I'm looking for an electric guitar - suggestions..

[Jebus]

Hi Y'all. It's pretty cool this section is open. Anyway, I've been playing an acoustic guitar for about 7 months, and I'm wanting to get an electric guitar for around 5 or 6 hundred dollars australian. (about 300 US I think). The music I'd like to play is heavyish rock I guess, tool (der), deftones, smashing pumpkins etc, though If there is a guitar that would cater to some softer stuff (Zeppelin, Jeff Buckely) that'd be neat. If I can't get a combination of the 2, then I'd definintely like the heavier rock sound. I guess I'm also looking for an amp (around 3-400 AU - $200 US) that would sound good with the guitar...so far I've only tried a couple of guitars and the best at the moment is a yamaha pacifica 112. I don't have a clue about amps though...

cheers

[holy reality]

I replied in your other post but DEFINITELY look into Jacksons, they are FANTASTIC rock/metal guitars.

www.jacksonguitars.com

I have a DKMGT, and it's a great little guitar, the pickups aren't that great, due to lack of treble tones, but those can be changed, and IMO they are better overall pickups than the Pacifica, though it depends on what you want, for metal, they are.

I started on a Yamaha Pacifica, not sure what brand, and it's an ok guitar, but the Jacksons neck is SOOO much faster, and plus 24 frets is great. You can go for the DKMG if you want a whammy, otherwise the are the same essentially.

It isn't *quite* as "beefy" sounding as the Pacifica though, as the Pacifica is quite a bit heavier (in weight).... but I really like my Jackson a lot and they are excellent guitars and really the best you can get for under $500, they slay Ibanez (at least to me) and they look a lot cooler.

Right now they are a bit expensive, I got mine on sale for $299.... umm... looks like they'll run $549ish based on musiciansfriend.com but really.... the are fantastic guitars, you can go with a cheaper Jackson model I'd suppose, but you're probably gonna want to look into eventually replacing the pickups whether you get a Pacifica or a Jackson, and the Pacificas would be a lot harder to change seeing as (at least on mine) only the bridge is removable. Like I said though, overall I like the Jacksons pickups better.

As for amps.... Marshall is great for rock/metal... not too fantastic for other things though... I can get a good Tool tone out of my MG100DFX... but man... I wouldn't recommend going solid state.... I"d look into a DSL model, or if you can't afford one, an AVT50, don't go with the higher end AVTs as I've heard the built in FX drains the overall sound quite a bit.

The difference being that the AVT50 is a tube/solid state hybrid (sounds better than solid state) and the DSL 401 is a tube amp, (very loud, way louder than a 100 watt solid state, much better sound and I haven't heard of feedback problems).

So this is what I'd recommend... some sort of Jackson and some sort of Marshall... they are great for an intermediate rock/metal player, I can get a good Tool sound, Pumpkins yes, considering I don't have 50 fx pedals. Metallica is pretty good too.

Go try them out if you can, but I bought the DKMGT without trying it and I was impressed. I had to act fast though because the sale was about to end.

Here is a clip of me playing cold and ugly on the equipment I mentioned... it sounds crappier than in real life due to computer mic but I think I pretty much nailed his sound as close as possible without having a huge ass mega expensive amp.

www.angelfire.com/hiphop3/hankhill/me-coldandugly.mp3

[Jebus]

yeah...the pacifica is only the best of two that I tried so far... I don't remember what the other one was.I can't really check out you playin, cos I'm in a library, but thanks for putting it up anyway... I'l check it later. Yeah I looked around on the net for the jackson, but I haven't yet found a place that stocks em near where I live - not even in my state...and as for an amp...I'm probably just looking for a cheapish practice amp, so what you said is prob. a bit out of my range. but thanks heaps for the post... the more I know about all this shit the better

[holy reality]

yeah...the pacifica is only the best of two that I tried so far... I don't remember what the other one was.I can't really check out you playin, cos I'm in a library, but thanks for putting it up anyway... I'l check it later. Yeah I looked around on the net for the jackson, but I haven't yet found a place that stocks em near where I live - not even in my state...and as for an amp...I'm probably just looking for a cheapish practice amp, so what you said is prob. a bit out of my range. but thanks heaps for the post... the more I know about all this shit the better
In that case you can get a Marshall MG10CD they are about $69, which is only $30 more than your average POS 9 volt battery powered amp, and they sound about 50 times better.... well I haven't tried one but I've heard great things and since my amp is an MG I'm assuming it's good.

