A Guitar Buying Question

[Iron Shab]

I have read a bunch on the internet, mostly these forums and random other sites, on which guitar to buy...and I really think I just need some advice suited to my personal preferences to get the best option for me, and the people here give good advice. I used to play (years ago on my cousin's old guitar) but I am out of touch for sure and dont even know what that old guitar was...so just give me beginner advice here.

I have decided on an electric guitar....

So that means essentially when I dole out the cash, it will be mainly on the guitar and the amp.

So I am wondering what is the best combination of the two I can get..

My price range is probably up to $800 maybe $1000 total...

I play mostly rock, with the range being...hmmm...say Greenday to Metallica..

I am really looking for the best combination possible in that range, but I dont really lean towards the thinking where you sacrifice quality for some money...I mean if its great "bang for the buck" I would still prefer a very nice guitar eve n if costs a bit more than I said

I know an amp is important, so I dont want to overlook it, but I guess I would consider a great guitar and a slightly less so amp a fair enough trade


So with these in mind, do people have any specifics in mind?

And I am going to try to go with something that comes out as generally a good choice from all of you, so if you see another person's suggestions and disagree vehemently with it for some reason, it would be great if you said why.

Thanks a lot

[no compromise2]

Get a Package from Musicians friend or somewhere.

[ekajsk8er]

if your price range is that high and your looking for a good setup, try a midrange electric (epiphone, ibanez, fender) and a combo amp. maybe a few pedals like a boss sd1 or os3 pedal, and a cry baby.

[Iron Shab]

ok, so what qualifies as a midrange electric from those brands?

[ekajsk8er]

fender standard strat/telecaster/fat strat, epiphone g400 custom/les paul.

http://www.music123.com/Solid-Body-Electric-Guitars-6-String-d2956.music?o=5&pf=6&x=17&y=11

check some of the guitars there and see what you like

[Iron Shab]

ok so what are the differences amongst those guitars? other than price?

these are the kinda answers i know you guys can give me that shop sites cant

[Jimmy]

First off, there is no set "best combo" of guitar and amplifier to buy, a lot of it depends on personal preference. I love my guitar, but it's definitly not for everyone, not only for looks, but also for sound. I always try out a wide variety of guitars before choosing the one I want. This is a bit of a conundrum for beginners... when I was buying my first guitar I was too scared to go to the store and try ones out (because I would suck), and even if I did go try them out, I wouldn't be able to play anything, and wouldn't be able to tell which ones I liked more than others.

Instead of starting out spending 800 dollars on your first guitar/amp combo, I think it would be best for you to spend less. Not only for the first reason (you don't want to buy a guitar and/or amp you'll end up hating), but also in case you don't stick with the instrument. If I were you, I'd buy one of the pre-packaged combos they have at stores. Brands like Squier, Epiphone and so on have packs like this.

But, assuming you are willing to make a thousand dollar commitment to the instrument, this is what I would probably get.

Fender 60's Strat (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/510135/)

Maybe not the best suited guitar for the play styles you mentioned, thought the greenday dude does play strats. I would still recommend it, because Stratocasters are so versatile.

For an amplifier, I would recommend a Crate GLX 2x12 (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/487689/), it's a powerful amp, can be heard over a full band and used for gigging, and it also has a lot of sounds in it. Crate is a bit of an off brand in guitar amplifiers though, so if you want to get a better amp, just not as loud, you could get a Fender combo. Once again, it's all preference.

[jake plays guitar]

try a fender strat and a nice little tube amp... thats a pretty good price range for your first guitar. how much do peavey valve kings cost... maybe you can get a valve king and a strat, that would be nice