Electric Guitar

[Torex]

Well, I'm gonna start electric guitar lessons soon, and I'm wondering what would be a good guitar/amp/setup for a beginner. Right now, I'm planning on getting this, but I've read the reviews, and I'm wondering if there might be a better amp to buy, in which case I'd just buy the guitar and the amp separately. Also, if there's a better beginner's guitar, something that would produce more of a '60s/'70s classic rock sound, that's still relatively low on price.

[SlappyMcGee]

A Roland Cube amp has a lot of settings to fiddle around with and great sound for a small afforadable amp. As far as starters go, a 30watt Roland will get you a long way.

Your first electric guitar shouldn't be anything fancy. Get something cheap. Listen to things with both humbucker and single-coil pickups, and choose the one you think sounds best, and then shop in that market. If you're going to get something high-end, I recommend and Ibanez as a starter brand.

EDIT: I didn't look at the guitar you linked to until now. Let me try and caution against that model; Epiphones, while inexpensive, are prone to some major breakage. Furthermore, the SG has a very limited sound. I wouldn't recommend that at all.

[T3chno]

I got myself a Washburn as a beginning guitar. I've been using it for 2 years now, and it sounds okay. The hardware itself is pretty cheap, though. You should get a Strat.

[Torex]

I got myself a Washburn as a beginning guitar. I've been using it for 2 years now, and it sounds okay. The hardware itself is pretty cheap, though. You should get a Strat.

Well, when I first began looking at guitars, I compared the sound I would be getting with a Fender and a Gibson. Gibsons seems to be more what I'd be looking for, so no Strat.

A Roland Cube amp has a lot of settings to fiddle around with and great sound for a small afforadable amp. As far as starters go, a 30watt Roland will get you a long way.

Your first electric guitar shouldn't be anything fancy. Get something cheap. Listen to things with both humbucker and single-coil pickups, and choose the one you think sounds best, and then shop in that market. If you're going to get something high-end, I recommend and Ibanez as a starter brand.

EDIT: I didn't look at the guitar you linked to until now. Let me try and caution against that model; Epiphones, while inexpensive, are prone to some major breakage. Furthermore, the SG has a very limited sound. I wouldn't recommend that at all.

Well, I tried the guitar out today. It seems to be the sound I'm looking for. Besides, it's a beginner guitar. I'm not gonna try and find a great, versatile guitar worth $500 just to start with. And as far as breakage goes, what do you mean? Most of the reviews just warned about the input jack coming loose after a while.

[SlappyMcGee]

Every Epiphone I've owned has lost it's volume and tone knobs in less than a year. Furthermore, I've seen some neck-bending, and my bridge fell off once. I'm just generally displeased with them.

But, if you liked the guitar, go with it. It has humbucker pickups, which is what Gibson is traditionally known for, ala Les Paul.


Humbuckers are basically two pickups next to eachother that both interpret the sound together. They have longer sustain and give a more bluesy deep sound. I like them a lot more, but with single-coils you can hit higher ranges sometimes, so the preference for strats tends to lead to soloists and people who really want to wail.

Anyways, it's not a bad choice for a first guitar, and I support it.

But keep the amp I mentioned in mind. I paid 120$ for mine brand new, and it is still in perfect condition.

[Torex]

Anyways, it's not a bad choice for a first guitar, and I support it.

Well, I was just looking to see if it was a good starter guitar and if there's anything better. That's good to hear.

But keep the amp I mentioned in mind. I paid 120$ for mine brand new, and it is still in perfect condition.

How long have you had that amp?

[SlappyMcGee]

6 years in November.

[Borealis]

You want to note the neck on that thing - SG's are somewhat notorious for having uncomfortable neck profiles. The best profile to start on would be a D-shape, somewhat thinner than usual but not too thin, perhaps something like a Ibanez SA series.

Amp-wise I can't really help. I've never been in the market for solid state. My first amp was a 70's Fender Pro Twin Reverb, which had been modded with an effects loop. Now I have an Orange Thunderverb and a Mesa/Boogie Lonestar, both of which are over $1000 so I couldn't really help you out on that line.

While I'm here I might as well post some of my setups.

PRS Custom 24 (neck (rhythm) p/up) -> TS808 Tubescreamer -> Fender Fuzz/Wah -> Mesa Lonestar (for a lovely warm overdriven lead sound, somewhat similar to Santana)
Ibanez RG (bridge, Seymour Duncan Tone Zone) -> Boss MT-1 Metal Zone -> Orange Thunderverb (my standard metal sound)
PRS Custom 24 (neck p/up) -> (split path) Boss CE2 Chorus -> Boss TR-1 Tremolo / Boss TR-1 Tremolo -> Mesa Lonestar

That last one needs a little bit of explaining. I have two Tremolo pedals, wired in parallel going to the 2 inputs on the lonestar - this allows me to have a sweeping stereo tremolo - somewhat similar to leslie but without the high throb.

[Torex]

I got the kit two days ago. I'm a little annoyed by the amp. Whenever I'm not making any noise with the guitar, this white-noise is going on in the background. And that's very rare, since the amp picks up all vibrations that go through the guitar, which usually means a faint note playing when I'm not doing anything. But besides that, I'm very satisfied. It's good, but I definitely plan on getting a better set up in the future.

[Borealis]

With any kind of high-gain distortion it's to be expected. But when it's clean, there are too many things that could be causing it. Is there any shielding in the pickup cavity? Get some copper shielding, either in a roll or paint form - this will isolate the electronics. If it's still happening, then it could be a loose connection somewhere in the chain - that could be in the guitar itself, the cable, any effects pedals you're using or in the amp. If it's still humming once you've got the shielding installed your best bet would be to take it back to the store and have them check it out.