New to guitar need some good advice

[toyloy]

Hello, I've been reading these forums for the past few days, and have decided to register. I'm about to purchase my first guitar, and amp. It's something that I've wanted to do for years and years. Now that my children are old enough, and I have time for myself I'm ready to take the plunge. My question is how should I budget my money for the guitar, amp and accessories? My budget will be $600-$700. I'm interested in classic rock, hair metal, southern rock etc. I'll hang up and listen. Thanks.

[Grantus]

Don't scrimp on the amp. Crappy amps sound ... crappy.

 

That said, there are a lot of decent tube amps in the $300 range these days.

[tiltsta]

Welcome. Here is my take on the issue.

 

Agile Les Paul Copy, AL300 new. $370

Peavey classic 30 combo, used. $300

[Grantus]

Where will you be playing? If it's just at home to start, 30 watts is way more than you need.

[toyloy]

Where will you be playing? If it's just at home to start, 30 watts is way more than you need.

 

 

 

Oh definitely at home.

[Grantus]

Fender Vibro Champ XD. Five watts, $200 and a variety of sounds. Jazz cleans to metal. Very cool hard rock sounds.

[edremy]

As an older beginner with a family, I'll toss out a bit of advice. Everything guitar-related is going to be *much* louder than you expect. A 5-watt amp is going to be too loud, much less a 30-watt. Even 1 watt attenuated will be a lot louder than you expect. This will be problematic since you're going to sound really, really awful for quite a while. (I've upgraded to only really awful, so that's progress) Give serious consideration to getting an amp with a headphone jack to spare your family, or perhaps something like a VOX Amplug for when you can't play loud. I have the AC30 version and it actually has quite nice tone.

Guitar-wise there's almost too much choice these days- there are a ton of good quality cheap instruments available out there. I'm happy with my Yamaha Pacifica 112. Cheap, solidly made and more guitar than I can play. I've seen good quality Squires, Epiphones, Ibanezes and others at that price range as well. Just pick something you think you'll like to play.

Budget about $100 for incidentals. You'll need a tuner, a metronome, a capo, strap, a couple of sets of strings, cables, etc. Don't worry about pedals yet- they're expensive, require some fussing and really aren't necessary when you're learning. (I did break down and get a POD multi-effect unit off of EBay, but I basically switch between about 3 amp emulations and barely touch the effects.)

Download Tuxguitar- a free tab editor/player that can handle virtually all of the tab formats out there. You can find tabs for just about any tune you want to learn. I've also really liked Justinguitar as a beginner learning site.

Good luck, and happy upcoming NED (New Everything Day)

[Saturn]

Don't scrimp on the amp. Crappy amps sound ... crappy. That said, there are a lot of decent tube amps in the $300 range these days.

 

 

Exactly my thought. Find a good amp. You'll be happy you did. For home playing look at the low wattage amps out now there are some real good ones. Vox AC4TV or TV8. Less than $200 and sound great. There a plenty of great guitars out there in your price range. Maybe a Shecter C1 or a nice used Strat.

[superdistortion]

Do you live near any music stores? If yes, go there and try out as many guitars and amps as you can. Buying used will save you a whole lot of money. Don't buy the cheapest you can find. They usually don't play or sound that good. By what you described I'd suggest something with humbuckers and a 24.75 inch scale. And don't be afraid to check out solid state amps. They're great for beginners. As they're low maintenance.

[Grantus]

As an older beginner with a family, I'll toss out a bit of advice. Everything guitar-related is going to be *much* louder than you expect. A 5-watt amp is going to be too loud, much less a 30-watt. Even 1 watt attenuated will be a lot louder than you expect.

 

 

Yes, this has much truth.

 

I was playing my 5-watt Fender Vibro Champ XD tonight at home and the volume knob never got above 2.5 or so.

[ExiledCrow]

As a recent learner myself, I've got one bit of wisdom: DO go to the stores and try different guitars. The FEEL will be important, you want something comfortable. You won't have a complete idea of what your preferences will be, but especially with a neck you want it to be something thats feels good to your hand.

