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  #31  
Old 02-23-2017, 06:13 PM
Neonzapper Neonzapper is offline
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If you are playing for a medium sized church (most are acoustically built), I would think a small 25w amp (digital or not) is sufficient. Any larger, and you can always get picked up by the mic. For a guitar, the tele is great for lead riffs and can be switched down for melody. I have played them, but never owned one (bucket list guitar). I would also suggest comparing the tele with a PRS for playability and sound.

Last edited by Neonzapper; 02-23-2017 at 06:33 PM.
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  #32  
Old 02-24-2017, 09:53 AM
stephen mills stephen mills is offline
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Hi strummers and pluckers and course Adaw.
Well nice question!
The answer really falls into X gaps.

Firstly lets agree that your sound will come from: strings, pickups, tone controls, solid, semi or solid guitar and what your Amp can give you after realizing your self what you want,.

So that got the difficult bits out of the way:

1. at this stage DONOT spend a lot of money on anything- probably no more than 100$ for the guitar ( best will be second hand for that money) so you will find a nice one for that
2. Borrow an Amp from a store or friend and play with it and learn how an Amp helps the guitar and the other way round.

Don't do anything else until you are happy with the results.

Another way is to buy a beat up chipped electric and change the strings and controls, this is really the best way forward at your level of interest.

If you way to race a car you don't buy a Ferrari --- do you!!

Good luck and let us all know how you progress.

to help watch some vids of players and their 'road worn' and just listen to those bad boys

S
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  #33  
Old 02-24-2017, 11:07 AM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stephen mills View Post
...at this stage DO NOT spend a lot of money on anything- probably no more than 100$ for the guitar (best will be second hand for that money) so you will find a nice one for that...

Another way is to buy a beat up chipped electric and change the strings and controls, this is really the best way forward at your level of interest...

If you way to race a car you don't buy a Ferrari --- do you!!

to help watch some vids of players and their 'road worn' and just listen to those bad boys...
Don't know what kind of new or used instrument 100 dollars/euros will get you in France, but here in the States you're not going to get much more than a beginner electric which, for all practical purposes, is essentially a "throwaway": multi-layer laminated body, poor-quality pickups/controls/hardware, badly-cured woods, sloppy fretwork; for what it will cost to have it brought up - temporarily - to playable specs (either by a professional or in terms of DIY parts/labor/time) the OP is far better off buying a good instrument from the get-go...

There's an old proverb among American hot-rodders attributed to the late engine builder Keith Black, "Speed costs money - how fast do you want to go": if you want to run F1/NASCAR Cup Series/NHRA Top Fuel plan on a multi-million-dollar budget - and if you want to run a competitive car at the local track on the weekend (as I've done), it'll still cost you a fair piece of change in parts, maintenance, and personal safety equipment if you plan on coming home in one piece at the end of the day. Just as I'm not likely to be taking home any trophies from Monaco, Talladega, or Pomona, most of us are not likely to become the next Joe Bonamassa - but that by no means implies we shouldn't get the best working tools we can afford in either case...

In case you haven't noticed, those "road-worn" instruments many well-known players use were quality pieces right from the beginning - Teles, Strats, LP's, SG's, 335's, and the like - and given their age and celebrity connection, would sell for far more than the modest cost of any of the guitars recommended here; BTW, if there's a candy-apple-red hardtail '64 Strat with a painted headstock floating around southern France for $100 American, PM me with a photo - considering that's a $40K guitar over here I'll gladly wire you the money and pay for the shipping...
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  #34  
Old 02-26-2017, 05:51 PM
adaw2821 adaw2821 is offline
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Just to update, I went to guitar center today and played several guitars. I THINK, that I have decided I like the hummbucker Les Paul type guitars more than strat style. That being said said I'm now wondering what to do about amps. I plugged into a fender bass breaker while there that sounded great for clean tones. But I couldn't crank the gain up at all bc it was way too loud. I could always plug a pedal into the front..

Option two is a modeling amp. I've heard good things about the fender mustang. I tried using a Peavy modeling amp at GC but the thing was so dang complicated I couldn't really figure out how to dial in my sound.

Option three is a digital pedal board like the line 6 hd500x or something similar. But then I'm assuming I still need an amp to play at home?

I really liked the sound of the bass breaker if only it wasn't sooo loud with the gain up any at all. Thanks for any advice..
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  #35  
Old 02-26-2017, 05:55 PM
adaw2821 adaw2821 is offline
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Also I definitely understand the logic of not spending much on a first guitar. To be fair this isn't really my fist. I have a cheap $100 strat nock off and line 6 spider III amp. Tone is garbage, doesn't stay in tune, or intonate past the third frett.. So now I'm out looking for nothing crazy expensive top of the line but just good quality midrange stuff that while meet my needs for however long in satisfied..
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  #36  
Old 02-26-2017, 06:39 PM
6L6 6L6 is offline
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I've owned 108 guitars since I started playing on Feb 10, 1964. Kept notes on all of them.

SO... after all the Pre CBS Strats, a '53 Tele, '58 Tele, Jags, Jazzmasters, Custom Shop guitars, Gibson's, Guilds, etc., I finally found MY tone in a 1960 Harmony Meteor w/Bigsby. Probably first sold out of a Sears Catalog, but I could care less. The FAT tone out of those DeArmond Gold Foil pickups just can't be beat. It's my all-time favorite electric guitar!

