electric guitar

[davjaga]

Hi i was planing on buying a electric guitar. im a newbie so i dont know nothing about guitars. but i was woundering what would be the best guitar for about 3-400$ canadian. what other stuff would i need. i know i will need an amp so how should i pay one and what make. and please tell me what other things im going to need to start off

thanks
dave

 

[Gidge]

Yamaha Pacifica 112 guitar
small Peavey combo amp

 

[savageblues]

Dave,

If you have $400 CDN to spend I recommend you try to find a good used Mexican Strat or Tele. You could also go with a Squier. Guitars dont go bad, so used is always a nice way to get more for the buck. You're in Canada? Check your PennySaver, local classifieds, Tri-Ad type publications.

I'm betting that if you go too cheap, you'll want a better guitar fairly soon, so you may as well get something pf reasonable quality to start with. That is what I found anyway. I wanted a better guitar after only a few months of practicing.

Everyone is going to have different opinions on what you should get. Spend some time thinking about what you want and research prices typical (even check Ebay although with an impoverished Canadian salary you are not likely to find a lot good deals vs. what you could find locally).

My preference leans toward Fender, but to each his own. It IS hard to go wrong with a realy Fender/Squier Strat or Tele, especially if you end up calling the electric guitar quits and you want to sell it.

What kind of music do you want to play? Amps are as hard to recommend as guitars, but initially you can probably get away with a really cheap solid state practice amp to hone your chops. It probably doesnt matter until you want to start jamming with drums and bass. Then you need some more power.

My leaning is toward low to medium wattage tube amps. In time, you may want to check a tube amp out (although they can be more expensive to buy and operate than solid state). Varieties are numerous, but there are still some good vintage values in Canada - 70's silverface Fenders with reverb (choice#1 in my book), Traynor, Peavy Classic series.

As a new guitar player you ABSOLUTELY need a tuner. Little sounds worse to me now than a badly tuned electric - I am nearly a tune-aholic. Virtually any cheap tuner is fine, until you get playing live and need some more versatility.

Of course you will also need a strap, extra strings, cord, picks (unless you're finger dude).

You could consider a capo. It is not essential, you will learn bar chords anyway.

A book of somekind as a reference for chords.

Good luck...and most importantly have a lot of fun.

 

[tombuur]

If you want something Strat-like, look for a used Japanese Fender Strat. It should be from the 90's. You can tell that from "Made in Japan" being printed on the neck down where it joins the body.

They say Japanese Strats were discontinued, because they got too good compared to the American ones.

I got one, of course. But that is not the only reason I recommend it. I also have a Clapton Strat, improved with Kinman pick-ups and a Gibson Les Paul Custom. Got these when I traded in a $2600 Custom Shop Strat, because the latter were only slightly better than my Japanese Strat.

My Japanese Strat might be a particularly good specimen, though. The luthier who refretted it recently wanted to buy it for his own use. And he owns two vintage Strats from the 60's.

 

[Buck62]

I agree with Gidge... check into the Yamaha Pacifica.

It's a really good guitar for the money, and you don't have to waste time looking around to find a "Japanese-made" Fender.
Now, Jap-made Strats are nice... but, you may get frustrated trying to track down a decent one that hasn't been beat to shit by some punk in the 'burbs.

The Pacifica would be brand-new (with a warranty) and you don't have to worry if someone spilled a beer on the pick-ups.

Another GREAT guitar for the money is the Godin Radiator, which is Canadian-made. This guitar has received nothing but high praise in all the reviews and it performs like a much higher-priced guitar. I've played a couple of Radiators, and I was impressed with the smooth playability and the QUALITY construction.

Don't be swayed by the well-known brand-names like Fender and Gibson.
Fender hasn't really made anything that great since around '73 (some people would say since '65 when Leo sold out to CBS instruments) and Gibson's are waaaaay overpriced.

Buck

 

[foo]

I'm with Gidge and Buck - pound for pound, Yamaha Pacifica is the best guitar for the money. I used to sell guitars (ran the guitar dept. in a very large store - 700+ guitars) and can highly recommend them.

There's other good advice here, too. Used is the best way to go (caveat: If you know what you're looking at, or have some help from someone who does) but then you can only buy what's available.

Have fun, and if it sounds good to you , it is good.

foo

 

[Gidge]

I guess Ive always wanted a Fender Strat because lets face it, its a Strat....but side by side at Guitar Center, the $149 Pacifica whooped the $149 Squier (btw, Guitar Center doesnt sell Pacificas any more)....side by side with a $399 Mexican Fat Strat, it was pretty damn close, but for $250 more, close wasnt good enough....i eventually ordered one (Pacifica) from American Musical Supply for $149....scared shitless because i was going against my better judgement by buying a guitar before i played it.....it showed it setup practically perfect and sounds great for $149.....find me someone who prefers a non Jap Squier over a Pacifica and Ill show you someone sick in the head.....

in addition to the Godin Buck mentioned, Peavey (be quiet in the peanut gallery) actually makes decent guitars for the money.....also, I played some Schecters that sounded pretty damn good in the $400 US range.....

 

[baldguy]

My advice as a conniseur of cheap guitars is to get an Ibanez RG170. I still have an old ('91 I think) Korean made Squier Strat that I got brand new that wasn't too bad. I put a humbucker in the bridge after a couple of years and kept playing it until the nut broke and I did a shitty job of replacing the nut and she hasn't been the same since. I picked up the Ibanez used for $170 American dollars just because I love the neck on the thing. I had some wrist problems and with the Ibanez, the symptoms didn't pop up. My advice to anybody about buying a guitar is to find something with a neck that you like and get it...the pickups can be upgraded later. I wouldn't recommend buying online just because I haven't had the best luck with getting stuff delivered in decent shape(I had a UPS guy leave a package with 2 mics sitting out on my front porch while it was raining). Maybe I'm a freak, but I had a friend that had a Pacifica Strat...the neck and the frets went bad after about 3 months. It played great when he first got it but it went downhill pretty quick.

As far as amps go...get yourself a small, cheap, crappy Peavey solidstate amp to start out with. Once you move on to something better you'll appreciate the sounds that you're getting that much more...There's nothing like standing in front of a Marshall stack and thinking to yourself "wow, I've come a long way."

Good luck.

 

[Leeking]

Yamaha Pacifica 112 guitar
small Peavey combo amp

good advise!

Yam Pac112 is definately a good value guitar.... it's S-S-H pickup combination makes its a versatile one.

I still have mine and still loving it!

it's a great beginner guitar and will take a LOOOONG time for you to outgrow it.

 

[trebles]

Don't be swayed by the well-known brand-names like Fender and Gibson.

Yes the once upon a time is true though they have started to lift their game a little bit more but there are difference if you know what your looking for in old and new instruments i may soon get my good friend who is has more knowledge on this subject then anyone ive ever spoken with to write an article which i will post for all to see on this very subject which will show why it is so

My fernandes law suite 58 stratocaster copy plays alot of the major offerings under the table and it cost me $ before mods115 usd with minor mods i had a guitar which plays better then some of the top line guitars on offer from the majors i mean alot may not believe it but i know its fact and thats all that matters to me