Electric Guitar 'Primer' to introduce the types of Electric?

[rmp]

If you are budget conscious and want to dip the toes in the water, check out a Squire Classic Vibe Telecaster. Telecasters is where a lot of people start out with electrics.

Simple, small body, easy to maneuver around on. These Squires are an excellent value and a great place to start IMHO

[Horseflesh]

You can go crazy thinking about effects and amps. You could buy a lot of hundred-dollar pedals and build towering stacks of amps and cabs before you find what you like.

That is why I budgeted for a good modeler when I got interested in electric guitar. My Helix LT can get in the ballpark of almost any guitar tone imaginable. It completely cured me of looking at individual pedals, amps, and cabs.

YMMV, many people hate modeling... But I love it.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Horseflesh

You can go crazy thinking about effects and amps. You could buy a lot of hundred-dollar pedals and build towering stacks of amps and cabs before you find what you like...

That is why I budgeted for a good modeler when I got interested in electric guitar...

I'm reminded of the story of when Dhani Harrison expressed an interest in playing guitar, Papa George - who knew a little something about good electric guitar tone - gave him a Strat, a tweed Bassman, and a cable, with express instructions not to ask for anything else until he had mastered that combination...

I'll say it right up front: modelers unquestionably have their place - if you're a pro cover-band/studio guitarist who needs "that-sound-right-now" in order to hold down your job, or a hardcore techie who'll spend the time doing all the deep editing to customize the tone[s] to your specs (I worked with a guy who did road time with a major R&R Hall of Fame band from the '60s, and swore by his first-generation Line 6 Pod rackmount) - but IME if you're a newb to the electric-guitar world, jumping headlong into the modeling world without knowing how to achieve a solid fundamental "signature sound" of your own is counterproductive over the long haul. Add in the planned obsolescence factor (modeling amps are notorious for not holding their value versus similar-vintage analog gear - tube or solid-state), the fact that you'll likely never use most of the available preset tones, the mix-&-match practicality of adding only those outboard (stompbox) effects you really need as you need them - often well before the real cutting-edge and/or esoteric stuff becomes available in built-in form - and the sheer sonic mojo of a pure guitar-cable-amp signal path that lets you feel every nuance of your playing, and the senior Mr. Harrison's logic becomes obvious...

Keep it simple for now, PTL: buy a good basic rig now, learn the fundamentals, hone your chops, zero in on your specific style[s], and add the outboard effects later when/if you feel the need (many guys don't - and I'm one of them...) - IME you'll be better-off in the long run in terms of both overall expense and musicianship...

[Horseflesh]

It depends on what you want to get out of it. It is my nature to want to try a little bit of everything.

If someone scolded me for playing with guitar tone until I had "mastered" the instrument, I'd tell them to get lost, no matter who it was.

When I started playing electric guitar I knew zero, just like OP. I had never used a compressor or a reverb effect. I couldn't tell a bridge from a neck pickup sound or a strat from a tele or a Marshall from an Orange.

Now, I have more virtual gadgets than I know what to do with. I don't spend much time twiddling knobs, but when I want to, I have the tools at hand. I have learned a lot about electric guitar signal paths and effects and music production thanks to my modeler. I find that to be immensely fun and valuable.

And having zero gear to start with, I had to pick something to play anything. You can't develop my own "signature sound" with just a guitar. The guitar is half the hardware you need. It was either do a bunch of research and pick one sound that I might not like via an amp/cab... Or pick flexibility via a modeler.

I picked flexibility and I'd do it again.

I will never be a good player but it isn't the modeler holding me back. The modeler is one of the things keeping me going.

[GoPappy]

Horseflesh, I agree with your philosophy on this. I think a new player might be better served with a good modeler that would allow them to explore different amps and effects. Some of them, like the Fender Mustang GTX series, allow you to select the amp, the cabinet and the effects, and you can place the effects in different places in the signal chain to see how that affects the sound. I think that would be valuable experience for a new player.

[davidd]

If someone wants to get into modeling IMO experience there is nothing out there that beats the POD Go for features. It's a poor man's Helix.

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by Horseflesh

You can go crazy thinking about effects and amps. You could buy a lot of hundred-dollar pedals and build towering stacks of amps and cabs before you find what you like.
That is why I budgeted for a good modeler when I got interested in electric guitar. My Helix LT can get in the ballpark of almost any guitar tone imaginable. It completely cured me of looking at individual pedals, amps, and cabs.
YMMV, many people hate modeling... But I love it.

Um, yeah. 50 Years worth of looking for the perfect session amps and I've got amps at home, amps in storage, amps at the studio...






...no kidding, these things multiply when the lights are out... and now the majority of my sessions are played on a line 6 Helix modeler. But every so often I still get a hankering. Added a pedal a couple of weeks ago, in fact.

Bob

[Charlie Bernstein]

Originally Posted by GoPappy

Good advice. You're gonna want one anyway at some point.

Yup. For folks who don't already have a favorite, Fender Telecasters are the best first electric. A vintage-style Tele is easy to get the hang of, with a wide range of highly useable voicings.

A great site for learning about them is www.tdpri.com. Friendly, lively, and informative.

[davidd]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Um, yeah. 50 Years worth of looking for the perfect session amps and I've got amps at home, amps in storage, amps at the studio...






...no kidding, these things multiply when the lights are out... and now the majority of my sessions are played on a line 6 Helix modeler. But every so often I still get a hankering. Added a pedal a couple of weeks ago, in fact.

Bob

You should have stopped after the Deluxe Reverb and Princeton Reverb amps... IMO two of the best amps out there. Over almost 60 years of playing I've yet to find better for my needs.

[PTL]

Wow! I did not realize that there were replies as I did not get notification - thought my posts went wherever lonely posts go to die...


