You might consider saving just a little bit (until you have around 600) and get this: Gretsch Guitars G5122 Double Cutaway Electromatic Hollowbody Electric Guitar: Shop Guitars & Other Musical Instruments | Musician's Friend . Musiciansfriend currently has one used at 600.

Its a freaking AMAZING guitar. I plan on making it my next purchase myself. This is my rhythm guitarists baby lol. Seriously, I played this thing and was able to get a sweet, smooth chicago blues tone. Cranked the Gain a bit and adjusted the equalizer and had this incredibly thick, chunky delta-blues-meets-distortion sound. Think Hendrix but a bit cleaner and more bright. And its made of maple, which I personally like. Other than that, try Epiphone Limited Edition Riviera Custom P93 Electric Guitar: Shop Guitars & Other Musical Instruments | Musician's Friend

I would have to agree, that gretsch is one nice getarrr.

I really want a Gretsch. I might just save up for one. I was looking at that Epiphone you posted, earlier. That's a sweet guitar but I think I'd go with the Gretsch for only 100 more.

I'm a little suspicious about ordering a guitar online, especially a used one. I'm afraid it might have some scratches or something that I wouldn't be able to see when I ordered it. I've also heard about people ordering online and the guitar not being assembeled correctly, not sure exactly what wasn't correct, though.

Well if you think it is beat up a bit too much when you get it, you can send it back. This is how musiciansfriend describes it.

This instrument or product has been carefully played/used and shows few, minor signs of use. In most respects it looks and performs like new and may be considered an equivalent to display units found in retail stores. Its packaging may not meet the standards set by the factory and it no longer carries the manufacturer's warranty. Gently used products are a terrific value and you can buy with confidence, knowing our 45-Day Satisfaction Guarantee applies to this used product.

It should be in terrific condition

My dealing with that site have been great. They return and exchange stuff no problems.

How the **** is a big guitar shipped? In a box? I'm also a little worried that ups or fed-ex might bang it up a little in the shipping process. But I guess I could just send it back if so?

They package it up well. I have gotten maybe 4 guitar over the internet and only 1 was ever broken. They refunded my money.

Its sent in a box yes lol. With plenty of protective packaging surrounding it. And Yeah, if you get it and it is not "gently used" (which is one small step below mint condition) then just send it back. You don't even have to pay for the shipping back. Once they get it, which takes about 3 days, you get your money back. ALL of my equipment has come from this site. That's three guitars, a solid state amp head, a tube amp head, three cabinets, a slew of pedals, strings, cables, even picks lol. I've sent stuff back that I didn't like or I thought was in a condition I didn't approve of. Namely a Bugera tube amp head that I got and on day one it just fizzled out. :( The sound was great for a second, then the volume just dropped to nothing. But they took it back and gave me my money. And with that money I bought my Egnater head. Its pretty safe to order online.

I want an egnator so bad. Almost bought the 1x12 cab yesterday. Which do you have?

Rebel 20 head. REALLY wish I got the rebel 30. Or even the Renegade. I need a bit more headroom. And it has reverb and more channels. The Rebel's one of the best amps I've played through, though. I want to find a really good cab to go with it though. My Kustom 4x12 sounds pitiful with it. But the next one I get I want to put some good money in so as to get some good speakers.

I thought the 20 had reverb. How do you like the 6;6 e;84 tube blends?

No. It has some cool stuff but no reverb. :/ But the tube mix is pretty sweet. But it would be more convenient in a higher wattage I think. Every notch away from 12 o'clock and its cutting the power to the other tubes, which, in turn, lowers the output by about 10% or so. So if its set to 20 watts., and all the way to the 6v6s, its actually running at half power. That said, Its a great way to add color to your tone. Not a huge change, but different still. I was thinking about trying to put a different set of tubes that were a bit more different from each other in to see if I can make it even more colorful.

This kid is playing the guitar I'm thinking about buying. The only thing that made me question if I should get it was people saying that hollow bodies don't handle gain well and have feedback problems. Well it doesn't sound like the feedback is bad on this one, maybe because the body is an inch thinner than most hollow bodies?


