Official buying advice thread

Could anyone recommend a guitar + amp with the budget of around $700-1000. I'm a beginner but serious about investing time to learn guitar and music theory. I was considering a ESP LTD Viper-50 and a Line 6 Spider III 30 watt amp. But I'm pretty much a newb when it comes to guitar or amps. Help!
 
dragonsphere23 said:
Ok so ive been selecting and narrowing down my choices and i have made up my mind, Im starting off with this some what low end ESP VIPER, I like it and the specs on it are nice! i want to change the pickups to emgz, more likley with 81s at the neck and 85s at the bridge and do a 18v mod to it, but hopefully i made a good choice, what do you guys think, and those of you who dont understand this thread check out my profile and my first threads and you'll know why.
heres the link to the guitar.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?cpd=0OEY&doc_id=99371&base_pid=516674&index=0
sorry wrong forum guys!!!!
Click to expand...

im gonna throw this into the buying advice thread :)
~gR~
 
Nehebkau said:
Could anyone recommend a guitar + amp with the budget of around $700-1000. I'm a beginner but serious about investing time to learn guitar and music theory. I was considering a ESP LTD Viper-50 and a Line 6 Spider III 30 watt amp. But I'm pretty much a newb when it comes to guitar or amps. Help!
Click to expand...

you can do a bit better than the viper 50 for your budget. maybe these:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ibanez-S320-S-Series-Electric-Guitar?sku=512503
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ibanez-SA260FM-Electric-Guitar?sku=517962
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/ESP-LTD-EX400-Electric-Guitar?sku=512028 (if you must have an esp)
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/LSP-LTD-EC256-Electric-Guitar?sku=521009 (if you must have an esp)

with this:
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Line-6-Spider-III-120-Stereo-Combo-Amplifier?sku=482271 (if you must have a line 6)
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Peavey-ValveKing-112-Combo-Amp?sku=481442
~gR~
 
no problem. there's just no sense in buying cheap stuff that will cause problems (like tuning, intonation, and shotty wiring) if you can afford better
~gR~
 
No, it's totally right. Spend as much money as you can on the guitar, every penny makes a difference. Under $1000 pretty much every $50 is a significant increase in quality. Over $1000 you get into diminishing returns in overall quality as the guitars become increasingly specialized/personalized, but still it makes a difference. For a first guitar go Ibanez. Get the best RG series you can afford.
 
dragonsphere23 said:
My CHOICE FOR THIS GUITAR WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Ok so ive been selecting and narrowing down my choices and i have made up my mind, Im starting off with this some what low end ESP VIPER, I like it and the specs on it are nice! i want to change the pickups to emgz, more likley with 81s at the neck and 85s at the bridge and do a 18v mod to it, but hopefully i made a good choice, what do you guys think, and those of you who dont understand this thread check out my profile and my first threads and you'll know why.
heres the link to the guitar.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/docum...516674&index=0
sorry wrong forum guys!!!!
Click to expand...
The specs look okay, but I have serious reservations. I would say you should absolutely try it in a store before buying it, and bring along a more experienced guitarist friend to help you judge. As for changing the pickups, I would use that money towards a better amp instead.
 
DO NOT GO CHEAP! many beginners buy cheap guitars and get frustrated because they keep having problems with their gear.

and its easier to learn on electric. why? because the neck is slimmer and the action is lower. sure you may need an amp. so here is a solution. GET A HOLLOW BODY ELECTRIC! the ibanez artcore are great guitars.
~gR~
 
Hey, guys...I'm gonna be getting my first electric guitar soon, been wanting to play for a while since I seem to have more fun on 6 strings than 4 these days. My budget will be approx. £3-400, say around £250 for the guitar and £150 for the amp, for example. I'm just looking to get a couple more opinions, so far I've looked at LTD guitars (which I like the look of and know I can play, my mate has one - reason i say that is my hands are a bit small and thinner necks work better for me) and Marshall amps. I know Roland amps are quite good also. Keep in mind I don't just want to play metal, I want to play a variety of stuff but be able to get a mean distorted tone when needs be.
 
