[mr. beaumont]

Originally Posted by Warrenaines

I have a couple of nice acoustics, including higher end Gibsons and Martins. Thinking about first electric. A few considerations:

• Will just be for home use and at least at first will just be using a small Yamaha THR10C amp; may get into real amps and pedals later but unlikely I'll be looking for a ton of volume and would largely need to control volume with headphones out of any loud amp.

• Inclined towards melodic tones more than heavy distortion -- Jerry Garcia, David Gilmour, Knopfler, Trey Anastasio, Bill Frisell are some examples (taste not my abilities) more than say classic hard rock like AC/DC, though like a wide range of music including 90's grunge so don't want to get too narrow to start.

• Comfort/limited maintenance. In addition to wanting to experiment with sound, the wide bout and thicker strings of acoustic dreads aren't always the most comfortable. Bout and string gauge obviously isn't an issue for electrics, not sure if a heavy Les Paul for example would be uncomfortable over time (also recognizing there are now lighter Les Pauls). Also don't to spend a lot of time with a guitar that is likely to require a lot of personal maintenance, will have it professionally setup etc.

• No set budget. Don't want anything high-end at this point without dialing in what I like and dislike, but also don't want to go too cheap and buy again soon, though I've heard good things about Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster

• Are iconic guitars like Teles, Strats, Les Pauls, SGs a good place to start? Any suggestions among those (or specific models) or others? Should I consider any semi-hollow bodies? Used vs. new, particularly with respect to minor repairs/maintenance that I don't want to spend a lot of time learning?

Thanks!

I really think you can't go wrong with a tele. I'm very biased on telecasters, but I really think they're just the bees knees. And there's good ones at every price point.