Example... my friend spent $50 on a totally sucky dean something or other 10 watt amp... and I kept telling him it was a POS and to go look for a small Marshall, but he said his mom wouldn't let him order over the internet and all the ones at the guitar store were really expensive.... man it sucked playing on that thing at his house.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=030715154949216150098031844692/g=home/search/detail/base_id/58989

or for 30 more ($99) you can have an extra 5 watts.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=030715154949216150098031844692/g=home/search/detail/base_id/58990

which i'd recommend for the 3 band eq.

I know how having sucky stores is though, it was a bitch finding a place around me that even had Marshall amps. The Jackson site has a dealer locator on it though, I think, if that's of any help... I know Marshallamps.com has one as well.

[wonko_the_sane]

Jacksons are great guitars for metal, but so are Ibanez's and LTD's. I had to experiment quite a bit to foster my love for my Ibanez. Try hitting all the music and pawn shops you can and play everything that interests you, and you'll get a good feel of what you're looking for neckwise and the like.

[plexus]

no jacksons... ibanezes are WAY fucking better by far. i have an ibanez and theres a quality of sound in those guitar that would blow any jackson out to the water.... i have an ibanez and its fucking badass... no jackson... no LTD... ibanez... IBANEZ... youd probly want something in the G series...
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=030716013800067029235050923113/g=home/search/detail/base_id/43306

if you really want a killer that will last, get an S series.... these are the cheapest from the S seriers ive seen....
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=030716013800067029235050923113/g=guitar/search/detail/base_id/41921
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=030716013800067029235050923113/g=home/search/detail/base_id/103176

be smart... dont buy a jackson... ibanez... all the way.. no pacifica either... with my experience with them, theyre crap

[piggy]

I just got an awesome deal on a Schecter Diamond Series, and I love it. It has a great sound.

[holy reality]

no jacksons... ibanezes are WAY fucking better by far. i have an ibanez and theres a quality of sound in those guitar that would blow any jackson out to the water.... i have an ibanez and its fucking badass... no jackson... no LTD... ibanez... IBANEZ... youd probly want something in the G series...
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=030716013800067029235050923113/g=home/search/detail/base_id/43306

if you really want a killer that will last, get an S series.... these are the cheapest from the S seriers ive seen....
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=030716013800067029235050923113/g=guitar/search/detail/base_id/41921
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=030716013800067029235050923113/g=home/search/detail/base_id/103176

be smart... dont buy a jackson... ibanez... all the way.. no pacifica either... with my experience with them, theyre crap

Good god all the Ibanezes I tried felt like they were about to fall apart and sucked sonically.

[random_spiral]

i' d have to recommend the 1940 Martin D-45, it's got the most bang for the buck. my guitar player in our band actually has 3 of these (each tuned one semitone apart). he could only find the ghastly natural finish, so he customized them by duct-taping the guitar strap on them and finishing them with custom graphics that consisted of wood glue, rubber cement, spray paint, glitter, and sequins.

if you're in to tool, this is the one for you. i think adam uses one on opiate's live tracks and in the studio on tracks specfically in d minor. when jacked into a vintage diesel head and/or your favorite marshall plexi, the open harmonic's of this fine instrument will resonate inside your anal cavities for days on end.

[psilomind]

I'd have to reccomend... the MusicMan Sterling.

FUCK YO GEETARISTS!!!

Anyway, a friend of mine invested in an ESP and a Dimarzio pickup, and I must say for 500 bucks worth of guitar, that setup was badassed. The rewiring might be a bit much for a beginner though... for now I suggest you get a cheap Ibanez to practice with. They're nice sounding, not too expensive, relatively durable, and from what I can tell (I am a bass player though, ya know) the action is pretty easy to work with.