Hi guys, I don't know if this the proper place to post this. I have 2 Ibanez basses (SR300 & SR305). I bought them primarily for recording and learning songs. (I'm a guitar player) I think the pickups are crap I don't get much definition from them, but I've always loved the feel of the soundgears. My question is I'm thinking of buying a higher ended bass (Ibanez or otherwise in the $1000.00 range) Any recommendations? Or should I just look at replacing the pickups? I mostly play heavier music, but versatility is key because I can end up playing pretty much everything. I just want a good, solid all around bass for recording and playing a possible gig here and there. I've actually been considering the Korn Fieldy K5 I think it is, and the Spector Mike Kroeger model (I'm not a Korn fan or a nickelback fan But thats a similar bass tone I'm looking for.) I'm just looking for recommendations/suggestions because I'm a long time guitar player and don't know tons about basses. Thanks for any replies.
 
I don't know a lot about basses either but I've heard good things about the ESP LTD basses and I've always felt that they put out quality stuff (as far as guitars go anyway) so that might be worth looking at
 
moving to the proper place.

as for your question, you get into sticky territory at about $1000. its high end, but not really. if you want to spend closer to 1500 get a musicman bongo or stingray. badass basses that are perfect for metal. you may also check out the MTD's kingston and zephyr. MTD is michael tobias designs. his hand made stuff is amazing, but i hear the "low end" basses are good too. lastly, dingwall has a new budget line that should be pretty cool. i have an AB-2 from them and i absolutely love it. the combustions are gonna run a hair under 1200. if you wanna go all out, the dingwall AB-2 and Z series are made for metal! the AB-2 has a walnut body and has an awesome dark growl. the Z series are made of swamp ash, but have a killer tone. if you want a Z, especially the uber awesome Z3, youre gonna have to wait in line for a couple years and drop about 3-4000. anyways, some links!

dingwall:
http://www.dingwallguitars.com/hear-it/ (the first three samples are awesome)
http://www.basscentral.com/2003/dingwall.shtml

MTD:
http://www.basscentral.com/2003/mtdkingston.shtml
http://www.basscentral.com/2003/mtdzephyr.shtml
http://www.basscentral.com/2003/mtd.shtml (got 5k to spend?)
http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/MTD-Kingston-KZ-Bass?sku=513941

musicman:
http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend...ngRay-4String-Electric-Bass-Guitar?sku=515555
http://www.basscentral.com/musicman/index.shtml

PS: bass central is awesome! i bought my dingwall and pedulla from them. awesome dudes with a crazy military discount
~gR~
 
My first suggestion would be a Soundgear Prestige. They have that fast, then, smooth-playing neck you're already familiar with, and also boast some incredible electronics, usually featuring some sort of mid sweep control or additional mid control. The 2008 and 2009 models both have their advantages. The '08 models have neck-through construction (not necessarily good or bad, but if you like additional sustain then it's the way to go), and the '09 models have a wenge/bubinga neck and a wenge fretboard, which is a really clear, bright tonewood that really shines in the upper register. Oh, and the pickups are Bartolini MK-1's on both. Fantastic pickups.

Another great bass around that price range is the Warwick Corvette. If you're willing to buy used, you can get it with just about any pickup configuration you could imagine. It has a legendary, tried-and-true tone that is good for any style of music, especially all the subgenres of metal.

The Peavey Cirrus is a personal favorite of mine. It has incredible electronics and they have a budget line that managed to keep a lot of the things that make it a great bass. The BXP models come with various tops including Bubinga and Quilted Maple, they have Pau Ferro fretboards (high quality rosewood), active pickups which sound very agressive and organic, and a 3-band EQ.

If you're going to get a Spector, I'd go with a Rebop or a Euro. About 90% of the other basses they manufacture have Basswood bodies, and while it may sound good by itself, this soft tonewood does not stand out enough for high-volume music. And it's mushy. Bleh.
 
the cirrus is a cool bass, as is the prestige. but for a little extra cash he can get something with a little more craftmanship and engineering.

and i've officially decided that warwicks arent worth the money. way over priced. you can find some good deals on ebay though
~gR~
 
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