That's it. Welcome aboard, have fun!

[Brewski]

First off - great Avatar - my weiner dog approves!! Very good!!!

Second - either buy a used Ibanez RG320 or the Agile AL3000 (rondomusic.com) is a good bet or an Xavier (guitarfetish.com) is also a great bet.

third - the Peavey Classic 30 is a good amp. Used is good. but a good tube combo amp with reverb will get the tone you want.

Remember - playing guitar isn't easy but it can be rewarding and welcome!

[SmoothOcean]

used MIM Strat and a used Fender blues jr. ? I have had both at one point or another.

[jtr654]

Buy used guitar and amp. Effect can come latter ,focus on a good guitar.Charvel that was MIJ are fairly cheap and sound good for your type of interest in music. Check Ebay or Craigslist for going prices. Amps for home well there are a lot of choices I would always go with tube amp but a Modeling amp like Line 6 or the Vox amp might be more fun for a beginner. Good Luck.

[PINKUSFLOYDUS]

Ask the guitar player that is in the local band of your choice.
The players that you like the most get their sound from a comb of guitar/effects/amp.
There is no other shortcut.
Advice: do not cut corners...
Buy once!
Good Luck

[kit_strong]

The reality of the situation is that at this point you don't really know what's going to satisfy you in the long run. Regardless of what amp and guitar you get you'll likely be jonesing for something else further down the road.

Like others have said there are plenty of good low watt tube amps for under $300 these days but unless you know for sure what kind of sounds you are looking for you might be better off with a modelling amp.

So my vote would be for a Roland Cube 30 or a Vox Valvetronix.
As for guitars, that's a really tough call. What kind of music do you like. And are you looking new or used. If strats or teles are your thing then check out the Squire Classic Vibe series as those seem to be great values.

Buying used you has the benefit of being to turn around and flip the gear later with little or no loss but being completely new to the game you could also end up getting the short end of the stick. If you have any friends that are players then try and drag them along to check things out.

Good luck.

-Kit

[Superrust]

if you are going to be sitting and playing make sure it is comfortable to play when sitting. Most Stratocaster and Telecaster type shapes fit easily on your leg where the LP style or V is not so comfy/easy to hold. You can always stand but something that new people never think of.

[hellion_213]

Welcome aboard man! I'd say, amp- Peavey Vypyr-15 or 30, or used Bandit 112. Guitar- depends on what you like. For the hair metal side, you may look at BC Rich- Mockingbird, Bich, Warlock; Ibanez, Jackson, ESP - all have Awesome dual humbucking guitars. Hard to get that out of a strat or strat copy with singles But again, it's all in what you like, and what feels good to you. May not want anything with a Floyd right now, I'd wait til you have a little experience under your belt.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigation?q=peavey+vypyr

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/navigation/guitars?N=100001+304262&Ntk=All&Ntt=bc+rich&Nty=1 (don't recommend anything with Metal Master, or Bronze attached to it)

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/navigation/guitars?N=100001+304262&Ntk=All&Ntt=esp+f&Nty=1 (these are wonderful, even the low F-50)

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/navigation/guitars?N=100001+304262&Ntk=All&Ntt=jackson&Nty=1 (if you're into V's, the RRs are a little easier to play sitting down)

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/navigation/ibanez-guitars-pedals-gear-solid-body-electric-guitars?N=100001+306241+201105

Hope that helps man! Good luck

[Guitar Heel]

Welcome to the mad house!

 

I agree with every post so far. The one thing I will stress if comfort and playability. That is, I'd be less concerned about the sound of the guitar at this point, and focus more on feel, weight, balance, playability, etc. That is, find the guitar that's most comfortable to play, within your guitar budget. If you don't enjoy playing it, it won't matter how good it sounds.

 

Next, as others have stated, start with a good amp. You can find great deals on tube amps right now for not a lot of money.

 

Just enjoy the search and have fun learning!

[Poster Nutbag]

I'd say we at least need to know what kind of music you'd be most interested in playing to make specific recommendations on guitars or amps. Guitar and amp types can influence tone quite a bit.

