The Recommended Budget Guitar Thread

[questra]

Guys, would appreciate your input in this:

I'm planning to get my first electric guitar + a practice amp this weekend. The only guitar I've owned so far is an old folk Yamaha.

Together with the amp, I'm budgeting about 600-700 USD. I currently have in mind:

Guitar
1.) Cort Zenox Z42FT or
2.) Epiphone Les Paul Special II

Amp
Peavey Vypyr15

I'm leaning to the Cort right now as it's cheaper, comes with longer warranty, has more features than the Epi. Any thoughts / recommendations? Or if there are any other guitars within the same price range worth trying?

Thanks.

[IdEngager]

I'm not sure where you're located, but I'd search through the listings on Craigslist first. You can get real good deals on instruments off there, since musicians are usually broke and need the money. You should be able to pick up a real Fender Strat or Tele for around $300 or so. The nice thing about musical instruments is that if you buy it used, you should be able to sell it off again for about the same price you bought it as long as you don't fuck it up.

I haven't played a Cort but I've had pretty good experiences with Epi's in the past. They're usually pretty solidly built. I'd probably spend a bit extra to get the guitar set up (pretty much the first thing I do with any guitar) and swap out the pickups. On most cheap guitars, the build is just fine, but the pickups leave something to be desired.

As far as practice amps go, I love the little Vox Valvetronix. I play a tube combo that's probably a bit out your price range, but my buddy has one of the Valvetronix's, and it's pretty sweet. It'll set you back a little more than the Peavey, but it's got a preamp tube and a ton of different amp models. I think the newer ones even come with backing tracks for some classic songs to play along with, haha.

[Mark]

I'd just make sure you actually play the guitars before buying them... People's preferences vary widely. For instance, I can't stand Epiphones and am not much of a Les Paul guy. I'm more of a Fender guy, so I'd tell you to get a Squire Strat to start out. But that's just me. Everyone has different preferences.

Second the Craigslist suggestion.

Most people who start an instrument don't make it past a couple months, so it's better to start with something cheap and make sure you're really getting into it than to drop $700 on something you're not going to play anymore a month from now.

[Dawson]

What do want to play? You might be a jazz cat for all I know or think that Slayer are the bomb. Besides which, the most important thing in the beginning is just to play. The better you get, the more it's going to matter what model and amp you use.

[questra]

Thanks for the craiglist suggestion. Never realized they have a malaysia.craiglist.org

Will try to hunt down the Vox for a test. They seem to be a little hard to come by this part of the world.

Tried out both guitars (and the squier strat) the other day but the guy at the store was seriously promoting the Cort. So checked it out online and I've been seeing a lot of good things.

I'm looking to explore the sounds on the electric guitar really - I've played acoustic guitar for more than a decade now, but never had my own electric guitar to fool around with at home - so yeah, hopefully I'll find my sound over time. The thing I liked most about the Cort Zenox Z42FT is the coil tapping/splitting. So you can get basically single coil or humbucker pickup effects with the flick of a switch.

Thanks again.

[Creatine Dreams]

If you do buy a used guitar, just remember to check all the frets for signs of wear and buzzing problems. A re-fret can be quite cost prohibitive.

[questra]

Ended up with a Cort Z44 and a Vox Valvetronix VT20+. They were having discounts so I even got it cheaper (~USD 150) than the Peavey. Am really loving the sounds so far. Thanks all

[roark]

Does anyone have any experience with a travel guitar or folding guitar? I want one I can take on my carry on.

[Dawson]

Dude I have the same problem coming up. I'm gonna be traveling soon and can't exactly take my entire rig with me. Martin Co. do a cool 'backpacker' acoustic guitar which is pretty sweet. That's all I got . . .

[IdEngager]

I actually own the Washburn travel guitar (http://www.amazon.com/Washburn-String-Tr...00064TZYW) and have played the Martin one as well. The Martin is a bit smaller and more suited if you are doing actual backpacking, but I don't really like the tone. I actually sorta like the tone of the Washburn, you don't get much bass sound from the low E but it has a general tone similar to a decent uke. It just sounds a lot fuller than the Martin.

Thing is, it's sort of a pain to get on an actual plane. The case for the Washburn at least is longer than most carry on luggage, so you have to squeeze it the long way on the overhead, it's hard to put it sideways on most planes, plus it's too big to put under your seat. I've flown with it like once, if I don't get to check at least one piece of luggage for free I just leave it at home. It's still nice to keep around though for road trips or playing it at the beach or any place you don't want to fuck up a nicer acoustic, I generally leave it in the trunk of my car for times I really have the urge to play.

[Creatine Dreams]

Backpacker guitars are cool but they are limited as far as what you can play on them. They have less frets.

[questra]

echoing IdE's comments on the Washburn travel guitar. I was traveling last month and my temporary housemate had one of those. Pleasantly surprised by how much tone you could get out of such a small body.

[roark]

I've seen some electrics that fold in half, which you can throw into your carry on.

There are $5.00 adapters that turn your iPhone into an amp. Bringing one of those collapsible Bluetooth travel speakers along would be good.