*New* First guitar

OneLastTry

Yes the title sounds dumb but hear me out I made a huge mistake a few years ago, I decided I wanted to learn to play the guitar so I went out to my local brick-a-brack/Feighan's style shop and grabed the first cheap sub £40 s/h guitar I saw and took it home... Thus after spending a week or two trying to learn tabs self taught on a guitar with about 3 feet of tab action, frets as tall as the sweetcorn giant and strings as tight as the pockets of your local MP to get rid of the rattle I gave up. And I'm beginning to think this was one of the worst mistakes I ever made. If anyones interested I think the guitar was a Benson? Or Bronson?? A cherry red strat replica style thing I want to remedy my mistake by starting again but I'm going to need a guitar worth owning, now I dont have money coming out of my ears so it would still have to be reasonably cheap and obviously user friendly. I'm big in to Metal "Metallica, Maiden, FFDP etc" so I want something I can shred "eventually" or atleast take my learning in a Metal direction with a strong Metal aound I'll find encouraging and rewarding.... I've been looking in the direction of either an Ibanez or a BC Rich, can someone recomend something? I'd like it to really last me until I'm sort of intermediate and can justify spending £500+ on a more advanced piece. Also should I be looking at something with a Tremelo? Active or Passive pickups? How many Pickups? Damn I know nothing Please help your advice would be most welcome!!

octatonic

£500 gets you an Fender American Std.

Get one, replace the bridge pickup with a humbucker.

Otherwise spend £300-500 on the best Ibanez/ESP/Schecter you can find.

OneLastTry

I wouldn't go with a Fender American Std as I just cant stand the shape if that makes any sense... Half the problem is I don't know what a good guitar is and I'm just getting buried online with too much information to make a solid judgement, probably not helpful. What I did take from your post is to not bother with BC Rich? Why is this?

Rox

What guitars do you really like the look of, @OneLastTry ?

RaymondLin

Well, you can't beat the classics, the reasons they are popular and classic is because they are good and very playable. 

Nomad

What's your budget? What amp do you have? Any pedals?

OneLastTry

I like the Warbeast and I like the Ibanez RG or GIO series, something black and stealthy like the GRG121DX

SimpleSimon

Avoid strange shape guitars - warlocks, Flying v's etc until you can play. Go to a decent local guitar shop, tell them your budget and try everything in the store that you like the look of. Dont buy the first thing or the thing your guitar shop tells you to buy. Try a few shops if possible see if you get a good feel for the shop and the item you think you want to buy. Still dont buy anything. Go home check out the best price for the guitar you want and go back to the store and haggle/see if they can get close. When you have a guitar you like then repeat the process for a reasonable sounding amp. Get the guitar properly set up as this will help your progress no end. Good luck and enjoy!

hobbio

I've got a Schecter up in the classifieds, £210 delivered. It's a decent guitar, good for the type of stuff you want to play and it's had a professional set up.

Here's the link: http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/30781/fs-trade-schecter-diamond-omen-extreme-fr-price-reduced

I'm not trying to take advantage cos you're new to this, it's a good, solid guitar that'll suit your musical tastes and it really does play well. You don't want to try an learn on a guitar that plays like crap, it'll just put you off.

OneLastTry

Nomad said:

What's your budget? What amp do you have? Any pedals?

No pedals or nothing, my budget is pretty limited so I'm likely to have to go secondhand on all the accessories and then replace them when I've absorbed the initial guitar cost

SimpleSimon said:

Avoid strange shape guitars - warlocks, Flying v's etc until you can play. Go to a decent local guitar shop, tell them your budget and try everything in the store that you like the look of. Dont buy the first thing or the thing your guitar shop tells you to buy. Try a few shops if possible see if you get a good feel for the shop and the item you think you want to buy. Still dont buy anything. Go home check out the best price for the guitar you want and go back to the store and haggle/see if they can get close. When you have a guitar you like then repeat the process for a reasonable sounding amp. Get the guitar properly set up as this will help your progress no end. Good luck and enjoy!

Ok man thats pretty sound advice, Mrs probably wont like standing round all day but I'll find a ahop near an Ann Sumers or a Debanhams

thumpingrug

Hi dude and welcome to the forum.  Do you need to factor in an amp and fx into your budget?

Seriously check out that Schecter.  Its a very good looking guitar, if i was in the right place to be buying I would consider it.  

