Need Advice For A New Guitar!

Pablo Crucelli · 02-05-2008, 06:43 PM

Right guys, I'm looking to get an electric guitar - to lead worship on / play worship on.
Price range - Up to around £350. Preferably no more, but would stretch if I found a great deal!
I know about musical knowledge and sound and stuff.. but I'm fairly newbish when it comes to knowing what the best thing to have for a guitar is.. or what's better than what, etc.
I'm going to a huge music shop this coming Saturday to check out some guitars there.. play them etc. So I'll be able to hear what sounds good and feels good, but I won't really know whether I'm being ripped off with the pick up in the guitar, or the whatever!
So, if you guys have any guitars that you'd reccomend, I'm looking to play stuff like Hillsong United, Tim Hughes, Matt Redman, Casting Crowns etc..
I've been looking at the Fender Strat MIM.. I prefer the Strat style to the Tele style.. but the Les Paul style is pretty cool too! But I haven't had a chance to play any.

Oh, I'll also be buying an amp as I only have practise amps at the moment.

So I don't have an amp, I need a bit of advice on that as well, but yeah. And maybe if there are any good combo's people know work, Like Fender Jaquar with Marshall amp.. or something like that.

Hmm i hope that's enough information, and that some of you can help please! Would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
God bless,
Pablo.. or just Paul.

Check last post to see what I ended up buying!

DJ Clown · 02-05-2008, 07:05 PM

I definitely recomend a Epiphone LP. Since pretty much everything Gibson/Epihone is made of mahogany, it gives them that sweet smooth tone thats never harsh, which is good for the style of music youre aiming for. Or you could even get a knockoff of a LP.
Strats and teles definitely have a brighter tone, thats more suited to a blues/country type stuff.

Im not sure if I can help you with amps, though. Thats where Im totally inexperienced

If you wanna stay safe, fender amps are definitely the way to go. But Im sure someone could give better advice.

thesteve · 02-05-2008, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ Clown

I definitely recomend a Epiphone LP. Since pretty much everything Gibson/Epihone is made of mahogany, it gives them that sweet smooth tone thats never harsh, which is good for the style of music youre aiming for. Or you could even get a knockoff of a LP.
Strats and teles definitely have a brighter tone, thats more suited to a blues/country type stuff.

Im not sure if I can help you with amps, though. Thats where Im totally inexperienced

If you wanna stay safe, fender amps are definitely the way to go. But Im sure someone could give better advice.

Strats and Teles generally do have a brighter tone, but I wouldn't say they're more suited to blues/country...especially since there's plenty of country guys playing Les Pauls and plenty of rockers playing Strats and Teles.

In all honesty, I can probably get close enough to all of the tones you're looking for with a Strat, a decent amp and the stompboxes I currently own...that being said I prefer the clean sound from a Strat overall and I love the way my Strat feels.

For now, I think the best thing you can do is find a guitar that feels good to you. Any guitar can be used to play worship really...it's all about dialing in the tone you're looking for at the amp. Some guys prefer the natural low/mid that a Les Paul humbucker provides and others go for the bright tones of a Strat/Tele...some folks do both with a good P90 equipped guitar.

Go to the music store you're talking about and try stuff out then report back on what you liked and didn't like.

Pablo Crucelli · 02-07-2008, 02:10 AM

Thanks a lot guys.

I will do, should be saturday evening.
Cheers,
Paul.

gtrdave · 02-07-2008, 06:56 AM

If you want the best of several worlds then look at the Godin Freeway Classic.
It's a Strat shaped guitar (Maple and poplar body woods) with a fast and very comfortable neck (maple and either maple or rosewood fretboard), has 2 humbuckers and 1 single coil, 5 way switch, standard Strat-style vibrato, and it's cut in Canada and built in America.
New, they're around $500 U.S. but I found one used (an orange flame top w/ rosewood) for $325.

They look like this:

rexherring · 02-07-2008, 10:15 AM

Play what feels good to you and is within your budget. Sounds can be altered with a graphic and amp settings. A Strat is one of the most versitile guitars made but don't limit yourself, try a bunch.

guitar-man_22 · 02-07-2008, 07:34 PM

hey
personally, i like the lower end ibanez RG guitars.
they arent the best, but they perform pretty well. I recently got one and its great. Just make sure you have good effects.

Also, there are some cheaper Gretsh guitars that arent too bad.
When i was looking for a new guitar for myself, i checked out the Epi LP, and IMHO i didnt really like the quality of sound. I found that the ibanez RG had better tonal quality. Of course thats my preference.

Good Luck

Pablo Crucelli · 02-10-2008, 07:31 AM

Hey guys -
I didn't get a chance to go online yesterday, but I went to Andertons Music Shop - WOW! It's huge there, and the people are really nice. I'd recommend them to anyone. www.andertons.co.uk They're based in Guilford - Surrey.
I played a couple of stratocasters etc.. and played an Epiphone Les Paul Standard - fell in love with it! I played through a Marshall MG 50Watt FX - it's a nice amp in my opinion. And only £169.99!!
Have you guys got any views on either of these pieces of kit?
Thanks for all the advice etc - i looked into them all as best I could. It's all been appreciated greatly.
Blessings,
Paul

thesteve · 02-10-2008, 09:45 AM

The Epiphone is an ok piece of equipment, but I'd avoid the Marshall MG series like it had rabies.

Rainer. · 02-10-2008, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesteve

The Epiphone is an ok piece of equipment, but I'd avoid the Marshall MG series like it had rabies.

Agreed. The Marshall MG series is like a big group of overgrown practice amps. They work, but they won't give you much of a unique sound.

As for the Epi LP Standard, it also works, but if you can find something more quality for your budget, I'd say reach a bit higher.

DJ Clown · 02-10-2008, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rainer.

Agreed. The Marshall MG series is like a big group of overgrown practice amps. They work, but they won't give you much of a unique sound.

As for the Epi LP Standard, it also works, but if you can find something more quality for your budget, I'd say reach a bit higher.

Yeah Epiphone/Gibson LPs can pretty much cover any genre of music.

joshua.lee.90 · 02-10-2008, 08:33 PM

How big of an amp do you need and can you mike it at church? I would suggest go with tube. Even a cheaper one. I regreted spending $200 CAD on a spyder 2 15 watter when i could of paid for a tube. I suggest maybe looking at a vox tonelab le you dont need an amp for it and you can get pretty good hillsong sounds out of it. Hillsong is probabily going to be harder to match sounds with than tim hughes and matt redman. Im actually playing through a epi les paul to a tonelab worth a check out.

nbfan · 02-11-2008, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ Clown

Yeah Epiphone/Gibson LPs can pretty much cover any genre of music.

That much can be said for most guitars...

Pablo Crucelli · 02-11-2008, 04:44 PM

Thanks guys -
Hmm, what specifically is wrong with the Marshall MG Fx series?

And to Joshua.Lee.90 - I may be able to get it micked up occasionally - but I wouldn't bank on it.

Checked out the vox tonelab le.. pretty cool! Cheers.

Thanks again peeps!

thesteve · 02-11-2008, 04:49 PM

There's nothing inherently wrong with the Marshall MGs...they're just very mediocre amps for the price range...they're often described as "glorified practice amps"