Want to purchase my first Electric

[BamaLump]

Hey guys,

I’ve been playing acoustic guitars all my life (I have two Taylors and a Seagull). I think I’m ready to incorporate an electric into my life. I’ve just started the process of researching and looking around and I’m pretty overwhelmed.

I’m not much of a solo guy, mostly rythm, but occasionally step out and do a few lead riffs.

I’m looking at keeping the cost of the guitar under $1,000 and then get a respectable amp.

Do you guys have any recommendations on where to begin? Thanks for any help and direction you can provide.

Jamie

[perttime]

Can you try some for yourself? Always a good idea, if you can.

Cannot go wrong with a telecaster. Not necessarily a Fender Telecaster, but a guitar in that style. A stratocaster would be another "usual suspect". Personally, I don't have use for the vibrato/trem bar, so my Stratocaster is a hardtail. Also, I don't use the strat middle pickup and "in-between" positions much.

Semi-hollow guitars are another direction that you could go. Depends on what kind of sounds you want to get out of the guitar. Do you have any favorite artists that play electric? What are they playing?

Of course, the amp is the other half of the instrument. The guitar drives the amp, much like the strings drive the top of an acoustic guitar, through the bridge.

[FrankHudson]

In the under $1000 range there are approximately one bazillion electric guitars available. You would probably like several of them.

With what you've supplied for info, there's no way to narrow things down authoritatively, so we will each suggest guitar models we like or that are historically popular.

And we could suggest that you play a bunch and pick among them yourself. Probably the best way, but if you're new to electric your criteria may be fuzzy, even hands-on. And some people are shy when shopping or it's otherwise an awkward or inconvenient experience.

One could go with a non-logical, emotional approach. Is there an electric guitar you are drawn to by the looks of it? Do you have a particular player who you admire, particularly if you also admire their "sound" and would like to emulate it if you could?

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by BamaLump

...I’ve been playing acoustic guitars all my life (I have...a Seagull)...

I’m not much of a solo guy, mostly rhythm, but occasionally step out and do a few lead riffs.

I’m looking at keeping the cost of the guitar under $1,000 and then get a respectable amp...

Personal hands-on experience here:

Since you're already familiar with Seagull and you're going to be mostly a rhythm player check out the Godin CW II - a single-cutaway full-hollowbody in the mold of the Gibson ES-175, that sells for just under $1K (FYI Musicians Friend is offering an extra 10% off right now); the feel - and on-the-strap weight - are virtually identical to a Seagull mini-jumbo, and the ultra-light woods used in its construction give it an "airy" amplified tone that many acoustic-crossover players like. Note that it comes in two versions: the original with P-90 (Gibson "dogear" style) pickups for a crisper tone - great if you want to pull out some of your Chet licks - and one with twin humbuckers for more of a traditional jazz/late-rockabilly sound; I've owned the former for a while now, and it's far more versatile than you've been told a hollowbody should be - even my wife (who dislikes archtops of any kind) will grab this one when she needs to plug in...

My other recommendation in this price range is the Korean-made Gretsch Electromatic 5400/5600 Series lineup of hollow/semi-hollow instruments; FYI I'm an ex-Brooklyn boy (Gretsch was our hometown brand) who has owned Gretsch guitars since 1964, played several hundred others (no exaggeration) over the last 55 years, and I can say without reservation that these are some of the finest ever to wear the Gretsch brand - including many of the highly-touted/high-priced vintage originals. While tone is, for many guitarists, a love-it-or-hate-it affair - face it, nothing sounds like a Gretsch but a Gretsch - they've got a strong following among "converted" acoustic guitarists. The overall QC is also among the best you'll find at any price, rivaling many far-more-expensive USA brands; of all the guitars I've owned over the last half-century-plus exactly three have needed absolutely no post-purchase setup whatsoever - the aforementioned Godin CW II and two late-model Gretsch instruments - which speaks highly for both options...

As far as an amp is concerned I'm a big fan of the Bugera V-Series combos -as are a number of your fellow AGF'ers - and if you're curious what all the buzz about "tube-tone mojo" is, you're not going to find anything close for anywhere near the (extremely reasonable) price; I own two - a first-version "blue-light" V22 and a late-model V5 Infinium - and between them I can cover anything from bedroom practice and crowded-stage coffeehouse gigs to a medium-sized (600-700 seat) hall. If you see yourself playing out in the near future, I'd strongly recommend starting from scratch with the V22: switchable OD/mid-boost, powers down to practice levels, built like a tank (these guys use machine screws for everything - most high-end boutique makers don't even do that), power-tube replacement is a plug-&-play affair (typical tube amps require a bias job - in simple terms, optimizing the tubes to the circuit - which runs about $100 in my neck of the woods), simple WYSIWYG EQ controls (no 43,976 pre-programmed tonal selections to scroll through until you find something you like), and at $449 street this puppy has more straight-ahead tone than anything this inexpensive has the right to have...

Good luck...

[Dru Edwards]

You've got a great budget to get started with, Bama. I would start with the kind of music you'd like to play and your electric Heroes (if any). What do you like to listen to, electric-wise?

There's always lots of Strat and Tele recommendations for starters and I'll throw in the Les Paul as well. At a $1000 budget, which includes an amp, you're probably in for an Epiphone although perhaps you could find a used Gibson Tribute and still get an amp. Les Paul too heavy, try an SG.

Look at used options for guitars since you can usually sell for what you paid for (much like acoustics).

[BamaLump]

Thanks for all the responses. I think as far as a "look" I'm more drawn to the solid body style, with my favorite colors being red, honey, sunburst, and maybe a soft green?

