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What guitars interest you

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4K views 34 replies 26 participants last post by  ashleighhhh 
#1 ·
Hi everyone!
Im kind of new to the whole guitar scene. I just started up within the past couple of months. I was just wondering what do you all look for in a guitar when you buy one? besides the name of a guitar what else do you look for in a model? Is there one particular type of guitar thats superior to them all or is it based more on comfortability and preference?
Since I just started I was givin an Ibanez GSA 20, im not a complete nube because I do play acoustic but as far as electric wise this guitar looks crappy compared to others(it worksout great for me tho) so thats why I ask!
I know it might seem like a stupid question but llike I said, im new so take it easy.
THANKS
 
#2 ·
I have this fantasy of, next time I buy a guitar, going into the store with a blindfold and saying "Don't even tell me the brand, just keep handing me guitars and I'll play them unseen until I find The One."

I look for a guitar that has lots of detail in the sound. Some guitars tend to smoothe out the rough edges in the player's style, while others emphasise every little detail, which I prefer because it helps push me to become a better playing. I love my Ibanez Talman and my Telecaster project guitar for that reason. Then when I switch to my easier-to-play Ibanezes, my style isn't defined by them.
 
#4 ·
I look for a couple of things: How the neck feels, and how it sounds. Yes, one can change pickups, but a guitar that sounds like it's coated in a layer of plastic will sound that way regardless of what pickups go in. Playing an electric unplugged gives a good indication of this.

The neck also has to feel good in my hands. No specific profile, no specific type, just does it feel good. That can be a Les Paul neck, a Strat neck....doesn't matter.
 
#7 ·
I'll say this as a bit of a warning. What a lot of the guys here will look for is not the sort of thing a new guitarist should be looking for!!! Many of the guys here have several guitars already, or 40 or 50 of them so they might be looking for one in blue to go with the exact same model they already have in red, black and green.

Overall there isn't one guitar that's better than any other, but some that "fit" a type of music better than others, country players will often play telecaster type guitars, classic rock players might use a Les Paul or a Strat and metal heads will look to ESP and Caparison.

The type of guitar you go for is all down to your own preference, I'd say the feel and the look of the guitar are the most important aspects to consider. you can change the sound of the guitar quite easily these days, turn a few knobs on your amp, buy new pickups, pedals, a new amp whatever. But the feel of the guitar really is intrinsic to the guitar itself, as is the look. If you want a guitar that looks like a Les Paul, don't buy a Strat. It's hard to make one guitar look like another ;)

Many folks will tell you looks of a guitar don't matter, but i've always found that the look of a guitar has a huge influence over how much you actually will want to play it!

If you're looking for a new guitar, look at the types of guitars your favourite players play and start there, play as many guitars that you can, including those way above your price range, so you can find out what you "should" be aiming for feels like.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Similar to what jim 777 just said except I think I listen to the resonance and sustain unplugged while playing THEN I see if I like the neck and can bend strings easily etc..

Years ago I'd be in a studio somewhere and play a Strat and LOVED the tones and resonance
unplugged ( kind of like an electric mini version of a Martin 00018 ) but I couldn't play lead on them due to the small radius necks and small frets- but I could play rhythm and fingerpick etc.- now with flatter boards and bigger frets and more resonant woods- it's really great I get the best of all three.
 
#16 ·
Wow this is all pretty effen sweet!! Thanks for all the replies, I was just curious on what people did and looked at b4 they bought a guitar. I've heard from my bro and a couple of other people that a guitar is worth buying if it sounds pretty damn good unplugged. Is that true?
 
#17 ·
I think it breaks down into a few categories that make a great guitar:
But first you have to decide what general style of music you want to play because there are allot of guitars out there that are made for a specific sound.

Construction and Design: Solid body vs hollow body, Set neck vs bolt on. Top load vs string through body. Neck and body shape effect comfort, playability. Fret size makes a big difference in feel. Where the guitar is made makes a difference Epiphones are made in Korea (or something) and Gibsons are made in the us therefore they have different components and quality even though they are the same model as far as shape size and color.

Electronics: Pickups in themselves are very important and are very VERY different many are designed for specific applications. Try a guitar with EMG pickups then a Fender Strat. Switches and Knobs are important; and are very different. On allot of gibson guitars each pickup has its own tone and volume knob and 3 way pickup switch so if you one turned all the way down and one turned up the pickup selector becomes a killswitch. Strats usually have a 5 way switch and one volume for all the pickups and 2 tone knobs that are split between the pickups.

