New guitar player with an odd problem...

[pigman]

AVOID THIS:



Italia Freebird - $499 at MF.

[Pine Apple Slim]

Get a Telecaster.
Basic and simple, very versatile, easy to customize.
Squire Classic Vibe or Made in Mexico.

[FoonkySteve]

I think you should buy one of these;

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Blackout-Jazzmaster-HH-Electric-Guitar?sku=H61569

versatile, cool, in your budget, does good, jazz, rock, country, and metal?why not?

Also, you deserve it!

[MyEmergency]

I think you should buy one of these; http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Blackout-Jazzmaster-HH-Electric-Guitar?sku=H61569 versatile, cool, in your budget, does good, jazz, rock, country, and metal?why not? Also, you deserve it!

 

 

I actually spent a freaking ton of time playing each of the blacktop series fenders. The jazzmaster was the one I had really thought I was going to buy although it has several problems... one it has definite tuning stability issues... meaning if you put the tremelo arm in, don't bother using it, since it throws it all out of whack evertime, and out of the 5 I played, the bridge rattled on all of them, and there was noticable metal burrs and imperfections on the saddles on several, as well as the string saddles looked and felt cheap and thin, not at all like the standard fenders. The bridge humbucker is very mediocre and muddy, although the p90 in the neck as some bite, it actually sounds quite good. The neck and tuners themselves were finished very nicely and is like the high point of the guitar. After the dissapointment I went through and played all of the blacktop guitars they had there and out of all of them I found the blacktop strat or tele with the MAPLE fretboard to be the best in terms of quality... although they did not have the one color I wanted in the strat, I wanted the sonic blue w/ maple fretboard.... after playing like 15 blacktops I ended up buying a Fender MIM Standard Telecaster.... it just felt insanely better to me, but I still really like the strat w/ maple though.

[jdolan121]

I've had every grade of Strat over the last 25 years, from Squiers to my current David Gilmore model. I don't think you can go wrong with them, period. The Mexican-made Strats are fine, just don't expect the bells and whistles like the American or Custom Shop models. However, if you DO buy a Squier, make sure you get a decent amp. The Squiers sound like crap without a good amp (as do most guitars), but they sound pretty darned good with a good amp. If I had $500 to spend, I'd go for the Mexican-made Strats (or Tele, if you're not partial to tremolo?).
On a side note, I've played the Laguna. It's probably equal to the Squier, but I don't recall it feeling good in my hands like the standard Strat. Just my 2 cents...

Oh, and by the way - you could buy a Squier and put KILLER pick-ups in it and still be under $500 bucks, with a guitar that sounds like a $1000 guitar...

[d_dave_c]

Play a bunch of different things and go with what feels best to you.

 

For what you describe, I think the Godins that Warriorpoet linked to are a good idea. I would also check out the PRS SE Tremonti.

 

Don't forget to check out the used section.

[rchiav]

 

Hmm that is a lot of good choices to look at. Anything I should just avoid? I really kinda like the look of this one... http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Les-Paul-Nightfall-Electric-Guitar?sku=423560 I am going to have to play some and figure it out I guess... I thought I was done looking when I got my Breedlove.. it is giving me a headache so many good choices and options..

 

 

There are a lot of decent choices and the bottom line is that it will come down to personal opinion. Are you brand new to guitar? If so, it's going to be hard to figure out what you do and don't like. Or at least know what you will and won't like a year from now when you develop more, so my advice is don't stress over which one might feel slightly better than the other because what you like could drastically change as you learn and render and decision you made today obsolete.

[Strung_Out]

PRS SE have some good options, squier classic vibe series is great for the price (personal favourite is the custom tele), as well as epiphone, I'd suggest just going to a guitar center and trying every thing in your price range just to get a feel for what your options are.

[BlueSky1963]

I would agree with the guys who say avoid strats. I have two MIA strats that I love dearly, but you're not going to get a jazzy tone out of them. Unless you want to pop for pickup mods, that is. Same with teles, too. (I have a Cali series tele, so I know what I'm talking about.

I'd also avid SG's, they're great for metal and heavy rock, not so for jazz.

Ditto for Explorer types and Flying V's.

