Guitars

Anyone here play the guitar? (I know voodoochyl does, lol) I was looking at this one, any tips would help.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-60th-Anniversary-Commemorative-Standard-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=517894

It has an alder body which is pretty common, but I think ash/swamp ash is a better wood. Alder is fine, though. Also the Texas Special pickups are far superior to the Tex Mex (Stevie Ray vs. Jimmy Vaughn...). A maple fretboard is my preference other than mahagony...nice feel. The tremolo is as basic as it comes, but with a little modification it should stay in tune pretty well. I'd rather have a stock Fender trem than a Floyd Rose trem any day of the week. I hope you are going to go to the store and buy it. Each guitar is different, and as corny as it sounds, has its own personality and feel. I would go to Guitar Center and start pulling them off the wall and see which one fits best. What kind of amp are you playing through? I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deville (4-10's), but modified a bit by my amp tech. If you go to the store, make sure to plug into something that is similar to what you have at home, so it doesn't sound totally different when you bring the guitar home. I'd say this is a decent guitar especially for the price, but make sure you know exactly what you want before you buy so you get the best one for you. I bought my first Fender about 12 years ago and swore I would never own anything else. Great guitar choice. A Strat can do ANYTHING! I've since started having guitars built as I've gotten very picky about what I want in a guitar, but they still are made of all Fender liscensed parts (neck and body). Wait till I post pics of the one that is being made for me right now!!! Anyway, good luck and if you had any questions, pm me. I love talking about guitars!!!

It's a good guitar, but how much are you willing to spend? I've been playing guitar for 12 yrs now and I've owned 2 American strats. If you have your heart set on a Strat, American made is worth the money. They were both great guitars. If I had it to do over again I woulda saved my $$$ and gotten a G&L. They are made from better wood and, in my opinion, come with better finishes. Check out eBay for a used G&L. You may be able to find one in your price range, but it might have some character to it (by "character" I mean scuffs and scratches).
I sold all my electrics, and now I just play acoustic. I have a Seagull acoustic/electric, and it is THE BEST sounding acoustic under $1000.

Leo Fender, founder of Fender guitars, sold the rights to his name and later founded G&L guitars. Either way, you are beneficiary of an absolute genious!

The key to buying a guitar is deciding what style of guitar you like. Typical styles are Strat, Telecaster, Les Paul, SG, Explorer, and the Flying V, which are Fender and Gibson based. From there other manufacturers have taken their own take on these styles. Once you decide on the style of guitar, you then have to think about the woods. Some woods have a brighter tone while others are darker. The wood on the neck also plays a big role because each wood has it's own feel. Then come the electronics. Active vs. passive pickups, piezo bridge saddles, active controls vs. passive controls, and a bunch of different configurations. Or if you want a completely versatile guitar you can check out the guitar made by Line 6 which emulates all of the guitar classics and pickup selections.

I own 4 guitars: 2 LTD Vipers (6 and 7 string) which are based on the Gibson SG, a Music Man Axis, and a Carvin DC727 (7 string). The LTD's have become my main guitars mainly because I love the Viper body.

sorry guy....can't help much with that.. i play a jackson dxmg with 2 emg 81's through a crate gt 1200h half stack through an array of pedals. mostly metallica. i know EVERYONE knows how to play SOME metallica...i just like the REAL s#!t!!! kill 'em all, lightening, and puppetz.

When George Fullerton joined forces with Leo Fender to make G&L it was like an epiphany. Leo was still making the same great guitars (some even better), but, because of the Fender namesake, G&L didn't get into the mainstream too much.
Oh man what I would give to get my hands on an ASAT!!

Thanks for the replies... I was looking for kind of a Mike Mccready sound. Like on "Evenflow", looked up the guitar that was used and it was a Fender American Strat. I'm just starting out with guitars so I'm no genius. lol...

quote:

ORIGINAL: mauldenm

...i just like the REAL s#!t!!! kill 'em all, lightening, and puppetz.

+1

Get the Strat...it's a great guitar to start on and you can always upgrade later. I am not possitive, but I think Mccready plays through Marshall stacks (not my favorite), but I think he is trying to emulate my man, Jimi. Get a tube screamer (Ibanez), and a rotovibe (Dunlop?) and rock and roll! Also, see if you can find a Fat Strat or California Fat Strat because they have the Texas Specials in them...AWESOME pickup!