Some of my favorite artists are Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, Needtobreathe and James Bay. I'm sure there's more but those come to the front of my mind.

And there are a bazillion choices, I've started going around and playing some but I can't tell how much of the sound I hear is due to the guitar vs. the amp I'm plugged into and that gets me a little nervous.

Not sure if this narrows it down or not.

BL

[BamaLump]

Here is what I want:

- I want a guitar that I could play alone (without a bass, drums, etc.) and sing and sound really good and that looks 'classy' while also leaving myself the option of using it in a band setting.

Does that make sense?

[Axelorox]

I'm also a big fan of Paul McCartney. His main electrics are:

• Epiphone Casino - The modern standard production Casinos are pretty affordable and sound decent, but are not like the vintage Casinos like McCartney's (which were more like a differently branded Gibson ES330). Paul has said his 1964 Casino is his favorite electric guitar.
• Gibson Les Paul - Paul has a 1960 sunburst and a 1957 goldtop, though the reissues of these will be well out of your budget. For your budget you should be able to get a used Gibson LP Studio. The Epiphone versions can be decent for the price and good for someone getting started with electric.
• Fender Telecaster - Paul's is a 1966 model in sunburst with rosewood fretboard. But there are a wide range of tele models out there currently. The Mexican ones can be pretty good, depending on the individual guitar.

Sorry, but I don't know much about the other guys you mentioned.

Amps are important, but I find the guitar has the larger factor in tone. I can go to the store and play different guitar models through a tiny little Roland cube amp and they are still tonally distinct from one another.

If you want to play alone and still sound good, I'd suggest a hollowbody like the Casino, or a semi-hollow guitar. These will have a wider range of frequencies compared to a solid-body. Of the solid-body electrics, my favorite that sounds good clean and solo are Gibson Les Pauls. Unfortunately I have consistently been disappointed by the clean sounds on Epiphone solid-bodies (very muddy).

[perttime]

After those clarifications...
See if you can get an Ibanez Artist series guitar in your hands. It is not all that different from a Les Paul, except it is a pretty double cut guitar. Some models also let you split the pickups for brighter sounds.

https://www.ibanez.com/usa/products/model/ar/

[DukeX]

Lots of good choices out there. You just need to go play some to see what you like.

I'm currently a Telecaster guy, but I also love the ES-335.

Had a Godin LG-P90 that was terrific.

Had a solid body Gretsch (dual HBs) that was terrific as well.

I like SGs, too.

Ok, ok...I like them all.

[BamaLump]

Thanks perttime for the counsel. I'll definitely try out the guitars you mentioned. That Ibanez is beautiful!

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by BamaLump

Thanks for all the responses. I think as far as a "look" I'm more drawn to the solid body style, with my favorite colors being red, honey, sunburst, and maybe a soft green?

Some of my favorite artists are Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, Needtobreathe and James Bay. I'm sure there's more but those come to the front of my mind.

And there are a bazillion choices, I've started going around and playing some but I can't tell how much of the sound I hear is due to the guitar vs. the amp I'm plugged into and that gets me a little nervous.

Not sure if this narrows it down or not.

BL

Someone else has done McCartney. James Bay is another artist identified with a thinline old-school Epiphone, this time with a single P90 pickup. Epiphone even offers a copy in it's current line with a Kinman-design P90 as the James Bay model. The Godin model mentioned above in the tread would have some similarities in sound and feel.

Dave Grohl is highly associated with an oddball model the Gibson Trini Lopez model, which is similar to the highly popular and often copied Gibson ES-335, but with a few cosmetic differences. Alas, either the Gibson 335 or Trini Lopez models are out of your price range. But there are a great many thin-line semi-hollow guitars out there based on the 335 design.


I don't know needtobreathe, and a quick search shows pictures with various guitars.

Three of the artists you've mentioned played thin-line depth semi-hollow or full hollow-body electrics. Two out of those three played P90 pickups. There's a pattern there.

Semi-hollowbodied guitars usually have a center block of solid wood that runs down the middle of their body cavities. The reduces some of the air volume in the cavity somewhat, but also it allows the mounting the bridge and other parts to this solid wood part. This produces a guitar that is usually much more resistant to feedback in highly amplified situations and their bridges (which are usually like solid-body guitar bridges) help them mimic the sounds of completely solid body instruments better. On the other hand, the thinline fully hollow body guitars can be managed with modern stage setups better than they could in the old days, and in solo home playing this is usually not an issue.

I'd suggest you play some of each and decide. Try some guitars with P90 pickups too. They can hum (they are among the most hum prone of all designs, and possibly the reason that Gibson desired the humbucker so), but they also have a distinctive sound that I (and many others) love.

[BamaLump]

Frank, thanks so much for making the connection of my artists and they type of guitar they play. I'll definitely look for more semi hollow bodied electrics and see what I think of them.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by BamaLump

Frank, thanks so much for making the connection of my artists and they type of guitar they play. I'll definitely look for more semi hollow bodied electrics and see what I think of them.

I went through this 2 1/2 yrs ago and spent about 3 or 4 months playing everything I could get my hands on ....solid, semi hollow body, Fender, Les Paul, Ibanez, Gretsch... I ended up getting a PRS CE 24 ( so I am now a fan )
In the $1000 range If you can wait until they start shipping I would seriously consider this brand new top of the SE line, the model is called SE Paul's Guitar
It has coil tap pickups witch gives the versatility of having botha a single coil ( ala Tele or Strat style ) and a humbucking pickups (ala Les Paul style) on one guitar
Check out the videos about the guitar on this Sweetwater page
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...s-guitar-amber

[Bob Womack]

I've written up a basic starter's guide and two-minute comparison of types for beginners HERE and HERE.

Bob