Guitar Advice

So let me start off by saying before 3 days ago, I never played, let alone really even touched a guitar.

This past week Ive been house sitting for someone who has a SERIOUS collection of nice guitars. PRS, Gibson Customs, 67 Strat, Les Paul Anniversary, and a couple other that are locked away that I imagine are even nicer. Knowing about his collection and the fact this place is kinda in the middle of no where, I figured learning how to play might be a fun thing to undertake so I got a book from the library (yes Im a dork).

Ive really taken to it I think and Im having fun with it, despite the fact I can just barely play 'house of the rising sun.'

So whats everyone reccomendation about what to do.
So far I feel most comfortable playing the Strat, but I much more like the sound of the Gibson Custom with cutouts (i think its semi hollow) and the PRS.

I would also like to spend less than $500 total for the guitar, amp, tuner, stand and whatever else is required. Or I suppose I could just spend 500 on the guitar and not get any of that other stuff for now. This would also obviously just be for my own personal enjoyment, so I dont need loud in an amp, but I would like quality sound, or I suppose for now I could just plug my sennheiser HD580 phones into it (I can do that right?)

Ive been looking on ebay, but there seems to be A LOT of crap, scams, and things I just dont know what to look for. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Skipping over the acoustic step (where many new players start), just about any guitar (as dipstick mentioned) will do. However, owning something that stays in tune and doesn't sound like shit makes learning to play and enjoying your instrument much easier. I recently sold all of my guitar gear, but if I were to purchase another guitar, it would be a Peavey T-15 or 60. They are cheap, abundant on ebay, and have great stock pickups. See glowing reviews on Harmony Central. At this price level, pickups should be your primary concern. They, among other factors, have the power to transform the worst sounding $10 instrument into an ultra playable shredding machine. What shape (body style) are you interested in pursuing?

Well, I didnt mention acoustic mainly because I just didnt feel comfortable yet playing it. The thinner body and strings of the electrics made it easier for me to play.

I guess regarding cost, I just really dont know how much it does cost for something decent. I was also considering 500$ for everything, ie amp, case, pedal, tuner, etc.

As far as body, something like this perhaps.
http://prsguitars.com/showcase/curre...lg_mccarty.jpg

My two cents:

Stay away from those package deals with the Fender Squire Strat or the Epiphone Les Paul copies or anything like that. They sound pretty shitty and they're not very well made. My advice would be to get used gear. For $500 you should be able to get a pretty nice guitar w/ a case and a decent amp. The first guitar I ever bought was a Ibanez ST-55 for $50 and I still have it and play it all the time. I'd start with the local Guitar Center, Sam Ash, or pawn shop. That way at least you know you're not buying something with a cracked neck or some other defect. Regarding an amp - if you don't care about anyone but yourself being able to hear it, go with one of the headphone amps like a Pocket Rock-it. They're cheap (most around $30-$50), portable, discrete, and they sound pretty good. Plus you can use them as a pre-amp if you want when you get a regular amp. I wouldn't worry about a pedal until you've played a while.

As far as shape of the guitar goes, I wouldn't so much look at shape as I would the setup. The Gibson's and the PRS's are likely dual humbucker (the pickups), no tremelo setups vs. the Strat which probably has three single coils and a temelo. Big difference in sound. I think Trickfilp alluded to this. If you like the Strat shape, there are about a million Strat-shaped guitars out there with all kinds of pickup options (Ibanez, Jackson, and PRS come to mind).

My advice would be to spend about $200-$300 on a good used guitar, buy a Pocket Rock-it, a tuner, a stand, and maybe a DVD on the basics of playing. I remember when I was first learning being completely intimidated about walking into a Guitar Center and looking like a dork trying to play "Ironman" to figure out what I should get. Just find the sales guy with the longest hair and tell him that it's your first guitar and ask him to play it and go through all the features and shit. Those dudes can't resist an opportunity to show off and you really get to hear how good or bad the guitar sounds.

Take that $500 and buy an acoustic guitar and a tuner. When you become a stronger player buy an electric.

$500 will get you a garbage electric set-up that plays and sounds like absolute shit. You won't notice it now but you will when you get better. Assuming you stick with it, you'll end up spending a sizeable chunk of money on a nice electric set-up and your $500-rig will either get given away or thrown in a dumpster.

On the other hand, $500 will get you a pretty nice used acoustic that you'll probably still want to play when you get good.

My first guitar was an Epiphone acoustic made at Gibson's Montana factory. Cost me around $400 used and in great shape. It's still the only acoustic I've ever owned and until I've got the money to buy something really spendy it'll stay that way. In that same time frame, I've bought and sold more Electric setups than I can count on my hands.

The $5000 guitars that you're knocking around with while house-sitting are a million miles away from anything you'll play again any time soon... enjoy it while you can.

