I've been playing acoustic guitar for about a year and i've finally decided to take the plunge and buy an electric guitar. I was hoping someone here might be able to help me. I'm looking for something thats very versatile, but in particular is well suited for playing hard rock or metal. I would really like a tremolo bar and 24-frets would be nice too. I've been looking at a couple Ibanez guitars but I'm keeping an open mind. My budget limit is somewhere around $400 dollars. Anyone have any ideas?
For 400 bucks, nothing good. Maybe a decent used guitar, or a kid's toy, but nothing extremely nice for that little money.
Ibanez would be a good choice for hard rock, cause it's business like that. A Les Paul copy would also bring cred and some decent sound. Don't listen to Slith, you've got a lot of guitars out there at that price point which will sound good and make you feel like the champ you are.
Ibanez is definately the way to go for hard rock and metal for about $400. You could probably get a really nice RG with a Floyd Rose for about $200-$250 on eBay.
man.. i know a shit load about guitars.. what you dont want is - Epiphone(cheap versions of les pauls), BC Rich(just pure crap), Squier(rip off fenders) and ibanez..they look good but to get a really good one your looking at spending over a grand.. i bought one for 600 and it was shit(pickups fell out after a year).. i dunno if you have a guitar center around your area but thats the place to go.. and from your price range and the tone you want i think a fender would fit you perfectly.. stratocaster telecaster the telecaster may be ugly(atleast thru my eyes) but its tone and feel are incredible.. worth every penny those are great all around guitars but my personal metal choice would be paul reed smith prs guitars are incredible.. this is a good buy too.. but this is a cheap version of a good guitar.. still a great company also your gonna need a good amp.. check out marshall and mesa boogie
Don't ever, ever get a cheap Fender. They're made in the same shitty plant as Squier, they just get the actual Fender name. I wouldn't even recommend a good Fender for metal, at least not without a decent new set of pickups. PRS are very good though. I bought a Gibson Hawk for $250. Best fucking purchase ever.
PRS are good if you can afford them. he's right and you should avoid these guitars. People that say you can't get a good guitar for 400 bucks are wrong, you just have to know how to haggle at Guitar Center and spend your money wisely. I would recommend a genuine mexi, or american Fender Strat or any of the various models of Schecter. Schecters, I read were designed to be a cheaper alternative to a PRS. After you buy your guitar, you will want to call around to the guitar shops in your area and find out who does set ups (and restringing), tell them you want the lowest action (makes it easier to play) and smaller guage strings (i like 9-42 slinky hybrids) if you want to play solo stuff. If you're a rhythm guitarist or just like a beefy tone then go with some medium-light or medium strings and most likely don't worry about the action. Tips when buying a guitar: -DON'T buy a guitar online -Be picky about the guitar you want, try them ALL no matter what they look like (except flying V's, flying V's are just gay). If there's no guitar that feels perfect to you, wait a couple weeks and go back or find a different guitar store -Make sure there's nothing wrong with the guitar, no scratches (unless it's marked down for damage), no fret buzz, ect... -When you're testing out guitars don't use a high quality modeling amp, basically, use an amp with not a lot of knobs as to get the true sound of the guitar. A good guitar will sound good on any amp. -A good guitar will also have a nice and long sustain and sound without any amplification, this is very important when choosing a guitar -You gotta haggle especially when a guitar is priced more than what you have. Tell the sales rep you're willing to pay "x" (x = about 75% of sticker) in cash right now and that's all the money you have. If he says he can't, then go back some other day and tell him you got some more money and try 80%. -Don't forget to ask them to throw in a free gig bag. here's some guitars I recommend to start with http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...ndard-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=517894 //a really good guitar and value, this is probably your best bet. strats are good for rock as well as metal http://www.guitarcenter.com/Schecter-C-1-Plus-Electric-Guitar-513010-i1147937.gc //i've played a couple c-1s and some are really nice and some I just don't like http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-Standard-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar-103630810-i1148847.gc //your standard guitar right here, a great guitar especially for a first electic http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-...er-Special-Electric-Guitar-513758-i1276276.gc //looks really nice http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-American-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar-510590-i1146484.gc //you can find these a bit cheaper on craigslist http://www.guitarcenter.com/Schecter-Omen-6-Electric-Guitar-101262830-i1149925.gc //very nice guitar with a set up http://www.guitarcenter.com/Jackson-DKMGT-Dinky-Electric-Guitar-512241-i1147632.gc //good metal and solo guitar 24 fret isn't that great unless you do hardcore soloing, even then it's not necessary. you could say the same thing about a whammy bar...
nah schecters are crap.. i had one of those too.. i only had it for like a year before i sold it its like if your willing to spend 400 then you should just put in like 100 more for longevity.. my buddy got a Gibson SG for around 500 and its pretty cool.. i was giggin with it for awhile but then i got sick of guitars(drums ftw) THE SG.. looking like a devil Hopefully you have a Guitar Center near you or else you might need to order online.. this one music shop near my house sells squier strats circa 95 for 500.. i remember i seen some dude and his kid checking them out and i pulled him aside and told him to go to GC.. i bet that kids gonna be the next hendrix one day haha
my Omen 6 was the best 250 bucks I ever spent + 25 for the set up. Plays as good if not better than my friends standard strat, you lose some tone but the action is very smooth. SG's are nice.
So no to ibanez? Anyone else have a bad experience with one? The reason i wanted 24 frets is basically because John Petrucci is my hero and half of his solos practically require a longer fingerboard. I've heard mixed things about Fenders. I don't think i want to get a gibson. I borrowed my friends sg last year for a couple weeks and it just didn't fit me. Plus, the thing weighed a ton.
ESP is a good company for metal, but it's TOTALLY out of your price range ($700+). Ibanez seems to be good. I own an acoustic from Ibanez and it rocks. Herman Li of DragonForce and uses an S Prestige as well as Ravi Bhadriraju from JobForACowboy and they sound nice. But I would go to a local guitar shop and test out as many guitars as possible like rat said.
lol petruxi. Yes to ibanez if you can afford this http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez-JEM7V-Steve-Vai-Signature-Electric-Guitar-103042180-i1150755.gc generally, lower end ibanez models suck. It's all about personal preference as far as feel though.
also when you get an electric guitar, don't forget to turn on the distortion and learn how to do a pinch harmonic
The RG series is really good, even the lower end models. Here is a really nice one for $450. There are probably several more one there too.
lol pinch harmonics.. haha yeah i bet hes been practicing that alot on his acoustics.. so goto guitar center plug in the guitar you want to a 12 wat crate amp and see if you like it that way.. rat was right about the big marshall amps.. they will make anything sound good thats wierd you thought the SG was heavy tho cause my buddies was super light.. and i remember the ibanez being heavy.. but most of these new guitars are so much lighter then they were 10 years ago(wieght doesnt matter if you get a good strap too).. but if your really set on an ibanez ark is rite about the RG's.. I really like the one dude from system of a down used.. but be careful with those pickups they will fuck up easily.. i remember my friend mark traded his ibanez for two tacos because he didnt want to replace the pickups.. haha
I only know that with guitars, the really good ones are a huge leap of cash up from the mediocre ones. I'm actually a drummer.
