be gentle...

[eyeslikefire]

Good thread. I enjoyed it. Which is just as well, since I'll be re-reading it a few times in the next couple of weeks.

(Walks away muttering... Mexican Strat... what are the chances of a Mexican Strat in Singapore? Probably about the same as finding a Mexican here...)

LMFAO!!!!!

 

[rushfan33]

Well.... let me ask you this... What was the determining factor in buying your acoustic? Apply the same principles to buying electric. I'm sure you've played an electric once or twice in your lifetime. Enough to know the difference in the feel of the two. You should know by now if you like fat necks, skinny necks, bla bla bla! Knowing those tidbits (IMO) would assist you in finding your perfect electric guitar and should make the process happen more quickly.

RF

 

[dobro]

Yup. There's necks, there's feel, there's sound, there's looks, there's price. The rest don't count. I don't care about looks much. I don't play in front of people.

 

[tdukex]

I just went through this experience--having played only acoustic for the past 12 years. When researching electrics, I played Fenders and everything else in the $500 - $800 range, and I chose a Canadian made Godin LG. It has a solid mahogany body and Seymour Duncan SP-90 pickups. They list for $635 - $695 US dollars, but the three dealers I talked to all offered 30% off list, so I paid about $445 with case. SWEET!

Of course, I also play a Webber OM acoustic, so I guess I have an affinity for Canadian made guitars--and guitars that are a little different than the Martin/Taylor, Fender/Gibsons of the world.

I matched the LG with a Johnson J-station ($140 at GC), so I got into the electric "recording" mode for right around $600.

Here are some LG SP-90 reviews:

http://www.godinguitars.com/godinpresslggplayer.htm
http://www.godinguitars.com/godinpresslggone.htm

Here is the singapore distributor:

Singapore
Excel
47 Tannery Lane No.02-05
Elite Industrial Building II
Singapore 347794
Tél: 65-8411055
Fax: 65-8416606

 

[dobro]

Damn - do you know the dealer's name as well?

A very positive review of a very attractive instrument. I had a L'Arrivee once. Maybe it's time for another guitar with a Quebecois name...

I'll check it out. Thanks.

 

[foo]

. . . and the hits keep on coming . . .

Another point to consider when buying an 'off' brand (and I don't mean to insult anyone's axe here by naming names) is that when (. . . okay, if . . .) you decide to sell it for a better, different whatever guitar, it's going to be easier to sell a Gibson, Fender, Ibanez etc, than a Dean or a . . . insert name of lesser known brand here.

Are Dean's great? Are Hamer's great? Are BC Rich's great?
Some of them sure are. But are they as well known as Leo's and Orville's? Nope!

As for my Strat recommendation, I have a Strat. I also have several other different types of electric (and acoustic) guitars - and if I had to keep one electric guitar to cover all the bases, it would be the Strat.

. . . and Lopp's recommendation to 'play it dry' which I think means not plugged in is a really good one.
If it sounds good unamplified - i.e. good sustain, nice ringing tone, jangly and rich, it's going to sound good plugged in. If it sounds good 'dry' but doesn't sound good plugged in, a set of Seymour Duncan's will get that good sound out of it with no problem.

Of course, my Strat recommendation covers non-Strats that have a similar construction - bolt-on neck and single-coils. You might want to add a coil-tapped humbucker on the bridge for a ballsier distortion. For general usage, steer clear of really high-output pickups - THEY ONLY DO ONE THING WELL.
I would steer clear of a locking nut (Floyd Rose etc.) as well. They are very useful in some situations, but are also pretty finicky about set up and tuning.

If you are planning on a specific non-general usage such as Joe Pass style solo playing, there are better options.

If that's the case, let us know.

Hope this helps.

foo

 

[tdukex]

From the Godin website:

Godin Solid Body Guitars
What makes a great sounding solid body guitar? First and foremost, a solid body electric guitar must have a great acoustic sound. Solid body instruments may not produce much in the way of volume of sound. But make no mistake, wood weight and density, type (and quality) of the neck/body attachment, type of bridge and nut material all have an impact on the final sound. If this intrigues you, then the next time you find yourself in a quiet room with some electric guitars, try strumming them—unplugged—while resting your ear against the body of the guitar. This is the sound that the pickups will ultimately amplify. This isn't to suggest that pickups don't impact the sound in any way. Different pickups will definitely color the sound, but there is no question that a set of high quality pickups will not rescue a poor or unresponsive instrument.