If you like the strat over the Les Pauls as far as feel, it is probably because of the thinner neck. The Les Pauls I've played have a meaty neck, where as the strats tend to be thinner. I have an Ibanez S470 that is pretty sick. Mahogany body, rosewood fretboard, and a humbucker-single-humbucker pickup setup. This was about a 600 dollar guitar six or so years ago, and I imagine most of the model names and whatnot have changed, but I know Ibanez still overs some decent lower priced guitars that will work, and they tend to have thinner necks like the strats but with pickup options that will still give you good sound like the Les Paul for maybe 300 or so bucks. Just get a little practice amp to start. Once you get serious you can spend the money on something else, but a good amp won't make up for a shit guitar in sound or in feel.

But be forwarned, after spending sevaral days playing Custom Shop Les Pauls and vintage Strats plugged in to high-end amps, nothing will sound as good.

everyone thanks for the advice.

Is there a good website that talks about pickups, what makes one better than the other, what to look for in used guitars, and just general information\reviews. Harmony-Central looks ok but a little disorganized and just a jumble of information for me right now since I dont know what to look for. Id like to get a little more educated before I head to a music store so I can understand what he\she is talking about.

edit: thoughts on this? http://denver.craigslist.org/msg/182980748.html

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My advice would be to spend about $200-$300 on a good used guitar, buy a Pocket Rock-it, a tuner, a stand, and maybe a DVD on the basics of playing.

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Echo, except that you should be able to find a decent low power amp for under $100 that will be a lot more fun to practice with. The extra money can go into better pickups and new hardware (or towards a more expensive instrument initially that takes care of those needs).

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Take that $500 and buy an acoustic guitar and a tuner. When you become a stronger player buy an electric.

$500 will get you a garbage electric set-up that plays and sounds like absolute shit. You won't notice it now but you will when you get better. Assuming you stick with it, you'll end up spending a sizeable chunk of money on a nice electric set-up and your $500-rig will either get given away or thrown in a dumpster.

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If you'd like to start with an acoustic, a lower range Fender would be a fine choice. It will light, playable, and sound decent. If you decide later in your career to become a folk musician, then retread steps and buy yourself a more expensive acoustic. It seems like, however, an electric guitar is what you want, and you shouldn't deny yourself the pleasure even a low profile setup can provide.

Buying used gear, $500 will be more than enough to get you, yes, a pretty nice setup. I never spent more than this, and while I wasn't the worlds greatest player, my gear was certainly not the missing link. There is no question that a comfortable instrument, regardless of its lower range origins, will sound great with new pickups and stay in tune with some new hardware.

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The $5000 guitars that you're knocking around with while house-sitting are a million miles away from anything you'll play again any time soon... enjoy it while you can.

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Not as far as you think. These vintage guitars with renowned workmanship and the highest quality wood are rarely worth the price tag. If you have that kind of money, great, spend away. Otherwise, don't feel bad, you're only missing out on a little showiness and a label. You will find that any guitar of reasonable quality with upgraded electronics and hardware will match or surpass your stock Gibson, and will leave you with more money for an amp, which will matter far more if and when you reach a higher level.

Skip that package deal. Nothing special in there. Seriously consider the T-15's and T-60's on ebay. I'm convinced they are the best value consistently around. The stock pickups kick ass.

AM I the only Fender & Gibson guy here? I had a OK Alvarez acoustic for my
1st guitar .I had a Bentley Les Paul copy for my 1st electric.It was a piece of SH*t as per others mention of cheap guitars .I bought a Tele after that from a cali custom guitar maker called Mighty Mite.I still have it & have 2 Strats as well. I'm still waiting to get a Les Paul.

My Alvarez got stolen & I replaced it with a Guild Acoustic /electric cut away, One of my best decisions in life.This guitar is a very close friend of mine, I've had it for 14 years,& it's stood up to 10 years of Rock n Roll abuse on the road.I just had the 4th set of frets put on it! I've almost bought a new guitar in fret jobs over the years!

My advice is,if you're into it & can afford it,buy a nice guitar .

Any thoughts about the Schecter C-1 Elite?
Ive found one locally with some very minor cosmetic stuff on the back of the guitar for 350. ya or nay?

try one of these

If you're just starting out but are serious about it buy a classical ("nylon string") guitar (Artesano makes quite a few really nice sub $500 guitars) and learn how to read music. After suffering on a classical for a couple years, you will absolutely blaze when you switch to an electric guitar.

If you just want to have fun, get something like an Ibanez SZ320. It's kinda a cross between a Strat and a Les Paul - it's got the double cutaways and thinner neck of a strat and the shorter scale and humbucker/mahogany tone of a Les Paul. A great guitar for how cheap it is. Just get some cheap 12 watt practice amp - unless you want to spend serious money on a tube amp, they're all going to sound about the same.