Who knows about guitars?
 

Which is the better guitar? Gibson, Ibenez, Gretch? Jackson. In electric that is. :helpme

Depends what type of music you intend to play but I'd go with a Gibson, myself. Don't overlook American made Fenders, either.

a gibson les paul is the best among those you mentioned

Thanks. Thinking about getting one for my son's birthday.

Get him one of those flying V's :thumbsup

Its entirely up the person playing the guitar. Sure there is quality, but it mostly comes down to what you like. I own 2 Rickenbacher 6 strings, some people don't like them. 'naw, man, play a Fender!' 'naw man, play a Gibson!'. Guess what, the artist plays the guitar.

If your son has never played before, don't buy him something super expensive. Most kids will give it up in 6 months. Get him something middle of the road, that way its not complete shit, but not completely overboard either. If he sticks with it, you have a good base to build on, equipment wise.

All of the companies you mentioned sell good middle of the road gear. With guitar plus decent pracrice amp, figure total cost $700-800.

Then add lessons at $30-50 an hour, twice a month.

Thanks! :thumbsup

USA Fender

i'd also ask on the huns forum :)

the hun and his reviewer are in a band.. and his reviewer loves talking about music :)

I personally play an Ibanez, I'm not going to badmouth Fenders, Strats or Gibsons but I simply prefer my Ibanez.. although I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a flying V just for show ^^

For a new person though just get some packaged guitar, if the person is still playing after 2-3 months then you can start spending on the good shit.

how old is he?

if hes in his teens-20s defently go with a us fender strat

OK on the American mades. And I'll check on the Fender's. He's been practicing on his own with a cheap acoustic for awhile. I want him to continue with something better.
Thanks you all

If he's new to guitar and into rock, punk, classic rock, hard rock etc maybe just pick up an Epiphone Les Paul Standard. If he's been playing for a while grab a Gibson Les Paul Standard. He'll love it. If he's a metal kind of guy maybe look into an Ibanez 7 string. Metal kids love them but usually sell them after a couple years for something with more growl like a Les Paul once their musical tastes mature.

The construction of the Epihpne is almost identicle to a it's Gibson counterpart. Just uses lower quality tuners, pickups and bridge pieces is all.

I own one and am VERY happy with it. Once I upgrade the pickups to real Gibson pickups you wouldn't know the differece sound wise.

Does he have a good amp? Cause in all honnesty if he just hasa solid state peavy, Crate or Randal etc etc it won;t matter what he's playing. they'll all relatively sound the same. Get him a good little all tube combo with 2 12 inch speakers in it. I recomend Marshall or even Mesa Boogie if he's into metal. Nothing sings and growls quite like a Les Paul or a Gretsh going through an all tube amp.

depends on the sound you want, the type of music you want to play, the size of your hands, your playing style, lots of variables.

fenders are noted for narrow necks making fret work more difficult for those with larger hands, but fenders usually have very good action with no burring between changes, and require less finger pressure.

gibson has been around forever and a lot of jazz guys play acoustic electric gibsons---that tells you something.

not so familiar with your other choices.

also the sound will be different, so a lot depends on what you like.

and then there are round body guitars, ovation, etc. which have different sound.

the best guitar will be a guitar the plays well, has a straight neck, and has good fret action---because if it does not play easily making good sound is much more difficult.

How about a slightly different approach...

Good electric guitars are relatively inexpensive. A really decent Fender Strat and amp set-up can be had for $300-400.

However, I would recommend that he start on an acoustic guitar.

Just like a heavy dose of reverb makes any karaoke singer sound better, the vast array of guitar effects peddles can do the same for guitarists. That doesn't make you a better singer or guitarist, it just makes you a better fake (not that there is anything wrong with that if all you aspire to is the bar circuit).

If instead he learns how to play on an acoustic guitar, he will know how to strike clean notes every time and even create many effects by himself simply from bending the strings properly.

I have taken very few lessons in my life, but I've been playing guitar for decades.

How I wish, my parents would have hooked me up with a hip guitar teacher in the early days that could teach me how to play songs I wanted to learn, rather than those who wanted to teach me "Red River Valley" by rote, causing me to quit after a few lessons.