Tuning and intonation: Cheap guitars are known for breaking strings and never staying in tune. The big issue with tuning is having and using a whammy bar or having a hard tail bridge. The nut on a guitar is very important and makes a big difference in resonance and tuning stability of the guitar. If the guitar keeps going out of tune when your playing at the store you might want to move on.

When I'm buying a guitar I do my homework, then at the guitar store a grab the guitar I think I want and a few others and try them all out on the same amp with the same settings. Always use a clean channel first. And don't be afraid to play the expensive ones, you might be surprised that even though they are super pricey the sound like **** sometimes just like the cheap ones. Usually the people working in the store don't have a clue about their inventory either. Good luck!
 
#18 ·
In my experience yes, if it sounds good unplugged, it will sound great through an amp.
The other guys nailed it. You gotta like the feel of the neck and how it sits on your leg/stomach. Go try out a lot of stuff before you pony up your money. If there's pawn shops in your area go find some that carry guitars. Get a used guitar when the time comes. Especially as a beginner.

The best neck I've played is my American Standard tele. Most on here wouldn't agree with that, but it just feels right to me. My JS is a close second, but that whole guitar feels incredible.

The bridge also can make a huge difference. I've played floyd rose (Ibanez Edge) trems mostly, and have the tele bridge and the JS (Gotoh hardtail). So playing a "tunomatic" or similar feels really awkward to me.

Good luck!
 
#19 ·
A guitar is one of the most personal items you'll ever buy. It has to feel like an extension of yourself, a conduit for the sound you hear inside. I've owned dozens of guitars, and only a rare few have given me that feeling, but those that have were like Excalibur and definitely made me feel aurally invincible.

The best coarse of action in picking out a guitar is to go and play the living jeebus out of as many axes as you can, and see what gives you that special feeling. Price doesn't matter, brand doesn't matter, it's all about you bonding with the instrument. And never forget, enjoy the hunt. ;)
 
#20 ·
I too say:
Feel, tone, functionality, and looks. That order.

Sadly I am so in love with JEM necks, that I hardly can play anything else, except for those wizard necks that are nearest to the JEM neck.
I always get a funny feeling when I play my Les Paul or Strat.
 
#21 ·
The fact of reality is that the guitar you buy will be gaged by money and not what you feel, because we cant all buy the guitar just because it feels right, cause that could end up being a very expensive guitar. If you cant afford an awesome guitar and you go cheap, you will learn to adapt as best as possible, and you just make that guitar work....

Look at Brian May... in the beginning he made one from rubbish and look where it got him... he has one of the most original sounds and styles ever...


I think alot of guitarists like myself spend alot of time fixated on quality and style and features etc... Instead of just grabbing any axe and just playing..

yes there are differences in quality and this helps to make some guitars easier to play, but in the end not all of us can afford the best equipment, so never loose sight of the reason guitars exist.... and thats to play ;)

I should take my own advice and stop buying guitars :p
 
#24 ·
Great thread!

I've been playing guitar since I was 13 and in that time I've bought a LOT of guitars. I've tried everything, Les Pauls, Ibanez, PRS, boutique, BC Rich, Charvel...the list goes on. It's taken me into my thirties to finally realise what guitars work for me........strats!!

I grew up in the eighties and always gravitated towards the 80's axes and as a Vai fan always loved the JEM's. As a teenager/twenty-something I despised strats. They always seemed so common and boring. Then I bought one a few years back, just a mexican strat, but for the money it's been one of the most playable instruments I own.

I own 3 Ibanez JEM's (the reason I hang around on this website) and they're great. They play really easily and will do exactly what you tell them to, the strat will do the same, however,..... the strat will give you a little extra in return!! A little extra something special, if you play strats I hope you know what I mean.

Just yesterday I picked up the guitar of my life...... It's perfect, and ticks all the boxes for me. Please allow me the indulgence of a pic.....

1960 Fender Custom Shop Masterbuilt (John Cruz) heavy relic Floyd Rose Strat!!!
(The guitar sings and I could fill a page raving about the neck but I won't)
 

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#25 ·
Those PRS Paul Allender Models are pretty Excellent right out of the Box!

