09:53:02 PM »

Yamaha makes excellent entry-level electric guitars. I have a Yamaha SE211 that was inexpensive and gave me years of solid play before I finally retired it after over a decade of abuse.

Personally, I'm not fond of lower-end Gibsons... you really get what you pay for with those, same with cheap Fenders in my opinion.

Ivan already made a shout for BC Rich, and I'll second that. They make decent low-end guitars from $200 and on up to over $1000.

I think that this would make a truly excellent gift for a beginner or even a guitarist that's been playing for a couple of years.

Lurch · « **Reply #5 on:** January 05, 2005, 10:00:00 PM »

Dual humbuckers (pickups) are a must for that bright punchy sound, where the singles like those on a Strat are good for noisy screaming leads. If you can afford it get one with a set neck, it lets you go longer between tuning, and best of all gives you longer sustain.

Avoid Schecter, poor QC has been my experience, and the guitar arrived not set up.

It is a great axe don't get me wrong, but I had to replace the nut, they shaved it down too far. Beauitful finish and good sustain for a bolt on neck. It was a costom order Spitfire6 with mother of pearl inlay on ebony, dual humbuckers.

The popular choice and I will recomend is to get a Fender Stratocaster. Do NOT get the Mexican version. Get the American one. A good value and good balance, parts are easy to find and cheap.

What does your hubby play?

Anonymous · « **Reply #6 on:** January 06, 2005, 07:48:24 AM »

To reinforce Demo's comment, Yamaha guitars are excellent for beginers or people on a budget. I own this one and if I remember correctly, I paid about $350 Canadian for it.

Between BC rich and Yamaha, I preffer yamaha myself. I find that some Yamaha models are just more comfortable and sound better. Still, BC rich is a fine pick (pun intended).

needles · « **Reply #7 on:** January 06, 2005, 09:21:33 AM »

Quote

it lets you go longer between tuning,

funny. i like to tune mine every time.

"TUNE THAT THING BUDDY! HOWSABOUT A WALTZ" -- marty at open mic night

ivan · « **Reply #8 on:** January 06, 2005, 01:12:50 PM »

To set the record straight, while I have a lot of affection for BC Rich guitars, my one and only true love is a low-end Rickenbaker. Here is my baby (on the left):

The Rickenbacker model 430, produced between 1971 and 1982. I have the natural wood finish, as shown. As you can see, there's no beveling or smoothing on the body -- it looks like it was cut out with a giant jigsaw. It feels like a heavy slab of wood. I beat the hell out my guitar in the last 28 years, and it's still going strong. The electronics are a bit corroded, and someday I'll replace them.

I also have one of the limited edition John Lennon Signature rics:

I played it once or twice. I'm thinking of selling it.

Timberwolf, I don't know if a Rickenbacker is your husband's style, but you can visit their site for some ideas. I'm especially partial to them because Rickenbacker was and still is located in Santa Ana, California, right here in Orange County. I'm also proud to note that Leo Fender also set up his factory in Orange County -- Fullerton, Ca. His factory is still there, but I've heard so many bad things about the state of Fender guitars -- especially the low-end lines made overseas -- that I can't recommend it. But Fender is iconic; it could be that a Fender axe is exactly what your husband wants to sling around his neck.

What kind of music does he play? Has he expressed admiration for a brand or style of guitar? For instance, if you hear him go on and on about vintage Martins, then that should tell you something. If, on the other hand, he plays air-guitar to Poison, then it's a different story.

needles · « **Reply #9 on:** January 06, 2005, 01:37:39 PM »

i had one of these guys:

it was an inexpensive but suprisingly nice guitar! aluminum neck even.

ivan · « **Reply #10 on:** January 06, 2005, 01:40:19 PM »

Another comment, if you will indulge me:

As I mentioned, I was briefly involved with the low-end guitar market. I was in charge of QC and a little bit on the design side for a line of inexpensive accoustic and electric guitars made in Korea. They were actually a fine product, made in a factory that had been producing musical instruments for decades. So one thing I learned is that a guitar can be of disasterously low quality. There is nothing more discouraging to a beginner than a guitar that won't tune (it's not good for professionals either, but professionals will not hesitate to throw such a lemon out the window). Also, if the finish is bad, you have a guitar that will look terrible within a few playings. So go with the recommendations you get from the guitarists here, and buy brand names. There are lots of non-brand guitars made that look great hanging in the store or swap-meet stall, and cost absurdly cheap -- and you'll even hear people gloat about picking up an $80 Chinese knock-off that's just as good as the original -- but don't be seduced. It's better, much better to buy a scuffed-up brand-name axe at a pawn shop than a shiny new piece of crap. The used guitar market is humongous -- starving guitarists always keep the pump primed.

Also, shape and color. Garrish, flashy colors and outrageous shapes look great on the wall, but most guys hesitate to hang a glitter-pink Flying-V around their necks. Someone once told me that the guitar business is like the auto business -- you have to produce outrageous colors to make the catalog look good, but the highest sellers by far will always be red, black and white. Look around you on the freeway. Red, black and white. The exceptions stand out.

So, if you have no clues to go on as to shape, color or brand, then the best bet would be a black strat shape with a recognizeable name brand on the headstock. TheJudge's Yamaha is a perfect example.

needles · « **Reply #11 on:** January 06, 2005, 01:49:02 PM »

of course, my lowden is the sweetest guitar i've ever owned. they are (were! the guy quit making them and is merging with another company so mine is definately going to go up in value...) handmade in ireland. sweeter than any martin i've ever played i tell you what.

ivan · « **Reply #12 on:** January 06, 2005, 01:51:38 PM »

Yeah, well, you're hardcore, needles. You probably know more'n three chords, don't you.