Breed - Nirvana (Guitar Cover) - YouTube

He's just not playing that loud. Feedback is about volume.

Good point, but he's playing as loud as I'll ever play. I'm not in a band, I don't play any shows. I just play in my room on my ****ty little practice amp that doesn't even sound good with my solid body. It sounds better when it's clean.

99% of the pigeon holing that people/companies do with gear is bull****. Iron Maiden plays strats, SRV uses Marshell for clean Fender for Dirty...I mean it is what you make it. Dont listen to our advice to closely. Go to the store and make your mind up based on your own experience.

You may not love what you got and maybe not want it in 2 years but its part of the learning process. I have gone through a lot of money and gear finding what I want. Hell I have even had multiple guitars painted/rewired in my pursuit of a tone I liked. Let me tell you though when you find it you will be very happy, even though you will forever be searching for wsomething even better. Just dont let gear hunting and studying get in the way of practicing and getting better.

Very true advice. Especially this: "Just dont let gear hunting and studying get in the way of practicing and getting better".

Neither one of my guitars are very good, none of my equipment is very good. I've had the same guitar ever since I first started playing, so I've never let what you said become an issue. But now that I've got this new, better paying job I think it's time to reward myself.

I've made it my special rule to keep my equipment at the same level. No sense in getting an epic guitar if the amp is garbage. Maybe you should treat yourself to an amp in the nearby future, too. ;)

And this might sound incredibly racist, but I have never seen a black person who enjoys Nirvana. :/

Yes, I do plan on getting an amp sometime.

And ya, I've never seen a black person who likes Nirvana. There's nothing racist about it.

HAHAHA yeah that image threw me off but whatever.

As far as amps / epic guitars go. Here's the rule of thumb :thumb:

A crappy guitar going through a good amp will sound infinitely better than a good guitar going through a crappy amp.


Agreed. Playing music shouldn't be a temporary hobby. It's a lifelong thing, you might take a break for a few weeks, maybe a hiatus for a few years, but you never really forget how to play once you've learned. You might have to bust off a bit of rust every now and again and regrow some callouses but whatever.

Also, advice and suggestions only count for so much, they're good spots to start searches for new sounds and tones but another rule of thumb to be recognized :thumb:

Look down at then end of your arms. 99% of your tone comes from those hands. Nothing else.

Speaking of rules of thumbs... and how much thumbs rule...



THUMB!!! :thumb:

Its funny how ****ty SOns Of Kyuss are. I really think Wretch is a god awful album. Idk what kind of musical crack they smoked after that album but they sure as hell got better.



edit: Another big part of your tone is how you eq the amp. Not only that but how you position it. My 15 watt tuber was feelinglonely on the crate so I bought an amp stand. When its on the amp stand it sounds like utter trash. The speaker cone sounds brittle and super crappy when bring thrown right at my ears. Now I always put it on the ground or flat instead of tilted towards my ears.

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.

I think its a good setup that allows you to play better. A poorly setup Prs Custom 24 is going to feel like crap. A well set up squier will outplay it everytime.

Intonation/Action/GoodNut-Tuners is really imo what matters.

Like you said price and brand isnt the issue. I sold my 800 Thinline tele to upgrade a 120 dollar Chinese guitar that had great wood. Everything else can be changed.

Can I get a review/opinion on this guitar?

Fender Standard Stratocaster HSS Electric Guitar | GuitarCenter

I fantastic... I mean its a fender fat strat, probably the most versital guitar ever made.

My problem with them is I LOVE the single coil bridge pickup. I really feel like unless you need to play metal often go with sss. I use 2 p90s in my strat as a compromise, because the humbcker just throws away all note clarity and strat vibe. I would consider a Stacked single or blade humbucker that would fit in a sss strat pickgaurd. That way if you ever want to change you dont have to go buying a new pickguard.

I'm the exact opposite. I think a bridge singlecoil is ALWAYS too bright. I like em in the neck for bluesy stuff but in the bridge, nope, not happening.

I know what you mean sometimes it can get out of control, but if if you plan on using it alot you must eq a bit differently. So much of the honk and twang in blues music especially hendrix is from that bridge pickup alone though. Also when your using something like a Big Muff thats super heavy fuzz the bridge pickup is your best friend. To me its like a Les Paul into a Marshall, A fender into a fender using a fuzz on bridge. Its just a magical sound.

