What type of Electric guitar should I get?

[Slyder]

Well, I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but, well, I'm getting an electric guitar pretty soon, maybe Christmas.

Well, I don't know what to buy. I might get a Gibbson EXP, but the price verys and I'm only allowed a Range to £200.

Should I go for a Warlock Bronze Serise in Black Addition or what?

Well, like I said, if this is in the wrong place, feel free to move it.

[RacerX]

Well, this is a Jackson board, eh?

[Bengal65]

Jackson, Charvel, Jackson/Charvel, or a Jackson is a good choice

[orion451]

If you don't already know what type of a guitar you prefer, you really should try a few out at your local guitar dealer before you hang your hat on any particular brand.

[wilkinsi]

for £200 you could get what i went for: js-1 (£150) and gator case (£50).

[fett]

Welcome to the board. What playing style do you prefer? That would narrow it down. Have you been playing for awhile? How big are your hands and fingers? Do you want a lot of goodies on the 'tar? If this your first guitar, make it a good one. You can do that within your price range. I agree with the idea of going to a shop and playing as many guitars as you can. Or you could do like me and have 20 or 30. Oh, yeah, there is a Jackson or Charvel that would fill the bill.

[Slyder]

Thanks, and well, Hmm... well, To narrow my type of Guitar Style, well, the easiest way would to be the song Hotel California by the Eagles (the soloist *Practically, the Double necked Guitar*) , but then again, my style would go Rock&Roll or Heavy Metal.

I have been playing for 2 Years, wrote my Own song and can read most of Scales and Tabs (Except the 1/4 or 1/2 bends, ect). So, I'm not truly a Biginner, but not too great.

And I think I will try the "asking my Local Music Shop Dealer" for trying different brands and see what I like.

So yeah, a £200 guitar is pretty much what I'm looking for, and the case and the Amp I already have (From Semi Accoustic *Which broke*).

I'm still confused at what type to buy though, as alot of my friends tell me to get an Epiphone Leus Paul or a Gibbson EXP or Warlock Bronze Serise Black addition.

But I'm going to go with the advice I was given about the shops in a few days. Thanks !

[Tiddles]

Slyder - if you like stuff like Eagles & general R&R then you don’t really need a very specialized guitar…so pretty much whatever guitar appeals within your price range will do just fine.

Your main problem will be the cost, because in UK 99% of electric guitars cost much more than £200.

Les Paul is very expensive guitar to make, because of the solid carved top and set-neck - you’re extremely unlikely to get a decent Les Paul under about £450. Also Les Paul has a very specific rich woody tone, which is great for raunchy blues, but maybe not so hot for more general tones (listen to Clapton on Bluesbreakers LP 1966…that’s what a Les Paul sounds like). Don’t get me wrong, I love Les Paul’s, but personally I wouldn’t look below older MIJ Tokai (from about £450 upwards).

If you want a brand new guitar under £200 in UK then I’d get a Yamaha Pacifica with a humbucker in bridge position.

Alternatively, the brand called “Vintage” has a wide range of guitars which often get good reviews in UK music press , mainly under/around £200.

One advantage of super-Strat type/shape guitars like Jackson & Ibanez RG models, is that 24 frets makes for easier playing access to highest frets, and Floyd style floating trem is what you need for fancy trem tricks like EVH or Satriani etc. If you’re willing to risk buying on eBay then you’ll see plenty of MIJ or MIK Jackson & Ibanez RG series selling around/under £200 (worth the risk in imho, just check advert & seller carefully, & use Paypal!).

Personally I really like Teles. Again that’s a very specific tone … sharp, piercing & “edgy” (on the bridge pickup), great for searing leads, but still good for rhythm playing as well. Alternatively, Strat is an obvious choice and very flexible guitar for all styles of music. But again £200 will severely restrict you (though Yamaha Pacifica is very similar) … I’d look on eBay for older used MIJ brands like Fernandes, older Ibanez, Greco etc. (older MIJ Tokai great, but out of price range).

But whatever guitar you buy, the tones will depend very heavily on the amp. In many ways a decent amp is more important than the guitar (although maybe the guitar seems more “personal”). Roland Cube-30, Cube-60, Tech-21 T10 or T60, Vox AD50VT or 30VT, or used Line-6 Flextone are all good bang for the buck..

Summary - check out a Yamaha Pacifica with humbucker in the bridge. Use a decent amp.

Ian.

[Newc]

Fender Mexican-made Strat, or a Jackson if you can find one in your budget (probably not, but you never know).

I've heard tales of quality nightmares with most every other brand including Ibanez and BC Rich in that price range, but all the negative stuff I hear about Jacksons JS models are the pickups. Never anything bad about the playability.

[Sunbane]

+1 to what Newc said. I've seen some really bad reviews of the cheapo B.C. Riches in particular, so I'd stay clear o those.

I generally recommend fixed bridge guitars to new players, but since you've been playing for a while, I'd ask: Would you prefer a fixed bridge, or a vibrato bridge? The difference in feel between the two is immense, and while some people prefer floating trems (such as Floyd Rose type bridges), others can't stand them. Also keep in mind that a floating bridge is more of a hassle to tune and maintain. A badly maintained Floyd copy on a used guitar will mean tuning problems and additional expenses down the road.

With fixed bridge guitars, you are a lot less likely to get a "rotten" one (there's not very many moving parts in them, so they don't wear down nearly as fast). It's a lot trickier when it comes to budget guitars with vibrato bridges. One word of warning here: Definitely avoid Washburn. Their cheapo Floyd trems are some of the worst I've seen. I haven't been awfully impressed by the LTD guitars I've played either, but I may have had bad luck with those.

As for sound: Most cheap guitars come with cheap pickups, and that will make the sound suffer. The good news is that pickups can be replaced. On the other hand - replacing them will cost money. For instance, the pickups that came on low-level Jacksons during the mid-90's were just awful. Taking out the stock pickups and putting quality ones in made them jump from being mediocre guitars to being good ones. I've heard about Epiphone (from several people) that you have to wax pot their pickups yourself before they will hold up at louder volume settings. Whichever guitar you choose, you may want to consider a pickup swap sometime down the road.

Then there's the issue of pickup types. There are humbuckers (dual coils) and single coil pickups. A single coil generally procuces a clear, glass-like sound (especially good for clean parts) - while a dual coil will sound darker, and with more output (good for dirty parts). Since you play a wide variety of styles, I'm thinking a combination would be good? You will definitely need a guitar with a dual coil pickup in the bridge position - that's how the classic rock'n'roll sound is made. For soft, clean parts - use a singlecoil pickup in the neck position.

Now, to round it up: I'm partial to Charvel and Jacksons. I like their look, their image, their neck profiles - and I know they are well made guitars, so I'm comfortable with them. A lot of it is down to player preference though. Epiphone makes good guitars. Squire makes good guitars. Check 'em all out, play a few, and pick the one you like.

[MichaelLitvak]

we can tell u everything u want but u gotta go to a store and try them all... for my first guitar i was thikning about ibanez SA or RG and then doing endless research about them... but when it came down to playing them at the store.. jackson DK2 was the most comfortable and had the best tone.. i love the HSS combination

so just go 2 ur local guitar store and start playing