Looking For Advice On First Electric & Amp - FOUND

[mikealpine]

Reverends are awesome guitars, not just "for the money", but really good instruments. The Buckshot will be closer to a Tele in sound, a little more beef out the neck pickup. The Charger comes in a few flavors, and you'd have to decide on what pickups you like. I have really found myself favoring a P90 sound, especially on the neck, where I find most humbuckers get a bit muddy. An extremely versatile model for Reverend, and based what you're looking for, I think a good recommendation is a Double Agent OG. It's got a Humbucker in the bridge for some extra power, and a P90 in the neck, for enough warmth. I have that combination on a G & L and find it to be a very useful setup.

Regarding the S1 switching, if you're playing mostly fingerstyle, I don't really think you'll get the use out of it. To me it's a lot like some car features; it's really cool when you think about it, but you find you don't use it as much as you thought you would. If anything, you can mod your Tele to have a 4-way switch, so you can get the two pickups in series or in parallel. You'd have the typical Tele two-pickup sound in one position and in the other, it would sound more like a humbucker (fuller and stronger), thereby giving you four very useful sounds.

Hope that helps!

[thegreatgumbino]

Good grief, this is *quite* the rabbit hole. The more I read, the more I realize there is to know, and the less I know what I want. It looks like the Tele's are better for beginners due to the bridge configuration versus a Strat. But, then you get into clean/dirty, P90/Humbucker, and the vast array of beautiful and sparkly guitars. Too many choices, too little time. I should have just bought the Squier and gotten busy learning!! The Reverend guitars are pretty suckers. I keep looking and drooling and have no idea about any of them because they aren't a "strat" or "tele".

Originally Posted by zabdart

Straight-ahead Telecaster (the ones with only two knobs, one selector switch and two single-coil pickups) will probably teach you more about the difference between electric guitar and acoustic guitar than any other model. The first thing you have to understand is the 95% of all electric guitars and their amplifiers are passive wiring systems, so the controls actually act as signal cuts from a maximum value, rather than signal boosts from a minimum value. So, turn the controls on your amplifier up and let it do the work and use the knobs on your guitar as a control panel to determine how much signal is going into your amp. Then you can explore all the different ways you can shape your sound just by twisting your dials.

This is very good info, zabdart! Gracias.

Originally Posted by loco gringo

This one. Not a strat. Only you can decide if the Baja is worth the extra. It would be for me because I don't like the small fretboard radius on the Squier and I like the beefy neck on the Baja.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guita...lectric-guitar

Sorry, I was confused by the Baja comment, initially. When I first googled Fender Baja, it came up as a Strat. The Baja's look very cool. I missed out on one on Ebay last night, which is probably better since I have no idea what I want now. So, the Squier you linked to appears to be a Squier version of the Fender Baja, correct? It has great reviews on MF. Maybe I should start with this one.

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

HERE is a little article I put together on working your way down the decision funnel for a first electric. Perhaps it will help. Also, HERE is a two-minute guitar comparison from my site.

Bob

Thanks for sharing your links, Bob. Good information found within.

Originally Posted by rmp

if you are going with a Mustang,

spend the extra and get the Mustang III...

The interface via the LCD is well worth it.

With the I and II you will need FUSE to do any deep preset edits. Also the MIII has a lot more bells/whistles/presets, and an upgraded speaker.

Great to know, RMP. I was looking at them on Craigslist last night and they seem to hold their value quite well. It didn't seem to be much cheaper to buy one used than new. I think not having to use FUSE is a plus.
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Originally Posted by jseth

Lots of great options out there, for both guitars and amps... personally I would go with a G&L over a Fender "cheapie", or perhaps a Reverend Buckshot (used)... but it's going to be YOUR guitar, so find something that feels good when it's on YOUR shoulder and in YOUR hands...

One aspect to electric guitars that is difficult to become accustomed to, for many players (not just beginners!) is the lighter gauge strings that are frequently used on an electric guitar. The difference between a set of light gauge acoustic guitars strings (12's) and the "normal" 9's or 10's on an electric set feels like MILES different, especially for strumming.

Realize that YOU are the one who chooses how heavy a gauge to use on your electric; personally, I like using 11's on my two "normal" electric guitars, a Taylor T-5 and a Gibson ES-345. I just like how they feel, don't need something extra slinky so I can bend a major third (!), plus they hold tune better for longer durations...

The MOST important aspect of playing an electric is that interplay between player, guitar and amplifier... DON'T "cheap out" on an amplifier, because THAT'S what will determine how everything sounds! A cheap guitar through a great amp can still sound great, yet a great guitar through a cheap amp is never going to sound good... your sound is only as good as your amplifier when playing electric guitar...

