What guitar??
 

I have been playing guitar for a year and 3 months (self-taught), and as of now I have an Epiphone Les Paul studio. My amp is a Line 6 Spider(but that doesnt really matter).

Alright.... So my birthday is coming soon:beer:, and if my calculations are correct ill have about $600(it may be a little more or a little less that that) by next week. I want to buy a guitar, but I dont know which one, so please post your opinions and help me out.



Music I play: Punk, blues, metal, (basically everything)
Im looking for a guitar that costs around $600, plays well on clean settings as well as with distortion.

Thanks.

I've been a bit of an Ibanez junkie. I know a lot of people would disagree with me because a lot of their guitars have seemed to be rip offs of more popular guitars. But given that you've been playing a short while, try an Ibanez for a decent price/performance ratio. The action tends to be lower on many Ibanez models, too, which is good for a relative newcomer.

Hi piwinner

It's a hard question to answer because it depends on several factors. You said that you play punk, blues and metal. Based on that, I would think maybe a strat or an RG series Ibanez. You can play punk on any sort of guitar. Blues you maybe want the single coil pickups - look at Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton - they both play Fender Strats. Metal guitarists play Ibanez, ESP, Dean, Jackson - there are loads to pick from.

Aside from that, it's about personal choice. You already have the Les Paul Studio, so a strat would give you a different (single coil) sound for the blues. Your LP would be better for playing rock and metal.

$600 is about £400, so you could get a mid range strat with that. It would also buy you a fairly decent Ibanez RG.

You should also try and play a few different guitars in your local store. The Line 6 Spider is a common amp, so I'm sure you can find your model, or at least a similar Spider in that range to play through. What guitar looks cool? What plays nicely. That's half the fun of buying a new guitar - spending the best part of a day in the store!

I run a guitar site over at blind-summit.co.uk and would be happy to try and help you more if you so wish.

Hope that's helped a little.

i have to agree that having a les paul means you got the humbucker soud pretty much covered. i love the way a strat neck feels in my hand but i hate the way they sound. my reccomendation is take the $600 and buy a really nice but used effects processor. then you can make what ever sound you want. or buy a talk box, they are fun also, and you'd have $$ left over.

that's pretty much what i paid for my mexican strat back on my 19th birthday hehe. as others have mentionned too, an ibanez would give you a nice alternate feel and tone. same with a strat but then you end up being one of the many faceless in the horde of 'guys with strats'. :laughing:

An effects pedal would give you some new sounds - but he has a Spider amp - don't they have amp modelling and onboard effects?

What about a Telecaster if you don't want to join the "Strat Pack".

With the Ibanez, you can always get a SSH configuration so you can play rock and punk on the bridge pickup, and flick to the single coils for the blues.

But like I said, you need to think about what you like and also go try a load of guitars. No point spending $600 on a guitar that people reccoment unless you actually play it yourself and compare it to a few others.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

I think I have had an influence on the forum. I'm not the only guy recommending Ibanez these days...

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Now playing on Winamp: Joe Satriani - Clouds Race Across The Sky
via FoxyTunes

:p:

i've never been against them hehe, i was actually eyeing a few models last year. mainly the artcore series, and a local pawnshop had a nice semi-hollow talman. turns out one of my buddies picked it up recently so i'll get a chance to really try it out sometime this summer hopefully.

Buy a PA system and start a band.
You'll find an infinite amount of social enrichment and personal fulfillment.

This.
If you have a p.a. system every musician on the block will want to be in your band regardless of your talent, and knowing people counts.
I got my current accommodation (in an economic and housing crisis) through being in a band, not to mention a whole bunch of good mates.

hillarious, because it's 100% true and has been, forever. one of the ways i learned the most was by jammin with people who were wayy better than me.
trying to keep up always stretched my abilities and kept me from getting bored. many of those guys initially hung out in our garage because we had great equipment. it was mutually beneficial. just look out for drug heads who will eventually rob you to get your ****.