Quote:
Originally Posted by Shredbettie
I've been shopping around for a new guitar and wondered if any of you have any suggestions on good quality guitars. I've been looking at a few PRS, ESP and Gibson's. I'm looking for a clean sound and easy action. I've also been looking around for guitar lessons. Any suggestions for that too??
Thanks!
 |
Step 1 - With a few exceptions, stop thinking that the brand of your guitar makes a difference. Until you're paying for a model from the upper echelons, you will not get any benefit from it. Sometimes even then. As an example, Ibanez guitars are made by any one of about 4 companies depending on when and where. Indonesian models are made by Cort's Indonesian factory. Chinese models, which includes most of their hollowbodies, are made by Samick. Korean models were made by Cort too. The Japanese models are made either by Fujigen, or Sugiwara.
None of that means those guitars are any better or worse than they are supposed to be.
2 - It doesn't matter where your guitar was made. I own five Korean, two Indonesian, one chinese, and one Japanese guitar. I've bought and returned two American guitars. The best guitar of the lot is the Chinese one. That's not because its Chinese. It's not even the most expensive. It's just the guitar that got put together right on the day by happy chance.
3 - Don't assume the specification tells the whole story. If you're buying a guitar, go to a shop and play the thing. There are plenty of guitars out there with fantastic looking specifications. I own a few. They're decent guitars. But once again, my best guitar isn't the one with the best specs on paper. The build quality makes way more difference.
4 - a guitar will not make you play better. I repeat. A GUITAR WILL NOT MAKE YOU PLAY BETTER. I have guitars with all sorts of specs and feels. I have a hollowbody, a strat, some superstrats, some with thin necks some with thick necks. I can play pretty much as well on any of them.
Some of them are obviously more suited to certain things. I'm not going to track a metal solo with the hollowbody, because the upper frets are hard to reach. I'm not going to record jazz licks with a superstrat either, because it doesn't sound right. But don't start thinking that the guitar makes you play better. The real reason someone will play better with a more comfortable guitar is because they're not fighting the guitar to make it do things.
The reason is NOT that the guitar allows them to do things better. If you're well practiced enough to consider yourself really truly capable of playing any given song, it should be second nature. It should be so easy that a different guitar won't hinder you at all. If it does, then there should only ever be two reasons. One is that the guitar is just so massively unsuitable nobody would do it on that guitar. The other would be that you're just not good enough.
With all of that said, go down to a shop, and try as many guitars as you can. Don't focus on the details, just run some guitars through your hands, even ones you don't think you'll like, and focus on which feels best. There's no reason to start being picky before youve got the guitars there to compare. Just go ****ing play some.