#16
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#17
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This is how I see it.
In the acoustic world a beginner would first choose body type: dreadnought vs OO vs OM. The electric equivalent would basically be a Strat, Tele, a singlecut like a Les Paul or a hollow body. Depending on how detailed you want to be, the buyer would look for tone: There are many options in the acoustic world for tonewood. In the electric world, it pretty goes down to a single coil vs a humbucker. There are others, but I won't include them for the sake of simplicity Then the acoustic buyer would choose if they want laminate or all solid or a hybrid. Electric guitars also have wood grades, but they're not as heavily emphasized. Acoustic buyers would definitely need some kind of humidification system. This is a must. For electrics, it would be the amplifier. Do they want digital, tube, analog, hybrid or even go the ampless route? Then they have the pick the tonal character. Fender, Vox, Marshall, Orange vibe? Electrics can also fall victim to humidity changes, but in my experience they are a lot more resilient. Edit: I just looked at your provided link. They will cut corners on starter packages. I would much rather buy them all separately. Some people will swear by cheap guitar and expensive amp or vice versa. You pick your poison. Honestly, I think they should be 50/50. For me, a great guitar is inspiring to play on, and I also need a decent amp for great sounds. Setting up an electric is easy. Adjusting the action and intonation is pretty much as simple as turning screws. I wouldn't even know how to start intonating an acoustic guitar, and I wouldn't be comfortable sanding down a saddle to lower the action. Last edited by hatamoto; 03-27-2023 at 09:40 PM. |
#18
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You have to try them first, the neck profile, body geometry (cutouts and even the locations of knobs), weight (the imports are generally lighter), trem setup, if you want a kill switch/different pickup configurations, etc. are really different between the manufacturers, more so than the acoustic guitars. My first electric was a Fender Player Stratocaster in SSS. It's like the Yamaha FG/FS800 in the acoustic world. Everybody has one; and it plays just fine, even if a little unspiring. I think it's a good start (oh, it's also got the modern 2-point trem,making setup easier on string changes). |
#19
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A review can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8rjU9wzhps Sweetwater sells them as fast as they come in. As I write this, there's only one left. Last edited by AX17609; 03-28-2023 at 06:47 AM. |
#20
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BB and Chuck Berry played hollow (or semi hollow ) bodied electrics Jimi was best known for a Strat Jimmy Page played a variety but early recordings were with a Tele Townsend was all over the map Both Clapton and Bonnie are know for Strats ... This video of the 40 th anniversary of Austin City limits performance of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" gives fairly large sample of types of electrics
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Enjoy the Journey.... Kev... KevWind at Soundcloud KevWind at YouYube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...EZxkPKyieOTgRD System : Studio system Avid Carbon interface , PT Ultimate 2023.12 -Mid 2020 iMac 27" 3.8GHz 8-core i7 10th Gen ,, Ventura 13.2.1 Mobile MBP M1 Pro , PT Ultimate 2023.12 Ventura 12.2.1 |
#21
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Janine, there are a lot of people offering good advice in the form of their opinions. Yes, a dollar is a dollar, but if you shop price alone, chances are you're going to be disappointed in the long run.
Take the Telecaster, for example. Also commonly referred to as a "T-type" because there are so many knockoffs. But Fender, and its "little brother" company Squier also make a variety of models of the venerable T-type. At the very low end is the Squier "Bullet." These can be had for under $200, but remember the saying, "You get what you pay for." Consider also the CoO (Country of Origin). Many brands manufacture guitars in different countries, and quality control can be an issue, as can be parts included. China, Korea, Indonesia, Japan and Mexico are all sources for "Fender" guitars. Often you will hear people comment on the quality (or lack of it) from foreign shores. On my part, I have terrific guitars from all (except Korea, I think) and have no complaints. Just beware. My personal opinion (worth every penny you paid for it) is to go up from the basement level and look at something mid-tier. That is, unless you plan to replace it in a year or two as your skill improves and you find the guitar lacking in delivering what you expect.
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I own 41 guitars. Most are made of wood. Some are not. |
#22
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I don't want to get into an argument with anyone. I'm just sharing my recent experience.
