need advice on purchase
 

i will have somewhere in the range of $1k to spend and i want to make a solid choice. right now i have like $300-$350 ibanez electric and yamaha acoustic. i dont really care for either of them. i recently went to the store and was suprised at how much better i sounded on a nicer guitar... it was so much easier to play. im open to getting either acoustic or electric, although i think i am leaning towards electric. since i usually only play by myself and dont goto the guitar shop often i really dont know that much about what guitar gives what sound and what is ****ty and what is good. some advice please.

2 things i know i dont want is the generic STRAT or a death metal guitar.

SGs are real quality but affordable guitars for those who want a good heavy sound, they can go as cheap as $200 at Guitar Center, thats not a deal I would pass up.

Epiphone make the best guitars for cheap, I don't know about you, but I love archtops, which are perfect if you want more of a Blues/Jazz sound and Guitar Center have some fine archtops as well, Gibson and Epiphone make the finest archtops, though Gibsons are incredibly expensive, so for something cheap I would go with an Epiphone Dot, or an ES-175, my personal favorite guitar model.

http://www1.gitarrebass.de/magazine/...zz-gitarre.jpg

Solid advice.
Go to the guitar shop more often and test play as many guitars as you want within your price range.

Only this way will you find a guitar that suits you and the sound you are looking for. Take into consideration the width of the neck and how it suits your hand size. One of the reasons you may have sounded better was probably because the guitar you tried was better suited to you.
Don't be put of by Yamaha, their higher price generic electric guitars are every bit as good as the big name originals ie; Fender/Gibson and at a fraction of the cost.

If you find an expensive guitar that is out of your price range and feels so much better than any other...wait and save up the extra money to buy it.

If it's a Fender or a Gibson it will retain a good price and will be easier to sell on should you ever want to in the future.

im left-handed so its hard to try alot of the instruments.. thats why i was wondering which guitars are known for which sounds.

Left handed archtops at guitar center, I'm telling ya.

Archtops > Solid bodies.

Don't you mean Semi-Hollow > Solid Bodies?

Archtops can be solid-bodied too, Boo Boo. And what are you talking about? Epiphone by FAR don't make the best cheap guitars.

JGD, Search on Ebay for Edwards guitars. They make Les Paul's just as good as Gibson do but the production quality is probably better and the LP's are way cheaper plus you'll get supercharged Seymour Duncan pickups in the guitar.

Washburn or Martin make the best acoustic guitars today, though in the past companies such as Kay made better ones. For a lefty, a good semi-acoustic guitar is the '59 Danelectro, which only run for about $350
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...danelectro.jpg

Most of them are hollow bodies or semo-hollows, and in terminolgy "archtop" generally refers to the ones that are hollow or semi-hollow, those are the ones with the best tones anyway. I could care less about a solid body archtop.

Epiphones are not as quality as Gibsons, but they are the closest thing to them in authenticy, obviously because Epiphone itself is owned by Gibson.

As for Edwards guitars, I didn't have cheap imports in mind, because they are nearly impossible to find. And I have absolutely no trust in eBay.

Overall though, Right Track has the best advice, see if you have a local Guitar Center and just see what they got.

Because if you take Brians advice over everyone elses I will have to kill you.

What the hell is wrong with my advice? Epiphone make terrible low end instruments. I wasted my money on my guitar. And Edwards are hardly cheap imports in the traditional sense. They're Japanese made guitars owned by ESP. Mid-High end Japanese guitars are almost if not just as good as American made guitars. God you're a moron.

Also, I never told him to BUY a guitar on Ebay. I just told him to check them out because Edwards' site is in Japanese and there are a lot of Edwards guitars on Ebay Stores so he can look at them.

Epiphones terrible low end instruments my ass. My brother owns an Epiphone Explorer, and it's one of the finest solid bodies I have ever played. And their ES guitars are top of the line. I have had the pleasure of playing some of them as well.

