Need help picking first electric guitar

aj421 · May 6, 2007

As the title says i need a starter electric guitar. I have never played guitar before. I have an acoustic but its boring, so i want something that is not mega expensive, looks good, and are good to play metal on.

So far i only have two in mind. I don't know if they are any good. My price limit is $350.

Dean MLX Electric Guitar

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Dea...itar?sku=512913

Dean V Electric Guitar with Matching Headstock

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Dea...tock?sku=511855

aj421 · May 6, 2007

mthrnite · May 6, 2007

Don't get a V, they're a bitch to play sitting down.
That's all I know.

[M]artin · May 6, 2007

I suggest picking up an affordable Fender Stratcaster and then spending the big bux on an upgrade after you've mastered the Strat.

WigWrm · May 6, 2007

ESP EX 260
ESP makes nice guitars. This is the lesser quality "Limited" branding, but it should sound nice. DO NOT START WITH A FLYING V!!! You'll regret it when wanting to play on your lap. You can straddle the middle part of the V onto your lap but then your necks at an angle and playing becomes a bit harder and the general feel is just strange. ESP is a good brand, the guitar itself should sound great with any kind of distortion/fuzz. Can't comment on how cleans on the guitar sound but you shouldn't be dissapointed.

http://www.music123.com/ESP-EX-260----Soli...r-i125803.music

Dirtie · May 6, 2007

Start off with something cheap - almost all brands have a 'budget' model which would be ideal to start learning on. Then you won't mind so much when the inevitable nicks and scratches come along

Then you can determine the sort of sound you're going for and how much you can spend and get a nicer guitar later on. I just don't really see any point in learning on something real expensive.

Kyuzumaki · May 6, 2007

you should really go and play a few guitars in a music shop to see which you like.

ESP has been said, westfield make some decent starter guitars I still play mine

but the pickups are not very high gain so pinch harmonics are not clear. Epiphone make a few decent ones but I have seen sone of those with really bad actions.

And the yamaha pacific's are always there not really all out metl but good for the price.

What amp are you going to use? that will have a large impact on the sounds you can make

Destructobot · May 6, 2007

For metal, you'll want a humbucker as the bridge pickup, and you'll probably want a mahogany body & neck with a rosewood fingerboard. If it has a whammy bar, make sure it's double locking or the guitar will go out of tune every time you use it. (We are talking about cheap instruments after all.)

Don't worry too much about how good the pickups are. You can swap pickups out for ones that match your desires, but if the body or the neck sucks, the guitar will always suck.

If you're looking for the super crunchy Metallica style tone (from back when they rocked), you'll want EMG pickups, or something similar.

I'm partial to Explorers myself.

Orc · May 6, 2007

QUOTE(WigWrm @ May 6 2007 said:
ESP EX 260
ESP makes nice guitars. This is the lesser quality "Limited" branding, but it should sound nice. DO NOT START WITH A FLYING V!!! You'll regret it when wanting to play on your lap. You can straddle the middle part of the V onto your lap but then your necks at an angle and playing becomes a bit harder and the general feel is just strange. ESP is a good brand, the guitar itself should sound great with any kind of distortion/fuzz. Can't comment on how cleans on the guitar sound but you shouldn't be dissapointed.

http://www.music123.com/ESP-EX-260----Soli...r-i125803.music

I second ESP, their "budget" brand "LTD" is very good (good materials and build) for the price. They have an "Explorer clone" as mentioned on the post I quoted. They even have Vs if you really want

...

Me? I love the Gibson SG and ESP Viper (looks like a modified SG

).
(My dream though is a Gretsch Duo Jet

)

Regiiko · May 6, 2007

Get a second hand one, I guess.

aj421 · May 6, 2007

Thanks for all the replies
Don't know if this helps i would be getting this amp http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Lin...fier?sku=482276

QUOTE said:
If you're looking for the super crunchy Metallica style tone (from back when they rocked), you'll want EMG pickups, or something similar.

That is exactly like i want to sound like i want to sound like the old metallica and megadeth. Looking for something good for thrash and death metal.

aj421 · May 6, 2007

is this a good guitar for thrash http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ESP...itar?sku=512020

Lukeage · May 6, 2007

I'll put it bluntly, no matter what guitar you get, it can only sound as good as the amp you put it through. Since the amp you're looking at is pretty low end (I do like Line 6 product however) you're best off just finding a guitar that feels nice to play.

Find a local shop that will let you sit down for however long with a bunch of guitars in your price range. Tell them to hook you up to an amp like yours, that way you don't end up feeling like you're missing something after playing through the $3,000 heads they normally demo guitars through. Play a few riffs you are familiar with and have and have a good idea about what sound you are after.

Just find something that feels and sounds right to you. Guitars are definitely a personal preference. A high price tag might be somewhat of an indication of a good guitar, but I've played quite a few mid-priced guitars that handle and sound better than their high priced counterparts.

aj421 · May 6, 2007

the thing is i don't know how to play guitar. so i guess i should get someone at the store to play it for me before i choose which one i want to buy. Also i cannot find any of the guitars i am looking into on my local guitar resellers web site http://www.daddys.com/. Ill guess ill have to go to the store to see if they have the guitars i am looking into.

Mehdi · May 6, 2007

dude if u dont know how to play the guitar start off with a spanish acoustic guitar dont spend more then 50 bucks....

aj421 · May 6, 2007

I have an acoustic. I just like the sound of an electric much more.

111111111 · May 6, 2007

a daisy rock.

It's the only guitar you can play without looking like a 13yr old boy.

If you are in a thrash/punk/hardcore band they are an excellent image to give off too. ;p

aj421 · May 6, 2007

QUOTE(111111111 @ May 6 2007 said:
a daisy rock.

It's the only guitar you can play without looking like a 13yr old boy.

If you are in a thrash/punk/hardcore band they are an excellent image to give off too.Â ;p

Lol i might get the heart shaped one

jk

Veho · May 6, 2007

Get this one:

It's actually a Fender, you know. So you can't say I'm reccomending some piece of crap here

Spudnik123 · May 7, 2007

I would personally recomend something from Ibanez. I have an Ibanez AF-86 ( for jazz) and it is solidly built. Ibanez solidbodies are built very well too. They sound great. In my opinion epiphones are built alot more cheaply than Ibanez'z even thought they cost about the same.

Although if you could find an Epiphone Les Paul ( epiphone makes scaled down versions of Gibson's) you would be doing alright too.

Need help picking first electric guitar

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