Hello fellow GC community. I have recently come into some money due to my tax return and I have been meaning to learn an instrument. I have decided on the guitar because my favorite Band is dream Theater and i would love to play some John Petrucci (eventually). Plus i have always Loved the sound of a guitar! In any case i have been researching guitars for a few days now and i find it very hard to separate fact from opinion. It reminds me of shopping for skateboards. It seems since technology has come along so far, a lot of choosing a guitar is preference. So I was hoping for some factual advice for buying a guitar and hopefully an amp. I am looking to spend under like 800 dollars on hopefully both the guitar and amp. Some bands I really enjoy are . Dream Theater, Muse, Some Metallica and Korn so i want to play some progressive metal, but i also enjoy groups like Radiohead and chilli peppers so i want it to have some versatility. I wont be playing in a band or with any friends if that helps the advice. Anything you could tell me is great. thank you in advance! Edit: for some grammar and stuff
I know little about the mechanics of guitars and amps, but in my experience, guitar salesmen are like car salesmen: they want nothing more out of life than for you to enter the establishment and buy a product NOW. So with that being said, play as many guitars in the shop as you can, get a feel for them and listen closely to the tones, in the shop play the music you play most often, and definitely try to make the best possible purchase. Often they'll have no problems cutting you a deal or throwing in picks or strings with a purchase as well. If for some reason they refuse to budge on a bargain, ask if they have any sales coming up soon and, if so, that maybe you'll stop by again at that time if you can't find a better deal online. Like I said, they'll probably do everything possible to get you to buy their product right then.
You really need to be devoted to your instrument and be sure to stick with it and not throw it away the second it gets hard. I am self taught, and i really love it. Saves me time and time again. and I would recommend an epiphone Les Paul model for a starter. Cheap, looks bangin, and sounds great.
i been playin guitar for a while .. i got 2 epiphone les paul copys which are great a ibanez rg350dx. and my first guitar which was a cheap fender squire..i also got a couple of accoustics.. a washburn and a martin
If you buy a good guitar, make sure to buy a worthy amp or the sound will just come out like any other run-of-the-mill toys r us piece of shit.
I found a few pages with beginner guitar packages, if any of you gentleman have the time to check out some of these and tell me whats good i would appreciate it. Shop Guitars, Electric Guitars, Value Package Electric Guitars | Musician's Friend Electric Guitar Packs at zZounds.com
The Epiphone Vintage G400 package from the first link looks pretty damn good. Perhaps I'm biased; the unpainted look of the body always catches my eye. It's got several high ratings as well; one commenter said that it sounded just like its Gibson SG counterpart, so that's a plus, which probably goes without saying because Epiphone is a solidly decent and cheaper version of the "authentic" Gibson guitars. And a few FYI's in case you don't know: Epiphone is owned by Gibson, so it's not just some off-the-wall knockoff company. Also, if you don't know what the SG is, it's the guitar that Angus Young from AC/DC uses exclusively. Because Young often uses open chords with distortion (which is somewhat uncommon) you may get turned off from the tone, but when open chords come through distortion they tend to sound muddier and even more distorted than power chords that lack open strings. Just try listening to the tone of the single-note riffs and solos to get a more "accurate" listen of the SG tone. Also, here's some music theory explanations I posted here last month: http://forum.grasscity.com/music-hall/351284-anyone-here-got-musical-theory-down.html
i say if you have that much to blow, get a gretsch Electromatic G5120. it;s a humbucking hallowbody, should get you a nice range. they also look ace, and sometimes, they have a bigsby trem system installed. Muse, you'll need some particular effects technology (not limited to a kaoss box) to recreate some of the more synthetic stuff
look around on ebay... i think i good set up for you would be like a 410 Fender Deville ( the 212 is great..but 10's just..mmm excellent low end response) and as for a guitar if you can find a used 72 Fender thinline telecaster reissue easily on ebay and you'd be set. the only other thing you may need is like a ibanez ts9 distortion pedal for some gainier tone. you can find the amp and guitar both for around 400-500 pretty often on ebay.. the ts9 normally runs around 100. all awesome equipment... if none of those work... just make sure you get a tube powered amp!