Get a Great Guitar Sound for a Low Price

Are you the type of guitarist who is at a medium level of experience, and wants a great sounding guitar/amp for a low price? I can show you how to get an amazing, professional sounding tone for very little money.

Steps

  1. First think-what kind of music do you want to play? This is what makes all the difference in deciding what gear to buy.
  2. If you like jazz/blues, you may want to get a hollow-body guitar. These are beautiful guitars that sound great with low distortion and bassy tone. Ask about Epiphone, Washburn and Ibanez hollow bodies. Danelectro's are super cheap, but some people don't like the tone from them.
  3. If you like Folk/acoustic rock, Martin and Taylor are the way to go- if you're willing to shell out more. For a low price, the best acoustic would probably be an Epiphone, or an Alvarez.
  4. If you like heavy metal or Post-Hardcore, Schecter, ESP/LTD, Ibanez, and Jackson are a few major brands of guitar that have a great bang for buck effect.
  5. For modern or classic rock, Fender and Gibson are great brands. (Or Epiphone. They have the same guitars with slightly lower quality, but Epiphone is three times cheaper.)
  6. Do some more research. Go to a music store and ask one of the clerks about the guitars you are interested in. Avoid big chain music stores with "monster deals" for research unless you are testing for yourself. Most of the time the staff there is not going to be as knowledgeable or experienced as a smaller shop with dedicated, long-term employees, and the small stores will tend to be more truthful about products because they want your return business.
  7. Don't be afraid to go used. Buying from places like eBay could save you a lot of money and get a lot of tone for the cash. As with buying anything, make sure it works and is not a fake.

  8. Build your own stuff. It takes a lot more skill than buying but building could save some serious cash. Granted building something like a guitar is hard and is best left to professionals. However, building effects pedal (such as a tube screamer type pedal) is commonplace and gives great bang for your buck. If you're even more handy with your soldering iron, make your own amp. Parts are readily available from the internet (as with effects pedal parts) and could be your ticket to cheap tonal nirvana.
  9. Use guitar forums like http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/ to get great advice from seriously experienced guys. What's more, it's absolutely free.



Tips

  • Never underestimate the value of high-quality strings. Even if your guitar is average or low quality, a killer set of strings can coax that full, mind-blowing sound out of your instrument. Try Elixir brand strings, which have a special coating that makes them last longer. Thick strings, possibly made of nickel, are useful as well--they may be a little harder to hold down, but the difference in sound quality is amazing.
  • The amp makes 90 percent of your tone. Spend more money on your amp than your guitar.
  • SGs and Les Pauls are great for almost any style of rock, but can get expensive. Epiphone is more reasonably priced than Gibson is.
  • Vox is good for amps.
  • Marshall is great for amps, but can be very expensive. Watch out for the Marshall MGs. Just because it says Marshall on it doesn't always mean that it's going to sound good.
  • If you want heavy metal, Schecter is an amazing brand, but they are a little on the expensive side. They can go from $300 to $1000.
  • If you want to play many styles of music (or you're not yet sure what you want to play), go Fender. I would avoid the Squier, though. Look for something from $250- $400. Then, go ahead and buy a Vox Valvetronix amp. You decide how much money you want to spend on the amps in this series. They can go for as low as $189.
  • If you're REALLY on a budget, don't underestimate the power of an Epiphone guitar. Besides the aesthetics, the only difference between an Epiphone and a Gibson is pickups. (Another writer says, "This statement is false, upper quality guitars are made with better wood and parts which really contribute to the sound... Epiphones are good to start out with, though.) To keep from spending your life's savings, you can get a nice Epiphone and buy EMG's, Seymour Duncan's, or DiMarzios, and have them professionally installed by your local music shop.
  • Ibanez "artcore" series is a hollow body series that is very versatile.

Warnings

  • Be careful with your guitars.
  • Be careful when buying guitars from sites like e-Bay, if you find a guitar with a price that seems too good to be true it most likely is.
  • Make sure you're well informed and know what you are doing before you go out and spend more than $100.
  • Stay away from solid state half stacks in this price range. Your much better off getting a tube combo.
  • The world of guitars is an expensive one.

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