I'm someone who knows how to spend money for quality when that's necessary. But, what I learned in the last three months is that the old adage "you get what you pay for" does not apply to guitars. A remarkable transformation has occurred in the the last two years. If you had told me that I would walk into a store ready to spend $2750 for a Les Paul and walk out with a $535 PRS, I would have said that you were crazy. If you had told me that I would sit in front of an array of Stratocasters and Stratocaster copies and pick the one from a company I'd never previously heard of, I would have said that you were crazy. If you had told me that I would eschew my favored Marshall amplifier for something the size of a loaf of bread with a name that sounds like a toaster oven, I would have said you were crazy. I'm 73 years old and have played guitar since I was 14. I may be stupid about a lot of things, but I know what a good guitar feels like. What you can buy these days for next to nothing is unbelievable. |
#23
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The change you describe, over a period of a decade and a half, was immediately striking. You can get an acoustic guitar for a thousand or so dollars or an electric guitar for far, far less than that which simply does not have any meaningful shortcomings. Anyone nowadays who insists on spending $2,000-$3,000 on a "professional quality" electric guitar will no doubt get a good one (assuming she does some careful shopping and avoids the odd lemon). But there's no reason to pretend you HAVE to spend that kind of money or you'll get an unplayable piece of junk that'll be tossed in the landfill after you've been playing for six months. It's a Golden Age right now for guitar buyers.
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Grabbed his jacket Put on his walking shoes Last seen, six feet under Singing the I've Wasted My Whole Life Blues ---Warren Malone "Whole Life Blues" |
#24
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That said I agree about a recent transformation I think the transformation you speak of is absolutely correct BUT I would say going pretty strong for 5 years But I don't think that "you get what you pay for " has gone away per. se. More that the transformation has actually been -- increased quality and playability at lower relative price points, and the transition point where improvement per dollar starts to get less has moved down also.
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Enjoy the Journey.... Kev... KevWind at Soundcloud KevWind at YouYube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...EZxkPKyieOTgRD System : Studio system Avid Carbon interface , PT Ultimate 2023.12 -Mid 2020 iMac 27" 3.8GHz 8-core i7 10th Gen ,, Ventura 13.2.1 Mobile MBP M1 Pro , PT Ultimate 2023.12 Ventura 12.2.1 |
#25
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Too many suggestions here already, and most of them are pretty good ones, too!
Janine? You need to wrap your head around the fact that the electric guitar is VASTLY different than its acoustic counterpart... I mean, they both have 6 strings and are fingered with many of the same chords, but, both in the playing, buying and "tweaking" the sound, they are incredibly unique unto themselves. With an acoustic guitar, what you buy is a guitar that is "pretty much" going to sound the same, forever - no discussions about "opening up" or what aging and play time does to an acoustic - but, what you have is what you get; not a lot to be done with altering the basic tone and response of the guitar. With an electric? You can do whatever you want to it, to get it to make the sounds you desire... new pickups, new volume and tone potentiometers, new bridge, new nut, new tailpiece... all of these can have marvelous effects on what the guitar sounds like... you can buy little boxes that alter the sound radically, in lots of cool ways. So, what I'm saying is, it is extremely likely that you could buy, say, a Fender MIM Telecaster and modify it however you see fit... and end up with a guitar that sounds and plays every bit as good as a guitar that costs 10x more! The biggest thing about electric guitars is, no matter how good they are, they are only going to sound as good as the amplifier through which you play them! The amplifier is easily 50% of the sound/tone/feel, and possibly much more than that, especially for the players whom you mentioned! Take the time to find the body style and pickups configuration you prefer... be sure to have your guitar setup by a pro technician... audition amplifiers and see what you like. In my experience, "the world of electric guitar" is a much deeper rabbit hole than acoustic guitars (even including acoustic amplification!), with a vast myriad of side-tunnels! I can tell you that, after experimenting and checking out a lot of different pedals, amplifiers and options... my favorite way to play my Gibson ES-345 is with a straight cord into my silver-face Deluxe Reverb, using only the reverb and vibrato system in the amp! Have fun with this! Keep us apprised of your explorations, too...
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"He's one of those who knows that life is just a leap of faith. Spread your arms and hold your breath, always trust your cape..." "The Cape" (Guy Clark/Jim Janowsky/Susanna Clark) |
#26
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You are in the Bay Area... buy used off CL. Get something like these and you can sell them later on and not lose a dime...