They're shipping In A Nice Green Color Now, the Stock PRS Trem Bridge & Tuning Machines Stays in Tune Suprisingly Well Even with Gnarly Whammying

The HFS Hot,Fat,Screams Bridge Pickup Rips!
and the PRS' Wide Thin Neck Shape Is Definietly More Familiar to Ibanez,Jackson/Charvel & ESP/LTD Players!

A Really Impressive Guitar all for like $499.99 U.S.
 
#31 ·
Those PRS Paul Allender Models are pretty Excellent right out of the Box!

They're shipping In A Nice Green Color Now, the Stock PRS Trem Bridge & Tuning Machines Stays in Tune Suprisingly Well Even with Gnarly Whammying

The HFS Hot,Fat,Screams Bridge Pickup Rips!
and the PRS' Wide Thin Neck Shape Is Definietly More Familiar to Ibanez,Jackson/Charvel & ESP/LTD Players!

A Really Impressive Guitar all for like $499.99 U.S.
I just checked that one out on their site. I have to say, I am interested all right....the only issue is I am not super fond of EMGs.
 
#29 ·
tough question to answer, and even more so since I haven't bought a guitar for quite some time.

But if I was to go out and buy one, I would primarily look at strats, with some exceptions (a good JEM777 or Jackson soloist at an affordable price must be checked out, and a kramer stagemaster, RS or nightswan I would buy without having played one).

So, currently, I would be looking for a stratocaster-style guitar with maple neck, 3 single-coils and either vintage-style or OFR trem. And 21 or 22 large frets. If it's professionally scalloped, that would be a bonus.

But unless it's on the must-have-if-I-can-find-one-I-can-afford list, it also has to sound good unplugged with good sustain.

That's pretty much it for me.
 
#30 ·
hey 86barettaguy, I live here in near Los Angeles, Actually Chatsworth, Ca, but the Point Im Making is there is a Dead Mint Condition/N.O.S. Looking/Playing Kramer Focus 6000 in Cream White, at the Sam Ash Music Store, Canoga Park, Ca 818-709-5650

it also Comes with a Somewhat Old/Worn Original Kramer Hardshell Case. Now I Say "Hardshell" Loosely, because its Not that heavy Duty, It Looks rather "Weak/Hardshell"and if you were to arrange to ship it to Sweden, Id' Suggest Arranging for Something MORE "Protective" for Safe Shipping cause Im' Tellin' You This Guitar Looks/Plays like Someone Bought it in 1986-'87, and stuck it under their Bed for 23-24 Years!,N.O.S. New,Old,Stock Condition really And The Sustain Is Unreal,

Orig Chrome Floyd, Flat On Top Of Body(Full Sustain Transfer) No Sunken ****, One Slanted Bridge Humbucker,and Neck & Middle Single Coils.

The reason I know its the 1st Production Run from 1986-'87 is because it has the 1st generation Cheaper Made Non Angled Pointy Headstock with "String Trees" esentially A Simpler Neck Before they Went to the 14deg Angled Headstock which came later.

Dont get Me Wrong, that being said, this "Cheaper Version"Neck Plays Killer, and Great Sustain!
and is Painted Cream Color to Match the Body Color!

Also the Focus 6000 Body is Kramers take or Version of a Soloist Type Body, Which Looks Almost Identical to The ESP George Lynch Kamakazie Body Shape!

Which Is No Suprise As ESP Actually Made All their (Kramer's Bodies And Necks By this Point, And Truthfully, Was A Godsend)

But The Price Is Rather High, The Guy who worked at Sam Ash Music who got the Guitar from a Guy who walked in and traded in some old Gear,Kramer Focus 6000 Included, Mistakenly Thought it Made in Neptune New Jersey,U.S.A. Which is What the "Neckplate" says. When in truth they were only "Assembled" in New Jersey from Japanese Made ESP Parts! So Long Story Short their Attempting to sell it for $799.99 U.S.,

which is Like $300.00 Dollars Too Overpriced from what these "Focus Series" Kramer's Normally Sell For! I WAS Interested in Buying This Guitar and Bargained them Down to $550.00 U.S. Before Taxes to Give You a Heads Up If You Are Interested In A Very Rare And Very Excellent Kramer/ESP Classic! Take it From Me, You Will Thank Me Later if You Buy This Guitar!
 
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