[GernBlanston]

go to a shop and play as many as you can (while looking at the price tags and your wallet) and pick the first one that not only sounds good, but plays really well with your hands. get the one you want to sleep with and grope at all times. i personally look for how well i can just pick it up and play. i tried out a Fender Mustang at the last shop i went to. those are Japanese made and the whole neck is really small. i loved it though, it was almost like a toy, and i would consider buying one b/c A) they are cheap and imported and B) it was easy for me to play at the time.

thats what i look for. i would also recommend, on a budget, looking through pawn shops. you most likely won't find anything too spectacular, most of the time you'll get shitty no names or beaten up axes, but keep your eyes (and your mind) open for possibilities.

for an amp, just find something in your budget range, like a 1x10 or 1x12. just enough to crank it, but you won't bug the neighbors. i don't know amps well enough either to make specific recommendations (i just save my money for the amp i want and buy it (Marshall, btw)).

[Jebus]

Thanks heaps to everyone who posted. I've decided I'm probably gonna get a marshall amp - maybe go for a decent $500 AU one if I can find one. The main problem with trying different guitars is I don't have a car and theres only four or five shops around that I can get to but I'm still looking...

cheers to you all

[holy reality]

Thanks heaps to everyone who posted. I've decided I'm probably gonna get a marshall amp - maybe go for a decent $500 AU one if I can find one. The main problem with trying different guitars is I don't have a car and theres only four or five shops around that I can get to but I'm still looking...

cheers to you all

Sweet! Which Marshall?

[Jebus]

dunno yet. I got around to trying the small 10/15 watt amps...which were good but not great...so I figure I might mas well get a decent amp while I'm at it...

maybe a 30dfx or even an avt20 (349 and 449 US retail)

I haven't actually tried em yet, just these are the 2 in the price range I'm lookin at... maybe I'll go have a look tommorow...

[erazorhead]

where abouts in brisbane are you?
there are some good cheap places you should check out, such as 'the guitar shop' in paddington and all of the music shops in the valley (if you're near there).
as for the type of guitar, i recommend a gibson sg, there is nothing sweeter.

[twistfinger]

i'd recommend an --epiphone les paul studio-- on ebay. you can find some around $300-$400 US. those sound very good with a marshall amp. it's good for playing tool and it's good for clean/distortion. if you want to kick it up a notch later, just throw a seymour duncan in the bridge or neck pickup. don't bother with any fenders. they're good, but the les paul is fucking excellent and versatile. i have no complaints with mine.

of course i'm biased.

-twistfinger

edit:
those gothic les pauls are pretty cool too. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2548409384&category=33037

[holy reality]

epiphone sucks ass.... a gibson les paul... yeah... i don't know why you'd bother with an epiphone though, they look crappy and kind of cheap... though i've never played one...

i guess they wouldn't be bad for starting out though.

[Fink]

epiphone sucks ass.... a gibson les paul... yeah... i don't know why you'd bother with an epiphone though, they look crappy and kind of cheap... though i've never played one...

i guess they wouldn't be bad for starting out though.

Epiphone : Gibson :: Squier : Fender

But I don't like Squiers or Fenders, they feel bad. A friend of mine had an Epiphone SG. It was pretty good. They're just cheaper Gibsons. To anyone getting a guitar, I would recommend almost anything but a Fender or Squier. Some people like them, though.

[twistfinger]

Epiphone : Gibson > Squier : Fender

Epiphones are better than Squiers. They have a great sound and even better if you throw a seymour duncan in one. Epiphone Les Pauls look look pretty much exactly like a Gibson Les Paul.

No offense to Finl, I just like the Epiphone more than my old Squier.

Holy Reality... I challenge you to a fist fight.

[holy reality]

Holy Reality... I challenge you to a fist fight.
Ok but I've seen many an Epiphone in person and I think they look like horrid Gibson LP knockoffs, and there is no way they are going to sound even remotely as good as a high end Gibson LP.

