looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

ok well technically i had an electric guitar for like 5 months when i was in highschool, but since it was a very intense year i didn't have a lot of time to play it and my mom pawned it when i was away on vacation with some friends


since then i have had an acoustic and have borrowed my friend's spare electric far too many times


well i am primarily a recording engineer, but i do like to make my own music and I was wondering what would be a good 'first' electric guitar, one that has a nice tone for recording, so that i can later add guitar amp model plugins and effects using pro tools or the like


any input would be greatly appreciated!

Re: looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

well i do not know about for recording but my first guitar was a squier 51...then i moved onto a epiphone lespaul...but yeah i really like the tone from the squier though it sounds good for a cheap guitar...

Re: looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

thanks for the suggestion, i'll look into it!


basically a guitar will be decent for recording if it has a clean tone, with not much coloration... that way it can be more easily manipulated for your needs

Re: looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

yeah the squier you can get probably for 100 to 200 and its a nice solid body, the epiphone was a les paul ultra i got mine for 600 and its a nice semi hollow body really decent for acoustic sounding when you have the switch up and very nice for leads when switch is down...so yeah overall i think it is all about your own preference so what you gotta do is go and try a bunch out and see which one is best for you

Re: looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

i'll probably hang out at guitar center for a few hours this weekend lol


i also like to play with the keyboards since they're all hooked up and ready to be f****ed with :P

Re: looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

yes that would be a good idea haha i like to make them seem like i can play drums then when i go try one out they find out that i can't haha but the keyboards are also fun haha

Re: looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

i can keep a basic beat on the drums, but i'm often discouraged to ask for a set of practice sticks because there are a lot of good drummers at my guitar center

Re: looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

yeah i go to just alittle shop in town haha they have all the good stuff just a smaller store and usually there is like noone there but the people working haha...as for drums i can keep like one beat if im lucky haha

Re: looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

I'd consider looking at a used MIM Fender Strat or equivalent (such as a used '90's USA Peavey Predator). For a couple bills you'll have a good guitar that plays clean. Plus Strats are one of the more comfortable guitars around. Some people have problems with the weight of an LP or the slab body of a Tele, but Strats are pretty ergonomic.

Re: looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

when you mention the weight of the lp i thought that too untill i got my epiphone lp ultra which weighs about 5 lbs haha

Re: looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

There is quite a range of weights among various Les Pauls, chambered ones and doublecuts will tend to weigh less obviously. But as a rule if weight is an issue a Strat will tend to weigh less than an LP.

5 pounds is definitely at the very lightest one would probably ever find an LP.

Re: looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

haha yeha i know its the very lightest haha when i first played it at the store i went to pick it up and just about threw it through the ceiling cuz i thought it would be heavy :jumpgrin:

Re: looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

Look at the Squier CV's , Agiles, and Xaviere line of guitars.....all under $300, all excellent!

Re: looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

I would look for one that has a humbucker pickup with a coal taps that would be about the most versatile one you can get the fatness of a hummbucker and the sparkle clean of a single I saw some squires that have this setup kind of humbucker in the bridge and then 2 singles one in center and one in neck this would be a good start but might have to swap out the bridge to a 4 wire humbucker and tap it your self but thats not hard and they can be found at a fair price. Hope this 2 cents helps a little.

Re: looking for a "first" electric guitar
 

The guitar you reference is a H-S-S Squier Strat, I'd bet. Sfaik the HB at the bridge does not have a coil split stock, he'd have to wire it up himslef.

Coil splits are cool, and certainly versatile, but I wouldn't think they're necessary on a beginner's guitar. Such a person is still learning the basics, including what single coils versus humbuckers even sound like.

However, if the person wanted something with both types of pickups, there are certainly tons of H-S-S Strats around with HB's at the bridge and singles elsewhere. Or superstrats with an H-S-H configuration. Another choice would be a "Fat" Telecaster of some sort, with a single in the bridge and a humbucker in the neck.