While they made a lot of them, you don't see them very often. I've played this one at Gryphon and it ROCKS:

https://shop.gryphonstrings.com/prod...teor-h70-47783
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  #37  
Old 02-26-2017, 08:35 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adaw2821 View Post
...I THINK that I have decided I like the humbucker Les Paul type guitars more than Strat style. That being said I'm now wondering what to do about amps. I plugged into a Fender Bassbreaker while there that sounded great for clean tones. But I couldn't crank the gain up at all bc it was way too loud...I tried using a Peavey modeling amp at GC but the thing was so dang complicated I couldn't really figure out how to dial in my sound...I really liked the sound of the Bassbreaker if only it wasn't sooo loud with the gain up any at all...
A few points based on prior posts:
  • The world of electric guitar doesn't begin and end with "Gibson humbucker/Fender single-coil/solidbody"; there's a wealth of other types/tones available out there in your price range - P-90, mini-buckers, semi/hollowbody - and in the interest of as broad/objective a sampling as possible I hope you had/have a few of those on your trial list as well...
  • Exactly which Bassbreaker did you try - they range from 7 to 45 watts - and if you're not familiar with the drill, you need to dial back the master when you raise the gain if you're after the same volume level; seven watts should be manageable under any circumstances...
  • While you'll get conflicting opinions in this area, speaking as a teacher since 1970 and a summa cum laude 1965 graduate of the Hands-on Discovery School of Electric Guitar Tone, the one thing you don't need at this stage is a load of bells and whistles complicating matters; the KISS principle applies here - get yourself a straight-ahead analog amp (tube or solid-state) and learn how to dial in your preferred tones...
  • As I mentioned previously, there are performance-worthy tube amps in the 15-25W range that can be scaled back to reasonable home practice volumes and 5-10W home practice amps that can be dialed down to as little as 0.1W (BTW I own both, as well as higher-powered rigs); if you have any intention at all of playing out regardless of venue (50-year church musician here FYI) I'd strongly recommend the former - and learn to balance your guitar's volume controls and the amp's gain/master to achieve the tones you need in any situation, at any given volume level...
If you like the 12AX7/EL84-driven tones of the Bassbreaker, next time you're at GC (IMO there should be at least one more "next time" before you lay down your bucks) you owe it to yourself to give the Bugera V22 Infinium an extended workout; IME if there's such a thing as a "Swiss Army" amp - size, tone, volume, construction, intuitive operation, versatility, and price - this is as close as you're going to get without paying three to four times as much for a boutique box...
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  #38  
Old 03-11-2017, 02:20 AM
#GoKingsGo #GoKingsGo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adaw2821 View Post
So I've been an acoustic player for years and am just crossing over into electric. I'm trying to figure out what guitar to get. I've had an electric cheapo no name from college and a $40 amp. But needless to say I'm finally ready to throw in the towel and get a actual guitar.



I've been looking at tele's, strata, Les Paul's and PRS. Out of that group the tele is the most distinct sounding but I really don't like the signature twang. I like a little warmer, melodic sound. I play mostly contry, pop, some John Mayer stuff.



However, I found this video and it's probably the closest to the sound I want. https://youtu.be/qPZ0pEzqPbw

It's a little warmer, almost strat like, with just a little edge.



My problem is I think so much is affects there starts to be so many different sounds and overlap. I also don't want to have to spend a fortune on amps and affects to get the sound I'm looking for.



I know this is little long and probly difficult to answer but I appreciate the responses. I'm almost thinking any of them with the right gear could get me what I'm looking for but not sure.


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  #39  
Old 03-11-2017, 10:05 AM
wrathfuldeity wrathfuldeity is offline
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imo

go to basics....
size and feel in your hand
scale and nut width
resonance unpluged
beyond the above...everything can be modded

recommend low wind output...much easier to dirty up/hotter than to clean up a dirty

buy used and mod...are relatively very easy diy on electrics. there is alot of quality stuff hitting the used market and it is not moving...current #1 is a mia peavey predator...pawnshop score for $80 with about $200 in mods to my specs

don't discount old odd ball amps...one of mine favs is a 1949 pp6v6 monoblock the other one is a 1950's se6l6 record player conversion...neither one is going anyplace before I die.... even with a bit of bench time they were an absolute steal tonewise compared to the contemporary pcb off the shelf...both amps were under $70...one is like a tweed deluxe type and the other is tweed princeton like on steroids
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  #40  
Old 03-16-2017, 12:43 PM
rokdog49 rokdog49 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steel and wood View Post
A Stratocaster is more versatile than a Telecaster in my opinion, even if my Telecaster has become my go to electric guitar. (Has a five way switch instead of three and a tremolo arm if you choose to use).

That's true, but a Tele is a Tele and no Strat will replicate that sound, especially the bridge pickup. Even if you put an overwound Strat single coil in it, which I did it's not the same.
You can get close but no cigar. You can wire a Tele to get more out of it if you feel the need.
There are a multitude of neck pickups out there that will reproduce a Strat neck pickup so well you can't tell one from the other. I have A-B'd my Strat neck and my specially wound Tele pick and did the "blinfold" test with another player doing the work....couldn't tell which was which.
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