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decent guitar to buy that will still be good when I improve

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lxskllr said:
Humbuckers always sound dirty. You can't get the shimmery clean pop you get with single coils, and all the hacks to take the hum out of single coils fail, and ruin the sound. Humbuckers are ok, but I can make a single coil sound more like a humbucker than the other way around.

Why are Strats popular? After 50 years they still have the best guitar shape in the business, and it's the most copied design ever. They're comfortable to hold, and they hang perfectly every time. The only complaint I could see is someone not liking the radiused fretboard. Fair enough, but I'd buy a Strat and put a custom neck on it if I wanted a flatter fretboard.
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That's not always true, it depends heavily on the amplifier used. Look at most jazz guitar players out there.. typically humbuckers. You can get them to be clean but you need a high wattage clean amp to handle not being overdriven by the guitar. Granted you can't get jangly cleans with a humbucker that are as convincing but an enormous amount of pure clean players use humbuckers.

The Strat... eh I don't care for them but that doesn't mean they're bad guitars. I think Leo got it right the first time with the Telecaster. The Tele is definitely the most versatile in my opinion despite it having less positions than a strat electronically. You can pull off crazy shit with a Tele but a Strat usually always sounds like a strat unless you bury your tone in high gain or other effects.
 
Platypus said:
That's not always true, it depends heavily on the amplifier used. Look at most jazz guitar players out there.. typically humbuckers. You can get them to be clean but you need a high wattage clean amp to handle not being overdriven by the guitar. Granted you can't get jangly cleans with a humbucker that are as convincing but an enormous amount of pure clean players use humbuckers.
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Dirty wasn't the best choice of words on my part. Warm is more accurate, or muddy if you want to be derogatory :^P
 
I agree with Platypus. If you buy a shit guitar, your learning experience will be shit, because you won't want to play it. And yes, adding good pickups to a shit guitar will still leave you with a shit guitar, that maybe has a bit less noise. Many more factors are needed to bring a shit guitar into a good guitar status. New bridge, new nut, new tuners, new neck, new pickups, etc.

Again, GET A CARVIN. Buy a used one off of eBay. They OWN. I linked to one that had a starting bid of $500 that will destroy any other guitar you will find for that price. GOOGLE CARVIN REVIEWS. They are the gem of the guitar industry. When Guitar Player magazine does their yearly buyer's guide, CARVIN is the only brand that is placed in a higher cost bracket than their actual cost because they compare better to more expensive guitars. Seriously. The only brand.
 
dwell said:
Only if you're playing death metal levels of gain. I play up to AC/DC / Guns 'N' Roses levels of gain the hum is not a problem. P90s have a lot of character that get lost with noise suppression. They spit and growl but that's the charm 🙂
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:hmm:

That's why PAF humbuckers were invented in the mid 50's- you had to turn the guitar volume off between songs because of the hum- not to mention recording had difficulties. If you have a real vintage design P-90, you'll hear the hum if you put your gain at around half way or higher on a tube amp. Newer designs may have solved this issue however.

I had an old Epiphone with P-90's on it for quite a while. It played great live, but for recording I'd have to use a Telecaster with the gain turned way up. They didn't have cheap supressors back then 🙂
 
Firsttime said:
Then you don't need to worry about decent. I would still suggest going to the music store and finding something comfortable and then buying the cheapest used amp you can with a working headphone jack.

Edit: and spend the rest on a decent pair of headphones if you don't already have a pair.
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This.
It's what I did, and I've been playing for 6 years now.
 
Platypus said:
I'm going to have to disagree with that. There is a lot more about a guitar than the electronics and pickups. If the guitar sounds dead because its constructed cheaply or made of cheap wood, nothing you do to it is going to turn it into a guitar comparable to a more expensive and better made guitar.
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I wasn't talking about buying an SX and thinking you could turn it into a vintage Strat. Think more along the lines of turning a $300 dollar Epiphone into an $800 Gibson. There are some sacrifices, such as differences in the way a neck is set (flat vs. angle) but the only major difference is the logo on the headstock.
 
OP I like your selection, of all the guitars in your price range you picked the one that would be my choice especially with your music tastes.

If I had to pick two and only two cheap guitars they would be the Epi LP that you picked and a mexican strat. With those two axes you can pretty much cover any musical genre and sound and they are both very easy to play once set up properly.
 
Jesusthewererabbit said:
I wasn't talking about buying an SX and thinking you could turn it into a vintage Strat. Think more along the lines of turning a $300 dollar Epiphone into an $800 Gibson. There are some sacrifices, such as differences in the way a neck is set (flat vs. angle) but the only major difference is the logo on the headstock.
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...and the wood they use to build them, the cuts of wood and how the body is constructed, the labor used to put them together, the tuners, the nut, the bridge, electronics, etc. 🙂
 
Sure, the woods can be different. You don't buy a Les Paul clone with a basswood body and expect it to have the same sound and sustain as a body made out of mahogany with a maple top. They are all (except for custom shop) mass produced these days, and all the hardware can be changed. With a little time and know how, you can make a cheaper guitar sound and play every bit as good. Exact? No, but no two guitars sound and play exactly the same anyway.
 
