Beginner Guitar Setup

SnipeMasterJ13

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2004
1,005
0
71
Well, I've always been interested in learning guitar, just never had the time. I am quitting my second job finally, so that time will now be available. I was looking into a couple starter packages, and wanted to get some credible input, rather than just reviews from the various sites.

I want to be able to play things like Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Slipknot, Disturbed...etc. So metal/rock for sure. Anything else would just be a bonus.

Here is a starter package I found. That being said, I have absolutely NO clue on what I'm looking for. As far as my musical background, I took 3 years of piano so that I could play percussion in middle school and the beginning of high school. As luck would have it, as soon as I graduated, they started offering guitar classes as electives in high school. :|

Anyway, here is the starter package I found that I think may work.
Metal Guitar Jumpstart Package

That being the case, I know a lot of metal songs have the different various effects. Those are handled by different pedals/mixers I have to pick up separately I'm guessing? Or will just a basic setup be able to handle some of those? Sorry for the long post and all the questions, I'm a newb at this :(

EDIT: Thanks for the replies so far. Here is a quick video with the different effects I'm talking about. I'm sure most of you know what I meant without it, but just verifying...I would need different pedals to get effects like this? They switch back and forth a couple times in the first 30 or so seconds...
Different effects
 

EvilYoda

Lifer
Apr 1, 2001
21,198
9
81
I should get a practice amp...I've got this halfway decent Schecter (TSH-1) that I bought 6 years ago and just never played.

Any good deals on a small practice amp? :p
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,741
456
126
That looks like a decent starter pack to me. As long as you stay away from squier you're good. That comes with all you'll need to get started.
 

SnipeMasterJ13

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2004
1,005
0
71
Thanks for the replies so far. Here is a quick video with the different effects I'm talking about. I'm sure most of you know what I meant without it, but just verifying...I would need different pedals to get effects like this? They switch back and forth a couple times in the first 30 or so seconds...
Different effects
 

warmodder

Senior member
Nov 1, 2007
553
0
0
This jackson is pretty awesome for rock and metal type stuff. The lead guitarist in my band used one and it sounds really good. It does go out of tune rather quickly, but otherwise it's great.

Jackson JS20

For effects, yea you need a bunch of pedals. I'd concentrate more on technique before you get around to sculpting a sound you like though. Although if your amp has a lousy distortion channel you might like a distortion pedal to give you the 'metal/rock' sound.

This amp will give you the sound you want though:

Line 6 Spider

It's got a nice tone with all the effects built in so you can sound just like that youtube guy.
 

aplefka

Lifer
Feb 29, 2004
12,014
2
0
Oh man, you don't wanna be like the guy in the vid, trust me. That means you'd have to be left-handed, and we all know that lefties are far inferior people than righties. And don't give me that Jimi Hendrix bullshit, because I'm pretty sure he strung his guitar backwards so it's not like he was a true lefty anyway. :p

In all seriousness, I would say to either go for that starter pack or else buy used to learn, because even though I'm sure you're serious now, you may feel differently in 3 months and how pissed would you be if you dropped $350-$600 on a guitar plus another couple bills on a nice amp. Once you become good then you can go for some of the bells and whistles but to start I'd recommend at least looking into used first.
 

SnipeMasterJ13

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2004
1,005
0
71
Originally posted by: aplefka
Oh man, you don't wanna be like the guy in the vid, trust me. That means you'd have to be left-handed, and we all know that lefties are far inferior people than righties. And don't give me that Jimi Hendrix bullshit, because I'm pretty sure he strung his guitar backwards so it's not like he was a true lefty anyway. :p

In all seriousness, I would say to either go for that starter pack or else buy used to learn, because even though I'm sure you're serious now, you may feel differently in 3 months and how pissed would you be if you dropped $350-$600 on a guitar plus another couple bills on a nice amp. Once you become good then you can go for some of the bells and whistles but to start I'd recommend at least looking into used first.

