Hi all,

I seem to remember from the past that there are several guitarists on here.

I'd be grateful if any could advise as to which (electric) guitar I should buy.

I've played now for around 20 yrs but almost exclusively on acoustics, but having recently been given a quite good Marshall valve amp I've decided to give the electric a real go.

I've had quite a basic Yamaha 'strat' type gathering dust for years now and after finally plugging it in I've decided it really is rubbish.

Ideally I'd get a Gibson 'Les Paul' but haven't got anything like that type of money so was gonna get an Epiphone until just about everyone I've talked to has given me horror stories about their quality since they moved to China.

So to summarise I want a guitar I could gig with for Rock/Blues for about £500.

Oh, and definately no tremelos
TIA

I've had a few Yamaha instruments and, in the £400-500 price bracket, I've always found them to be really good. I haven't had an electric one for a few years, but the last electric guitar I played professionally was a Yamaha.

Fender Statocaster or Ibanez RG250DX , both around £3/400

I wasn't saying Yamaha's are rubbish per se, just that the one I have is.

It's a Pacifica and a pretty bottom end one at that.

Having never really played an electric all I know about this one is the sustain is pretty poor (even cranking up the compressor) and the fact I like to play in different tunings occasionally means the tremelo thing makes this quite frustrating.

I put light gauge strings on it and adjusted the trem as much as I could to try to make the bridge sit on the body but it's still in the air by about 1/16".

I'll trade it in with you for a decent one if you've got owt

I know the strat copy I have is a bad example, but I really don't want a strat type.

I always associated Ibanez with shredders, Am I wrong and can you get a good 'clean' sound with them?

Go to stores and have a play. At the end of the day the best way to get a sound is to be comfortable with your gear. I genuinely get more enjoyment out of playing my £300 Danelectro then when I've used a fender jazz in the studio. So much do that I had to re-record with the Danny because the sound is better when you are happy with your kit.

A Strat at £3-400? Are they making them in Mexico now?

I was speaking to one of the staff in my local music shop the other day. He said he'd just bought an American Strat and a Mexican Tele (or maybe the other way around), and that, having examined both quite closely, he really couldn't see any difference in quality.

if you up your price limit by a bit you can get a decent PRS SE 245 for between £500-£600 - a good sounding and very playable guitar - sounds ideal for your needs

if you are near Selby, pop into Wildwire music shop which has a PRS stock and will give you some good advice IMO

or look on the selling sites for personal sellers of course

I have a fender strat which was made in Mexico and it's a nice guitar. Cost me around £350 quid a few years ago. I'd like a Gibson Les Paul eventually to but it's just not financially viable



Like other's have said though, popping into a shop would probably be the best way to choose then you can get a feel for what you prefer.

you definitely need to visit some shops to get 'the feel' - what feels great to me could have an opposite effect on someone else, a bit like a pair of shoes where the right pair feel great as soon as you put them on despite having tried twenty pairs previously...

If what you really want is a Les Paul, I'd just go and try some first hand and see what you think, there's nothing worse than spending that kind of money and ending up wishing you had something else. I did that when I traded an Epiphone Les Paul in on a Burns Brian May and I just ended up missing my Les Paul until I could afford a Gibson.

I've no idea what the quality of new Epiphones are like these days, but there's always the second hand market. As I said, I had an Epiphone custom years ago that cost me £375, and whilst there's no denying my Gibson is a superior instrument the build quality on the Epiphone was pretty good, it was only really the pickups that let it down and they are easily replaced/upgraded for a little more money.

As the last few posts have said, you just really can't beat trying for yourself, it's a very personal thing. If you're in Hull, go to Bad Dog Music on Savile Street.