guitar

[leemaj]

i want an electric guitar....where do i start?

[mojo]

what style of music? what's your budget? solid or semi-acoustic?

don't go cheap. get the best you can afford. a cheap guitar will be harder to play and sound like butt...which will frustrate and discourage you. go with good woods, good action, etc. solid, heavier woods will sound better. the fewer pieces of wood involved through gluing and stuff the better.

[ufcrusher]

It depends. Do you really know that you want an electric (as in you have played one before) or is it just a sudden desire? If you dont know, it may behove you to either rent one for a while or look for a good quality used one.

Personally I play acoustic guitar. I took lessons for a few years, dropped it altogther, then took it back up during college. When I was relearning to play, I bought a book and retaught myself all the cords.

So, if you are a self starter and can learn from books, you can save yourself some money with the book learning. If not, take lessons, well worth the money in my opinion.

[ChrisMG187]

go down to guitar center and play a few. see what you like! If you don't like your guitar, you're not gonna wanna play it.

[xsiled2]

DO NOT go to guitar center, they dont know crap, get a telecoustic :D, its both :)

[mojo]

Originally posted by xsiled2
DO NOT go to guitar center, they dont know crap, get a telecoustic :D, its both :) i go to guitar center...they have good prices because of the volume in which they deal.

leemaj, go to allen's music on la mesa blvd. they's good peeps and they'll help you out. they also have some sweet trace elliot amps there for a good deal. their prices tend to be ballpark with guitar center, too.

strings: i use 10s for the tone. you may go lighter, but you'll pay in tone.

[attgig]

Originally posted by xsiled2
DO NOT go to guitar center, they dont know crap, get a telecoustic :D, its both :)

ditto on that guitar center...they rip you off...you can find sooo much better prices elsewhere (unless you're a good haggler, like my friend...he got a 1200 takamine for 800 from a gc).

anyways..
telecoustic....blah..
not so great sound on both acoustic and electric..

yeah, totally depends....on the questions mojo brought up...so. please.share.

[kimchicowboy]

heck if i know much about guitars. my friend's all talkinga bout humbucker pickups or something. guitars that cast >$1000 probably sound all the same to me. all i want is a larrivee D03E. that would be fine with me.

[hoey222]

This is what i do. I would go to a guitar center type place. and PLAY different types of guitars. find what you like. then use this wonderful tool called the internet to find the best deal. you dont have to buy new to get a really nice guitar.

good luck.

:D

[mojo]

Originally posted by hoey222
This is what i do. I would go to a guitar center type place. and PLAY different types of guitars. find what you like. then use this wonderful tool called the internet to find the best deal. you dont have to buy new to get a really nice guitar.

good luck.

:D well, you need to be able to sight a line, check for cracks, etc. i would pay the extra to get warranty or whatever. plus they might set the action for you and stuff. i'm not saying to buy new...but nobody specified buying new really.

[brainsmile]

Originally posted by leemaj
i want an electric guitar....where do i start?

Save up your lunch money...

[BigJon]

remember, when you buy it, don't play Stairway To Heaven...you will get in trouble...

[whitak24]

like people have said above, there are a lot of factors to consider.
i would say that if you haven't ever played before and just think it would be fun to have an electric to mess around with, don't go out and spend a fortune.
around christmas time, using the wonderful musiciansfriend.com coupons that apex had on the deals page, i managed to get a Danelectro guitar (with built-in effects) and a 15-watt amp for under $200. now this setup is not going to amaze anyone with its sound quality, tone, etc. however, that's not what i bought it for. i already have a nice takamine acoustic-electric cutaway that is my primary guitar. i just wanted an electric to jam with and mess around on.
if you're just starting playing, that's all i'd go for. if you decide later that you really like it and are serious about it, then you can either keep your old one and get a new one (as one can NEVER have too many guitars) or you can sell it used and probably get most of your money back.
as far as where to buy, i personally hate guitar center. i've been in there a few times and have found sales associates with little knowledge, high prices (even during their sales, i haven't been that impressed with them), and out-of-tune instruments (i hate that in a music store). of course, i'm spoiled by having shopped at Elderly Instruments (www.elderly.com) in Lansing, MI, which i would be willing to put in a competition with ANY other guitar store in the united states for the overall best place to buy an instrument.

[Grimm]

Originally posted by BigJon
remember, when you buy it, don't play Stairway To Heaven...you will get in trouble...
Don't play "My Way" by Sinatra either!!!

[mojo]

Originally posted by whitak24
of course, i'm spoiled by having shopped at Elderly Instruments (www.elderly.com) in Lansing, MI, which i would be willing to put in a competition with ANY other guitar store in the united states for the overall best place to buy an instrument. and you'd lose :D (but for the fact mine is in CA, maybe you're right)

allen's music in la mesa is da bomb diggity. but mr allen is elderly, too, if that helps :P

bah! what am i saying? everyone plays guitar. go to allen's and buy a sax.

[whitak24]

Originally posted by mojo
and you'd lose :D (but for the fact mine is in CA, maybe you're right)

allen's music in la mesa is da bomb diggity. but mr allen is elderly, too, if that helps :P

bah! what am i saying? everyone plays guitar. go to allen's and buy a sax.
whatever! :P
actually, i'm sure there are better stores than elderly, but it is really good. awesome vintage instruments, plus they're the world's largest retailer of martin guitars.
the weird thing is that they are located in basically the middle of nowhere (sure, lansing is the third largest metro area in michigan, and it's not like michigan attracts a lot of through traffic :P )

[mojo]

allen's is more of a "ma and pop shop" type place...although i've never seen ma. they're not the world's largest anything. but they do have most instruments you would want to see.

[welfareloser]

if you decide to go that way, here's my personal rule for buying instruments off the internet (done it three times, through eBay with great success, paid less than half list for each one) - only buy from an actual music store with a return policy. that way, if you get a lemon, you're only out the shipping, which is about $18 on a guitar.

you may see the exact instrument you want on eBay for half the price you can find it anywhere else... but if it's just some dude selling something that's been in his basement... DON'T DO IT!!!! "i don't see any cracks and it sounds just fine" could be BAD NEWS!

[whitak24]

Originally posted by mojo
allen's is more of a "ma and pop shop" type place...although i've never seen ma. they're not the world's largest anything. but they do have most instruments you would want to see.
elderly is also a fairly small operation, privately owned and everything -- they do a lot of their volume through mail-order and internet sales. it was started by a guy about 30 years ago, and he still works in there, along with a lot of other cool dudes who will sit and chill and play the guitar with you while you're in there. good times.
seriously, since you seem to be quite into music, if you ever do happen to be in michigan, it's a really cool place to go. i'm sure you'd have a blast there.
but since you seem to prefer the sunny climes of san diego (i can't really blame you), i doubt you'll make it up here :bawl: