Best Guitar Under $400

  • Thread starter Thread starter cincy_kid
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cincy_kid

cincy_kid

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Yea, I know its the famous thread, "whats the best XXXX under XXXX" but I figured its Saturday night and I am surfing so what the heck :)

If I decide not to clean up my old Godin guitar with new pickups and bridge, etc (you can see that thread here: https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=235872), then I will be looking at getting a new guitar. I dont want to spend more than $400 and it will be used soley to record in my home studio. I wont be using it to play out live or anything else so keep that in mind.
I know it also depends on types of music, tones, etc, which is hard for me to answer but some general things I can say is:

- wont be metal type stuff (heavy)
- wont be country type stuff (twangy)
- will be more like alternative, pop, indie, etc...

I will most likely get it from my local Guitar Center store and curious on some of your opinions on good recording guitars in this price range. I was thinking about a fender strat or epiphone les paul, but am open to suggestions. This guitar will run through my Johnson Amp (http://www.johnson-amp.com/jm60pic.htm) and I will mic it with my 57.

Anyways, looking forward to some good ideas from all of you!

Thanks!
 
PRS SE SoapbarII.

The pickups on these guitars are insanely good for clean pristine tone and you can get so many different gain stages with them and the volume knob.

bright and robust is how I would desribe the tone of those guitars.

Not sure if a Johnson modleing amp will convey that, but its a great guitar and should fit into your price range.
 
1 vote to keep what you have. drop some nice pickups in it and get a full setup done on it. i don't see a better way of spending the money, if we're talking sound. a humbucker/single/single strat is a very versatile guitar and can sound great.
 
thanks metal I will take a look at those...I thought PRS were way out of my price range :eek:

Hey again Travis. yea, I am still considering it but thinking the money I will spend on it, I can get a new guitar and not have to go thru the hassle and/or work of doing the steel wool on the neck too...but we shall see :)
 
TravisinFlorida said:
1 vote to keep what you have. drop some nice pickups in it and get a full setup done on it.
Click to expand...

Totally what I would do. Buy some kick ass pick-ups and stick them in that thing. It should sound way better than any guitar in your price range with crappy cheap noisy pickups, hardware, and electronics. Plus, you'll get to know your guitar real well taking it apart and cleaning it up. Sounds like a fun project to me.

But if your hell bent on a new axe, check this bad boy out. The Goldfish Guitars Juba Clownfish Electric Guitar with Speaker

444510.jpg


Only 99 bucks, it's a steal. ;)
 
cincy_kid said:
Hey again Travis. yea, I am still considering it but thinking the money I will spend on it, I can get a new guitar and not have to go thru the hassle and/or work of doing the steel wool on the neck too...but we shall see :)
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I doubt it would take you more than 1/2 an hour. You could tape off the fingerboard to protect the finish too. Super easy to do. If you can solder, pickups are easy too. Probably another 1/2 hour there. You say the guitar is a Godin? They make good guitars.
 
Wow, what guitar to buy? Apples and Oranges, plastic or paper, single or double coil? I think the worst thing about cheap guitars is poor quality control. Your mission is to find the one, the gem, where some Luthier got it right, and the materials were fundamentally good.
You didn't make it clear whether this is an acoustic or electric, but based on comments about pickups, I'll assume we're talking about an electric guitar. For a studio guitar, first, you need a solid body. Cool, you can play it without making a ton of noise. You can isolate out the room, or go DI, and to headphones.

Which axe to buy. It doesn't matter whether it's new or used. What matters is- did they get lucky and build it right? It doesn't matter either whether it's a mexican Strat, an Epiphone, Washburn, or a frikk'in Daisy Rock. A studio guitar doesn't have to be a fashion show. I got a great deal on a used Selena signature Epi nylon string, because it was too damned girly for anybody to buy it. No one will ever see the pink rose. What you have to do is play a huge number of $400 guitars. I have generally found better deals on used guitars when on a budget.

I don't know about your Godin, but they are one of the companies that occasionally gets lucky and builds a gem. If the neck and body are good, I tend to agree with the "change the pickups and set it up" guys. Sometimes a really good fret job can make a sound cheap guitar play and sound much better. There are certain icons, and if you get seriously into guitar playing, you'll collect one or more of each of the major types. Strat, Les Paul, Tele, SG, thin hollowbody, Jazz guitar. Who knows? That Holy Grail axe could be a flying V, a Warlock, or an explorer. If you like rock, start with humbuckers (Les Paul/SG). For versatility, select a strat. Those two are the essential Yin and Yang of solid body electrics. Good Luck-Richie
 
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LOL what the hell is that guitar oro? hehehe -- but dang thee votes are piling up for replacing the pickups...hrmmmm

Dont know exactly how to solder Travis but I know a few people who do, so maybe that is an option

Thanks Richard, yea I hear what you are saying and that again is another vote to replace the pickups so I am leanign towards it again now...LOL

what do you guys think about these GFS pickups?
http://store.guitarfetish.com/pickups.html

I have a buddy that can get me some duncan ones and higher end ones for a godd price but was checking these out for the convenience
 
If it were me, I'd get a mexican fender floyd rose H-S-S.

that prettymuch covers the gamut.
 
I gotta go with the pickup replacement as well-as for the bridge try to clean it up like the guy Alien said in the other thread. Like I said before-the older wood in that Godin is better seasoned that the green stuff that is in a new guitar-which would probably be a 5 or 6 piece body.

Yeah, those guitar fetish pickups definitely look cool-I think I might check them out for some of my guitars as well! :cool:
 
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I don't play alternative/pop/indie stuff, but I think for the most versatile sound, a Fender with 2 single coils and a humbucker would be best. My friend has one and it sounds good for everything I've played, from nice clean tones to blues to rock/classic rock, etc. Not good for metal but you said you didn't play that.
 
I'd have to say a mexican strat. Or a used american strat (eBay).
 
I would really avoid Musician's Friend for a guitar, most of them are the unplayable ones that the music stores won't take.

I'd take the advice of going and playing every $400 guitar you can get your hands on, they really do vary. I've got an Epiphone Les Paul Special that I bought for I think $300 that you couldn't pry out of my hands to this day. Just matters if it was made on a Wednesday or a Friday afternoon if ya know what I mean...

Also, check out a Mexican Telecaster instead of a Mexican Strat, I think it'd be more up your alley.
 
WOW! I would fix up what you have. It is far better then the other opisions. The Gobin is a solid body guitar made here in North America. The pick-up configuration on it is the most diverse you can get. Also it is made with Canadian woods. The other options are most likely made from Asian woods. Not of the same quality. Third world labour standards are much lower then North American standards. Oh, if the fret board has lacquer on it do not use tape on it. It will pull the lacquer off. Make a template to fit around the frets to clean them. :)
 
hoops said:
Oh, if the fret board has lacquer on it do not use tape on it. It will pull the lacquer off. Make a template to fit around the frets to clean them. :)
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painters masking tape (low tack) would probably be a good idea.
 
Go with fixing up the Godin...then take the money you saved...save a little more and buy yourself a kit.... if you have GAS really bad like me, it makes good sense...plus the fun of customizing your own axe...?

Anfontan got me interested in doing so (bless his GAS-E soul ;) )....and sometime this year, I am going to get a Fat Strat Saga kit. I was going to do it last fall...but ran into a Fotoflame Tele and a Jackson along the way :eek: ...now I have to start saving all over again....damn! :D

Here are a lot of links...even for a Les Paul style...or....if ya have a hankerin'...a BANJO!!! Saga Kits Lots of Links

Or just Google whatever style of guitar you want....like Les Paul Saga...Fender Strat...etc.

Here is a good link for help building a kit...Guitar Tech
 
used

epiphone sheraton. new online they're 600 or something. i got mine for a cool 250 off of ebay. that was a lucky steal though.

or a casino.

classy sounding classy looking guitars. great for the money, and perfect for indie /alt/pop.
 
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