Topic: Electric Guitar

[Canuck]

Ive had my acoustic for a year and a half, and recently felt the urge to get an electric.

Im looking for a good beginnerish electric.  Ive been real happy with my Seagull M6 Gloss, so Im hoping I can get an electric that I will be happy with.  Ill also need to pick up an amp.

I dont want to spend too much, but at the same time I would like to get some quality with what I buy, I would say $300-$400 would be my price range for the guitar, I dont even know how much amps go for, so I wont set a range for that..

Can someone suggest some guitars I can take a look at and some amps.  What things should I be looking for in an electric guitar?

Thanks!!!

[hans]

Electrics are funny things, well maybe I should extend that to guitars in general. I really like seagull guitars and the same thing holds true when purchasing an electric. There are the safe bets like Fender and Gibson but knock off can be really good in the electric selection. The most important things to look for are a straight neck (something that's playable), electronics, and most importantly tuning machines.
I haven't played the SE PRS's but I love the regular ones. I saw the local guitar shop had one when I was in there the other day. I'll see if I can swing by over the weekend and play one to give my opinion but they seem like a pretty good deal for the money. I doubt PRS is going to put their name on something subpar.

For amps. I bought a cheap Vox amp that I like reasonably well. You really don't need anything much bigger than a 30 watt amp.

As a matter of disclosure. I have four electrics. A Jackson/Charvel mutt guitar, an american std tele, a peavey patriot (customized) and recently a Washburn bt-2 which my brother is going to mangle into something "cool". All were bought used and they all were purchased for under $500/ea (the peavey and washburn about $150/ea).

[Perspective]

You got an american standard telecaster for under $500? thats a pretty slick deal, I'd love me one of those.

My electric is an Ibanez JS100 (Satriani signature, the "cheap" one). i really like it, but factory pressed guitars can be a coin toss. 8/10 will be exactly what they're supposed to be, 1/10 will be a piece of shit for an unkown reason, and 1/10 will be the greatest thing you've ever picked up. Just make sure you play it before you buy (don't order online). The first time I played a satriani sig it wasn't anything special, but when I picked up the one that I bought it just felt so much better.

[hans]

$450 bucks. But that was used about 10 years ago. (damn I'm getting old)

When I was playing electric more I really wanted one of the JS1000's I thought those were so cool. Or one of the coolest guitars I played back then was a Wolfgang (the expensive version) with birdseye maple neck. I love birdseye necks.

I was really close recently to picking up a Swamp Ash Special PRS but I ended up buying my Goodall instead. I just don't play electric that much so I've been out of touch but I still love to play a good PRS or Gibson when I'm in the stores.

My basic advice for buying guitars is this:
Play every guitar you can get your hands on (even the ultra expensive ones). When you find one that feels right and sounds right buy that one. Don't worry if it's a little more than you were looking to spend. Nice guitars are investments. They get better with age and can provide a lifetime of enjoyment.

[KnuckleBuckett]

That advice is exactly what I give to people looking for any good audio gear!

[jkim]

Heyy...wanna buy a used Fender Strat (Mexican)?

[A Bit of Fruit]

For a mere AU$40 I procured an 'Abilene' (non-mexican) strat which i have only played bass riffs on cause i never bothered learning the guitar

[Steve]

I just bought my Epiphone SG G310 not that long ago. Its a step up from my old ibanez, im very happy with it. Great sounding guitar, and Gibson is imo the berst guitar company out there.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-G310-SG-Electric-Guitar?sku=518280