Need some help with learning which guitars would suit me

[koolkeys]

Thanks for the info. It looks like I've got some searching to do!

Brent

[Ian B]

Well, I've found in the past day or so that if I move to a certain part of my room with my Danelectro(three lipstick pickups) that the noise almost completely disappears. So it's still manageable even with those noise pickups. And I don't do anything onstage, only recording. So as long as the one single coil doesn't make it worse or the same as the lipsticks, I'm fine.

That being said, the Danelectro still has great sound.

I'm guessing you mean the dreaded 60hz hum most single coils have? If you like the sound of the Danelectro pickups, it may be worth your while getting, or at least trying, a Electro Harmonix Hum Debugger pedal. It cancels that hum completely (one of my better guitar related purchases) and it's a whole lot cheaper than getting a new guitar.

[koolkeys]

Well, the noise isn't the reason I would replace the guitar. But I will keep that pedal in mind for sure.

The times when the noise goes away, it's when I'm at the side of my laptop monitor instead of in front of it. So is my laptop monitor what is effecting it?

Also, I don't think it's 60 cycle hum. It actually more of a hissing noise. There is a very low(don't even notice it unless I try, and only when it is turned up all the way) hum, but the noise I'm hearing is all high pitched. Some of it was my phantom power that I didn't realize was on, and the rest comes and goes based on where I'm at. That's the hissing noise.

Maybe I'm not understanding the source of the noise properly? Regardless of guitars, this is good information for me to learn. So any more informed opinions are of course welcome. Thanks!

Brent

[vinayk]

That being said, the Danelectro still has great sound.

I'm guessing you mean the dreaded 60hz hum most single coils have? If you like the sound of the Danelectro pickups, it may be worth your while getting, or at least trying, a Electro Harmonix Hum Debugger pedal. It cancels that hum completely (one of my better guitar related purchases) and it's a whole lot cheaper than getting a new guitar.[/quote]

Ian, he could also get a stacked humbucker in lipstick pickup size... which would cancel the hum and give him a nice sound... Duncan and Dimarzio both do very nice lipstick pickup replacements...

Vinay

[stk]

Well, I've found in the past day or so that if I move to a certain part of my room with my Danelectro(three lipstick pickups) that the noise almost completely disappears.

Do you have a light dimmer in your room? Or a CRT monitor?

/sk

[koolkeys]

No CRT monitor. I know I had to watch out for those, but in this case it's just my laptop monitor. And my lights don't dim as far as I know. At least there isn't a dimmer and the lightbulbs aren't dimming bulbs. Also, it doesn't seem to effect the noise if I put the guitar up towards the light more.

Brent

[taijiguy]

I've owned 2 Gibson ES345's and a Gibson ES335. Now I have one of these Agile semi-hollow bodies:

http://www.rondomusic.com/as10002ts.html

The cheapest 335 is now about $2k and this Agile is equal in quality and sound for only 1/5 the price. I've heard their other models are also quite nice.

The SX guitars can also be nice for the price if you're lucky enough to get your hands on a good one (quality varies). I have this one, whch I've compared to $500-1000 Strats at Guitar Center that are no better:

http://www.rondomusic.com/sst623ts.html

[kevvvvv]

Resonant Serpent ... that Agile is a great looking geetar for the money, for any money - phew - love at first sight

...

koolkeys ... my overall feeling is that cheap guitars are crap - or sooner or later they become crap in your mind, or you play a friend's which is so much nicer and quickly you think that yours is crap.

I have no sentimental fondness for the cheap crap guitars I've owned. I only bought them 'cos they were all I could afford, and had to lump it.

There is no way to undyingly love a cheap crap geetar for long. And you get sick of apologising for it.

The only way out of this bound-to-end-up-crap-cheap-geetar syndrome is to own a good fx box.

Buy your crap geetar on playability/action and looks, then buy a good fx box.

It will transform your have-to-be-crap-cos-they're-cheap pickups into whatever sound you want. And you'll also feel good for looking good, even if the other guy's guitar is overall nicer sounding than yours.

Buy on ebay like the man here keeps saying.

Fr'instance, I recently saved £866 GBP buying a guitar on ebay, compared with buying off-the-shelf from Sound Control

kev-who's-owned-lots-of-crap-geetars-kev

[Ian B]

Ian, he could also get a stacked humbucker in lipstick pickup size... which would cancel the hum and give him a nice sound... Duncan and Dimarzio both do very nice lipstick pickup replacements...

Vinay

I had a pair of Fender Vintage Noiseless in a Harley Benton HBT2000, and they were the biz as far as silent/stacked pups go. It's only because I struggled to get a 'fuller tone' out of them that I sold it. The Duncan and Dimarzio lipstick pups sound ideal, probably a lot cheaper than buying a new guitar anyway.

[deastman]

What is CL? We have every store I've ever heard of and plenty that are local. But I don't know what CL is. Maybe I'm just not thinking of them all. I regularly visit Sam Ash, World Music, Gibson Guitar Showcase(very cool place, btw because they build guitars there), and one downtown shop.

Brent

CL = http://www.craigslist.org

[koolkeys]

Oh, gotcha. I was thinking CL was a store here in town that I hadn't heard of! And since there are lots of them, there are lots I've never heard of.