When I had my American, I installed a Duncan HotRails humbucker in bridge position, a DiMarzio Blue Velvet in middle, and a Duncan Vintage Strat single coil in the neck. Man, did she sing!
If you are electronically inclined, you can get a cheaper guitar and buy pickups off eBay.
In my opinion, the way to go with an amp is a Mesa Triple Rectifier!!! Pure tube-screaming power! If you like that vintage tone (and I do) a tube amp is THE ONLY WAY TO GO!

G&L hey voodoochyl! i had a G&L LB-100 bass that was in MINT condition and i didnt know ANYTHING about that damn thing! i recently sold it for like 450 bucks.. did i get burned or what?

AIR GUITAR

quote:

ORIGINAL: spdrmns

G&L hey voodoochyl! i had a G&L LB-100 bass that was in MINT condition and i didnt know ANYTHING about that damn thing! i recently sold it for like 450 bucks.. did i get burned or what?

I think a brand spanking new one lists at about $1200 and I saw the guy was selling it for $995. I also found a used one selling with shipping for about $550. I guess it depends how old it was, but it is hard to sell guitars for decent money. I think if it was a few years old you could have done better...but then you could have done a whole lot worse!

Nice guitar, but I don't think it's US made. For a lot of musicians, that makes *all* the difference.

I've noticed the knock-offs don't hold their intonation as well, and I wouldn't buy a japan/mexico Strat or Tele myself. But my experience is limited and I'm certainly not a pro. The extra $ it will cost you to buy the US made version may or may not be worth it to you.

You can always put the extra you save $ into a mesa/boogie amp, crank up the gain until the tubes are ready to blow, and forget about the so-so harmonics ;)

That guitar is an American made Strat according to Musicians Friend. One of the best guitars I ever had was a Mexican made Squire II Strat. It played great and sounded awesome through this little piece of crap Peavey Backstage Plus amp. I wouldn't count on them everytime, but that's why you should play the guitars first because, like Forrest Gump's mama says,"You never know what you're gonna get".

doesnt matter where it is made-its about the woods used to make it-it is all preference!!
imo,try before you buy!!!
dont rule out a telecaster last i had seen better bang for the buck!!
atleast on american made models!!

Sorry I missed that it was US made. I'm not saying all US guitars are great and all foreign are bad, just that a lot of people feel that way and my limited experience corroborates that.

"Try before you buy" is the best advice you can get. Play the heck out of it, check the intonation before and after. Check the sustain. Feel the action, inspect the frets, listen to the noise level when you aren't playing, and check all the hardware. No two instruments are exactly the same, so if you have an issue with the one you are playing, try another one.

I've had strats, teles, and a les paul. I love the Telecaster and if it didn't exist, I'd own a strat. But I've had a hankering for a Rick 360 in fire glo for a long time now... hmmm. Christmas is just around the corner too!

If you are going for the McCready sound then get the strat. I saw Pearl Jam when they were out in LA a month or so back and he was playing either a Strat or a Les Paul. It also looked like he was playing through Marshall and Fender amps. And can't forget the good ol Rotovibe.

quote:

ORIGINAL: matt_m427

Thanks for the replies... I was looking for kind of a Mike Mccready sound. Like on "Evenflow", looked up the guitar that was used and it was a Fender American Strat. I'm just starting out with guitars so I'm no genius. lol...

Here is a link to Clapton's "Blackie" replica that Fender Custom Shop is puting out next week. Anyone got $20,000? Yup... 20 grand. The sad thing is it is made to LOOK exactly like the beat up old girl, but it won't sound ANYTHING like her because of the newness of the wood. I would rather spend that to buy an ORIGINAL Strat not something that looks like an original Strat...or a couple of new RR's.

Check out www.guitargeek.com to get an idea of how your guitar hero has their rig set up. I'm sure it's not 100% accurrate but it gives you a good idea.

Patas, that is the most ass-kicking information I have ever come across since I discovered how to have sex with someone other than myself!!!

I just got a guitar and am wanting to teach myself...any suggestions on learning material??

I would encourage you to take lessons. Teaching yourself is hard unless you have amazing discipline, like having a home gym. At first it is exciting, but then you slow down. Lessons allow you solid info to work on every week and trackable progress.