I recommend an Agile AL2000, it beats the Epi, it's 199, and the quality is amazing. If you want to up the ante, go for the AL3000 or AL3100, they rival entry level Gibson LP's and beat most if not all Epi LP's.
Let the flaming begin.
 
JDub02 said:
i have a texmex tele. love that guitar. my brother put in an acoustic bridge. the guitar sounds amazing no matter how it's played (tele p'ups, strat p'up, or acoustic)
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Luv my mexi tele too. Glad I got it while they were $349 earlier this year.
 
Jesusthewererabbit said:
I wasn't talking about buying an SX and thinking you could turn it into a vintage Strat. Think more along the lines of turning a $300 dollar Epiphone into an $800 Gibson. There are some sacrifices, such as differences in the way a neck is set (flat vs. angle) but the only major difference is the logo on the headstock.
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Well, after you spend $250 in Burstbucker pickups, $50 for Grover tuners, $100 to have it set up and the frets dressed, and your time and effort, you're going to have a better sounding Epiphone. That solid maple cap gives Gibson's their sustain and tone. Epiphones are made with lower grade chambered wood and just don't have the sustain.

I understand that the higher end Epiphones are now using AA maple in their construction, but for $600-$800 and crappy sounding pickups, you might as well get a Gibson.

I have an Epiphone that I upgraded quite a while ago. It's so flat sounding that I hardly use it anymore, but the muted tone is good for slide playing 😉

5973_102003143147527_100000135244668_54830_1793364_n.jpg

-Upgraded to Burstbucker 1 and 2's
-Grover tuners
-Gibson knobs
-Matching pickup guard, switch coover, and truss rod cover

Here's my current #1 and #2:
5973_102003153147526_100000135244668_54832_4688971_n.jpg
5973_102003173147524_100000135244668_54838_1978053_n.jpg
 
Fritzo said:
I understand that the higher end Epiphones are now using AA maple in their construction, but for $600-$800 and crappy sounding pickups, you might as well get a Gibson.
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Someone learning, bedroom playing is not goint to dump $2 - 3k on a LP though.
 
TechBoyJK said:
I agree with Platypus. If you buy a shit guitar, your learning experience will be shit, because you won't want to play it. And yes, adding good pickups to a shit guitar will still leave you with a shit guitar, that maybe has a bit less noise. Many more factors are needed to bring a shit guitar into a good guitar status. New bridge, new nut, new tuners, new neck, new pickups, etc.

Again, GET A CARVIN. Buy a used one off of eBay. They OWN. I linked to one that had a starting bid of $500 that will destroy any other guitar you will find for that price. GOOGLE CARVIN REVIEWS. They are the gem of the guitar industry. When Guitar Player magazine does their yearly buyer's guide, CARVIN is the only brand that is placed in a higher cost bracket than their actual cost because they compare better to more expensive guitars. Seriously. The only brand.
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I don't have a great deal of experience with Carvin's axes, but my primary amp is a Carvin XV-212 combo that I picked up for $275 and I would put its tone up against just about any other premier tube amp. The sucker weighs a fuckin' ton and it's louder than just about any 100w 2x12 I've ever heard. Check out its reviews on Harmony Central, too.
 
lxskllr said:
Dirty wasn't the best choice of words on my part. Warm is more accurate, or muddy if you want to be derogatory :^P
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This thread inspired me to drag ole Bessey out from under the bed. She's got two high-end humbuckers in her (Duncan Jazz/JB). My first impression was they did sound muddy after playing single coil almost exclusively for a year or so, but after an hour or so of playing it sunk in and they started sounding great. Now I am playing that guitar all the time, yeesh D:

I think single coil have more dynamics and life than humbuckers. I can't really get the great crunch I do on my P90s on my 'buckers. I guess that's why we need multiple guitars :thumbsup:
 
dbk said:
I want a beginner's acoustic.

p.s. i have small hands
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Epiphone Hummingbird: Not only does it sound great, but comes from the factory with low action for beginning players. It looks beautiful to boot---if you don't play it you can hang it on the wall 🙂 http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...ELAID=40649576

Washburn D10 series- Washburn is one of those manufacturers where you say "Why isn't this more expensive?" Great construction, their acoustics tend to have a deep throaty sound. Excellent value: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...ar-?sku=515152

Yamaha FG7 series- Nice solid construction, middle of the road sound, and a wide fret board make them easy to fret. http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=518274
 
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