...and, BTW, Godin may not be as "big" a name as Gibson and Fender, but they aren't exactly an "off" brand. They are definitely making a name for themselves for making excellent--no--fabulous guitars for the money--just as Larrivee has done in the acoustic guitar world. Bruce Blue Bear plays a Godin LGX. Ask him what he thinks of his.

...also, for around the price of a standard Fender Strat, I rather buy G&L Legacy.

...no offense intended, of course.

 

[dobro]

I don't really care much about resale value - with things like instruments, I trust that 'go for the one you love' approach.

And yeah, Lopp's advice to play electric guitars dry caught my attention right away too. It makes sense. I won't get distracted by noise. I'll listen closer, and pick up the feel better.

 

[VOXVENDOR]

So, Dobro.... Are we gonna get to hear the Van Halen covers your going to record with this thing??

 

[dobro]

Well, first I have to buy a guitar. Then the Van Halen. I hope to take things a bit beyond what Eddie did though.

 

[Richard Monroe]

Solid body electrics are usually more adjustable than acoustics. Don't like the intonation? Reset the bridge. Not happy with the sound? Change the pickups. As I often find myself, I'm the odd man out here. I don't care for Strats, and I like the foreign made copies even less, with the Chinese Squier Strats being the worst.
It isn't that they (strats) are bad guitars, because they're not. The Strat is probably the most recorded and most copied solid body electric of all time. Fender necks just don't fit my fingers, that's all. I've picked up a few telecasters I can play, but I'd trade one for any Gibson, Guild, or Parker.
I'm not out to bash Fender, I'm just pointing out that guitars, both electric and acoustic, are personal, and when you pick up the right one, you will know. Some cheap guitars are very good, but you have to go through an awful lot of axes that suck before you find one. I do like that single coil Fender sound, though, so I put Seymour Duncan pickups with coil splitters on my Gibson SG, and I can make it sound almost exactly like a Telecaster if I want to. My other solid body is an Indonesian made Epiphone SG knockoff with a really good neck. I put the old classic 57 humbuckers from my Gibson on it, and I really use both guitars. No kidding, a $2000+ customized Gibson, and a $189 customized Indonesian Epiphone.
My advice to our hypothetical buyer is to play a hell of a lot of cheap solid bodies, and find one with a straight neck and good intonation that's comfortable to play. Then, if he finds out he really likes these demonic machines, he should save up a shitload of money and play a hell of a lot of expensive guitars and buy the one that talks to his soul.-Richie

 

[teknomike]

I concur with the assesments of the Godin - I own an LGX-SA (Synth Access), and the range of tones I can squeeze from it is phenominal. With the transducer you can get virtually an acoustic sound, up to the great electric sound of the Seymour Duncan's.

Then, I plug it into my GR-50, and I'm away making funny synth sounds !

Check one out if you can - you'll be suitably impressed.

mike

 

[teknomike]

If you were a close friend of mine I would tell you to head to the biggest music store in your area and try out as many different models in your pricerange as you can. Be a pain in the ass for them, who cares...ask to plug in everything under $500 that they have. They should be happy to have you there.

And that is great advice !!!

 

[dawgie]

dobro, you're in Indonesia, correct? I might be wrong, but doesn't Samick or some other company have some guitars produced there, possibly under the name Gibson/Epiphone or Fender/Squire/DeArmond name? It might be possible for you to have a factory tour. These are not the best examples of the " parent" companies, but you just might get lucky and find something that you really feel good about. At the least, however, a tour through a guitar factory would be interesting. And you could feel/touch/listen to lots of different instruments. There are lots of guitars being made in Indonesia meant for sale in the US/Europe.

I don't think DeArmond is being made at all any more, I think Fender (which owned the name) is marketing them under the Squire name now. And the more expensive DeArmonds were produced in Korea, I'm pretty sure.

dawgie

 

[gibs]

Uhh...I think Singapore is in Malasia....

However, I've got a couple of Indonesian-made dearmonds and they are ok, but sorta entry-level as far as guitars go......

And you're right about Fender discontinuing the name and calling some of the dearmond models squires now.....gibs

 

[dobro]

Singapore's an independent country, not in Malaysia.

There are Samick guitars on the rack in guitar shops here, and they're called Samick guitars. They're cheap.

 

[Leeking]

Singapore's an independent country, not in Malaysia.

yah yah~ everyone in S'pore say that!

anyway, I didn't follow all the post so I don;t really know what you've decided on.... but do look into Yamaha, you'll get a better price/value in our part of the world. Samick low end stuff are crap IMHO.