If its made in Japan and its cheap, its a cheap import. ESP guitars aren't very good either. They make mediocre Fender/Gibson knockoffs for crappy metal bands. And jgd85 said thats not what he wanted.

Also, aren't you a Joe Pass fan? The Epiphone Emperor is his signature model. :pimp:

Me. 1
You. 0

Epiphone's are terrible. Listen Boo Boo you're not going to win this argument, Epiphone guitars are just as bad as ESP LTD guitars any day of the week.

Hes already won Epiphones make good guitars, I know this from experience.

And I know from experience that Epiphone make bad guitars for the money you pay.

I have played Epiphone and Gibson versions of the same exact models, I couldn't even tell the f*cking difference, Epiphones are just cheaper, and are made of cheaper materials. But their Gibson copies sound and function exactly the same.

Epiphone make really good guitars. I'm right, you're wrong, get over yourself.

like i said, im wanting to spend about $1k

A good amp effects sound as much as a new guitar. Why not buy a 3-5 hundred dollar Epiphone and a nice amp?

Peavey makes good and affordable amps.

i already have a decent peavey amp. i usually play with no amp. i currently am living in a extended stay hotel while interning for a company this summer :(

Well what type of music do you play?

all types. i prefer playing blues and rock. i like acoustic/classical stuff alot, but i think i need a good electric guitar before i ever get a really nice acoustic.

If I had that money to spend I'd buy a low end PRS.

PRS Guitars 2007

Good range of different guitars and all world class tones.
The link has demo vids of the guitars being played.




PRS SE Custom Semi Hollow ^
This I like...versatile guitar.
circa $700.

Paul Reed Smiths are quality.

would it be possible to get an american stratocaster and get a telecaster pick guard for it? i like the sound of a strat more, but the look of a tele :(

Your buying a guitar...not a fuckin' toy.

It seems you expect others here to know what you want, without being particularly specific, other than the amount of money you have available to spend.

If you like the sound of a Strat...buy a Strat.

If you like the look of a Tele...join a girl group. ;)

at what point did i not specify what i want? i said i like playing rock and blues, i said im more interested in the sound quality than anything else. i said how much i was willing to spend. i asked a question as to whether its possible to switch a feature out.

you saying that, is like telling someone not to buy a corvette because they are pretty but to buy a rice rocket if they wanna go fast.

i think when you are spending money on something you should be able to enjoy all aspects of your purchase.

and since i dont plan on ever being a professional musician and it is just a hobby i enjoy... yes i would consider it a TOY.

go back to wherever you came from grinch!

p.s. everyone else, you have been helpful thus far and i thank you
p.s.s. i still love you right track

OUCH!!!

No...I'm saying, if you want to buy a Corvette, there's no need to put go faster stripes on it.
And your right, you should be able to enjoy all the aspects of the purchase.
I just think that a Stratocaster made with care, by Fender, is perfect just the way it is.

I think you got a bit too touchy with my post.
It wasn't meant in the tone I think you imagined it to be.

My best advice I can give, still stands.
You need to try out more guitars before parting with the money.
Through personal experience...if you don't, you'll regret it.

ive gone to guitar center 3 times since i made this post. but being left handed sucks there is only like 6 electrics (not including squires). i have been able to play a telecaster and stratocaster (mexican) and a les paul and epiphone (in the $400 range.. didnt know the model). so far fender has taken the cake imo. possibly fender makes better lower quality guitars?

American Strat range, go for around $1,300 ...ish.

i can fudge the extra cash out, $1k is an estimate... im working all summer for an oil company making a lot of money and i haven't spent hardly any. only thing i have spent any money on was to buy myself a grinder for my ganja and a few bottles of nice scotch.

Send it to me and I'll keep it safe for you. ;)

Check out some Deans...they might not be your cup of tea, but i play alot of rock and some blues, and i like playing deans, just my opinion