So many hendrix/trower/stevie songs are played on the bridge alone. As long as your signal is boosted so it doesnt sound weak.


Most of this song is on the bridge through a fender twin. Gotta love that tone.

My new guitar choices are coming down to that strat or an epiphone dot semi hollow or ibanez artcore semi hollow. I'm leaning towards the strat. What do you think?

Strat is the best instrument ever created.

Is this an acceptable place to ask about acoustic guitars? I don't feel like starting a whole new thread.

Yea whats the beef?

Roast.

Of those, my personal preference leans towards the Strat. Its more versitile and is a generally safer choice if you aren't 100% sure of what you want.

I'm leaning towards the strat. The only reason I question it is because I've always wanted a semi-hollow.

So for the past 6 months I've had my boss' Martin D16 on indefinite loan, and I'm feeling like I should give it back soon. The problem is that after playing such a good guitar for so long, going back to one of my shitty knock-offs will be nearly impossible, so I'm wanting to sell one of them and save up money to buy a good guitar. I'm pretty in love with Martins at this point, but they're super expensive.

So I guess my question is, should I really spend the money on a Martin (I'm looking at D18's and haven't found anything under $1,200), or is there a comparable brand out there that I just haven't heard of? I don't want to settle, but if there's something almost as good out there that will save me money I would really like to know about it.

Go down to a shop, name a price a smidgens under your budget, and ask them to advise you on guitars around that price range.

Do *NOT* buy anything until you've had at least 3 guitars there, right in front of you, on floor stands, to do A/B comparisons with. Acoustic guitars are very finicky on build quality and you want to pick the one with the voice you like, not just some random "good" guitar.

When I bought my Breedlove (A brand I recommend you at least try), I had 5 acoustic guitars around me on stands and STILL walked out of the shop to check the other guitar shop in town, before I came back and bought the breedlove.

Any music shop worth your business should have no problems letting you do this. If they refuse to let you try at least a couple guitars at a time, walk out of the shop and buy somewhere else. A few bucks here or there is well worth the right guitar, and the right help in finding it.

I wouldn't go by internet recommendations. The acoustic guitar is a pretty standardised instrument, not much changes in terms of design, it all comes down to build quality. And like I said, acoustics are more finicky than electrics in this regard.

Yes Martins are wonderful, but I would not recommend buying one from their lower end ones.
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My favorite howerever is what I have used primarily for the last 4 or so years. its a Seagul Mini Jumbo. This guitar is not only beautiful but sounds better than most of the high end Gibsons and many of the Martins I have played in stores or at friends. I think it cost me 349 bucks or something like that. Its completely handmade in a small city in canada and uses incredible woods.

Amazon.com: Seagull Entourage Rustic Mini Jumbo Guitar: Musical Instruments
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg


For around 300-400 you have some good choices. I have owned an Alverez that is seriously one of the nicest looking and playing guitars I have used. I think it cost like 350 new.
Alvarez AF410 Artist Folk Acoustic Guitar Natural | Musician's Friend


Their are so many choices today in the middle price range, but having played most of them these 2 brands are seeming very consistant and produce fantastic stuff. Seagul for the money though seemed to be the best deal in sound, woods, and being made in North America.

^ Oh yeah, my bandmate has a Seagull, it's a great guitar. I would never buy anything without playing/comparing it first, I just don't fully trust my own judgement. I can see myself going in and thinking something sounds really great but then realizing a month later that it doesn't.

Thank for the responses though, when I decide on something I'll let you know.

Yea listen to Gb, since an accoustic is 100% about the build quality (no pickups involced) the sound will vary greatly from one to another. ALthough I have never played a Seagul I didnt like.

The only thing I will say is, try and find one of breedlove's passport series to try out.

The body on a passport series is 7/8ths size, but the scale length is still 100% 25.5", so its a little bit less woofy and wooly on the bass notes, and a little bit sweeter in the midrange. Mine is fantastic. I'm not sure if those tonal characteristics carry across the whole range, but mine is great.