Advice on buying a guitar

simonaspinall

Hi all

I've been away from giutar playing for a good 10 years and really want to get back into it.

I've always been a blues/rock man and particularly fancy an Ibanez or hot strat - Any suggestions? Or ones to stay away from?

Haven't bought a guitar online - Better to go to a shop or are online retailers ok?

Ta

stonehouse

I've got a few demo's here that might help you decide:

http://www.youtube.com/user/guitarbyron

A lot will depend on how much money you want to spend of course. Any questions feel free to ask....

RonB

Bit like bike buying I guess in that you get what you pay for and at the bottom end there are a lot of guitar shaped objects around. Not sure what's around right now but my advice would be to head for a few shops when it's a bit quieter, say during the week, and have a practice on a as many as you can before making up your mind. Worth considering your amp at an early stage too if you need that too.

Paying more shouldn't just be about a brand name, you should expect decent components and the opportunity, through build quality, for a precise set-up, especially for the action.

FWIW I have a semi-acoustic which suits me and my range of playing styles (from hopeless all the way through to amateurish) styles. Good luck.

random man

Agree with RonB.

I recently bought an Epiphone Dot with hard case from someone I know just because he was selling it and I liked it. It's a lovely guitar and if I could play it would suit me perfectly
(It's also worth more than I paid for it!)

u05harrisb

guitar and music are my other passions bar cycling! i work in a music shop too best job/fun factory ever!

obviously depends on money sort of things, any ibanez will be great value! especially the gio ranges the best cheapest one they do is the GAX Gio and they are brilliant for the money! there £150 range in our shop, if your thinking of spending more then you will probabky be better off buying secound hand from a local music shop that stocks secound hand kit. i get discounts at my shop however still buy secound hand everything bar amps (because theres alot to break on them) dont buy secound hand off ebay inless you have checked with sombody who knows guitars well saves teh disapointment.

please buy from a local shop, you can try the guitar out first, it will be well set up as apossed to just a factory set up (which are more often than not horrible and still need a fair amount doing to them) shops give better advice too. support the industry and the small guys please

if you need any help or want to talk more about this PM as much as you want i could ramble all day about set ups strings amps woods etc... lol

Ben

simonaspinall

Wow cheers guys.

Hmmm a part of me really wants the brand bling - Depsite it's middle-aged golf club image a strat does have that allure - Especially for the blues twang.

I'm quite old fashioned for a 27 year old and love the guitar heroes of old. I'm thinking of a hot jap strat with humbucker in the bridge for the rawkness and single for the neck for lovely blueseywoosey. A strat will be the most versatile - Possibly may try to find one with a floyd rose trem as they seem to stay in tune much better.

Yeah - have to agree with the amp. There's a few guitar shops in Leeds I might try out .

After that it's also going to mean buying some headphones as i live in a shared house.

Feels very odd playing again - Everything is on line - tabs and so forth whereas I used to have to beg the music shop to order something in. More efficient now, but somehow less romance than bumming around guitar shops as a teenager...aahhhhh those were the days....

Oh, Mr.Stonehouse...You Wail!!!!

stratcat

Strats are boss, end of!

Seriously, it sounds like you have answered your own question. I have a few guitars, but the strat is the go to guitar. I have an old japanese squire that has some semour duncan humbuckers in it and it really sounds great.
In your situation I would have a look at the mexican made fenders, they are great value for money. One of my colleagues (guitar teacher) only has one guitar and its a mexican strat.

I'm not sure fender do a strat with a floyd anymore, but you lose a lot of that bluesy tone with a floyd. Better to put up with the vintage trem (and tuning issues) or better still block it off and go hard tail for maximum tone 8)

There are some good music shops in Leeds go and make a nuisance of yourself and play a few (or at least hold some) one will just feel right...... I know, but hard to explain, it will just feel right, thats the one to buy

Good luck

bompington

simonaspinall wrote:

Feels very odd playing again - Everything is on line - tabs and so forth whereas I used to have to beg the music shop to order something in. More efficient now, but somehow less romance than bumming around guitar shops as a teenager...aahhhhh those were the days....

Bomp jr, at 12, is starting to become a very competent guitarist, can already play a lot of stuff that I can't, and will without doubt have overtaken his Dad in all types of guitarring (I reckon I might stay ahead of him on bass though) in less than a year's time.
How does he do it? In a word, youtube - any well known song/riff will have 1000s of people showing you how to play it, lots of them are useless for instruction as they're really just showing off, but some are really good.

As for buying a guitar - it's like bikes innit? You know that you could get something that would do the job for a couple of hundred, but then that one in the corner for £200 more just looks better, the one next to it for another £300 has a really nice feel, and before you know it you've entirely justified to yourself why you need to spend twice as much as you first planned, and 10 times more than an unbeliever would think you could possibly spend...

andy162

Jap, Mex or USA Strats are all nice lumps. I have never played a duff one. I think the neck profile is about perfect. I've had 2 Fenders in the past, a sunburst USA Strat & a lovely Candy Apple Jaguar.

