I need a guitar

[gaara]

I want a guitar to call my own, I've been playing bass for about three years now and have been experimenting with guitar for about a year and a half, and now I want to move from experimenting to actually playing.

I've looked into guitars a little bit recently and have asked around with people I know, but want as many different opinions as possible as I don't wanna screw up this decision. I've been playing using a Fender Squier Jazz Bass for all three years now and for the most part my music is influenced by:

Alexisonfire
Sublime
Rise Against
Protest the Hero
Rage Against the Machine
Thrice
Suicide Machines
Iron Maiden
AFI
Operation Ivy
Red Hot Chilli Peppers
NOFX

Mainly looking on a guitar, however I'll also probably be looking for a decent sized amp for a replacement and probably also a fairly decent pedal in the near future so shoot out any ideas. I know all of the basic chords and am looking for a fairly high quality guitar, but not anything TOO expensive unfortunetely (eg sub thousands, probably even as low as high $700s+)

 

[ninjamonkey]

Hello,
I've played guitar for a solid three years and have recently switched over to bass. For guitars... The Best advice I can give you is to go down to your local sam ash / guitar center/ local shop and try out as many guitars as you can. However, here are a few guitars that I prefer to play and you might want to look into:

Fender Mexican Telecaster - If you play through all the mex's a store has you can normally find a really good one. However beware, there are some **** mex tele's, so make sure you play these before buying.

Fender American Telecaster - If you want to spend the money, this is a very nice axe to play and would seem to fit into your playing styles.

Ibanez Sz520 - The axe that I currently play. Its geared more towards metal and heavier licks, but is a very well built instrument. The neck is awesome on this beast and plays like a dream.

Ibanez RG Series - These have thinner necks than the sz and are geared even more towards metal and shredding.. judging from your influences, this might not be the axe for you, but worth trying out.

Epiphone Les Paul (flame.. quilt.. std) - I myself hate les pauls, I feel their necks are too thick and feel like baseball bats But many people like these, so once again might as well give one a try.



AS for amps - stay away from the marshal mg series.. they seem like a good deal but are bleh...

Pedal - You cant go wrong with the boss distortion pedal (the orange one). If you want a heavier sound, i recommend the boss metal zone ii.

 

[PP Mguire]

Dont get a Tele at all. THose are really for Country and Bluegrass unless you wanna be like John5 lol. Id say Ibanez RG series, Jackson, Fender Strat, Gibson SG, and so on. For amps look at Peaveys, or Crate cause they sell some nice amps for cheap prices. For pedals anything Boss. I love Boss pedals cause they are so well put together.

 

[molsen]

teles are not just for country and bluegrass. you every played heavy distortion on the neck pickup of one? it's magic!!! have you ever experimented with one alot? don't be too narrow-minded, they're amazing guitars, and their unique tone is a breath of fresh air in a world of les pauls and strats. personally, i prefer a tele over a standard strat for most rock.

check these guys out.... http://www.rondomusic.net/electricguitar.html

they sell copies of name-brand guitars. they are good quality guitars but just need hardware upgrades and a pro-setup. if you're down for a small project and getting a guitar that you can customize to your exact needs at a fraction of the price of others, check them out.

reviews: http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/SX/ and http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/Agile/

my best friend got the tele and upgraded the pots and the bridge, and it plays just as well as the american tele his dad has, but for WAAAAAAYYYY less

 

[ninjamonkey]

Tele's can definatly be used for more than country and bluegrass, that single coil pickup has a punchy sound when put on disortion. He mentioned NoFX as one of his major influences... guess what el hefe plays... bingo a telecaster.. and NOFX is far from country. As what Molsen said, I too prefer telecasters over the strat.

 

[gaara]

yeah I've been recommended pretty well nothing but strats since I first started asking around and I've played them and they are indeed nice...but EH, nearly every band I see playing almost always has a guitarist with a strat and I would like to seperate myself somewhat especially considering most of my friends have strats

I think I might get a tele as it seems more geared for my style yet after a bit of looking into it leaves room open for other styles and I try not to limit myself to only a few styles when playing or I get bored very quickly...plus it seems to slide into my pricerange a bit better even though yes I realize the strat is cheaper

But yes I'm mostly driven around indie/hardcore/punk/ska with a tad bit of metal tossed into the mix and occasionally I'll nab some ideas from blues which I suppose is similar to ska to an extent...

 

[molsen]

i don't think you'll regret owning a tele. when i bought my strat, i thought the same thing you do ...that everyone and their brother plays one. that's why i got the strat HH (dual humbuckers). but my next guit. is definitely going to be a tele. should be yours

 

[Nubius]

For different brands I'd suggest the following:

ESP
Schecter
Dean
Ibanez

or something along those lines. Schecter might be more up your alley considering the music you want to play. ESP wouldn't be a bad decision either IMO.

 

[PP Mguire]

One of my best friend has one w/ a Hot Rails in the neck. For those of you who dont know what that is its a Duncan humbucker in a single coil slot. The thing plays alright yes, but not good much anything else than country cause of that **** twang it has on it. Then agian if you where paying any bit of attention i said IF you wanted to be like JOHN5 (who used to be the lead guitarist of Marylin Manson??) then you could use it. I MYSELF dont prefer one and would rather have a strat. Its my opinion, and i stated it. Also, i mentioned off some other guitar brands as well that would suit his needs and style.

 

[TonCrafter]

My money usually goes to Schecter. Awsome bang for the buck.