Need some help with learning which guitars would suit me

Anything about hardware musical instruments.
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Hmmm, just doing some searching here and it seems that the Danelectro DC-3 isn't made any more. On eBay, the cheapest of the ones that have sold went for $300 BIN, although there were only three that were sold recently. None went unsold though. And they didn't seem to have the hardcover tweed case either. So at least I know it's not a total crap guitar by the standards that I've seen and the reviews I've looked at.

However, I don't know how to tell where the guitar was made. And there isn't a ton of information available.

Sorry, just using this thread as a sort of blog now with my thoughts about guitars.

Brent
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Just my 2 cents here.

I bought a Hagstrom Super Swede last year and I really love this guitar. It has a great variety of tones. Nice clean tone, crunchy blues tone and can handle heavier tones as well. Apart from that the guitar plays like a dream.

They are about 500 dollars which is in my opnion a bang for the buck. You might get them cheaper on ebay.

http://www.hagstromguitars.com/

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Nice. I have never heard of those. But yes, they are surely in my price range on eBay. I'll keep them in mind if I decide to go that direction. Any sound examples of them?

Brent
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koolkeys wrote:Any sound examples of them?
Have a look here

Regards,

Tommy
Some music here

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Hink wrote: here's the bottom line about squiers, epiphone and many, many asian guitars (most if not all tbh)...the building of these guitars are not done by the parent company, they are simply marketed and often designed by that company. The actual manufacturing is farmed out as contract work to the winning bidder. So it's very tough to judge what's really good when. The quality control might vary from one time to another fr more than with more expensive guitars. In fact it might even be the same people building several brands. Again why trying them is key...;)
exactly
squier is just a name
some have fender karma, some are schlock

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j_T wrote:
koolkeys wrote:Any sound examples of them?
Have a look here

Regards,

Tommy
Oh crap, I didn't even see that! I really like them so far. Of course, I'd have to try one out probably. But it is sounding quite nice.

Now, for the next part of my guitar education, what wood types are good for various parts of the guitar. What effects the sounds in what ways? Actually, beyond wood, what kinds of parts should I be going for here? Anything specific to avoid or look for?

Sorry, just learning. Thanks!

Brent
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Ok, so by looks and the fact that it has multiple pickup types, I'm really liking the Hagstrom Ultralux XL-5. And it has a tremolo bar!

Anyways, so what kind of advantages would that guitar have over something like a Squier? Are they totally on different pages of quality? Just curious.

Brent
My host is better than your host

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Just repeating page 1: Don't bother with eBay and online shops. Go visit a couple of real shops (you're in Nashville TN so that shouldn't be a problem) and play some of what's in your price range, and some of just above that for comparison what you could be missing. Even factury-built guitars will vary in build quality from piece to piece, so it's no use to depend solely on reputation.

A good guitar should even sound good without having it plugged into an amp. Used wood types are irrelevant to some extent. It should whisper "take me home" from the moment you layed your hands on it...
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We do indeed have plenty of good shops around here, both small and large. If I do buy a guitar, I would definitely use one of those because of the reasons you said. I do have a Sam Ash Backstage Pass card just in case! But we have dozens of other shops as well.

I'm just really trying to learn and see what the differences are in some things. And I do appreciate all of the advice.

Brent
My host is better than your host

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koolkeys wrote:Ok, so by looks and the fact that it has multiple pickup types, I'm really liking the Hagstrom Ultralux XL-5. And it has a tremolo bar!

Anyways, so what kind of advantages would that guitar have over something like a Squier? Are they totally on different pages of quality? Just curious.

Brent
The ultralux is a new line. So I don't know the price of them. They might be more expensive. I would rate a Hagstrom higher than a squier. (sounds like a song, doesn't it)

Here's an example of a song I did with fairly clean sounding Hag in the background.

http://www.martin-e-music.nl/mp3/lifeline.mp3

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It sounds nice!

I was pricing the new Ultralux XL-5 and the street price everywhere I looked was $399, so it's perfectly at the top of my range. It looks like I can sell my Danelectro for that(with the case) if needed. But even if I don't sell it, I may look into it down the road. Christmas money and stuff like that. I'll have to see if any of the local shops have one in stock. I'm assuming if they carry the brand that they can get most models.

Anyways, thanks for the suggestion.

Brent
My host is better than your host

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Your welcome.

As said, it's best to try them out in the shop. The quality of guitars in this price range might vary. On the other hand I played some more expensive guitars that I wouldn't want to trade with my Hagstrom

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I checked out some Hagstrom guitars at a guitar store downtown Oslo and they look and sound really nice. I think it had a "Super Swede" label on the headstock.
My Soundcloud Too many pieces of music finish far too long after the end. - Stravinsky

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any pawn shops around? i got my Epiphone Sheraton w/ hardshell case for $250 at my local shop, and they have a return policy of some sort, always have a selection of lower priced guits... (they also have an Octava mic atm i got my eye on)...

i used to see some Hagstroms around when i was a kid (70's), haven't seen one since...
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For what its worth...

I haven't played a danelectro guitar myself... but with most electrics... the pickup switches choose between the neck/middle/bridge pickups... and also have combinations of the two.. for example if there are 5 positions on the switch.. it would do... neckonly/neck+middle/middleonly/middle+bridge/bridge...

as for what the different pickups do exactly.. again i'm not an expert... but basically due to their positions they pick up different sounds from each string... the neck pickups are generally of a lower gain.. and more bassy...while the bridge pickups are generally hotter (i.e put out more voltage).. but also pick up more of a treble sound.. used a lot for lead type work... where you need to cut through the band on stage... or just because you need the extra gain...

Other than the volume control, the other knob is usually a tone knob... not sure exactly what the mechanics of it are... but yes.. it basically rolls off on the treble... i never really use it much... but ppl like steve morse.. tend to roll off the tone when the singer gets going.. it just opens out the mix somewhat...

oh and that noise when going around the room...does it go away when you mute the strings with your hands? it could just be some simple vibrations of the strings going into a bit of feedback... i find my relation to the amp in the room makes a difference...

hope that helps...

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