What should I expect to spend on an intermediate electric rig

[SecondCity]

I've been toying with getting an electric rig. I've put in a few years on acoustic, and thought it might be fun to have a different "sound."

The standard online advice centers on beginners--get a Squire and a little amp, and upgrade in a year or two. But I'm not really a beginner, I know I won't quit, and I don't want the hassle (and cash loss) of upgrading, if I can avoid it.

I was thinking something like a MIM Strat or maybe a PRS SE 24, for the guitar. Amps, I know nothing about. How much will an amp good enough to justify such a guitar run me? Used is fine. I know an expensive guitar run through a cheap amp sounds like . . . a cheap amp. So I'd rather avoid that, and the upgrade cycle.

Just trying to get a sense of what this project would likely cost, so I can assess how badly I'd really like to try this.

[ChrisE]

MIM Strat or Tele and Fender Mustang amp. $800 or so.

[stephenT]

You didn't mention tubes or SS for your amp preference.

Want a gig-able amp? Look for a used Fender Deluxe Reverb. ($800ish)

Want a bedroom amp to crank, look at a Vox AC4 1x12 or the hardwired version at twice the cost. $400-$800.

[1neeto]

Putting a label like “intermediate” is highly suggestive. It really depends what kind of music you’re interested in playing. Either a strat or PRS will be versatile enough to play just about anything. Now, the amp? Are you interested in an amp for just bedroom use, or are you planning to gig with it eventually? Are you more interested in clean with mild overdrive tones? Or a more distorted high gain sound? Are you a plug and play kind of guy, or do you like to explore what could be limitless tone possibilities?

Fender Mustang is a good amp platform. It models most of Fender’s classic amps, so if you are interested in the Fender clean sound, then that’s the amp to have. But it’s more than just clean Fender amp models, it also has some high gain modeling as well, so it pretty much covers the whole rock and roll spectrum. Connect your amp to your apple or android device via Bluetooth, and now you’re open to limitless tone possibilities. If you want a Mustang that’s good enough to gig with, then I’d go with the GTX-50. Pair it with a strat, and it makes perfect sense. Budget around $1000 if you get this amp and a MIM Fender.

My amp of choice is the Boss Katana MKII. The 50 watt Katana is just $249, and you get a whole lot of amp for that money. For comparison, the Fender GTX-50 goes for $375, so there’s a significant price difference for the same wattage driving a 12” speaker. Unlike the Fender, which models Fender’s amps, the Katana doesn’t model anything in particular other than Boss’s own stomp boxes. Many will argue that the Katana caters more to the high gain heavy metal crowd, but it’s way more versatile than that. Right off the panel you can dial some crystal clean tones, to bluesy overdrive, to the heaviest gain heavy metal. But the True Tone possibilities are available when you connect to Boss Tone Central with your PC. Sadly, the Boss doesn’t offer Bluetooth connectivity, and the only way to connect to it is via PC or a less than perfect android app.

I could go on and on, there’s other amps with similar capabilities like the Marshall Code. Or if you want to start with tubes, there’s some cool 1 watt tube amps that lets you really drive that tube but at bedroom volumes. Welcome to the crazy world of electric guitars! You’ve been warned. [emoji23]

[Chickee]

You’re not going to quit, you’re not going to sell...here’s a terrific electric rig.

Pick any MIM Fender guitar. Strat, Tele, Jaguar, Jazzmaster. Whatever your heart desires. Anywhere from $650 to $1200. Pick your poison.

Amp- Roland JC40. Killer sound, excellent effects with all current electronics. Portable and light weight. I think just around $600.

That rig will take you anywhere from bedroom noodling to small venue/direct to the board and everything in between.

When I read your opening blurb, I immediately said to myself $1500. If you were a beginner, which you are not, I would have said $400.

Best of luck with your search.

[Vognell]

The PRS SEs are pretty good for the money.... I think a better feel than the Epiphones you generally find in the same price range. (I like and own several Epiphones...Wildkat, LP Custom, Dot Deluxe... but my two SE's do have a nicer feel). I have a preference for the wraparound bridge that you'll find on the 245 SE (~$649) as opposed to the tremelo arms on the Standard 24 or 22.

The bigger driving force in your tone will be the amp. Get the best one you can afford. A decent used Epiphone or Squire paired with a good amp will sound better than a custom shop on a crap amp. Tube amps sound great, and you can usually find a used Fender Hot Rod Deluxe or D'Ville between $400 to $500. Biggest Downside: These can get loud. As a condo dweller, I have shied away from anything over 15 watts, and usually play either my Marshall DSL5 in 1 watt mode, or just use my HX stomp with headphones. If you got space and no next-wall neighbors to annoy.. .live the dream.