I'm up to C.

needles · « **Reply #13 on:** January 06, 2005, 02:07:14 PM »

i know a few chords.

reimero · « **Reply #14 on:** January 06, 2005, 03:23:34 PM »

What sort of music does he listen to or want to play?

Japanese and American Fender guitars are great, but steer clear of the Mexicans. Bottom-end Epiphones aren't good. Higher-grade Gibsons are, as are higher-grade Epiphones. I've never played Yamaha electrics, but they have a reputation for being solid low-cost guitars.

Pawn shops can be gold mines for guitars.

I'd definitely stick with a brand name, though. You do get what you pay for.

ivan · « **Reply #15 on:** January 06, 2005, 03:48:23 PM »

Dammit, every time I see a reimero post here I have a barely controllable urge to grab a dozen doughnuts and head for the liquor cabinet.

reimero · « **Reply #16 on:** January 06, 2005, 04:00:34 PM »

Mission accomplished.

Min · « **Reply #17 on:** January 06, 2005, 04:12:23 PM »

I've missed enriching your life! Where've you been?

Demosthenes · « **Reply #18 on:** January 06, 2005, 07:35:07 PM »

Ted and Ivan, what do you like for acoustics?

I've played a lot of acoustics over the years that I like, and I've discovered that Yamaha makes a pretty killer acoustic guitar as well, and they tend to be pretty reasonably priced (and often play and sound better than more expensive models from other companies).

My current love of my life is my Ovation. It's the kind of guitar that is very difficult to set back down after you have picked it up and played it any.

ivan · « **Reply #19 on:** January 06, 2005, 09:11:27 PM »

Demosthenes, when I returned to this fertile land in the mid-70s an impressionable lad of 19, I fell in with a group of young men who, among other things, liked to "jam". We're talking hours and hours and hours of six or seven guys earnestly churning out obscure Dan Fogelberg songs, interspersed with Logins and Messina, with an occasional Horse with No Name (that one was good for at least 45 minutes by itself), Poco, and selected Eagles. To this day I cannot listen to that music. I just can't.

Anyway, these guys all valued Ovation guitars above all others, and had a stash of them (among other things) for all takers to partake of and help with the group effort. I personally found Ovations damned inconvenient, because they kept sliding off my knee. But, I have to admit, I can't really say I've heard a better sounding accoustic since then. Among Ovations, the plain-wood face models sounded perceptably better than the colorful sunburst models, something to do with the resonance of the wood, no doubt.

I'd like to hear needles' Irish guitar, though. I bet it sounds great.

Personally, I play a very rare guitar. It was produced by the company I worked for, as I mentioned above. It's a standard accoustic with a BC Rich headstock -- back when the BC headstock was all pointy. I'm afraid the idea of marrying the Heavy Metal looking headstock with a stodgy accoustic was mine. The idea did not exactly take the Dan Fogelberg strumming set by storm, which is why this guitar is rare. We only made a couple of hundred of them.

It's a good guitar, made as it was by the Yung Chang piano factory in Korea. They knew how to make accoustic guitars pretty well. So I enjoy playing it - it has a very sweet sound.

I'm sure this does not answer your question in the least.

Anonymous · « **Reply #20 on:** January 07, 2005, 08:02:13 AM »

I've always been a fan of Takamines for acoustic. They feel and sounds is awsome, so is the quality of the hardware. But the suckers are expensive.

reimero · « **Reply #21 on:** January 07, 2005, 09:07:21 AM »

Quote from: Detta

I've missed enriching your life! Where've you been?

Unenriched

Timberwolf · « **Reply #22 on:** January 07, 2005, 09:20:59 AM »

Thank you all so much! Well, he likes to try to play rock and blues but he actuallly has touched a guitar since jr high school(ages ago) and he doesn't know much abouth guitars except brand name recognition. Which prompted my question, I don't either. I don't want to get a poor quality quitar but I don't want to spend an outrageous amount on an initial guitar since he has a lot of learning to do. My son wants to learn and has a "kid" one so I wanted one that will last ..I'm gonna try not to spend more than 600. You have all given me some great options to research but to me there's nothing prettier than a simple looking guitar that sounds great so flashy isn't of importance. I really like the look of the Rickenbachers, I will look into the BC Rich and Yamaha.Thank you again you help was immeasurable!

Anonymous · « **Reply #23 on:** January 07, 2005, 09:25:39 AM »

Does he already have an amp and pedals or do you need to buy that as well? If so, is that to be included in the $600 budget?

Ibanez also makes interesting products that would fit your budget. This one for example.

needles · « **Reply #24 on:** January 07, 2005, 09:46:48 AM »

yes my irish guitar is totally sweet. if i were to buy another acoustic guitar i'd most likely try a higher end gallagher, which is a good old 'mercan git-tar for those of yew who don't like them hethen dogs over seas. they make a very lovely instrument, for a steel string.

Quote

with an occasional Horse with No Name (that one was good for at least 45 minutes by itself)

i was briefly transported to that time and space when i read that. i hear you...

that's when i usually fake pass out or get a fake brane tumor. or anything else.

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Author Topic: First Guitar (Read 7328 times)

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