daddymack

trut' so pur...

Certainly, there are guitars worth more than $10,000...look at some of the auctions for Clapton's strats....look at some of the one-of-a-kind commemorative Martins...somewhere someone will spend a ridiculous amount of money to own something rare and wonderful. But odds are they will not see the light of day very often. Those are investments, collectibles...not gigging instruments. The real question is what are you going to do with that $7000 dollar guitar? Worship it? You paid two grand for a Taylor, and then decided you didn't like it enough to keep it...why did you buy it in the first place? I have a few guitars that are worth more than $3k, and to be fair, they don't get out of the case as much as my lesser axes...because I'm worried about them getting knocked over, spilled on,...dusty... ...really, they only come out on the high paying, large stage, outdoor type gigs where no one can get near them but me, and there is professional security. Would I pay that kind of money for a guitar today? Not likely, because I'm retired, I play a lot of bar gigs and I have plenty of great, good, serviceable and useful guitars...and I have my high-end axes for when the need arises. Same reason my Blackface Vibrolux Reverb has spent most of its existence over the past 15 years in a closet with a dust cover on it. I take it out also for those high end gigs, maybe once or twice a year now...but there are plenty of other amps in the stable that work well and I'm less concerned about. To be fair, I'm a gigging guitarist/singer. I am not doing it to impress anyone with how much my rig cost, but how good I make my relatively inexpensive rig sound.

I've been using an AB-Y for decades for large stages, mainly outdoors, and mainly for the ability to monitor [one amp is typically mic'ed, the other not] my guitar as I move around the stage. This actually helps me keep my stage volume at the right level, rather that turning up as I moved further from the amp. It also allows me to not have the guitar in the monitors, so only the vocals are in the monitors, which gives us a much 'cleaner' on-stage mix.

ah, the joys of an AB-Y...

If, as you say, you have never played a Gibson or a Martin....just the Norman and the Sigma? Normans are very good guitars, and Sigmas [Sigmae?] are fine as well, but you are stepping into a realm of possibilities with these open ended questions. Do you want deep tone, projection, warmth...and which is most important...because that is some of what you'll need to figure out when you start playing Martins...and don't limit yourself on what woods [really, based on lesser instruments? Never!], because there are combinations available you may have never even considered.Invest in the round trip...experience what you can in a day...and go back in a week and do it again! And...don't lock yourself to Martin only...especially based on the Sigma. Gibson, Guild, Gretsch, Taylor, Breedlove, Seagull...ad nauseum...all worth trying! [Okay, maybe not all...]

well, there ya go!

you may be able to run it off the monitor out, which may not be powered.

worn out tubes can make any amp sound bad...so yes, tube amps can sound bad...but they can be made better...

meh...maybe a third of those...no, less than a quarter of those are what I consider 'iconic'...and then again, I gave up after a while, too much nonsense...eventually they would list every guitar used by every pro guitarist...who has time for those stupid lists? I knew the list was junk early on when they showed Harrison's Ric... F*** no...the Country Gentleman was his iconic instrument. Then the rosewood tele, maybe.

The Moderne was never a production model. I have seen it, but never played one, so any opinion expressed would be pointless. I've played the V, several Firebirds and the one Explorer I mentioned...none of which really got me. I've also played an ES335S..a solid body 335...heaviest wood guitar EVER! Made my '75 Strat and '81 Lester feel like balsa wood...

And thanks for not including the 'Flying V'...which, based on its appearance, should have been called the 'Y'..as in 'why would anyone want a guitar they can't play sitting down'?😉

I always felt the original 'reverse' Firebird was a big f-u to Fender by Gibson...maybe because Leo went after the 'jazz' crowd with the Jazzmaster...although it failed in that respect, much as the Firebird didn't hurt Strat sales...but certainly did resemble a 'mirror image' of the Jazzmaster in many respects...