Thanks for all the comments. I'll sift through them with more care after my teaching duties are done. Much grateful!

Regarding tone: I love those FAT tone for melodic playing. I would also love a unit that can produce acoustic tones as realistically as possible. Will explore others. But am not into distorted shredding tone.

As to modeling, does the Positive Grid units qualify? I have a tiny little Spark Mini as I wanted a small bluetooth speaker anyways, and the Mini also allowed me to plug in.

Thanks again!

[davidd]

Originally Posted by PTL

Wow! I did not realize that there were replies as I did not get notification - thought my posts went wherever lonely posts go to die...


Thanks for all the comments. I'll sift through them with more care after my teaching duties are done. Much grateful!

Regarding tone: I love those FAT tone for melodic playing. I would also love a unit that can produce acoustic tones as realistically as possible. Will explore others. But am not into distorted shredding tone.

As to modeling, does the Positive Grid units qualify? I have a tiny little Spark Mini as I wanted a small bluetooth speaker anyways, and the Mini also allowed me to plug in.

Thanks again!

I've never found an acoustic model patch that sounds even slightly convincing.

[Rudy4]

Re: modeling.

MANY years ago when I first investigated playing electric guitar I built up my first pedal board. I thought that it was really cool and showed it off to another far more advanced player.

His comment?

"Don't be so heavenly bound that you're no earthly good."

It was good advice that I often think about when I think I might be headed toward the proverbial rabbit hole.

If I was a new electric player and wanted to woodshed without investing a lot or alienating other members of my household I'd probably buy a Bugera V5.

[Horseflesh]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Um, yeah. 50 Years worth of looking for the perfect session amps and I've got amps at home, amps in storage, amps at the studio...

That is a beautiful collection. Despite my enthusiasm for modeling, real hardware is awfully cool.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by PTL

...Regarding tone: I love those FAT tones for melodic playing. I would also love a unit that can produce acoustic tones as realistically as possible. Will explore others, but am not into distorted shredding tone...

Sounds like you've already got a good idea where you'd like to go and the kind of tone you're after - a few thoughts:

• Those "fat tones for melodic playing" are generally associated with a mid- to high-power American-voiced combo amp, with plenty of clean headroom (Translation: think something from the current Fender '65 Reissue lineup or an older blue-check Ampeg, as opposed to Vox/Marshall/Orange). FWIW big power in a guitar amp doesn't necessarily equate with massive amounts of gain or distortion, nor OSHA-hazard volume: when the first high-power (50W and up) amps hit the market in the late-1950's, they were designed for playing the music of the day - jazz, country, pop, and early R&R - at levels that would allow the guitarist to be heard clearly in a large hall or outdoor setting without breakup. Used this way they're useful in just about any setting: I saw the late Les Paul in a NYC small basement jazz club in the mid-90's, playing through a Twin Reverb at listener-friendly levels - and I understand he knew a thing or two about electric guitar tone...
• I don't know what kind of acoustic-electric guitar you have, but when Charlie Kaman developed the first viable instruments of this type in the mid-1960's it was with the professional/semipro gear of the day in mind - a mid- to high-power American-voiced combo amp - and IME they still sound best through a similar rig. The midrange response and natural rolloff of a typical American electric-guitar speaker above ~5kHz reins in the piezo UST nasties - nails-on-a-blackboard highs, nasal mids, weak bass, et al. - and as long as you plug into the low-gain input, IME you'll get a fuller, more natural, more "acoustic" tone than with most of the dedicated acoustic-electric amps on the market...
• An amp of this type doesn't need to cost an arm, a leg, and a couple of other highly-useful appendages: for around $500 you could have the Bugera V22 (or the big-brother V55) pictured in Bob's collection - I've been using one as my go-to for the last 12 years, and it'll cover your preferred styles for half the price of similar-featured all tube combos...

Good luck...

[davidd]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Sounds like you've already got a good idea where you'd like to go and the kind of tone you're after - a few thoughts:

• Those "fat tones for melodic playing" are generally associated with a mid- to high-power American-voiced combo amp, with plenty of clean headroom (Translation: think something from the current Fender '65 Reissue lineup or an older blue-check Ampeg, as opposed to Vox/Marshall/Orange). FWIW big power in a guitar amp doesn't necessarily equate with massive amounts of gain or distortion, nor OSHA-hazard volume: when the first high-power (50W and up) amps hit the market in the late-1950's, they were designed for playing the music of the day - jazz, country, pop, and early R&R - at levels that would allow the guitarist to be heard clearly in a large hall or outdoor setting without breakup. Used this way they're useful in just about any setting: I saw the late Les Paul in a NYC small basement jazz club in the mid-90's, playing through a Twin Reverb at listener-friendly levels - and I understand he knew a thing or two about electric guitar tone...
• I don't know what kind of acoustic-electric guitar you have, but when Charlie Kaman developed the first viable instruments of this type in the mid-1960's it was with the professional/semipro gear of the day in mind - a mid- to high-power American-voiced combo amp - and IME they still sound best through a similar rig. The midrange response and natural rolloff of a typical American electric-guitar speaker above ~5kHz reins in the piezo UST nasties - nails-on-a-blackboard highs, nasal mids, weak bass, et al. - and as long as you plug into the low-gain input, IME you'll get a fuller, more natural, more "acoustic" tone than with most of the dedicated acoustic-electric amps on the market...
• An amp of this type doesn't need to cost an arm, a leg, and a couple of other highly-useful appendages: for around $500 you could have the Bugera V22 (or the big-brother V55) pictured in Bob's collection - I've been using one as my go-to for the last 12 years, and it'll cover your preferred styles for half the price of similar-featured all tube combos...

Good luck...

I agree 100%. I prefer my acoustic through my Deluxe Reverb than through any acoustic preamp and powered speaker.