My 2 cents - guitar feel is important, try out a wide variety.

Like another said, you will sound bad for a while, so maybe spare the family and consider an amp that supports headphones.

Used can be good, but you need to know whats a deal breaker as far as condition.

If you enjoy playing, you WILL eventually want a 2nd guitar.. and a 3rd.. oh, and more amps.. a dozen pedals, etc. We call it GAS, and I'm an addict.

Eat the dog.

[jrkirkish]

Spend more on the amp then the guitar. I know, this is hard because subconsciously your guitar is... well... freud would have something to say about how you view your guitar.

 

I'd suggest a silverface fender champ from the 70's. That is an amp that will last you for the rest of your life. It's made with turret board construction, and when the caps go bad, they can be replaced. The entire thing can be rebuilt. The small tube amps today use surface mount construction, and replacement/rebuilding of components are several orders of magnitude harder. I'd also suggest a champ because legend has it that some of the hard/classic rock bands toured with fake heads and empty stacks, simply micing up a champ off stage. Don't be afraid of tubes. I don't want to presume anything, but if your children are old enough to not bother you and you have "time to yourself," you probably have some memory of tubes in electronic devices.

 

As for guitar, you're eventually going to gravitate towards either the Gibson or Fender camp. It's a matter of preference, but... and this is just from my experience, and not indicative of any problems you may have, but a strat - or any strat-like guitar - is extremely hard to make sound good. I just think there's too many options. 3 pickups, tremolo, two tones... I can see it being extremely confusing for a beginner. If I were you, I'd buy a tele before a strat. An epiphone les paul would be great, too.

 

Then again, you could learn on an acoustic - 700 bones will buy you an awesome acoustic. There's a lot to be said learning on an acoustic; when you finally get an electric, 9 gauge strings will bend like a rubber band.

 

Build your callouses, it will hurt in the beginning. No, a string is not going to break and slice open your wrist.

 

tl;dr - buy a 70's fender champ first, go to a guitar store and try out a ton of guitars. buy one you like that will leave you with about $75 for a strap, cables and other ephemera. You might want to find a used bad monkey or other overdrive in the spam thread.

[Kuroyume]

My very first guitar was a steel-string acoustic. For starting (no callouses, no hand or finger strength, no knowledge) it almost made me want to quit (as I was aiming for electric stuff eventually). As noted, on the guitar: comfort. A Flying-V with high-action and 12 gauge strings isn't going to be conducive to wanting to continue learning. Go to your local shop and try everything. Also, let them know that you are just starting out and get advice. Hopefully they are honest and give good advice. I would anyway.

 

I'm with the Roland MicroCube. It is an amazing, versatile, and inexpensive little amp. You can plug it in or use batteries (and it's not bad on battery life). Clean to shredding. You will buy a bigger, better amp later and keep the MicroCube for other reasons.

[sp12]

look at some schecters

[jrfan]

You don't have to spend much to get a very decent electric these days.
Only you can decide what guitar feels right to you.
Neck contour,fingerboard radius,scale length,body shape,weight all effect how a guitar feels to the player.
Like others have suggested go try a bunch at your local music stores.
Considering the music styles you mentioned you want a guitar with humbucking pickups.
The Agile al2000 series guitars from Rondo Music (internet seller) are a screaming value for the price if buying without playing first doesn't bother you.
Currently $225 in a bunch of differnt variations.
The customer service is great and if you don't like it you can return it and only be out the shipping cost.
As far as amps I'm a big fan of the Roland cube series.
I have a Microcube and it's a fun little practice amp that you'll still use even after your playing progresses and you have a gig worthy amp.
The Microcube I think is 2 watts or less and even it will have your family screaming to turn it down.
http://www.rondomusic.com/
http://www.roland.com/products/en/Micro-CUBE/

[chaos2767]

I would say to lower your budget a little, that way you will not be out much money if you decide that you are really not into it! You can probably find a nice metal guitar on CL and a Carvin MTS3200 combo for about 450. I think that would do everything you want.