Electric Ignorance (Page 1 of 3)

Two different worlds.!st,a good electric is easier to play.Think of a car with power steering being an electric.A car without power steering would be an acoustic.The sounds are not at all alike.All those knobs and switches are there for a reason.To give different sounds.Its good to have both.Especially on the days when you don`t feel like fooling around with plugs and cords.When I was young I only wanted to play electric.Now I do both.Good luck

Are oranges harder to play than apples or visa versa?

Just ignore me!

Many, many things go into making the tone of an electric guitar. Hollow body or solid body, woods / materials used, (and within those woods what grade of a particular wood), types of pick up and how many as well as possible configurations, strings, settings etc etc etc. Outside of the guitar, sounds and tone and tone can additionally be altered and / or affected by leads, effects and the amp you use and within those the settings used on each individual item.

Don't forget as well that when you play different guitars at the shop they won't sound the same at home, (or anywhere else), unless you're using an identical rig to that in the shop.

I haven't even scratched the surface with that. Usual stuff applies, play as many as you can before committing to buy. Good luck and enjoy.

Jerry

To a beginners ears there won't be much of a difference between electric guitars. They will all pretty much sound the same. It will take some time for you to hear the difference in tone between a strat or tele or gibson or whatever. What kind of music do you like? We could recommend something to suit your style. To a Vetran, he can hear the difference in two guitars from the same make and model.

Rabid - An acoustic electric is not fence-straddling.  It's acoustic.  The electric part just makes it sound like a louder acoustic when you put it through an amp. 

As far as an AE in the $300 range, you have a lot of options more than Squire.  As a minimum, check out Seagull, Ibanez, Alvarez, Applause by Ovation, Epiphone by Gibson, Washburn, and/or Takemine.  There's nothing wrong with Squire by Fender, but Fender is much better known for their electric guitars than their acoustic guitars for a reason.  Their acoustics are fine and if you buy one you'll enjoy it.  But there are other lines that make better sounding guitars for roughly the same price.   Solid wood top beats laminate (plywood).  At $300, you're in a range where you can find either.  Unless you fall in love with a plywood top guitar, go for the solid wood. 

Unless you plan on needing to plug in right away, the electronics aren't a priority.  If you are planning to plug in right away, be sure to test the sound plugged in as well as the sound unplugged when you're at your favorite guitar shop.  I did this with an Ibanez and a Fender AE bass.  Unplugged, they were very, very similar sounding basses.  Plugged in and run through the same amp at the dealer, the Ibanez absolutely blew the Fender away.  So when I say that electronics aren't a priority, if you do choose to get one with electronics, then getting GOOD electronics is worthwhile. 

- Zurf

Rabid, don't be so quick to move away from Japanese guitars, there's a good reason that Yamaha are the biggest selling instrument manufacturer  in the world by a factor of 10!!  Where guitars are concerned, contrary to what some people will tell you, the world doesn't begin and end at the shores of the USA! As for unfamiliar, Matt Bellamy of Muse fame plays guitars built by a tiny Devon based luthier, so don't be too quick to not give it a try if you haven't heard of it. Play as many as you can and don't worry about the name on the headstock, if it feels and sounds good to you it's a good guitar for you.

In terms of the money you have to spend Epiphone make some very good guitars, yes, they are second rate Gibsons but you haven't got Gibson money to spend and they are indeed the Gibson version of Fenders Squire!

As for the Flying V, it's not my cup of tea either but it is a classic guitar made by Gibson and is anything but second rate!

Jerry

Music Novices have very little to go on other than branding; they can’t play worth a crap so everything sounds equally shoddy.
I also have peer recommendation (real and virtual) and Artist-preference, but those tend to be out of my price-range.

Expensive doesnt always mean good.Example,a 1967 gretsch corvette.The worst guitar I ever owned.350 in 1984.It was awful.Poorly balanced, didnt sound that gooe,just a nightmare.I wanted a gretsch so bad I bought the first one I found.Its long gone and I dont miss it

I have a yamaha acoustic and a stratocaster made in mexico,they are both very good guitars. The japanese make some good guitars,yamaha,takamine etc.

It's the same company.  They made musical instruments before they made motorcycles.  Ever notice that the logo for the motorcycle has tuning forks in it? 

But I agree with you at least on the motorcycles.  While there's nothing at all wrong with Yamahas, I'd rather have a Harley too. 

I think you're on the wrong track buying something solely because of the name on it, but it's your money.  Further, as I've said above, they're decent guitars so you're unlikely to be disappointed.  I also think you're selling yourself short.  You can pluck a string and hear how a guitar sounds and whether it rings or thuds.  You can rub your hand over the neck and hold it to see how it feels.  I don't care if you've never played a guitar before, you can tell the difference between a cardboard piece of trash guitar from Wal-Mart and a top of the line Martin or Gibson.  The rest is just a matter of degrees. 

- Zurf

I haven’t splurged yet...but I’m being honest with my preconceptions. I’m trying to get a few basic rhythms down and I’ve been strumming every guitar I can get my talons on. I feel a bit nervous in the humidified back rooms taking down the Martins that cost more than my car.