Buying an electric guitar?

[TheArium]

My main instrument is the piano but for the last two years I've been teaching myself to play the guitar as well. I bought a cheap Spanish guitar to get myself started and I'm doing fine so far and I am having a good time although I'm not too advanced.

 

To the point! I really like playing music and I am considering getting an electric guitar to keep my other guitar in company and have some different options while fooling around and playing music. But to be honest I know absolutely nothing about electric guitars...

 

I will have to visit a dedicated store eventually but this is quite early in the process so perhaps some of you guys have some nice tips and tricks as well as some info on what to look for? I don't know what my budget is or should be but I'd like to acquire something that is good for the price - I'm not made of money. ;-P Keep in mind I am an amateur and I play alone and for fun. I'll play mostly chords as I'm not that good at fingerpicking yet but I'm working on it.

 

I realize I need some equipment as well such as an amplifier(?) and perhaps some other stuff and once again I am lost. Essentially I'm looking for a nice instrument and the required equipment well-suited for a casual setting at home that is cheap while not just pieces of junk and money out the window.

 

Oh, and to be clear I'm not looking for you to pick out specific models for me, I'm just looking for some good old-fashioned advice. 

 

Any comment is greatly appreciated! :)

 

(PS. I know this is a computer forum but I don't really know any music related forums. Besides, I know people are very friendly and informative here so bear with me please. ^_^)

[PartyBlake]

I've played the guitar for over ten years, my knowledge is very rock-guitar based but I could probably help you out either way. So what kind of music were you looking to play? There are different types of wood and pickups that make all the difference in terms of tone. As for an amplifier, you probably just want a basic modeling amp that will give you a range of tones/distortion levels with built-in effects. The industry standard for that is Line 6 amplifiers, I think I only paid $100 bucks for mine before I went on to bigger and more specific tube amps. 

[Volbet]

First of all I would recommend thinking about what sort of music you will be playing. Nearly all guitars models have different sounds and are therefor not suitable for the same kind of music.

[jamese669]

guitar wise you want to look at how the guitar feels and if it comfortable   to play sound wise depends on your rig (pedals amps speakers) more than the guitar it self but the guitar do's help

[TheArium]

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

I'll play rock for the most part and would like to be able to have both a "clean" sound as well as more "dirty" sounds while not being total heavy metal. Imagine something like what Red Hot Chili Peppers and Muse do with their guitars (if that makes sense). That being said I think a versatile instrument would be a good thing, if there even is such a thing.

 

Some of you touched upon the subject of wood types. Like you all know of course contrary to an acoustic guitar like the one I have, the sound is electrically reinforced in a electric guitar so exactly what difference does the shape of the guitar and the material make?

 

Do I need pedals or can I just plug it to an amplifier and play without any further ado?

 

Really appreciate it.

[jamese669]

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

I'll play rock for the most part and would like to be able to have both a "clean" sound as well as more "dirty" sounds while not being total heavy metal. Imagine something like what Red Hot Chili Peppers and Muse do with their guitars (if that makes sense). That being said I think a versatile instrument would be a good thing, if there even is such a thing.

 

Some of you touched upon the subject of wood types and pedals. Like you all know of course contrary to an acoustic guitar like the one I have, the sound is electrically reinforced in a electric guitar so exactly what difference does the shape of the guitar and the material make?

 

One of you mentioned pedals. Do I need pedals or can I just plug it to an amplifier and play without any further ado?

 

Really appreciate it.

id get a gibson or a fender for rock

[david cassar]

It depends on skill level and the type of music. Since you are not too advanced and would like to play 'rock' an epiphone would be your best bet. There are two types of pickups which will determine the sound: humbuckers which use two coils to give the guitar a raunchy sound. Then there are those which only have a single coil(found commonly on fender type guitars) which give it a clean and smooth sound. I would reccomend getting an epiphone sg or an ephiphone les paul .

[TheArium]

Speaking of music genres most of the songs I'll play will probably be rock songs but in the end most of what I'll be doing is simply just playing. Chords from a song I hear, chords I put together myself for the sake of it, fooling around and just play music. So it's not like "I play rock music and need a guitar for that purpose as that is THE thing I do". I just play what I feel like, but I like rock music and the type of guitar sounds that are typically connected to that kind of music. ;)

[david cassar]

Speaking of music genres most of the songs I'll play will probably be rock songs but in the end most of what I'll be doing is simply just playing. Chords from a song I hear, chords I put together myself for the sake of it, fooling around and just play music. So it's not like "I play rock music and need a guitar for that purpose as that is THE thing I do". I just play what I feel like, but I like rock music and the type of guitar sounds that are typically connected to that kind of music. ;)

For fooling around a cheap and decent guitar should be enough. I have a cort z40 . It is a average guitar which has two decent enough humbuckers, It is also pretty cheap.

[jamese669]

Speaking of music genres most of the songs I'll play will probably be rock songs but in the end most of what I'll be doing is simply just playing. Chords from a song I hear, chords I put together myself for the sake of it, fooling around and just play music. So it's not like "I play rock music and need a guitar for that purpose as that is THE thing I do". I just play what I feel like, but I like rock music and the type of guitar sounds that are typically connected to that kind of music. ;)

get an epiphone nice cheap guitar's my main stage guitar is an epiphone sg custom cost  me 200 quid and 50 quid to wack some emg  pup in it

[Cad6500]

a good value brand is epiphone as jamese669 said, they make decent guitars, not as good as gibsons, but still good. also ibanez makes some cheap guitars, but if it has a floyd rose, don't mess with it, I have a friend who messed up his floyd because he played around with it, I also messed up my guitar (strat copy) by playing around with the bridge, so I hate it now XD

[TheArium]

Epiphone and Ibanez - I'll make sure to remember those names. So what price is "cheap and decent"? What price range would you guys suggest I should stay above/below? The cheapest I can find is ~150USD

http://www.4sound.dk/shoppingsystem/produkter.asp?gruppe=Elektriske%20guitarer&sort=lowprice

 

and ~224USD in two different shops I know for the guitars alone.

http://www.musikcentralen.dk/guitar/elektrisk.html?dir=asc&limit=30&order=price

 

And then of course you can find packages that include all you need, but I'm not quite sure that is preferable.

[david cassar]

Epiphone and Ibanez - I'll make sure to remember those names. So what price is "cheap and decent"? What price range would you guys suggest I should stay above/below? The cheapest I can find is ~150USD

http://www.4sound.dk/shoppingsystem/produkter.asp?gruppe=Elektriske%20guitarer&sort=lowprice

 

and ~224USD in two different shops I know for the guitars alone.

http://www.musikcentralen.dk/guitar/elektrisk.html?dir=asc&limit=30&order=price

 

And then of course you can find packages that include all you need, but I'm not quite sure that is preferable.

stay under 200 dollars for a beginner electric guitar 

[Purple]

I always love a good strat

[lolmont]

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MustVMVWT/snICS12237370

I like the mustang.