Freyr
August 8th, 2005, 10:44 AM
Ok, so a lot of people on here post about "What guitar should I buy with x amount of money, I play this style"
So I figured I'd write my knowledge down and add onto it if anyone has any other suggestions.
Part One: Style
"I play X style of music, what guitar should I get?"
Well, this cannot be solved so easily. As buying a guitar should be all about feel. But, that being said, not too many jazz players are going to play a B.C. Rich Warlock. (Actually, no-one should play a BC Rich, but that's besides the point)
Generally, if you're into playing fast you want something with a thin neck that gives you comfortable access to the upper frets. A lot of Metal players play Ibanez's, Jackson’s or ESP's because of the Thin-U or "Wizard" style necks.
Also, look into the pickups/woods on the guitar. Humbuckers have a nice fat tone while single-coils provide a raw bright tone. Maple guitars are bright and Mahogany guitars are dark in tone.
Passive pickups play off of the tone woods in your guitar and will react different to each guitar you try, while active pickups have a preamp in them and will sound the same in each guitar.
Part Two: Money Factor
"I have X amount of dollars, what should I buy?"
Well, there will always be a better guitar. But, you should go and play every guitar you can get your hands on, don't even look at the price. Put aside 4-5 guitars that you feel play/sound the best and then (because they're probably way out of your price range if you're asking this question) take note of what kinds of guitars they are. The woods used, the construction and whatever else.
Generally, Ibanez makes great guitars for the price range. But if you fancy something like a Jackson (Shape Wise) you could always check out a company like Ran who makes the same deal, only cheaper for the amount of quality you're getting. Same with Agile, they make great Les Paul guitars for less money then the Gibson’s.
ESPs are also wise to check out in the price range, they generally come with high end parts and great construction.
Part Three: Brand names
"I heard Gibson’s where the best ever! Should I get one?!"
No. Don't ever buy according to brand name. It's a waste of money. While it is true that these companies get to be as big as they are for having great quality in the first place, you usually pay big for it. You can get a totally custom guitar for $5000... Same price as some of the Gibson Artist series. (I'm using Canadian Prices here, might be off.)
Another thing, is that someone will always suggest the same guitar for someone new starting out on guitar. Dare to be different. If you see that guitar over on the shelf that looks amazing, the price is good, but you've never heard of it before (What is it, a Godin? :P) check it out, if it plays great... well, great! It it sounds great, well hell yeah!
But, on the other hand, brandname guitars will hold their value if you ever decide to resell them. In fact, if you keep the guitar in mint condition you could even gain money back (look at the 1959 Les Pauls for example)
Part Four: Construction
The only thing I can say is find out what kind of necks/woods you like. It's all personally taste. Les Pauls have Set Neck, Most high-end guitars have Neck-Though. Most low end guitars have bolt-on. Not always true, but find out what you like.
Part Five: Actually Testing the Guitars
Ok, so this is really the only part that counts.
First of all, when you take the guitar off the shelf, don't plug it in. In fact, tap on it. With your knuckles. Make sure the wood is consistent all the way though. Check for density. Flip it over and run your hand down the back of the neck and feel for sharp edges from the fret wire.
Still don't plug in. Sit down and play some acoustic work with it. Check to see how loud the guitar is not plugged in. Check natural harmonics up and down the neck. The tone of a guitar not plugged in will be roughly the same as the tone of a guitar with passive pickups. If the guitar sounds bad unplugged... then it probably won't sound good plugged in.
So plug into an amp on clean setting, dial in a tone. Play some clean licks (if you're buying a guitar for a first time bring a friend who can play for you). If you like what you're hearing that's great... but try the other pickups first. Then try the volume knob, how responsive is it? Try the tone knob too.
Now click over to distortion. Now, depending on the amp you're using (try to use something similar to your set up) see how well the notes resonate while picking though chords. Go though the harmonics again. Make sure the intonation is correct. If the guitar has a whammy bar now is the time to abuse it! Pull some Dimebag licks on it and then check to see if the guitar is still in tune. You should also see how easy it is to get the pickups to break up and distort/go into overdrive by playing heavy and at high volumes. You don't want pickups that will feedback like crazy when you're playing on high distortion levels.
Play softly and lightly and see how responsive the pickups are. Play really heavy and see if you knock it out of tune. You don't want a guitar that won't hold it's tunings. Too much work.
---
Revision 1, Thanks to TomN and BluesSG for pointing out my mistakes.
__________________
To all the guitarists who have faced troubles, and to all the troubled guitarists... and to all the fallen heros. Hang in there, and rest in peace.
So I figured I'd write my knowledge down and add onto it if anyone has any other suggestions.
Part One: Style
"I play X style of music, what guitar should I get?"
Well, this cannot be solved so easily. As buying a guitar should be all about feel. But, that being said, not too many jazz players are going to play a B.C. Rich Warlock. (Actually, no-one should play a BC Rich, but that's besides the point)
Generally, if you're into playing fast you want something with a thin neck that gives you comfortable access to the upper frets. A lot of Metal players play Ibanez's, Jackson’s or ESP's because of the Thin-U or "Wizard" style necks.
Also, look into the pickups/woods on the guitar. Humbuckers have a nice fat tone while single-coils provide a raw bright tone. Maple guitars are bright and Mahogany guitars are dark in tone.
Passive pickups play off of the tone woods in your guitar and will react different to each guitar you try, while active pickups have a preamp in them and will sound the same in each guitar.
Part Two: Money Factor
"I have X amount of dollars, what should I buy?"
Well, there will always be a better guitar. But, you should go and play every guitar you can get your hands on, don't even look at the price. Put aside 4-5 guitars that you feel play/sound the best and then (because they're probably way out of your price range if you're asking this question) take note of what kinds of guitars they are. The woods used, the construction and whatever else.
Generally, Ibanez makes great guitars for the price range. But if you fancy something like a Jackson (Shape Wise) you could always check out a company like Ran who makes the same deal, only cheaper for the amount of quality you're getting. Same with Agile, they make great Les Paul guitars for less money then the Gibson’s.
ESPs are also wise to check out in the price range, they generally come with high end parts and great construction.
Part Three: Brand names
"I heard Gibson’s where the best ever! Should I get one?!"
No. Don't ever buy according to brand name. It's a waste of money. While it is true that these companies get to be as big as they are for having great quality in the first place, you usually pay big for it. You can get a totally custom guitar for $5000... Same price as some of the Gibson Artist series. (I'm using Canadian Prices here, might be off.)
Another thing, is that someone will always suggest the same guitar for someone new starting out on guitar. Dare to be different. If you see that guitar over on the shelf that looks amazing, the price is good, but you've never heard of it before (What is it, a Godin? :P) check it out, if it plays great... well, great! It it sounds great, well hell yeah!
But, on the other hand, brandname guitars will hold their value if you ever decide to resell them. In fact, if you keep the guitar in mint condition you could even gain money back (look at the 1959 Les Pauls for example)
Part Four: Construction
The only thing I can say is find out what kind of necks/woods you like. It's all personally taste. Les Pauls have Set Neck, Most high-end guitars have Neck-Though. Most low end guitars have bolt-on. Not always true, but find out what you like.
Part Five: Actually Testing the Guitars
Ok, so this is really the only part that counts.
First of all, when you take the guitar off the shelf, don't plug it in. In fact, tap on it. With your knuckles. Make sure the wood is consistent all the way though. Check for density. Flip it over and run your hand down the back of the neck and feel for sharp edges from the fret wire.
Still don't plug in. Sit down and play some acoustic work with it. Check to see how loud the guitar is not plugged in. Check natural harmonics up and down the neck. The tone of a guitar not plugged in will be roughly the same as the tone of a guitar with passive pickups. If the guitar sounds bad unplugged... then it probably won't sound good plugged in.
So plug into an amp on clean setting, dial in a tone. Play some clean licks (if you're buying a guitar for a first time bring a friend who can play for you). If you like what you're hearing that's great... but try the other pickups first. Then try the volume knob, how responsive is it? Try the tone knob too.
Now click over to distortion. Now, depending on the amp you're using (try to use something similar to your set up) see how well the notes resonate while picking though chords. Go though the harmonics again. Make sure the intonation is correct. If the guitar has a whammy bar now is the time to abuse it! Pull some Dimebag licks on it and then check to see if the guitar is still in tune. You should also see how easy it is to get the pickups to break up and distort/go into overdrive by playing heavy and at high volumes. You don't want pickups that will feedback like crazy when you're playing on high distortion levels.
Play softly and lightly and see how responsive the pickups are. Play really heavy and see if you knock it out of tune. You don't want a guitar that won't hold it's tunings. Too much work.
---
Revision 1, Thanks to TomN and BluesSG for pointing out my mistakes.
__________________
To all the guitarists who have faced troubles, and to all the troubled guitarists... and to all the fallen heros. Hang in there, and rest in peace.