Help me choose a guitar

On August 29 2011 00:37 6d.Leek wrote:
Trying to help you narrow it down...what style do you plan on playing? Jazz? Rock? Pop?

On August 29 2011 00:52 ticktack wrote:
Any starter guitar packs are fine if you're a beginner. They usually have an amp, guitar picks, the cable and a case for a really cheap price. Theyre not the best amps but its good enough until you get really good. Yamaha has one of these and a lot of other guitar brands do too.

On August 29 2011 01:04 HawaiianPig wrote:
My first guitar was an Epiphone Les Paul Special II; great quality, good price, and not your typical shitty starter strat or something. I resolved to get something that didn't suck so I couldn't blame my "crappy guitar" as I learned. I got a simple 15 W Fender amp (you really don't need a whole lot in the amp category to start things off). Later I grabbed a Digitech RP-250 multi effects pedal to start getting richer tones, but that'll only matter once you learn the basics.

I did my research before buying, and the Les Paul Special II consistently reviews well, from both websites and commentors on the internet. I've been using it for the past 3 or so years now, and I feel no need to pick up anything better for the time being. In fact, the only reason I can see myself going for something better is for pure vanity.



Price ranges from 150-250. I picked up the whole thing, guitar, amp, picks, carrying case, strap, cable, guitar stand all for about 300 bucks. Pricier than a typical "kit" but a great guitar.

Here are some reviews

On August 29 2011 01:04 HawaiianPig wrote:
My first guitar was an Epiphone Les Paul Special II; great quality, good price, and not your typical shitty starter strat or something. I resolved to get something that didn't suck so I couldn't blame my "crappy guitar" as I learned. I got a simple 15 W Fender amp (you really don't need a whole lot in the amp category to start things off). Later I grabbed a Digitech RP-250 multi effects pedal to start getting richer tones, but that'll only matter once you learn the basics.

I did my research before buying, and the Les Paul Special II consistently reviews well, from both websites and commentors on the internet. I've been using it for the past 3 or so years now, and I feel no need to pick up anything better for the time being. In fact, the only reason I can see myself going for something better is for pure vanity.



Price ranges from 150-250. I picked up the whole thing, guitar, amp, picks, carrying case, strap, cable, guitar stand all for about 300 bucks. Pricier than a typical "kit" but a great guitar.

Here are some reviews

On August 29 2011 01:47 danmooj1 wrote:
^ Thanks for the info. appreciate it

There's a guitar center near by so I'll probably go there to check out the guitars listed in this thread.

Is that your band btw? You should make a thread and post some of your music!

On August 29 2011 01:04 HawaiianPig wrote:
My first guitar was an Epiphone Les Paul Special II; great quality, good price, and not your typical shitty starter strat or something. I resolved to get something that didn't suck so I couldn't blame my "crappy guitar" as I learned. I got a simple 15 W Fender amp (you really don't need a whole lot in the amp category to start things off). Later I grabbed a Digitech RP-250 multi effects pedal to start getting richer tones, but that'll only matter once you learn the basics.

On August 29 2011 02:48 talleyhooo wrote:
Hi There -- I have been playing guitar for about 12 years or so and actually disagree with what you are being told here (ppl seem to be just telling you to get their guitar). A guitar choice is very SUBJECTIVE and will vary depending on the person.

I would recommend you go to guitar center and just play on a lot of different guitars. Take your time.The first thing I would focus on is the neck... what type of guitar neck are you most comfortable playing on?
+ Show Spoiler +

On August 29 2011 03:04 hellsan631 wrote:
I recommend Ibanez, as most if not all manufactures, at that price, do a really terrible job at wiring.

Its all up to personal preference, but there are two things you should look for when buying a guitar.

First, go to a local guitar store, and grab a really expensive ibanez, and crank up an amp loud with lots of distortion. (use an ibanez jem)

You want to get a feel as to how a great guitar is wired. You should hear little to no background or "white" noise, when your not picking the strings. Of course there will be some, but in general, if your hand if off the guitar, then it should be fine.

Also, when testing a guitar, turn all the knobs a ton, from 100% to 0%, to make sure the guitar has good pots. there shouldn't be any pops or cracks when doing this.

Then, when you have an idea of what a good guitar sounds like, find a neck and weight that is best for you. If you have large hands, you may like the bigger necks. The thicker the next, the more tone you get from the guitar body.

Try the SG guitar shape, the LesPaul (these are very very heavy in general), the strat body shape, and make sure you also enjoy having the guitar rest on your leg. Make some scratching noises, maybe play a couple of power chords.

Always try more expensive guitars first, so you can get a good "benchmark"

Also, stay away from dean. I've never picked up a dean guitar that has had good internal wiring. Not even the most expensive models.

On August 29 2011 02:48 talleyhooo wrote:
I would recommend you go to guitar center and just play on a lot of different guitars. Take your time.The first thing I would focus on is the neck... what type of guitar neck are you most comfortable playing on?

On August 29 2011 04:12 Aberu wrote:
I highly recommend since you are just getting into guitar to start really cheap. 500 bucks is a big investment when all you need is a guitar to practice on and an amp that produces sound.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/dean-vendetta-xmt-electric-guitar-with-tremolo

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/fender-25r-frontman-series-ii-25w-1x10-guitar-combo-amp

That combo will produce a nice sound, but that isn't really important, you only need a nice sound later if you actually stick with the guitar for many years. Sometimes you'll buy an instrument and stop playing it after a year or so, you'll never know till you TRY to play the instrument all the time a lot if you actually can stick with it or not, so that's my advice is to start really cheap. These are not badly made products either. I had a frontman and it sounds great for a practice amp for personal use, good tone. My friend had a Dean electric guitar, worked great, easy to play on.