Guitar Center didn't have much today surprisingly. They did have a good stock of Mexican Strats at the price I'm looking. But the guy was literally useless in helping me. He asked me if I needed any help, and when I told him what I was looking for, he didn't get up, just sat there playing some used guitar to himself without an amp, sitting on a stool. He said "well, uh, we got some Mexican Strats that are in that range" and that was it. Really, nothing else. I had to ask a couple of times before he would even point to them on the wall!

So I left. That's only the third time I've been into GC and not once have I ever left with a good feeling. The first time I went in there to look at a MIDI interface and the guy tried to sell me an iLok! I have NOTHING that uses iLok, nor have I ever. I needed a freaking MIDI interface, but he told me I needed an iLok. What the.....?

Anyways, going to a different store tonight to mess around. World Music Nashville is just up the street. I'll see what I can find there.

Brent

[guitarzan]

Brent,

One thing you can try with your Danelectro is to put bigger strings on it and tune it down.

I use a GHS Boomer baritone set (freekin' huge - .014 to .070 !!! ) on mine and tune down two steps to C (old surf trick, Dick Dale) and since then it is absolutely my favorite guitar out the half dozen or so electrics I have (includes USA Strat, MIM Strat, Fernandes Native Pro w/sustainor, USA Peavey shred machine of some kind, late 50's Harmony Stratotone, etc).

It can do big clean surf/spy/cowboy all the way to the grittiest blues growl. Pretty cheap mod to try, anyway.

[Martin E]

Oh, gotcha. I was thinking CL was a store here in town that I hadn't heard of! And since there are lots of them, there are lots I've never heard of.

Guitar Center didn't have much today surprisingly. They did have a good stock of Mexican Strats at the price I'm looking. But the guy was literally useless in helping me. He asked me if I needed any help, and when I told him what I was looking for, he didn't get up, just sat there playing some used guitar to himself without an amp, sitting on a stool. He said "well, uh, we got some Mexican Strats that are in that range" and that was it. Really, nothing else. I had to ask a couple of times before he would even point to them on the wall!

So I left. That's only the third time I've been into GC and not once have I ever left with a good feeling. The first time I went in there to look at a MIDI interface and the guy tried to sell me an iLok! I have NOTHING that uses iLok, nor have I ever. I needed a freaking MIDI interface, but he told me I needed an iLok. What the.....?

Anyways, going to a different store tonight to mess around. World Music Nashville is just up the street. I'll see what I can find there.

Brent

Kevv is talking about crap guitars but this sounds like a crap music store. In Nashville of all places.

[Resonant Serpent]

Resonant Serpent ... that Agile is a great looking geetar for the money, for any money - phew - love at first sight

...

koolkeys ... my overall feeling is that cheap guitars are crap - or sooner or later they become crap in your mind, or you play a friend's which is so much nicer and quickly you think that yours is crap.

I have no sentimental fondness for the cheap crap guitars I've owned. I only bought them 'cos they were all I could afford, and had to lump it.

There is no way to undyingly love a cheap crap geetar for long. And you get sick of apologising for it.

The only way out of this bound-to-end-up-crap-cheap-geetar syndrome is to own a good fx box.

Buy your crap geetar on playability/action and looks, then buy a good fx box.

It will transform your have-to-be-crap-cos-they're-cheap pickups into whatever sound you want. And you'll also feel good for looking good, even if the other guy's guitar is overall nicer sounding than yours.

Buy on ebay like the man here keeps saying.

Fr'instance, I recently saved £866 GBP buying a guitar on ebay, compared with buying off-the-shelf from Sound Control

kev-who's-owned-lots-of-crap-geetars-kev

I have to agree. It was love at first sight. I knew I had to have it and I'm sooooooooo glad that it turned out to be just as good as everyone said it would be. My total on the bill was actually 11.00 over the stated shipping price, and they refunded it the next morning without me even having to ask. The complete opposite of shopping at Guitar Center.

I grew up really poor, so I started off with REALLY bad guitars. I played all the cheap crap when I was a kid and eventually worked my way up to a Les Paul Black Beauty that I sold (cries) when I switched over to synths after I quit playing guitar a decade ago.

Besides great effects, the next best things you can do to cheap guitar is switch out the pickups, get a good nut put in, and get the frets filed if they need it. With how cheap the Pod XTs are going for, and the model packs, there's no reason a new player can't get a great sound. While the sound may not equal the 50k rig of pros, it beats the living shit out of all the peavey gear I blew up as a teenager.

Always try to get the best, and most comfortable you can afford because you can seriously end up paying for it later with carpal tunnel syndrome. If the strings are too high off the neck, or you have to mash the strings down to get rid of fret buzz, it'll tear the tendons in your hands up, and they take forever to heal-if they heal at all.

[rockstar_not]

Brent, PM sent. I also can personally endorse the excellent, yet reasonably priced instruments from www.rondomusic.net

In any case- figure to spend a good 35-50$ to have a proper setup of intonation and action on whatever guitar you buy. Or do it yourself.

After I bought my SX bass from Rondo, I was at one of the Detroit area's best audio post studios and noticed that in nearly every mix room there was a small stable of Agile and SX guitars in the corners. These were regularly used to add in guitar parts per client wishes to existing bed tracks. The studio owner loves it because they are decent quality, but for very cheap prices, and if a client scratches one up with an errant belt buckle, no problem.

-Scott