guitars

okayies-firstly, i gotta job! 😀 (working in a restaurant in dobbies garden centre in milngavie-robert carlile was there yesterday!)
secondly, i got my first pay check! 😀 (£185)
thirdly, i need help with what to do with it...

i have decided to blow all of it, and more (maybe) on an electric guitar-i already play accousitc (kinda), so i'm not a complete beginner, but i'm gonna need a guitar, an amp and a book to go along with it. so £20 for the book, that leaves approximately £165 for the guitar+amp. i've done a bit of research in the guitar shops in glasgow-well, their websites cause i've been busy and haven't been able to go into town 😛

www.guitar.co.uk
www.mccormacks-music.com
www.biggars.co.uk

now then-the guitar i WANT is the Ibanez GRG170dx JB (http://www.guitarstrings.co.uk/search_details.asp?ID=708) which was hte cheapest ibanez i could find-but that's £159, and the amps £60. that's an amp to much...😕 but...i can stretch...however-i don't really wanna stretch if there's nothing in the name and i can get a better guitar for cheaper...so-anyone any ideas? and also-and decent books to learn from? i've got 2 justnow-complete guitar player volume1 by russ shipman, and he classic guitar method, volume one by mel bay (please note: i got given these by a friend...i didn't by them myself...honest...)

so-yes-anyone?

Originally posted by genius
okayies-firstly, i gotta job! 😀 (working in a restaurant in dobbies garden centre in milngavie-robert carlile was there yesterday!)
secondly, i got my first pay check! 😀 (£185)
thirdly, i need help with what to do with it...

i have decided to blow all of it, and more (maybe) on an electric guitar-i already play accousitc (kinda), so i'm not a complete ...[text shortened]... se note: i got given these by a friend...i didn't by them myself...honest...)

so-yes-anyone?

Have you looked on ebay, I just put Ibanez in a search and loads came up.

Originally posted by shavixmir
Buy a second hand guitar.
Electric guitars don't generally deteriorate over time. (Just check to make sure the tone bar is straight).

I certainly wouldn't buy a cheap new guitar. The microphones are usually rubbish, the neck (or tone bar, or whatever you call it) is more often than not crap and tuning things on the end (the little twisty knob thing ...[text shortened]... eak.

Best to save up another month and get a second hand fender or something. If you ask me.

Genius ...

Buying an electric guitar heavily depends on what music you want to play with it ... If you are into rock (and/or) metal and you don't want to spend too much try www.olpguitar.com ... I play one myself and I like the heavy 'bassy' sound ...

Regards

The Slow heavy rocking Pawn

there are loads of 2nd hand guitar shops in glasgow. check the yellow pages. pawn shops too.

Always haggle: offer cash etc. (cash buys rarely go through the till: no VAT leaves room for bargains, particularly if you offer 'no receipt' though beware getting duff with no comeback). Consider accepting freebies rather than a discount: I once got a free hard-case rather than any cash off which was a bargain in truth.

Consdier just using headphones and saving for an amp seperately. low cost amps are rank but headphones are surprisingly good. And your folks might be convinced to pay for them, if only for peace...

Obviously you'll need to be able to tell the good from the dross: that goes for both new and 2nd hand buying. Don't imagine its good 'cos its new. The prevalence of rubbish is similar for both new/old.

Do a google for help sites on evaluating an electric guitar, but if i recall aright, the main checks are:
1) check the neck is straight. look from the bridge down to the head and see if the frets are all parrallel: it not, its twisted.
2) check the intonation: play a 12 fret harmonic and then a 12th fretted note. they should have the same tone. while on an electric minor intoation errors are quite easy to fix, major ones are not, and why buy a problem anyway? there will be loads to choose from.
3) check the guitars 'action' (how far the string is from the frets). too low and you'll get fret buzz. too high and its a nightmare to play. note that lead guitarists tend to low action as a rule.
4) check the parts are original: look at all the bits and bobs and see if all the knobs match, and the bolt on bits have no suspiceous old screw holes, glue marks or the like. Check the pickups are firly in place, as is the guitar jack socket.
5) check the build is sound: no splits in the neck or body.
6) if its got through the above, then you can consider plugging it in! always try it out for real. Make sure the electronics all work. Get a no-distortion sound first and check playing it sounds good. Play each note on each string checking for fret buzz. Then test each knob does as it should in isolation. the shop folk may try to get you to go straight into a sound effects pedal or the like. don't: you want to heatr the guitar, not the effects/amp.
8) does it fit your hand size? Strats are tricky for big handed people.
9) is it the right style? if you are doing mostly lead, strats and the like have strings quite close together wich is often useful. For more chordy things, a wider neck may be needed.
10) how much is it and do you like it?

Always shop around: look at ebay for going rates for the guitar you saw and quite liked etc. Takes a while, but you'll have it for a good few years, so a week or two now isn't much to ask.

Originally posted by genius
okayies-firstly, i gotta job! 😀 (working in a restaurant in dobbies garden centre in milngavie-robert carlile was there yesterday!)
secondly, i got my first pay check! 😀 (£185)
thirdly, i need help with what to do with it...

i have decided to blow all of it, and more (maybe) on an electric guitar-i already play accousitc (kinda), so i'm not a complete ...[text shortened]... se note: i got given these by a friend...i didn't by them myself...honest...)

so-yes-anyone?

Originally posted by Redmike
I'd recommend Merchant City Music (in the Merchant City, funnily enough).
Can you do anything about the rubbish coffee in Dobbies? Good cakes, rubbish coffee.