Electric guitar choice

[marty bradbury]

So my wife wants to buy me an electric guitar for my birthday (August 8) decided I want a solid body guitar. I do t want her to spend a bundle as we don't have alot to spend. This is my first electric. Is Squire a good one to start with? $500 top limit. Thank you for your input.

[Chickee]

Originally Posted by marty bradbury

So my wife wants to buy me an electric guitar for my birthday (August 8) decided I want a solid body guitar. I do t want her to spend a bundle as we don't have alot to spend. This is my first electric. Is Squire a good one to start with? $500 top limit. Thank you for your input.

My vote is that a Squier is an excellent choice! And the Classic Vibes(which i feel are their very best) are on sale right now. $40 off. Well under your budget.

[YamahaGuy]

Yamaha Revstar 4 series. The first thing you should do though is to figure out if you want the chimey sound of a strat or the chunky tone of humbuckers. And also, do you want a tremolo bridge or a fixed bridge. Are you planning on playing licks/riffs and doing crazy bends or are you just gonna bang out chords and power chords. Lots to consider. And what about an amp...

Happy birthday. Nice to have a wife that supports your addiction.

Nothing against Squier or Epiphone, but higher quality guitars can be had in this price point if you're not looking for a certain shape or name on the headstock.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

...The first thing you should do though is to figure out if you want the chimey sound of a Strat or the chunky tone of humbuckers. And also, do you want a tremolo bridge or a fixed bridge. Are you planning on playing licks/riffs and doing crazy bends or are you just gonna bang out chords and power chords. Lots to consider. And what about an amp...

I have nothing to add...

[C-ville Brent]

I have a couple Bullet Squier Strats and very happy with them. There are lots of nice choices in the $500 and under range. You probably need to think about what your looking for sound wise. Humbuckers or singles are big differences to me. I’ve accumulated quite a herd over the past 40 years. Ibanez is a company that makes quite a few styles of well made electric guitars - I have 4 that also includes a hollow and semi-hollow body. Best of luck finding one that works for you.

[marty bradbury]

I've noticed some have a single coil and humbuckers. I like rhythm but also want to learn solos?? Wouldn't the amp give me choices also as far as different sounds? Thanks for you input.

[Paleolith54]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

I have nothing to add...

OK, someone needs to report this to the mods, as Steve's account has obviously been hacked.

[JackC1]

Originally Posted by marty bradbury

I've noticed some have a single coil and humbuckers. I like rhythm but also want to learn solos?? Wouldn't the amp give me choices also as far as different sounds? Thanks for you input.

Yes, the amp does shape the tone; but the guitar pickups gives the tone's initial character. Rhythm/lead solo can be done on the amp settings pretty easily; but to get a crisp-clear strat single coil sound out of humbuckers is very hard.

You mentioned a budge of $500. IMHO, that's a bad budge because it puts you in a no-man's land. You can go cheaper, say, $300, and get very similar guitars as a $500 guitar; then upgrade for $200 and get a guitar that's like a $1000 guitar. 90% of the tone comes from the pickups in an electric guitar; and you can upgrade them pretty easily.

[bleedingfingers]

G&L Tributes are at that price point new and under it used. I’d get a nice used one and then start thinking about amps… My Tribute S-500 is a great “first Strat”

[rmp]

I think Classic Vibes are a very good choice.

What are you thinking?

Strat?
Tele?
Jazzmaster/Jaguar?

[FrankHudson]

There are still a world of choice under $500 in electric guitars.

Yes, Fender's squire line has some good value options, and the Classic Vibe and similar lines which are near the upper end of your range can be fine choices.

Now, the single coil vs. humbucker thing. Pickups make to a large degree of the initial sound of the guitar. People talk about other factors, (woods, scale length, type of bridge, etc) but their contribution is smaller. However, the electric guitar is a system including the player themselves, the amp, effects, and in many recorded examples the studio and producer/engineer's work. Sitting in a room and playing through a clean amp you can hear pickup differences, even tell a Stratocaster single coil from a Telecaster or the larger P90 single coil pickup and then a Gibson "PAF" style humbucker from a higher gain humbucker model or a vintage Gretsch's version of the humbucker.

However, it's quite possible to play any kind of music on any of those pickup types. And as amps and effects enter into the sound, it's harder to tell. Which ever pickup type you choose you'll learn how to work with it for your purposes. My personal thoughts (based on my own wide experiences) is that's it's easier to get a brighter single coil to "fatten up" or "drive the amp harder" than it is get many higher output humbuckers to get the same clean low-gain sound that many single coils have -- but I have and enjoy several humbucker equipped guitars as well various single coils, even if the later make up the majority of my electric guitars' pickups.

Are you going to shop for your guitar, or order without playing?

And yes, as some have already noted, you'll need to plug into something with an electric. There are many choices there, but they all involve something else.

[marty bradbury]

Originally Posted by rmp

I think Classic Vibes are a very good choice.

What are you thinking?

Strat?
Tele?
Jazzmaster/Jaguar?

I was thinking either a Strat or a Tele,

[marty bradbury]

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

There are still a world of choice under $500 in electric guitars.

Yes, Fender's squire line has some good value options, and the Classic Vibe and similar lines which are near the upper end of your range can be fine choices.

Now, the single coil vs. humbucker thing. Pickups make to a large degree of the initial sound of the guitar. People talk about other factors, (woods, scale length, type of bridge, etc) but their contribution is smaller. However, the electric guitar is a system including the player themselves, the amp, effects, and in many recorded examples the studio and producer/engineer's work. Sitting in a room and playing through a clean amp you can hear pickup differences, even tell a Stratocaster single coil from a Telecaster or the larger P90 single coil pickup and then a Gibson "PAF" style humbucker from a higher gain humbucker model or a vintage Gretsch's version of the humbucker.

However, it's quite possible to play any kind of music on any of those pickup types. And as amps and effects enter into the sound, it's harder to tell. Which ever pickup type you choose you'll learn how to work with it for your purposes. My personal thoughts (based on my own wide experiences) is that's it's easier to get a brighter single coil to "fatten up" or "drive the amp harder" than it is get many higher output humbuckers to get the same clean low-gain sound that many single coils have -- but I have and enjoy several humbucker equipped guitars as well various single coils, even if the later make up the majority of my electric guitars' pickups.

Are you going to shop for your guitar, or order without playing?

And yes, as some have already noted, you'll need to plug into something with an electric. There are many choices there, but they all involve something else.

Going shopping, as I want to assure the comfort level also,

[rmp]

Originally Posted by marty bradbury

I was thinking either a Strat or a Tele,

well can't go wrong either way.

The CV Telecasters are pretty nice, I like the binding on the body. Really classes the appearance up IMHO My buddy has one, very nice guitar, punches way above the price break

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/guit...7C%20%24399.99

[Chickee]

Originally Posted by marty bradbury

Going shopping, as I want to assure the comfort level also,

If comfort is as much a priority as the cool factor, playability, and available tones, the one and only Jazzmaster is your ticket. There is nothing more comfortable to play seated than a Jazzmaster, except maybe for a Jaguar!🎶😎🎶