He actually has quite a few vids. For some reason, that is the only one left handed. All the rest are right handed. Pretty impressive if it's legit and not some fancy video tricks. Either way, I was more concerned on the effects part of it.

I hear where you are coming from with the start slow thing though. That is why I'm going for a cheap start kit to begin with. If I could get used pedals for cheap off of eBay or something I wouldn't mind. Anything expensive would have to wait. One upside to the effects would be that it makes it more interesting, which would make it more fun to keep at it until I could play right along with a few of their songs. I will have to keep researching, and try to find some good used deals.

Although that Line 6 Spider amp looks pretty nice for the price. Might be something I ask for for my birthday, which is a convenient 3 months away in March :D
 

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
2,162
126
Yeah, guitars in that price range are going to all be about the same quality. The kit gives you all you need (except time to practice).

The problems you may encounter are inexpensive tuning machines might make the guitar go out of tune easily, and fret buzz from not being set up properly. Both problems can be corrected however.

When you get the guitar, practice 15-30 minutes per day (15 minutes twice a day is great!) rather than 1 2 hour session per week. Start with the names of the strings, the pattern of notes down the neck, then chords, and finally, scales.

Expect to take 1-3 months before you can play a song decently, and 1-2 years before you can get good enough for someone to listen to you.

These and other tips can all be found in my new book "Why Must I Reply to Every Guitar Thread?" :D
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,741
456
126
Yeah you'll need pedals for most effects. The amp has built in distortion for an alright rock/metal sound, but a pedal would sound much better. You can get a multieffects pedal for $100 or under which would be the way to go for you IMO. It will have basic versions of all the effects you need/want.
 

Rudee

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
11,218
2
76
Ibanez all the way dude. I've been playing off and on since the early 80's. The resources they have available now compared to when I took up guitar way back when is night and day. So much stuff on the internet that you can teach yourself fairly quickly.
 

CraKaJaX

Lifer
Dec 26, 2004
11,905
148
101
In that video at 30 seconds, it's going from a heavy distortion to clean. They do make distortion pedals with sustain, etc. But if you get a decent amp it comes with a foot pedal to switch effects on the amp (if it has them.)
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
126
Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
Epiphone pack $250

Pick up a case or gig bag of your choice

If you go that route, go to a Guitar Center and hand pick through them. I went through two different ones before I found one that didn't have any obvious mechanical issues. But once I got home I found others on mine. The wood under the plastic cap that covers the electronics on the back was split and only 2 out of the three screws stay put. Not a big deal, but still another knock on the build quality.

I still get a lot of "buzz" on the strings which I could probably fix with some tweaking, but never took the time.

That said it's got a great finish and is a very good looking guitar. I've got the black maple sunburst one.

I'd buy the guitar by itself and get a better amp like an entry level Spider modeling or a Roland micro cube for another $100. More effects to play with keep things interesting. I love the British and RFIER channels on my Roland Micro cube.
 

BradAtWork

Senior member
Sep 5, 2005
320
0
0
Originally posted by: warmodder
This jackson is pretty awesome for rock and metal type stuff. The lead guitarist in my band used one and it sounds really good. It does go out of tune rather quickly, but otherwise it's great.

Jackson JS20

For effects, yea you need a bunch of pedals. I'd concentrate more on technique before you get around to sculpting a sound you like though. Although if your amp has a lousy distortion channel you might like a distortion pedal to give you the 'metal/rock' sound.

This amp will give you the sound you want though:

Line 6 Spider

It's got a nice tone with all the effects built in so you can sound just like that youtube guy.

I've got that Line 6. Its great for a practice amp, but you will still need pedals.

 

SnipeMasterJ13

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2004
1,005
0
71
In comparison to the Les Paul $250 deal, how does this one look? Comes with the same amp, just a different guitar.

Epiphone G-310

Regardless, I'm starting to realize I'll probably need to go to a guitar center and have them help me out, and try a few in person.