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/msg...595583082.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/msg...603924176.html $385 without bargaining. Way better than some garbage starter pack. Buying new and lose 40% walking out the door.
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1990 Martin D16-M Gibson J45 Eastman E8D-TC Pono 0000-30DC Yamaha FSX5, LS16, FG830, FSX700SC Epiphone EF500-RAN 2001 Gibson '58 Reissue LP 2005, 2007 Gibson '60 Reissue LP Special (Red&TV Yel) 1972 Yamaha SG1500, 1978 LP500 Tele's and Strats 1969,1978 Princeton Reverb 1972 Deluxe Reverb Epiphone Sheraton, Riviera DeArmond T400 Ibanez AS73 Quilter Superblock US[/I] |
#27
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Janine - to get started on your electric guitar journey, you need 3 things:
1. A decent combo amp, like this: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...1x8-inch-combo 2. A cable 3. An electric guitar Other gear, like pedals, can come later. The most important thing is to choose a guitar that feels and sounds good to you. There are many different types of electric guitars and they all play differently. I recommend trying the following types to see which one you like best: - Stratocaster (my favorite) - good all-around, made famous by Hendrix and Clapton - Telecaster - also good all-around, but best known for that "twangy" country sound - Les Paul - good for hard rock (think Boston and Guns n' Roses) - Semi-hollow body (Gibson ES-335 type) - good for rock and jazz - Hollow body - good for jazz, rock and rockabilly You should be able to get a nice starter electric for around $300-500, maybe less if you find a good deal. I would look at Squier strats and teles, Epiphone Les Pauls, Epiphone and Ibanez semi-hollows, and Ibanez and Gretsch hollow bodies. Good luck and have fun!
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Acoustics: Martin D35 Martin OM-16GT Gibson J-45 Standard Breedlove Pursuit Concerto CE Takamine F400S 12-string Yamaha FG800 Citation CIT8000 "The Survivor" Electrics: Fender Standard Stratocaster (2004) Last edited by pickinray; 03-28-2023 at 08:22 PM. |
#28
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Acoustics: Martin D35 Martin OM-16GT Gibson J-45 Standard Breedlove Pursuit Concerto CE Takamine F400S 12-string Yamaha FG800 Citation CIT8000 "The Survivor" Electrics: Fender Standard Stratocaster (2004) |
#29
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I totally agree with the post by davidd. If the exact ads he linked are gone, the theory is correct, there are or will be many opportunities to duplicate these suggestions. O, If you prefer you can get the same thing, or similar new, from a store or online. The advice to get a pro set up is good, but most used and new guitars are very playable as is. Also, even a rookie can make most adjustments themselves, if you enjoy tinkering.
I've done lots of buying and selling on CL and FB Marketplace witout any issues. I realize you are female, but taking a friend along may make you feel more comfortable, as well as the common sense approach of meeting at a police station, busy parking lot, etc. I always have a phone conversation with the seller, and they've always been normal folks selling something they no longer want. A previous post characterized Telecaster types as twangy country style guitars. As well as other guitar types having "genres". I disagree with that, almost any electric can be used for almost any style. There are many examples of Tele's being used by rock and even jazz players. I've had all the styles over the years, and I think if I had to only have one, it would be the Tele. If you buy used you can sell later for most if not all that you paid. Lastly, I'm a firm believer that a guitar should definitely feel right in your hands and your lap, etc, and that it should look the way you want it to. If you want a purple one, find a purple one! Good luck, it's lots of fun.
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Riley Just playing for my own amazement Martin 000-15sm Eastman E10SS RainSong SMH Blueridge BR-142 The Loar LH-250 Recording King RPS-9 (for slide) Kentucky KM-250 Mandolin A Strat and a Tele Les Paul and Jazzmaster copies Last edited by SCVJ; 03-29-2023 at 11:45 AM. |
#30
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Acoustics: Martin D35 Martin OM-16GT Gibson J-45 Standard Breedlove Pursuit Concerto CE Takamine F400S 12-string Yamaha FG800 Citation CIT8000 "The Survivor" Electrics: Fender Standard Stratocaster (2004) |