Epiphone Les Paul, Fender Telecaster ,strat or you can suggest your own. Which one should I buy?

Question

Okay, so I'm thinking of buying either a Epiphone Les Paul Standard, Fender Telecaster or Strat.. but I'm not quite sure what to pick. I've played with all of these before. It's also my first electric guitar and probably the last guitar I buy for a VERY long time so I want something I'm sure I'd be happy with. It doesn't have to exactly be the guitars I listed up above so please shoot away with other suggestions. I play in a Alternative or as some would say "indie(eh)" type of band so I'm hoping for a guitar that would accommodate a mellow sound well but I don't mind branching out. My budget for the guitar AND amp is 500 dollars so please keep that in mind. Thank you!

Answer 1

your biggest problem here is that most decent amps are in the 350 bucks and up category. with a fixed budget, compromise and a LOT of searching and education are in order.

starting with guitars, your best bang for the buck are either Washburn or Ibanez. they both make gigging-ready guitars starting at about $250, and are well worth it. you have to trust me, here. I've been playing guitar since the early 60's and have had my hands on almost all of them at one time or another. I have my guitars made for me now, but own models of each of the two I mentioned. you really can't go wrong with either; it's just a matter of what looks, sounds, and feels right to you. the place you purchase it from should be more than willing to do a set-up for you, too. this would include fret dressing; intonation; setting the action; and the like. it might even be included in the price.

the amp selection is a bit more difficult. consider where you're going to be playing, if in public. solid state amps are cheaper, but try to find a touring musician that plays through one - NOT! tube amps have the warmth and tone, along with the sheer oomph that most players are looking for. they also are superior with any effects (pedals, etc.) that you might want to add on down the line. check out the music stores, not catalogs or internet, for used tube amps that you can afford after your guitar purchase. having the cash in hand might pusuade the proprietor to sell to you at a lower price than advertised. don't go for ANY amp unless you know how it sounds with your guitar. that's why you buy the guitar first; then you can visit all the stores with it to try out the amps for the sound you want. remain patient in your search; something this important may not occur as quickly as you want. happy trails.

Answer 2

$500 for a good guitar AND amp? Thats not a lot of money.. Well first of all, don't buy an Epiphone. They're cheaply made copies of Gibsons. I suggest you save up some more money if you plan to use this guitar for a very long time like you said. I personally use an Ibanez Jem7v, but thats probably pretty high out of your price range ($2100). It does suit all tones very well though, and its incredibly comfortable and beautiful. If your looking for something cheaper though, I would suggest a fairly high quality Fender Strat (At least $800). I also find Vox amps are the best, and if you want a mellower sort of tone, look around for the right kind of pedals. Boss makes alot of good ones. And always try out the guitar before you buy it.



EDIT: I'm in highschool too. Save up ur money. I saved up all my lunch money and got a job holding signs on the side of the street. $240 a weekend.

Answer 3

Hmmm..In my opinion, as soon as you hit the 500 pounds (don't know what that is in euros), you hit a world of truly good quality guitars. I got myself a Gibson SG wraparound for 450 pounds, (haggled down from 500). It is a beautiful guitar, truely is. Before that, i had a fender jazzmaster - again, a beautiful guitar, but the bridge needs replacing to a rattle. I don't like fender strats that much, but i can tell you they are good guitars. Gibsons are gibsons, your typical rocker guitar (BUT - it depends how you feel with what you play :) ). Ibanez do some EXTREMELY good stuff, particutrally with the pickups, however, they tend to be more hot pickups..for metal music. I disagree that the Sheraton is great, ibanez make better hollow bodies than epiphone...I just wouldn't go with epiphone. After a while of an expensive guitar, you start to realize the subtle tonal differences. PRS are pretty darn good too. But in my opinion, the gibson beat them by far. With that kind of money, you can get a great guitar, and a pretty good amp too. (Remember, amps is where alot of your tone's lie). You could even get it second hand and save some money or get better stuff. But other than advice, i can only say go down to your local shop, and try some out in your budget, get a feel for what you like, compare guitars. Ask questions, always try haggle too :) Hope this helped.

Answer 4

First $500 isn't a lot to play with, are you talking about new equipment?, if it's new you want I'd say the Les Paul will probably be the cheapest which will leave you a little more for the amp. If you want to go with used I'd check out Peaveys, those made in the US, I used to own a T-60 and it was one sweet piece and they have a unique tone control system that

allows you to go from a humbucker sound to a single coil set up

and anything in between, and when set up properly the have a great action, or maybe an Epiphone Sheraton, also very nice.

Answer 5

I have a Gibson Les Paul Standard which I cherish, but I'll play my Fender Stratocaster any day of the week before I'll strap on that Les Paul. The Strat is much lighter (which makes a big difference if you're playing four hours a night) and the fret action is smoother. Also, don't go get a real Strat, go get a Tex-Mex strat (the guy at the store will know what you're talking about) - they're a few hundred dollars cheaper than a real Strat and they play just a good. Then someday when you're better and richer go get a real Strat.