OneLastTry

hobbio said:

I've got a Schecter up in the classifieds, £210 delivered. It's a decent guitar, good for the type of stuff you want to play and it's had a professional set up.

Here's the link: http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/30781/fs-trade-schecter-diamond-omen-extreme-fr-price-reduced

I'm not trying to take advantage cos you're new to this, it's a good, solid guitar that'll suit your musical tastes and it really does play well. You don't want to try an learn on a guitar that plays like crap, it'll just put you off.

I got a few weeks of saving to do before I buy anything, I'm getting all this knowledge early so I can digest it and make a real informed decision but if its still there when I'm ready to buy I'll definately consider it

Maynehead

I'm a Metallica fan too and my first "proper" guitar was a Kirk Hammett signature LTD KH-202. It's a great quality guitar and can be picked up really cheap on eBay, as they're hard to sell due to it being a signature model. You can probably find a decent one for around £160.

They're a strat shape so will be comfortable to learn on, but will also be good enough to gig. I gigged mine and it performed admirably

OneLastTry

thumpingrug said:

Hi dude and welcome to the forum.  Do you need to factor in an amp and fx into your budget?

Seriously check out that Schecter.  Its a very good looking guitar, if i was in the right place to be buying I would consider it.  

Probably a little desk amp to start with, I think any fx peddles would be too much too soon TBH

OneLastTry

thumpingrug said:

Hi dude and welcome to the forum.  Do you need to factor in an amp and fx into your budget?

Seriously check out that Schecter.  Its a very good looking guitar, if i was in the right place to be buying I would consider it.  

Probably a little desk amp to start with, I think any fx peddles would be too much too soon TBH

Maynehead said:

I'm a Metallica fan too and my first "proper" guitar was a Kirk Hammett signature LTD KH-202. It's a great quality guitar and can be picked up really cheap on eBay, as they're hard to sell due to it being a signature model. You can probably find a decent one for around £160.

They're a strat shape so will be comfortable to learn on, but will also be good enough to gig. I gigged mine and it performed admirably

But I hate the strat shape I'll take a look man thanks

Maynehead

Well if you like the Les Paul shape I'm selling a Vintage V100 in the classifieds for £140 delivered that would make a great starting guitar

OneLastTry

Maynehead said:

Well if you like the Les Paul shape I'm selling a Vintage V100 in the classifieds for £140 delivered that would make a great starting guitar

I dont think its for me dude, too warm I think is what im trying to say

olafgarten

OneLastTry;680106" said:

Maynehead said:

Well if you like the Les Paul shape I'm selling a Vintage V100 in the classifieds for £140 delivered that would make a great starting guitar













I dont think its for me dude, too warm I think is what im trying to say

I'm sure you can find a good Ibanez, just go to the nearest guitar shop and play all the guitars you like the look of.

rocktron

For metal, you can't go much wrong with a good quality Jackson (preferably the JS32Q Dinky TAM), or an Ibanez RG, within your budgetary constraints.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/jackson_js32q_dinky_tam.htm  

Check here for an an explanation of the differences between Active and Passive Pickups:-

http://www.dawsons.co.uk/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-active-and-passive-pickups

Most low end guitars won't come equipped with active pickups.

As the experienced guys have mentioned, stay away from exotic shaped guitars for now. I hear you ask why. First of all, there is the question of balance. Many exotics do not balance well on a neck strap when standing, and tend to slide downwards when sitting. You will find yourself having to constantly make adjustments, which can be annoying for beginners and experienced players alike. Secondly, guitars with pointy bodies tend to get dented easily on their pointy bits.  

I started with a Squier Strat, which I still use to this day, and did not buy my first 15 watt Combo until a year later. This particular Squier Strat sounds superb unplugged, so I was quite happy to practice on it without an amp until I mastered some basic techniques.

You wouldn't need effects pedals as yet if you bought a small combo such as a Line 6 Spider IV 15 watt combo, which has onboard effects. Such a combo will serve you well for a couple of years until you are ready to upgrade.

Do not waste money on a cheap micro-amp, most of which are little more than glorified toys. You will not be happy with their sound. 

OneLastTry

Thanks man

Bellycaster

These seem to be good for the money. Under £400 from Guitar Guitar or Andertons etc. They certainly do " Metal".

If this doesn't take your fancy, then I would look at the Guitars octatonic mentioned.