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guitar buying advice

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Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero

20:09 / 19.06.02

Its the most versitle and dependable instrument ever made. Mine is an 89'. Only family comes before it.

I've got an '87 Strat plus (american made, and seafoam green!), and it is indeed a sturdy and dependable instrument. You could beat a bass player to death with it and it'll still play like a dream (try that with a Casino or 335). It is, to me, the greatest guitar I have ever actually seen.

But it's not all you need. I mean, they're great instruments, but the sound can be a bit thin on the best of them. And for some reason, people seem to buy them along with hundreds of dollars worth of pedals, only to end up sounding like a telecaster. Which is a fine guitar in it's own right, even if it's ugly as sin, but it would have been easier and cheaper to just buy the damn telecaster. Just find a sound you like.

The Return Of Rothkoid

23:04 / 19.06.02

Effects advice: phasers and flangers are your friend. And you can't beat delayed distortion...

13:31 / 20.06.02

Telecasters ugly? Not on your life! They're a far more serious piece of work than those preppy stratocasters. My dream guitar is a thinline telecaster.....

I'd definitely second the idea of thinking about what sound you want before buying anything. You might have to discuss it with guitar playing friends. My first guitar was a strat copy, basically because it was something I recognized, but the sound was too thin and bright for me. I learned after a while that the chunk and sustain I wanted came from the Gibson side of the fence, not the Fender, so I bought a Les Paul copy, which did me good service for years. Then when I got over my Angus Young ideas (yeah I know he plays an SG not a Les Paul)and finally got reasonably good and knew what I wanted and could afford a more expensive guitar, I got a US Telecaster and it was juuuuuuuust right.

So think about what bands you like and what sounds you want. Also, second hand instruments don't lose their value, so it won't cost you much to change every year or two.

17:02 / 20.06.02

On the effects pedals front, perhaps consider the Alesis Nanoverb. Dumb name, swell item. Why? I) It's from Alesis, great warranties, really sound electronics. II) It has delay. It has flange. It has three settings of 'hall,' three of 'room,' three of 'plates' (don't ask my why these particular names). It has chorus, and two settings of 'chorus room' (?). It has 'non-linear,' and 'rotary' settings. All of these are adjustable as to depth, degree of mixing between original guitar signal and modified signal, and volume. It's really great, only about $100.00 (American), and replaces a number of other pedals.

Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero

18:28 / 20.06.02

It has three settings of 'hall,' three of 'room,' three of 'plates' (don't ask my why these particular names). It has chorus, and two settings of 'chorus room' (?).

The Hall, Room, Chorus Room and all that are probably acoustic settings, methinks. My favorite was always "bathroom".

Once you get decent, and develop an ear for what sounds you like, you may want to experiment with various pickups and see what kind of tone you can get from what. Plus, it'll give you an excuse to say "humbucker" a lot. Try it. "Hum-buck-er". Feels good, don't it?

22:39 / 20.06.02

I've got a spare room, Flux. If you ever fancy a cheap holiday...

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