That said, solid-state modeling amps are pretty competent these days, and you can save a ton of money of effects pedals by using the built-in effects on the modelers. The Katana gets a lot of good PR, and it is well deserved (Go for the 100 watt version). I like the Fender tones on the Mustang series, but the Mustang series is not generally well-reviewed by the high-gain crowd.

The Fender Super Champ X2 can kind of give you the best of both worlds, using a Tube preamp to give you some of the nice overtones and feel of a tube amp, and a selection of effects to choose from as well ($400 new).

What type of music are you looking to play?

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by SecondCity

I've been toying with getting an electric rig. I've put in a few years on acoustic, and thought it might be fun to have a different "sound."

The standard online advice centers on beginners--get a Squire and a little amp, and upgrade in a year or two. But I'm not really a beginner, I know I won't quit, and I don't want the hassle (and cash loss) of upgrading, if I can avoid it.

I was thinking something like a MIM Strat or maybe a PRS SE 24, for the guitar. Amps, I know nothing about. How much will an amp good enough to justify such a guitar run me? Used is fine. I know an expensive guitar run through a cheap amp sounds like . . . a cheap amp. So I'd rather avoid that, and the upgrade cycle.

Just trying to get a sense of what this project would likely cost, so I can assess how badly I'd really like to try this.

So I am guessing you mean a mid priced rig ????

First decide If you really think you are going to stick with it :::::
Then : I would offer ,,,,approach this question the other way around...
Start with what is your realistic total max budget, then ask for more specific suggestions.
Because a "mid priced rig" could be $1000 or $10,000 and still be considered a mid priced rig

[gfirob]

My sense (having done it) is that the acoustic player's ear will be more comfortable with a hollow body electric than a solid body. When I was going through this, I bought and sold a Les Paul Studio, and then bought a Telecaster. I like the Telecaster much more than the Les Paul, but I picked up an old Gretsch 6120 and that really rang my bell. And there is a wide variety of Gretsch hollow bodies available with various pickups (Filter'Trons are my favorite). I now rarely play the Tele and favor the Gretsch. As for amps, that will depend on whether you want to play clean or distorted.

[rllink]

I found myself in the same circumstances. I bought the Epiphone Les Paul Studio from Sweetwater. $450 and I think it is a pretty good purchase. I have a Marshall 10 watt amp and a three pedal setup that is just a lot of fun. I bought the Epiphone because my friend has a Gibson Les Paul and he really likes it. I didn't want to spend that much money. Comparatively there is no difference in my opinion. He thinks the Gibson is better, but then he owns the Gibson. It certainly doesn't stop him from wanting to trade off when we are playing together. It is worth looking at.

[letterk]

Without knowing much about what you want to do with it, I'd say somewhere around $1500. You ok buying used or do you want new?

[SecondCity]

Thanks all. This is helpful. To help clarify:

1. I’m totally fine with used. I also have a brother in law who plays, who can likely help me assess whether something used is broken.

2. For now, I’m thinking a home practice rig. If I need to play out, I can get a new amp then, but this would be for playing at home will the kids sleep, and practicing.

3. I’d like a range of sonic options. I don’t listen to metal, but would like to play a range of 70s rock and more modern 90s stuff. Like The Band, maybe some Pink Floyd, but also Green Day. Stuff my parents played me, and stuff I listened to in high school, basically.

[Lillis]

Two weeks ago i bought my first electric. I picked a Gretsch 5622 semi hollowbody because I always liked the looks and sound. I didn’t want to go too cheap but didn’t want to break the bank either. Paid $625 for it from Sweetwater. A friend generously gave me his Vox VXII 30watt 1x8 amplifier. You can get a comparable amp for $150-$180. Then of course I had to buy a case.Paid $120 for a cool retro style gator case. Call it beginners luck but I love all three.

[Vognell]

Originally Posted by SecondCity

Thanks all. This is helpful. To help clarify:

1. I’m totally fine with used. I also have a brother in law who plays, who can likely help me assess whether something used is broken.

2. For now, I’m thinking a home practice rig. If I need to play out, I can get a new amp then, but this would be for playing at home will the kids sleep, and practicing.

3. I’d like a range of sonic options. I don’t listen to metal, but would like to play a range of 70s rock and more modern 90s stuff. Like The Band, maybe some Pink Floyd, but also Green Day. Stuff my parents played me, and stuff I listened to in high school, basically.

Katana would give you the flexibility to get the different tones you are looking for, and has a low-power (1 watt or 0.5 watt) setting which keeps the volume down. Alternately or in addition to the Katana, a Mustang Micro headphone amp would do great for the late night/kids sleeping scenario. I have both, and use them for low-to-no volume practice. I also use the Hx Stomp with headphones, which will give you ANY tone you're looking for, but not as portable as the Mustang micro. I find myself using the micro more these days for late nights on the couch or in the office because of the ease and portability.

Mustang Micro:$99. Katana 50 $239.
No gripes about Squier Classic Vibes or the better ($400 to $600 range) Epiphones, and I have a few of these. The PRS SE models (Custom 24, Custom 22, or 245) run between $550 to $650. The SE line feels better to me, and I think they're worth the tiny bit of extra money.

So.. My ballpark is between $600 to $900 for a good starter kit that can last you for a while.

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by SecondCity

Thanks all. This is helpful. To help clarify:

1. I’m totally fine with used. I also have a brother in law who plays, who can likely help me assess whether something used is broken.

2. For now, I’m thinking a home practice rig. If I need to play out, I can get a new amp then, but this would be for playing at home will the kids sleep, and practicing.

3. I’d like a range of sonic options. I don’t listen to metal, but would like to play a range of 70s rock and more modern 90s stuff. Like The Band, maybe some Pink Floyd, but also Green Day. Stuff my parents played me, and stuff I listened to in high school, basically.

Used gear is the best way to go. You can easily cut your budget in half if you go used. Used MIM Fender can be had for about $300. And for a practice amp, I’ll double down on my previous post because you can play at very low volumes, or play with headphones, or keep up with a drummer if you gig.

[FrankHudson]

I love variety in electric guitars, but truth be told most any style can be played on most any electric guitar. A Strat is a very popular model, the MIM ones are very serviceable in both meanings of the word (easy to fix, and modify -- but also a rugged design meant to be used).

I'm one of those Telecaster guys who's prone to recommend a Tele, but it you like the Strat you're not making a wrong choice.

Budget for a setup (unless you want to learn how to do that yourself). You have choices in how you deal with the Strat vibrato bridge: make it fixed (blocked), down-bends only (decked) or up and down warbles (floating). A good tech can follow your preference, and change it to something else if you change your mind.

Amps? In electric guitar use they are more important to the voicing and use-cases for a guitar than the electric guitar model itself. Effects, even things that go back to the days of tremelo and reverb on through the variety of gain and EQ amp options on through the variety of outboard "stomp boxes" are part of the sound for many electric guitarists.

As I see it you have two choices. Both are valid, with plusses and minuses. You get to choose. One it to get a good decent amp able to provide enough volume for your intended use and then learn to use it your way in combination with your guitar. I like the "Fender" amp sound myself, so a Fender Deluxe Reverb is a versatile amp that give that sound with enough volume to work in most settings. For lower volumes or modern stages with good PA support, there's the Fender Princeton. For higher volumes, the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe has no snob appeal but good clean volume. Steve will be hear to tell you about the Bugera amps I haven't personally used. I know less of the Marshall or Vox side of things, but others may chime in.

Folks have said nice things about some non-tube but other wise "just an amp" combos like the Fender Tonemasters. Love the light weight and direct out options there, but no personal experience.

After you master this guitar-cord-amp thing you can move on sound modification with pedals if desired.

The other route is modeling. This may be the best choice if you don't know what amp or guitar and amp sound you want yet, or want to explore a variety of them. This amp may be "disposable" as you gain experience, but it lets you experiment at your leisure with a number of different amp voices and usually a number of effects too. Some new players drown in the options, (they will respond with that story in this thread I'd predict) but if you're disciplined that is not actually required. I had four models setup on one of my last modeling amps and used but one 80% of the time and was able to do without any extra "stomp boxes." I haven't played most of the current modeling amps, so I can't give you advice there, but another option is an overlooked modeling amp with a simple user interface, the small/light Fender Super Champ. Not loud enough to play with a drummer in my experience, at least with the stock combo model speaker, but nice at typical home volumes, tube power stage for some tube amp feel, amp models change just by turning a knob. Simple/simplistic digital effects (again, turn a knob) and a "just plug in, no-modeling" Champ channel. In theory the current model has finer user control with a now-deprecated computer application, but my older model didn't have that, and I think the current version of this amp will work as mine does just by turning the knobs.

Unless you are already sure about what sound you want, don't beat yourself up over the "I want to buy once" plan you have. Your tastes may evolve, you needs may change. The classic tube amps will have some resale value, the lower powered ones can still serve in lower volume venues or at home. The modeling ones are possible intermittent steps that make your second amp the choice you might stick with, and folks do gig with them these days.

Someone said $1500 as what you might expect to spend. That sounds about right, and I could spend less myself (partly from experience informing me). Such a setup will not hold you back, save only for someone wanting to explore the more various and sometimes extreme sound modification possibilities of the instrument and it's associated effects. And even there, you still need to learn how to operate the guitar and amp first for the best foundation.