[twistfinger]

You could be right. I've never really seen a Gibson LP up close, much less played one. I usually see them on tv or a picture or they're on the top shelf at a music store. I like my Epiphone LP, but I also can't actually compare it to the real thing.

I still challenge you to a fist fight.

[Jebus]

Hey, thanks for everyones opinons. I've tried heaps in my price range - squires, corts, epiphones, fenders, ibanez, some other ones, but I still like that pacifica the best. My 18th is in october so I'll score some money off my parents so I'll get it then, but at the moment my choices would be the pacifica 112 and marshall 30dfx.

I've looked around the guitar shop in paddington, it's a pretty sweet shop for guitars but no marshalls...I want to get it all in one hit cos most places will knock off about 20% if you get it in a package. And I have looked around the valley erazorhead - but it's a bit of a mission cos I live in toowong and I got no car...

yeah the pacifica and marhall are by no means definite, they're just the best of what I've seen so far...

[holy reality]

I still challenge you to a fist fight.
How about a drinking contest?

And you should use musiciansfriend they are almost always cheaper than any real life shop, and TAX FREE AND SHIPPING FREE.... fast ass shipping too... just normal ground got here the next day, but then again their warehouse is in Kansas....

So I mean if you're gonna haggle, show them musicians friend's price, and tell them to go lower than that, because if they just match it you'll end up paying more than it for tax so musiciansfriend is still a good deal.

If they say no, don't give them your business.

The only downside is returns are a biatch.... I got my amp from zzounds (i do not recommend them at all) and it came broken.... and when they shipped the new one out they shipped it the absoulte slowest way possible, despite paying for fast as hell shipping the first time I ordered it.

Musiciansfriend is very reliable though, and efficient... they don't set up the guitar action very well, but that's about the only downside.

[erazorhead]

I've looked around the guitar shop in paddington, it's a pretty sweet shop for guitars but no marshalls


did you check the downstairs section?
i got my bass amp from them for really cheap and it is a great hulking beast of thick muscle. ha

[Jebus]

did you check the downstairs section?
i got my bass amp from them for really cheap and it is a great hulking beast of thick muscle. ha

Hmmmm...I'm pretty sure they didn't but I could be wrong. Originally I was looking for a cheap 2-300 dollar amp, when they said they didn't have them maybe they just meant in that range?

[elevate]

I've got one of these (http://store3.yimg.com/I/ravguitar_1749_3926107) (caution, their website (http://www.ravenwestguitar.com/elguit.html) blows). You can get them for around $300 on ebay. There's a bunch of reviews of it at Harmony Central (http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/Raven/RP-350-01.html) and the consensus is that it kicks ass, especially for the price.

[iampete]

www.rondomusic.com

Agile Les Pauls man. They are so good for the price. Much better than epiphone les pauls.

Look at the reviews on www.harmony-central.com if you doubt me.

and who doesnt love a les paul........

i want one. rite now im on a fender standard strat..

[thirdseason17]

I like how you bumped a year old thread. Way to go, dumbass.

[n00b]

haha

feckin n00b

[Jolz]

Ibenez are jiz-tacular!!!

[6:02]

Schecter makes a few guitars that are really great for cheap, but you completely get shafted on the electronics.

[m4yn4rd]

Epiphone Les Paul's are nice.

[ihavebecomemyfear]

It takes a great guitarist to tell the diffrence between an epiphone les paul custom and the gibson, the only real diffrences are that the wood isnt AAA and the pickups are crap.

or maybe thats the cheap asshole in me talking.

[dark_Speedo]

I think he would have bought the guitar by now...

Somebody close the thread

[Ertai]

just bought Ibanez ISJ20

great guitar

[x7 Lateralus 7x]

whoa... money here in the U.S. is worth 2x as much over there? I'm moving to australia =D

[x7 Lateralus 7x]

oh... I have a kelly ke-3 from jackson, it's an alright guitar just a pain in the ass when it comes to changing the strings.