Les Paul type guitars would be an option, but be prepared, they are a heavy chunk of wood.

Semi-hollow would be the best choice, IMO. Most have dual buckers so they will crunch and distort, but when played clean they have a mid rangey sound good for jazz or BB King type blues.

Just my 2 cents.

Please allow me to say, though, your wife ROCKS!

[the_gunslinger]

 

Hmm that is a lot of good choices to look at. Anything I should just avoid? I really kinda like the look of this one... http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Les-Paul-Nightfall-Electric-Guitar?sku=423560 I am going to have to play some and figure it out I guess... I thought I was done looking when I got my Breedlove.. it is giving me a headache so many good choices and options..

 

 

I'll recommend a Epi LP, but not that particular one for a beginner to electric guitar. This one is designed primarily towards metal and shredders. First, it has a floyd, could be a nightmare to some one setting it up the first time, and could get damaged and not perform well or hold tuning if adjusted improperly. And it takes a long time to set one up properly. Second, the pickup choice. I've got nothing against EMG's, I love em, but the H4's are kind of meh, and are geared way more for heavy metal. The plus on this guitar is the ebony fretboard, usually that's not an option at the 500$ price point and below instruments.

 

I'd suggest something like this.

 

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Les-Paul-Traditional-PRO-Electric-Guitar?sku=423561

 

This guitar is perfect for what your after. It will do heavy metal and hard rock all day, but is also great for jazz, blues, well practically anything. Plus you get coil tapping for single coil tones. This is really the most versatile guitar of the bunch.

 

Or something like this. Doesn't have coil tapping, but a great guitar none the less.

 

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/PRS-SE-Singlecut-Electric-Guitar?sku=519375

[skdmrklcy]

I went and looked at guitars today when I got off work.

I tried just about everything they had in my price range as well as some cheaper options(some more expensive too...) and I found one I fell in love with... and it was not what I expected.

I tried the Les Paul Epis and it was not for me, didn't like the neck and the sound was meh to me.

I tried the Fender Strats and Teles, they were good but they almost all had some setup problems. I am sure it could have been fixed but other brands didn't have this issue (that I tried.)

The choice came down to two brands PRS and Schecter.. The PRS was nice but a little over what I wanted to spend, and they didn't feel that good to my hands. It really came down to the fact that I fell in love with the neck profile of the Schecter.

I was surprised how it could sound clean, then switch to a nice metal/rock sound. I was giving up the warm jazz sounds but everything else was the best I had tried.

So to round it all off I am getting a Schecter Damien Solo Elite with a black flame maple finish. I can't find that color online though for some reason.

They are actually transferring me one that is new in the box to the store and should be ready for pickup next week. While I wait I got to take the floor model home with me, they offered as it had several finish dings were people had beat the snot out of the poor thing. It wasn't a big deal but they offered so why not!

I will post some pictures of it tomorrow when I get a chance. If the Schecter was a really bad idea for some reason I am missing please let me know, I am fully prepared to take advantage of the return policy.

[Fireproof777]

Schecter's are great (I have a couple). You're dead on with going with what feels and sounds good to you as it'll be your guitar. The only thing I would say is that that particular Schecter comes with active EMG pups (pickups) that run off a 9v battery; an 81/85 set up (great for metal and actually have a sweet clean tone to them too). The catch is you'll have to deal changing batteries as they drain. To some, that's not a big deal, to others, it is....your call. Either way, that's a solid choice.

[skdmrklcy]

I don't really care about the battery at all, I have to do that on the Acoustic I have as well if I want to use the built-in tuner or plug it in as well.

I wish I could have found something with the coil splitting/tapping... where it makes a Humbucker sound like a single coil, but I either didn't like the feel (Les Paul) or they were too much cash.

[Philfixit]

 

I would also check out the PRS SE Tremonti.

 

 

I have one of these and don't find it to be particularly versatile. In MY hands, it's a rock guitar. Not to say that it isn't a good instrument, 'cause it is. But it just doesn't have a lot of range as delivered.

BUT, for what these go for on the used market, a guy could get one of them, replace the pups, pots, and caps, and still have a few bucks left out of $500.