I’ve played guitar for about three years, and I’ve had the same Fender Squire for 2 and a half years. I love the thing just a little bit less than I love my own mother, but I think it’s time to get a new one. I don’t feel like I’ve reached a plateau, but I think my playing would benefit from a new sound.
That said, I’m in the market for a new guitar…I only have a few requirements, which is where you guys come in.
-I don’t want to spend more than 250-300 dollars on a guitar. If I can go less than that, awesome.
-It has to have 22 frets. If it doesn’t have 22 frets, I won’t buy it
As far as sound goes, I really like Randy Rhoads’ guitar sound on Blizzard of Ozz (Ozzy Osbourne), and Slash’s sound (Guns N’ Roses). But I’m not fanatically picky about that. If it sounds and feels good, I’ll get it.
So what do all you guitarists out there recommend?
I suck on a guitar, but from what I’ve read online and heard from other players this is definitely what you want to do. Don’t buy one that you haven’t heard.
If you like Slash’s sound, I think you should look into guitars with Humbuck pickups. Your Strat has single coils which gives a completely different tone. Humbucks have louder mids and more sustain - a phatter sound.
Yeah, and the brands that Jerrick named are good to look at.
Ivan, do you know of any good sites/sources that have information on the different types of pickups and their sounds without going too technical? You obviously know what you’re talking about.
Thanks for all the replies so far…there’s a guitar store next to my school that I’m gonna go scope out for a few hours when I drive to school one day. I’ll talk to them and see what they tell me.
basically, Humbuckers have higher output, little less noise, and a more “fat” sound. Single coil (strat style) are brighter. Soapbars (Gibson’s P-90 and the likes) are something in between.
In general, since you’ve been playing for a while, I’d suggest looking at gear in a slightly higher pricerange, waiting for a few months if it’s necessary. A $250-300 guitar isn’t going to be remarkably better than your Squire.
Ibanez and Peavy both make decent instruments in the $250-300 price range. I’m not a great fan of neither B.C Rich nor Epiphone. At a slightly higher price, or if you can find one used, I’d also check out Washburn, especially their Idol series.
Alos, remember, tis all preference, and a higher price, doesnt always mean it will play better than lower priced guitars.
I have a Epiphone Flying V for one of my guitars, and I love it. I have played Gibsons, from vintage models with 10k price tags, to the newer models. To me, the Epiphone feels way better, and sounds pretty identical.
Yes, of course. Cheap instrument can be good. However, one of the aspects where cost is cut is quality control, so while one guitar can be great, another identical guitar can play like crap. Electronics are usually quite poorly assebled and of dubious quality as well. And for a person who has previously owned a low end squire, and is looking for a second instrument, chances are he cannot really tell a good instrument from a bad one in the store. That’s why I suggest either going for a slightly higher pricerange where quality is more even, or bring a friend who has played for a good while (and tried a lot of guitars) and can tell the difference.
I wasn’t saying that he should look for a cheaper guitar. I was just saying, that some guitars, even with 300-500 dollar price ranges, are up there with some guitars with the 1k-3k price range.
Alex needs to check in and let us now how his guitar hunting is going.
Stratocasters are good platforms, well balanced with lots of upgrade kits available (I like the idea of getting a skeleton and building on it as the differences become familiar), or at least there’s always the option to do so.
You might try to break down the price in anything you’re looking at between electronics/hardware and aesthetics to approximate how much of the cost is based on sound and how much of the price is based on appearance. Echoing Jerrick and Stfn: At some point the electronics/sound can be equal, but the design/construction/materials are pushing the price difference between different models and brands.
Also, if I were to buy an electric guitar I’d probably look for the best quality body I could find. Bugger the electronics, the stocks ones are practically always shit anyways. You can eventually change the pickups to better ones(like EMG or Duncan).
I’m still in Austin right now, so I can’t really do anything. I’ll be heading back to home later today, and I’ll check out that guitar store Monday or Tuesday afternoon. I’m pretty excited.
Oh, and Ivan, I was thinking about doing that anyway…because it’s not an overly complicated thing to switch pickups, right? Playability is definitely a big factor.
Like a couple of others already said, it’s all about personal preference. Play a bunch of guitars and pick out the one with the best tone for your style of playing. Don’t acknowledge price or ‘brand awareness’ until after you’ve decided you like the sound.
I have a couple of expensive guitars but my favorite is a Samick acoustic that I got for free from my girlfriends mom. I did some research and decided the guitar is at least 18 years old. Back then it was sold at $150…sounds like a pretty low end guitar right? It has the most amazing tone, better than a number of Taylors and Martins I have played.
If you like the randy rhoads style sound jackson has a fairly nice rhoads style V or two out on the market in your price range, but I still agree with everyone else, play a bunch of different guitars and find one you like.
I’ve owned two Jackson V’s already. Firstly, very annoying to play sitting down because it tends to slide around. Secondly, because it is a pointy guitar it will chip at the ends of the V. Thirdly, your case wont last long because it is a custom shape with cut out foam that gets loose. It is a great show guitar for stage, but to use it for daily usage is not a good idea. Then again what do I know?