I play semi acoustics now. Got a cherry 335 & a 60's Epiphone Riviera with a Bigsby. It's that combination of bass & balls that ya get from a humbuckered Gibson. Especially when run through a decent valve amp.

Styling wise they're not everyones cuppa but what about a Gibson SG? The Studio isn't mega bucks & play/sound great. Practically anything with "made in the USA" stamped on them hold their value too. Gawd knows what my old Epi's worth...

Over the years I've had 2 Charvel Surfcasters. A Seafoam Green one & a Thru Orange one. I loved the way the looked...completely! But they sound as weak as p1$$ & the skinny necks abit wierd too, I'd have another in a heartbeat!?!

Happy hunting, go & try a few. I believe Music Ground has closed in Leeds now? Shame that...

hopper1

I ran a post on guitars here, about two years ago... Went in to shop to get an Epiphone... came out with a Gibson LP standard & a Roland Cube 100 (how loud!) :shock: ... Just loved the look, and the feel was totally different to the Epi...
I haven't touched it for months (too busy), but 'm about to start my lessons again.

Not wishing to hijack the thread, but while so many knowledgeable people are looking in, what would be a good starter for an accoustic guitar?
My sons school do lessons on accoustic guitars, so I thought I'd get one, to encourage him... Much easier to pick up and play, too... (oh, did I say play!... twang, is what I meant)

u05harrisb

well if your thinking of strats try to get a used jap strat far better than mexican fenders by far and pretty close to americans in my opinion and i have an american deluxe series strat and tele

hennez

yeah,,,,
definitely go the strat. go an american if you can afford it otherwise go the mexican. great guitar!!!

simonaspinall

Yeah i've been told the Jap models are well built - Thinking HSS, black with electric blue/yellow/green hardware for the 80s revival 8)

stfc1

hopper1 wrote:

Not wishing to hijack the thread, but while so many knowledgeable people are looking in, what would be a good starter for an accoustic guitar?

Pretty much any Yamaha. Also, check out the new Lag Tramontanes if you can - complete and utter bargains.

To the OP, you clearly want to buy a Strat so buy a Strat. Especially since you've mentioned that you value the kudos of the brand name, you won't be satisfied with anything else. And if it's blues you want to play then you might be better off with a standard three single-coil model, and please fight the Floyd Rose urge at all costs

simonaspinall

stfc1 wrote:

hopper1 wrote:

Not wishing to hijack the thread, but while so many knowledgeable people are looking in, what would be a good starter for an accoustic guitar?

Pretty much any Yamaha. Also, check out the new Lag Tramontanes if you can - complete and utter bargains.

To the OP, you clearly want to buy a Strat so buy a Strat. Especially since you've mentioned that you value the kudos of the brand name, you won't be satisfied with anything else. And if it's blues you want to play then you might be better off with a standard three single-coil model, and please fight the Floyd Rose urge at all costs

Why no floyd rose?

stfc1

simonaspinall wrote:

stfc1 wrote:

hopper1 wrote:

Not wishing to hijack the thread, but while so many knowledgeable people are looking in, what would be a good starter for an accoustic guitar?

Pretty much any Yamaha. Also, check out the new Lag Tramontanes if you can - complete and utter bargains.

To the OP, you clearly want to buy a Strat so buy a Strat. Especially since you've mentioned that you value the kudos of the brand name, you won't be satisfied with anything else. And if it's blues you want to play then you might be better off with a standard three single-coil model, and please fight the Floyd Rose urge at all costs

Why no floyd rose?

You will be sacrificing tone for tuning stability, and that ain't the blues. Fitting a Floyd means having a massive chunk of metal where wood should be

Think about it though, can you name one Strat-playing bluesman who uses a locking trem?

skellator3

as a rock style guitar, check out the michael kelly range, stunning looking and well built
the custom les paul style twin humbuckers but coil tapped so a good range of styles can be played and all for rrp 0f £450
or if you look further up the range the premium has EMG pickups 81 and 85 for the classic rock set up
all are solid mahogany body with a carved maple top and set neck, quality grover tuners
i looked long and hard last year and these were outstanding value and great playing guitars

check out the reviews on harmony central

simonaspinall

stfc1 wrote:

simonaspinall wrote:

stfc1 wrote:

hopper1 wrote:

Not wishing to hijack the thread, but while so many knowledgeable people are looking in, what would be a good starter for an accoustic guitar?

Pretty much any Yamaha. Also, check out the new Lag Tramontanes if you can - complete and utter bargains.

To the OP, you clearly want to buy a Strat so buy a Strat. Especially since you've mentioned that you value the kudos of the brand name, you won't be satisfied with anything else. And if it's blues you want to play then you might be better off with a standard three single-coil model, and please fight the Floyd Rose urge at all costs

Why no floyd rose?

You will be sacrificing tone for tuning stability, and that ain't the blues. Fitting a Floyd means having a massive chunk of metal where wood should be

Think about it though, can you name one Strat-playing bluesman who uses a locking trem?

Good point.

deswahriff

...check out Gordon Smith...a UK built range of quality, no-nonsense guitars that have all the kudos and mojo you could ever want. They do strat and tele styles though their Gibson types are more common, with their top range being comparable quality wise with the best. The humbuckers are coil-tapped, so you get a great variety of tones. With my G60, I can get a spanky cutting tele tone from the bridge pup with the coil tap and tone on 10, and a rich bluesy les paul tone from the neck in humbucker mode with the tone rolled back to 6 or so...

...so how many geetar-toting bicyclators are there on here then??

stovesym

agree wholeheartedly with poster above. Dont buy a Strat with a Floyd Rose or humbuckers. You are in Ibanez superstrat territory there.
There are no tuning issues with most modern Strat bridges unless you are going wild with the trem arm and then, yes maybe you need a Floyd (but have you ever tried to string one? they can also have have a string slippage problem with the clamps in the bridge)

get a nice Strat and love the sound of it

Nuggs

This thread comes with uncanny timing. I'm also returning to guitar noodling after about 10 years of exile.

I have a Japanese 50th Anniversary '57 Reissue Strat, which has been a fantastic guitar. It's a lovely piece of wood but not as well built as the US strats. However, it was about half the price of the US models, has lovely tone and holds it's tune incredibly well. If they still make them like they did a few years ago, I reckon you can't go far wrong with a Japanese model.

I'm not sure if it's the same for the OP, but the older I get, the better I was

emjayjay

The Yamaha Pacifica range is reckoned to be one of the best "beginner" guitars, and will last a long time. They're really capable, and so once you've got your confidence and skills, you can happily gig with one too.

I've got a fender strat - a mexican 50s reissue (which I don't play much), 2 squire teles, including the Classic Vibe (which I love), and am looking into getting a Les Paul of some sort soon, probably the Vintage Peter Green-esque model.

A valve amp will also make a difference. I've got a Fender Blues Jr and even though it's only 15 watts, it's far too loud for home use! There are plenty of small valve amps ~5 watts or lower that will get you into the right sort of territory.

As already suggested, try lots and see what you like!

SteveR_100Milers

I ca voch for Japanese strats - I had one from 1982 ish. I'm not a fan of strats though - the tad ones have a too narrow fretboard, and its radius too shallow so it choked a lot. I'm afraid I'm going to ave to shout out for Gibson. I have a cherry SG and it raawks! My amp is an Epiphone blues custom 30 a bargain "classic rock" amp if ever there was one.....

deswahriff

...one thing in favour of strats is the comfort factor - not too heavy and a nice contoured body ( not that us svelte bike types need the beer gut cut-out!). I had a USA Standard strat in a lovely tobacco sunburst as my main guitar for 5 or 6 years and really liked it ...

My son has a lovely blue 80's Jap Squier strat ("E" series for the anoraks) which is really nice, and some of his pals have bought from here http://www.fareastguitars.co.uk/usedguitars.htm

...as mentioned, you might want to try first as some of those "reissues" do have skinny necks and narrow frets. Either that or be prepared to buy and sell off ebay till you find the right one - all part of the fun!!

..emjayjay, I agree about the Blues Jr - I gigged mine for years, sometimes with an extension cab, mostly just mic'd up thru the pa. Its a cracking little amp and fine for home use as it still sounds good at low volume.

borisvanhalen

just go to your local shop and try every guitar they have...just set yourself a budget first and dont go beyond

dont worry too much about brand bling... its a bit like bikes, no matter what you buy it will still be worth next to nothing if you ever want to get rid

ColinT2

Never mind your local guitar shop, why don't you try.....
String Reaction Guitars or Fiddle.co.uk

andy162

borisvanhalen wrote:

dont worry too much about brand bling... its a bit like bikes, no matter what you buy it will still be worth next to nothing if you ever want to get rid

not really...if OP does buy a decent Strat be it MIJ, Mexican or USA there'll always be a decent return on it if he sells up. An 80's Jap Strat is worth proper money now, much more than when it was new. My ES335 will always be worth a grand or more providing I don't go all Pete Townsend.

Both of my Charvel Surfcasters were sold at a profit. In the early 90's they were £399, the last I sold in 2005 was for over £900.

mr_goo

If I could play it would have to be a white Strat, just like Ritchie Blackmore's from Deep Purple/Rainbow. He doesn't use his now as gone all weirdy and plays the lute in a folk band!!

crown_jewel

I bought my daughter a Yamaha Pacifica and she loves it. Sounds great. I play a Taylor acoustic. Sounds really good for the price.

Buckled_Rims

I've always wanted a Japanese Telecaster guitar despite having a US Texas Strat which I've had for 10 years.

http://www.mijfenders.com/

This site makes my mouth water, although they don't look like that have a lot of stock in at the moment.

whyamihere

I've got a Yamaha Pacifica, and I agree with the couple of posts above recommending them. They're really excellent guitars.

I really want a Gibson (or, more realistically, Epiphone) Explorer though. I just love the shape.