Calling all guitarists! I'm getting started - what to buy?

[autodafe]

I would suggest (as someone else mentioned) a Ibanez RG series guitar
you can find many "older" models for about 250-300$
Some models have a very "thin" neck, which is very confortable and easy to play, usually low action, and since you are a beginner I think you would find it useful (your fingers won't get sore soon).
Most of (if not all) have an humbucker at the bridge position and a couple single coils (or single/hum) that would give you some nice tonal variation.

Someone else suggested a Variax. Good advice, an old 300 can emaulate many other instruments (LP, Telem, Strats...). But personally (I have one) i find it quite cheaply built, cheap frets and keyboard and "plastic" feel... The newer models are better but are way more expensive (above 1000$ I believe)

[rockstar_not]

There are so many different correct answers in this thread.

I tried to decide where you live based on your location. I can guess northern US, Scandinavia, Russia, etc.

If it's in the US, you can go REALLY cheap and get a usable guitar from www.rondomusic.net. Go for one of the SX or Agile guitars from their site. I have a Bass and a Classical guitar from them that are great players, for very little money. I have a much higher end acoustic guitar from Larrivée, and a mid-priced Epiphone.

The only issue with the SX and Agile line, is that you will need to give them a proper setup. You can pay someone to do this, or spend the effort to learn how to do it yourself.

That said, I have to say that the new Epiphone Nighthawk Custom Reissue that I recently bought straddles the lines between cheap, aesthetically beautiful, and sonically very versatile.

It has three pickups: a mini humbucker in the neck, a single coil in the middle position, and a slanted humbucker in the tail. A 5 position switch like a Strat, and the tone control is a push/pull which taps the humbuckers.

It can sound remarkably like a Les Paul, and then when I single the pickups, it sounds very much like a strat, particularly positions 2 and 4 on the selector.

Street price on them is $399, with free shipping. Mine was purchased from www.sweetwater.com, and the only change I had to make to the setup was pull the low E string saddle farther away from the neck. Otherwise, the setup was perfect.

As for something to practice with away from the studio - do you have an iPhone/iPod Touch? There are many different apps for that! Cheap, with plenty of tonal variety to allow you to practice.

There's also miniature guitar jack amp simulators that provide similar tools for practicing and even little mini-amps that you can throw into a back-pack. References, just from Vox alone:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AC1RV/
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/amPlugAC30/
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/amPhoneAC30/

and similar stuff is available from other known amp companies. Don't let the tone snobs discourage you.

[pekadan]

OH WOW, the Epiphone Nighthawk Custom looks fantastic! I really really like the variety of pickups, that you can get either a Gibson or a Fender type sound from it, or a mixture (sandwich with crisps, see the vid). Perfect for my needs! Very good price too! Found this review on youtube, and these crazy guys have only good things to say (but they're salesmen too):

I wonder though, what's the quality like? I hear bad things about the less expensive Epiphones. I'm not going to break it surely, but does it stay in tune well, that sort of thing? And how easy, or not, is it to play, compared other guitars?

Also, can it produce a really nice full tone, suitable for heavy rock type distortion? (maybe that's even a silly question). Sounds like it in the demo.

I actually visited a music shop yesterday (on my own unfortunately) after a guitar player friend of mine suggested I check out the Epiphone Les Paul Standard. Well I did, and left the shop yearning for a Gibson Les Paul Special Humbucker instead. I fiddled with (won't use the word played) both of them and the Gibson just felt a lot better, more solid somehow and "right" (if you know what I mean). Didn't listen to them unfortunately, but just the grip and general feel made me want the Gibson.

Does this mean I'd be disappointed if I bought the Epiphone Nighthawk Custom, you think? It is a much cheaper guitar (half price). I really do like the looks and the options of the Nighthawk more than the Gibson, but I suppose I'd again prefer the more solid feel of the Gibson if I A/B:d them. No shop in Stockholm (to stop you from guessing rockstar_not ) has the Nighthawk in stock at the moment, you can only order it, so I can't compare the two. Ah, decision anxiety...

[autodafe]

since you are in stockholm, you should find the hagstrom for relatively cheap.
I have a Swede with 2Humbuckers, the Hums are switchable as single coil. A Very nice guitar for a reasonable price, nice fretboard, nice wood and finishese available.

[rockstar_not]

pekadan, to answer your question about whether there is heavy enough tone - yes there is: https://soundcloud.com/rockstar_not/sim ... experiment

Just me, the Nighthawk and Guitar Rig on a few presets.

I also did a pup comparison leaving some amp sim presets in place last night - posted over in the 'Your Next Guitar' megathread here at KVR. If you have 13 minutes to spare: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 09#5226609

Very lightweight compared to a typical Les Paul.
If you want a traditional Les Paul, don't buy this - quite a bit different to it. If you want a versatile guitar, hard to beat this straight out of the box with zero mods.

Build quality suits me fine, I'm not a guitar snob - it's beautiful. Only complaint is what appears to be a varnish/stain blemish on the side of the guitar where the neck joins the body on the side of the body, not the top. The top is drop dead gorgeous.

This guitar, to me, is everything that I wanted in a Gibson, without the stuff I don't like about Gibson Les Pauls: Heavy; it's not. Tune-o-matic bridge - has a Fender stop-tail style bridge, Short scale; it's not - Strat scale length.

-Scott

[pekadan]

pekadan, to answer your question about whether there is heavy enough tone - yes there is: https://soundcloud.com/rockstar_not/sim ... experiment

Just me, the Nighthawk and Guitar Rig on a few presets.