Estebans are Chinese fakes....😉

Bengs, you really do not understand how the world works. You can set a price on a product regardless of 'value'; there are no absolutes. That is like saying that a car by a major manufacturer [like Honda, Toyota, Nissan] that sells for $5000 used, is no better than a used car by a another manufacturer [like Kia, or Ford] that sells for the same price? No, price is not the arbiter of quality, anymore than looks are. I would buy a seven year old used Honda before I bought a 5 year old Ford for the same price.... Look at a $150 Yamaha classical guitar, and look at a Chinese no-name that 'retails' for $150. Which would you buy? The price is the same, but when you examine them, as to construction, tone, playability and serviceability, and consider resale value, the $150 you spent on the Yamaha will be the better investment on several levels. The Chinese guitar may have more 'bling', a fancier rosette, lavish binding, whatever, but at the end of the day, which sounds better and will last longer? Which is not to say that the no-name is junk, but you know nothing of their history of manufacturing guitars, what their QC processes are, where their woods are or come from, if they kiln dry their woods, what the laminates are, what the truss rod adjustments are [many are pushed to the extreme to make the neck playable, leaving no future adjustment to accommodate wood aging or environmental factors] whereas Yamaha is a known quantity with a history of well made instruments. I realize that you do not have the giant retailers in the PI like we have here, where you can play a wide variety of guitars by a wide variety of manufacturers and compare them side by side, but to assume price is the gauge of quality is to play into the hands of the hucksters. There are actually cases where a lower priced guitar is actually the better deal...go figure.

This^ Frankly, you should ask this of the people who sold you the kit...but, do you have the manufacturer's information on the potentiometer, and the value of the capacitor used for bleed off? Without that, there really is no place for us to start.

current conversion rate is like 50.5 to 0ne...so a $1000 ax would cost 50, 500 pesos there...if you can get one. In teh old days when there were US bases all over the PI, you could find some USA made guitars/amps at the PXs and some servicemen were selling their US made gear; now, not so much...

garshk!...thanks, mate!

Agreed, a cheap ax is a cheap ax, but there is always another newbie out there with less cash than you had. The OP stated she/he had not started as yet, so no 'if'...and, unfortunately, Harley Bentons are not readily available in the USA...whereas something labeled Yamaha can be found almost anywhere on the planet. If the OP is in the EU or UK, then yes, a HB is a sound investment...no pun intended.😎

RR, if you live in or near a major metropolitan area, there are likely a number of reputable of music stores. Do you have a friend or an acquaintance who is knowledgeable about guitars? If so, ask them if they would accompany you to some of the stores and advise you on the do's and don'ts, good/bad*. Salespeople typically will try to sell you more instrument than you need. Set a maximum dollar level, like, say $150, and stick to it. There is no reason to have to pay more; and you don't need to buy in a store [and pay the salesperson's commission] When you find a guitar you like, look for it on-line, and odds are you will find it in your budget. The Yamaha C40 is a great beginner classical, and they retail online for about $150. If you are 'diminuitive', perhaps a 3/4 scale model like the Yamaha CGS would work better for you. Why do I harp on Yamaha? Because they are well made**, typically have great 'action' [string height above fretboard] and have decent tone, even on the 'starter' models. *I've done this many times for students and friends...because a friend did it for me when I bought my first 'pro' guitar...in 1971, at Manny's on 48th. **my sister still has her first [and only] guitar, a Yamaha that my parents got her in 1967. And I played it a few years ago, and [despite possibly having the original strings on it ], the action was perfect. That guitar has survived Upstate NY winters, NYC summers, Santa Barbara humidity and several decades of LA weather and now 'hangs it's hat in Tennessee'.

thanks, but you are 9 years too late on this...

well, sorry, not everyone can afford to drop over a thousand dollars on a guitar...

zackly...it only reads the discharge, not the potential....and it will not read '0' volts...there is always a little something left behind

hard to be disappointed when you pay $50 for a guitar...I'm jus'sayin'... so enjoy your guitar! Most of the negativity about the Esteban thing was more about the hype/BS, and the really terrible marketing program. I'm sure the guitar is as good as most Chinese made classicals... And please, ease up on the capital letters, we see that as yelling, not emphasis..emphasis is done with BOLD or italics

the problems with electrics as starters are multiple...you need an amp [more$], steel strings [and much lighter, more breakage]...and resale on cheap electrics? Meh...would never be my first choice for a raw beginner.

IIRC, Aus$ are about $.67 [US], so your $200 budget is about [US]$135. I was appalled at first by the used prices you posted until I remembered the exchange rate...😉 not sure if these are available in Oz, but the little 12W Orange Crush is a perfect bedroom amp, especially if you are running a Pod into it, and in the USA, you can get them under $100 [US]...NEW! They get great reviews, too. The Peavey Bandit is often the butt of jokes here, so you might want to avoid that. The Marshall Valvestates are okay.