And I agree with everyone's advice to buy used instead of new. Go to craigslist, was just showing you in case you needed to buy new, I bought everything I ever had for my interest in bass and guitar from musicians friend. They have great deals.

On August 29 2011 07:50 Dalguno wrote:
I'd suggest something Ibanez. From every one that I've played, they seem super consistent and solid. I've never owned one, just played my friends', but you can get some pretty cheap. I owned an Epiphone Les Paul, and wouldn't suggest it unless you're going to have a pretty decent amp to make it sound good. The neck is pretty thick, and honestly probably not the best starter guitar.

On August 29 2011 12:08 Happy Juvia wrote:
Jesus Christ, use the search function:

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=95095

On August 29 2011 18:21 danmooj1 wrote:


I'm atheist but thank you for the link. You christians are so nice

"Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin" - Mark 3:28-29.

On August 30 2011 04:31 Orpheos wrote:
ugh it hurts SOOOO MUCH when I hear people giving bad advice. PLEASE do not get any "starter pack" deals especially not from big names. they are really just putting their name on a piece of shit plank and selling it to people who dont know better. people think that if they dont like it, having not invested alot will be okay. the difference is if you just get something slightly better, and you end up not liking it, there will be a better chance you can sell it, unlike the starter packs.
and the biggest reason why you shouldnt get a crappy starter guitar is that having a bad instrument will be harder to play with and sound worse, making it hard for you to stay commited.

the best thing you can do is find a friend who actually knows what they are doing to go with you to a store.

one of the good things said in this thread is that the amp determines much more of your tone than the guitar. the actual guitar is important more for how it feels to play it and being stable as far as intonation etc.

for a cheap practice amp i would look through some of these. these are modelling amps. they have decent tone and have pretty versatile settings. lets you experiment.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/vox-valvetronix-vt15-15w-1x8-guitar-combo-amp
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/roland-cube-20xl-20w-1x8-guitar-combo-amp/h68601000001000

if you want to spend alittle more money, you can get my amp.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/fender-super-champ-xd-guitar-combo-amp
its pretty cheap, and has the whole digital modeling thing for flexibility. but when you want tone, you can switch to the clean channel, which is VERY pure and VERY responsive. this is because part of this amp actually has real tubes in it as opposed to being full on digital. in addition, it does a REALLY good job of modeling spring reverb.

other options are getting a full tube amp. itll come with less knobs to screw around with but offers you better sound. the drawback being you kinda have to crank them abit to get the best sound out of them. heres a couple to look up
epiphone valve jr
vox ac4tv



lastly for your guitar I HIGHLY recommend checking out www.rondomusic.com
they make some les paul copies(the Agiles) that are made in korea and rival guitars with 2-4x their price. the quality control is very good. some of teh other guitars they sell(SX, douglas) arent quite as good, but are still better than the cheapos that fender and gibson put out. they might just take abit of work to get to a sweet spot.
you can ask some questions at a forum they have set up called agileguitarforum.com

On August 30 2011 04:47 Happy Juvia wrote:
Ughh, it hurts SOOOO MUCH when I hear people giving bad advice. PLEASE do not get any "www.rondomusic.com" deals especially not from copies of Les Pauls. they are really just putting their name on a piece of shit plank and selling it to people who don't know better. people think that if they don't like it, having not invested a lot will be okay. The difference is if you just get something slightly better, and you end up not liking it, there will be a better chance you can sell it, unlike the Agiles. And the biggest reason why you shouldn't get a SX or Douglas is that having a bad instrument will be harder to play with and sound worse, making it hard for you to stay committed.

One of the good things said in this thread is that the amp determines much more of your tone than the guitar. The actual guitar is important more for how it feels to play it and being stable as far as intonation etc.

For a cheap practice amp I would look at a Marshal MG50. These are modelling amps. They have decent tone and have pretty versatile settings. Lets you experiment.

If you want to spend a little more money, you can get my amp, a a Fender '59 Bassman Reissue. It's pretty cheap, and has the whole digital modeling thing for flexibility. But when you want tone, you can switch to the clean channel, which is VERY pure and VERY responsive. This is because part of this amp actually has real tubes in it as opposed to being full on digital. In addition, it does a REALLY good job of modeling spring reverb.

Lastly for your guitar I HIGHLY recommend checking out:

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0106200806

User was banned for this post.

On August 30 2011 08:34 koreasilver wrote:

You're banned, but seriously you're an idiot. The SX basses are well regarded on talkbass, and many of the Agile guitars are actually decent. Better than Epiphone and Squier in many cases. I've played some Agile guitars before and for their price range they are worth the money. They are low end stuff, obviously, but within the low end stuff they are great. For someone just picking up a guitar or bass without knowing anything I would recommend Agile without hesitation.

And a fucking Bassman reissue and an American Telecaster? For a beginner? That is WAY over what the OP asked for in price range and no goddamned beginner in the world needs an amp or guitar like that.

On August 29 2011 01:54 Klaca wrote:

Bad advice to be honest. Les paul guitars are known for heavy, klunky, unergonomical body and thick hard to play neck, bad high fret access. strats&superstrats are invariably significantly more comfortable to play. Epiphone guitars too are not especially cost effective - small firms like agile and vintage produce much more bang for buck. IE a 100euro vintage has golden wilkinson hardware and pickups, mahogany body and mahogany set neck with reasonable setup, Epiphone axes are nowhere near as cost effective.

and tone wise the most efficient method is buying an external sound card like m-audio and using it for input & VST effects in a DAW. Great for a recording follow up as well.

This is important because if you actually want a rock tone - you will not get anything remotely similar to that from a cheapo amp, especially with the crappy pickups that epiphone low end axes tend to have.