Spend some time figuring out what sort of tones you want to hear, and direct your amp buying in that direction... there are many wonderful little amps out there that use tube technology or are straight-out tube amps that range between $300 and $500... but maybe you won't want a "tube" sound, in which case you can go for a straight solid state amp. Your choice...

It's a deep, dark rabbit hole you are entering! Proceed with caution... and have fun with it all!

You called it on the rabbit hole, and thanks for pointing out the Reverend brand. They are sexy beasts and have turned me for a loop. I understand the amp advice. My thing with the modeling amps is they will provide an opportunity to play with a variety of sounds without having to delve into pedels from the start. I don't have that kind of play money at this point, unfortunately.

Originally Posted by Mr. Scott

Well, you've got plenty there to be mulling over for the next few days, all good advice. I'll just throw in my suggestions if I may: I would try the Epiphone ES339. I have one which I gigged staight from the shop wall. I did a more detailed setup later of course, but it was playable straight off. This guitar has good humbuckers which are split as well and this gives extra sounds which are quite useable from my experience.
Others have suggested the Baja which may be a bit above your budget (as you are including an amp), but it is an excellent Tele shaped guitar and is very difficult to beat in its price range and as such it is well worth considering at a later date.
With regard to an amp, the Mustang suggested is a great idea, especially the III, but they do take some getting used to and for that reason I think your choice of the Yamaha THR10C is better; you still get some effects, but not too many, and it is a great bedroom amp. Should you decide to go out gigging later then you would need a different, more powerful amp but for now the Yammy is fine.
Hope that helps you a bit.

Good point.

Originally Posted by mikealpine

Reverends are awesome guitars, not just "for the money", but really good instruments. The Buckshot will be closer to a Tele in sound, a little more beef out the neck pickup. The Charger comes in a few flavors, and you'd have to decide on what pickups you like. I have really found myself favoring a P90 sound, especially on the neck, where I find most humbuckers get a bit muddy. An extremely versatile model for Reverend, and based what you're looking for, I think a good recommendation is a Double Agent OG. It's got a Humbucker in the bridge for some extra power, and a P90 in the neck, for enough warmth. I have that combination on a G & L and find it to be a very useful setup.

Regarding the S1 switching, if you're playing mostly fingerstyle, I don't really think you'll get the use out of it. To me it's a lot like some car features; it's really cool when you think about it, but you find you don't use it as much as you thought you would. If anything, you can mod your Tele to have a 4-way switch, so you can get the two pickups in series or in parallel. You'd have the typical Tele two-pickup sound in one position and in the other, it would sound more like a humbucker (fuller and stronger), thereby giving you four very useful sounds.

Hope that helps!

The Double Agent OG looks really nice. I like the buckshot and charger as well. How costly is it to add a tremolo/Bigsby down the line? The Anderton's videos with those options were very cool.

I can see myself playing more rock/fuzz with the electric than clean/fingerstyle. The bass roll-off adds some cool sounds in that regards.

Decisions, decisions (first world problems)....

[thegreatgumbino]

Now I'm really gassing for a Reverend Buckshot or Double Agent OG. Can't decide which I like more. I really dig the coffee burst on the OG. The Buckshot sounds really good on the Anderton's video, but I have a feeling the humbucker on the OG will be more fun across various styles.

I'll have to take advantage of a 20% off sale for Labor Day if I can find one, and it will blow my budget and leave me without an amp (for now). Maybe the wife will feel sorry for me and let me spring for one after seeing me play an electric not plugged in. Or play it patient and hope a good deal on a used one pops up.

[dwh]

You'll never regret getting a Baja tele! I love mine and even my buddy that has a late 60s tele wants to borrow mine all the time.

[thegreatgumbino]

I was going back and forth between the Buckshot and the Double Agent OG. I really wanted the coffee burst on the OG, but the sound of the Buckshot kept bringing be back. The Anderton's videos demonstrate the Buckshot sound very well.

Specifically, go to 19:30 and 24:45.


And this one at 29:00


I jumped today and ordered a Midnight Black Reverend Buckshot and a Fender Mustang III amp from Prymaxe. It was my first experience with them, and it was great all around. They have a 20% off sale through today to celebrate their 7th anniversary. I had to grovel with the wife to extend my budget, but she was fine with it. Can't wait to get it and be dumbfounded by all the knobs and buttons. The Mustang III is definitely more than I need, but I like the plethora of onboard presets and the ability to add foot switches and FX loops. Let the wait begin.

[mikealpine]

Congrats! That'll cover pretty much all your bases. Can't wait to hear your impressions when they arrive!

[Recce]

Originally Posted by rmp

if you are going with a Mustang,

spend the extra and get the Mustang III...

The interface via the LCD is well worth it.

With the I and II you will need FUSE to do any deep preset edits. Also the MIII has a lot more bells/whistles/presets, and an upgraded speaker.

Agree, the Mustang III has many advantages and no disadvantages.