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General => Boards => Archive => Other Discussion => Topic started by: Ricky on February 03, 2007, 09:04:11 pm

Title: What do I need to know when buying a electric guitar?
Post by: Ricky on February 03, 2007, 09:04:11 pm
I'm thinking on what to spend my Summer money on, when while searching some tabs to play on my flute I got the idea of an electric guitar...
So, humm:
1. What kind of price should I be expecting?
2. What should I know about amplifiers? Must I have one (like a memory card on a console)?
And some other things you may want to tell... xP
Thank you. ^^
Title: Re: What do I need to know when buying a electric guitar?
Post by: Pyru on February 03, 2007, 09:14:38 pm
Price: Depends on the guitar. You can get as cheap as ???30, and then the sky's the limit - ???3000 isn't too much to expect for a really good guitar.

For a decent beginner's electric guitar, ???175 is roughly a good MINIMUM price to expect.

And, no, you don't need an amplifier, but if you're not getting an amplifier, you might as well not get an electric guitar - you'd be better off getting an acoustic. The only benefit to playing electric comes with getting an amp.
Title: Re: What do I need to know when buying a electric guitar?
Post by: Retro on February 03, 2007, 09:26:17 pm
How to play.

















XD Sorry I had to do that, anyways it may just me but, play test the guitar before you buy it, some guitars just fit your body better then others.  Since you'll be playing this at hours at a time and even just for a few minutes, you'll want it to feel nice.  Oh and if your getting an electric you need a amp, you can't hear an electric otherwise.  Well unless you have crazy good ears XD.
Title: Re: What do I need to know when buying a electric guitar?
Post by: cpprograms on February 04, 2007, 01:45:23 am
XD Sorry I had to do that, anyways it may just me but, play test the guitar before you buy it, some guitars just fit your body better then others.  Since you'll be playing this at hours at a time and even just for a few minutes, you'll want it to feel nice.  Oh and if your getting an electric you need a amp, you can't hear an electric otherwise.  Well unless you have crazy good ears XD.


^ Not true, it just sounds 100x better with an amp, the guitar by itself is pretty quiet, but in no way inaudible. I play bass off and on with an electric and trust me you can hear it without the amp. It just sounds better on it.
Title: Re: What do I need to know when buying a electric guitar?
Post by: Mateus on February 04, 2007, 01:53:42 am
Electric Guitars without the amp are as loud as a acoustic is actually.
Title: Re: What do I need to know when buying a electric guitar?
Post by: Alex2539 on February 04, 2007, 10:00:08 pm
You're kidding, me right? Electric Guitars without an amp are barely audible half the time. Acoustics are made to project sound, hence them being hollow, whereas Electrics have nothing that allows the sound to reverberate. They have pickups, that's it.

If you're getting an electric, you'll need to get an amp. There are some cheap starting kits that come with a low-cost (read: crappy) guitar and amp together. I'd suggest starting with that, then if you decide you're serious about your guitar skillz, save up for a nicer one.
Title: Re: What do I need to know when buying a electric guitar?
Post by: Mateus on February 05, 2007, 03:25:21 am
You're kidding, me right? Electric Guitars without an amp are barely audible half the time. Acoustics are made to project sound, hence them being hollow, whereas Electrics have nothing that allows the sound to reverberate. They have pickups, that's it.

If you're getting an electric, you'll need to get an amp. There are some cheap starting kits that come with a low-cost (read: crappy) guitar and amp together. I'd suggest starting with that, then if you decide you're serious about your guitar skillz, save up for a nicer one.
I'm not kidding, or maybe i have 3 times better than perfect hearing cause it's actually loud.
Title: Re: What do I need to know when buying a electric guitar?
Post by: cpprograms on February 05, 2007, 06:41:55 am
Loud? No. Audible? Yes.

Should you get an amp? Yes. It's really quite a necessary thing, though if you wanna save some dough and you know basic electronics you can probably figure out how to hook your guitar up to a boom box or a stereo system... w/e you have available. A 10 dollar trip to radioshack might be worth it to you but I still suggest the amp honestly. The sound quality's much better.

I think I'm going to make a portable amp... It will be quite fun >_>

Yay for finding random halfway decent speakers in stupid toys! (Seriously I have no idea what the company was thinking, they stuck a halfway decent speaker in a toy that just beeped! Can you say monumental waste of resources/cash?)
Title: Re: What do I need to know when buying a electric guitar?
Post by: Pyru on February 05, 2007, 07:22:47 pm
You're kidding, me right? Electric Guitars without an amp are barely audible half the time. Acoustics are made to project sound, hence them being hollow, whereas Electrics have nothing that allows the sound to reverberate. They have pickups, that's it.

Depends on the guitar... you're thinking generic Strat/Telecaster/Les Paul/SG/whatever, but a lot of electrics DO have that echo room, making them loud enough to play acoustically (read: semi-acoustic, electro-acoustic or possibly hollow-body). Of my six guitars, four are electric - and only one has no echo space whatsoever.

If you're getting an electric, you'll need to get an amp. There are some cheap starting kits that come with a low-cost (read: crappy) guitar and amp together. I'd suggest starting with that, then if you decide you're serious about your guitar skillz, save up for a nicer one.

I can tell you right now that those starter kits are never worth it... yes, some of the lower end guitars in similar kits ARE worth it, but the ones with amps basically never have a good quality amp OR guitar. They're not even worth the money you pay for them, to be honest. I picked up my entire starting set of guitar and amp for ??200 - compared to about ??130 or so for one of those kits - and the quality's much higher. Not only that, but the amp still works, and my guitar's still in good shape. If only the same could be said of those crappy kits...
Title: Re: What do I need to know when buying a electric guitar?
Post by: Mateus on February 05, 2007, 07:27:45 pm
I have a Fender and it's loud.
Title: Re: What do I need to know when buying a electric guitar?
Post by: Devy on February 06, 2007, 12:13:34 am
get a stylish guitar u wont belive howmany people think ur cool cuz of your guitar look

also get one that is easy to mod or change something to
Title: Re: What do I need to know when buying a electric guitar?
Post by: Lambor on February 18, 2007, 04:19:18 am
Hmmm..Your probably going to be spending around...250-300 for a GOOD guitar and if you want a good amp..around another 200-300++

This is my setup
(Yes,This is a rare guitar :P (R.I.P Dimebag)
(http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m139/Lambor/dimetar.jpg)
Title: Re: What do I need to know when buying a electric guitar?
Post by: Solarrain4 on February 19, 2007, 01:20:56 am
I'm thinking on what to spend my Summer money on, when while searching some tabs to play on my flute I got the idea of an electric guitar...
So, humm:
1. What kind of price should I be expecting?
2. What should I know about amplifiers? Must I have one (like a memory card on a console)?
And some other things you may want to tell... xP
Thank you. ^^

1) Well, you know how more expensive things are supposedly better? Well, not necessarily. My last guitar was almost $300, but now I have one that cost $150 that is so much better. So you can have one that's really expensive, but there may be one that's cheaper but better. So just try some guitars out, and just get the best one that you can actually afford.

2) Yeah, an amp would be a really good idea. And not all of them are expensive... There are some amps (like mine) that are really good but aren't even $100 (Mine was $70, and you can even get a used amp for even lower - they tagged my trade-in at $20, I think :o). They're usually low-wattage though - most commonly 15 watts, but I've even seen a 10-watt amp :o

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