I also did a pup comparison leaving some amp sim presets in place last night - posted over in the 'Your Next Guitar' megathread here at KVR. If you have 13 minutes to spare: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 09#5226609

Very lightweight compared to a typical Les Paul.
If you want a traditional Les Paul, don't buy this - quite a bit different to it. If you want a versatile guitar, hard to beat this straight out of the box with zero mods.

Build quality suits me fine, I'm not a guitar snob - it's beautiful. Only complaint is what appears to be a varnish/stain blemish on the side of the guitar where the neck joins the body on the side of the body, not the top. The top is drop dead gorgeous.

This guitar, to me, is everything that I wanted in a Gibson, without the stuff I don't like about Gibson Les Pauls: Heavy; it's not. Tune-o-matic bridge - has a Fender stop-tail style bridge, Short scale; it's not - Strat scale length.

-Scott

Great, thanks a lot Scott for the info and the sound clips!! The fact that it's strat scale length, does that make it somewhat more difficult to play (for a beginner) compared to short scale? My understanding was you need more power to press down on the strings with long scale (or you need thinner strings).

Btw, sorry for all my newbie questions guys!

autodafe, I checked Hagstrom prices, and they're actually really expensive guitars here too...

[autodafe]

autodafe, I checked Hagstrom prices, and they're actually really expensive guitars here too...

Yes they are around 500-600 euros. The nighthawck is cheaper and looks pretty good too (never had one)
I found mine (an ultra swede) used, but like new, in a shop for only 250 euros.

[pekadan]

Alright, that's it, no more decisions! The Epi Nighthawk Custom seems like an excellent guitar for me in so many ways and I hear only good things about it. Also, since it looks great (to me) and seems to be very good value for money, I figure it's a superb guitar to start with. Later, when I (hopefully) can play and I've developed a personal taste, *if* I want a different and possibly more expensive guitar then, I reckon the Nighthawk will still be a great complement and a very useful studio guitar thanks to the multifaceted tone. Can't go wrong here, is my conclusion!

So, I ordered it now and the dealer promised to set it up for me.

Even though - or maybe because(!) - I've received so many different answers in this thread, I feel a lot wiser. Thanks again for all the useful help and info guys! Much appreciated! Oh, and big thanks to Scott! I would have missed this lovely guitar had you not recommended it!

[rockstar_not]

Alright, that's it, no more decisions! The Epi Nighthawk Custom seems like an excellent guitar for me in so many ways and I hear only good things about it. Also, since it looks great (to me) and seems to be very good value for money, I figure it's a superb guitar to start with. Later, when I (hopefully) can play and I've developed a personal taste, *if* I want a different and possibly more expensive guitar then, I reckon the Nighthawk will still be a great complement and a very useful studio guitar thanks to the multifaceted tone. Can't go wrong here, is my conclusion!

So, I ordered it now and the dealer promised to set it up for me.

Even though - or maybe because(!) - I've received so many different answers in this thread, I feel a lot wiser. Thanks again for all the useful help and info guys! Much appreciated! Oh, and big thanks to Scott! I would have missed this lovely guitar had you not recommended it!

Well, I hope you love it as much as I love mine. Which color did you get? I got the Honeyburst. It is beautiful.

[werp]

I have plenty of guitars hanging on my wall but number one has always been the gibson nighthawk.
The three pick-up option gives it such an incredible variety with the ten combinations available to you.
The epiphone version should have the same slender neck..delightful to play
Give that a crack for a couple of years and you'll probably star searching for an original issue
Bound to be a sound you fall in love with on the nighthawk.

[pekadan]

Alright, that's it, no more decisions! The Epi Nighthawk Custom seems like an excellent guitar for me in so many ways and I hear only good things about it. Also, since it looks great (to me) and seems to be very good value for money, I figure it's a superb guitar to start with. Later, when I (hopefully) can play and I've developed a personal taste, *if* I want a different and possibly more expensive guitar then, I reckon the Nighthawk will still be a great complement and a very useful studio guitar thanks to the multifaceted tone. Can't go wrong here, is my conclusion!

So, I ordered it now and the dealer promised to set it up for me.

Even though - or maybe because(!) - I've received so many different answers in this thread, I feel a lot wiser. Thanks again for all the useful help and info guys! Much appreciated! Oh, and big thanks to Scott! I would have missed this lovely guitar had you not recommended it!

Well, I hope you love it as much as I love mine. Which color did you get? I got the Honeyburst. It is beautiful.

Thanks, I'm sure I will! Y'know, if I fail to learn how to play, I'll still love just looking at this guitar! I ordered the Trans Black version. It's funny because it was the kind of color I was looking for already from the start. I saw pictures of some Ibanez or ESP guitars in black/gray with white outline and thought, that's what I want - and that's what the Trans Black Nighthawk looks like! Hurray! I really am super excited - can't wait to get my hands on it!

Does anybody know of good online guitar courses by the way? I thought I'd start with the basics that way. I know there are plenty of tutorials on youtube, but I don't know if they're any good.

Speaking of youtube. My goal is to play prog rock and I long for the day I can play triplets on the same level as John Mitchell (of Frost* & It Bites).

[pekadan]

I have plenty of guitars hanging on my wall but number one has always been the gibson nighthawk.
The three pick-up option gives it such an incredible variety with the ten combinations available to you.
The epiphone version should have the same slender neck..delightful to play
Give that a crack for a couple of years and you'll probably star searching for an original issue
Bound to be a sound you fall in love with on the nighthawk.

[rockstar_not]

That was a great pick-me-up! I'd love to hang with those guys at some time!

[pekadan]

Yeah, I actually met the drummer, Craig Blundell, at a Roland V-Drums clinic in Stockholm a few months ago, and had a chat with him during a break. Not only is he extremely talented (as you can tell from the clip ), but he's also the friendliest and most ambitious man in the business. I'm a huuge fan!