Learning by watching friends and by ear can be great, but I believe to really excel you must learn from guitarists that are artists and know how to teach students by knowing what the students want to accomplish and learn.

Your son may initially curse you for putting him through the discipline of learning to read music and playing endless scales, but in the long run he will be glad you did since he will be able to talk intelligently with other musicians about music theory and have the licks it takes to make his playing special.

You might be surprised to learn how many great electric guitarists first learned on acoustic guitars and compose their songs using acoustic guitars. Look at the "MTV Unplugged" collection of music, and you will see that this is true.

Whatever you decide, I think it is great that you are taking an interest and active role in this. You seem like a good parent.

Best wishes to you, and good luck to your son.

ADG Webmaster

Edit: Got busy while writing my reply - missed your earlier post. Get him some good lessons on acoustic/electric. He'll thank you later.

fender stratocaster above and beyond all. i have owned jackson's, esp's, and various other fenders. i love my 400 dollar strat the best. the way they play and take abuse is unlike any other guitar.

I'd agree. Frender stratocaster is the best guitar in the world.
But it's really expensive , too.

i don't know how prices run in europe but i picked mine up for bout 400 USD. it's a mexican made fat strat. if you want to go a little higher, you get the american standard. the only differences being it's all made in america, and it costs almost twice as much.

I play a Jackson.
I am into metal playing though, not reccomended for learning on, but once the skills are in place a Jackson screams:)

If he wants to play solo styles and work into rock be sure to get em an acoustic with a decent fret board that will allow him to switch to electric guitar easily.

Thanks to everyone for all the input. Didn't expect this many responces. Except for they guy with the turd in the toilet, Thanks again! I see I have some investigating to do before spending.

Many knock-off guitars play very well.

This Jimi Hendrix vintage Fender knock-off Strat only cost me about $300, but plays as well as some of my much more expensive guitars:

http://www.asiandivagirls.com/gfy/adg_fender.jpg

Take a good guitarist in with you when you shop, or find the best in-house pro to show you the potential of the individual guitar you are looking at.

I've purchased many guitars from the "Guitar Center" - check 'em out, at least for comparison

Musical instruments in general have a lot of price mark-up, so don't be afraid to haggle the price down.

Tax idea - use the guitar in a photo/video and then write it off as a prop (hehe).

ADG Webmaster

if you're looking for that, then ovation is the company to go with.


http://www.ovationguitars.com/

How do you guys sleep at night knowing your tone is weak, spanky and thin with those damn Stats? LOL

Fender Telecaster

i love my strat. ;)


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42...us/mystrat.jpg

because if you'll notice mine is sporting a hefty humbucker. and will soon have a dimarzio super distortion in the bridge position.

Yeah Ovation acoutstic is fricken nice:)
I love those.

Tax idea - use the guitar in a photo/video and then write it off as a prop (hehe)

Now there ya go. And I was going to check the Guitar Center in Hollywood. My son told me its two floors. Also Sam Ash.

I've always wanted a Les Paul. I have a Fender, it's great too.

I mostly play Ibanez's and Fender Strat's but agree it is something you tend to grow into. As it's for your son, another big factor maybe the kind of music he's into.

I don't like Fender sound and I don't like Gibson necks. I play ibanez myself, with SeymorDuncan screaming daemon pickups, and I can tear down walls with that punch :)

haven't tried other options.. only jackson at the shop one time.. didn't liked it. After fenders and gibsons, I've chosen ibanez and never looked back. I totally love its thin neck :)

Props...write 'em off...I do it all the time:

http://www.asiandivagirls.com/gfy/adg-fender.jpg

http://www.asiandivagirls.com/gfy/adg_fender_01.jpg

ADG Webmaster

Like everyone has mentioned it depends on what music he intends to play.....I personally think a Ibanez is a great all-round guitar to start with, easy to play and build speed on.... :thumbsup

my preference = gibson ... but all of these companies make good guitars and shit guitars.

if hes making his first move from acoustic to electric, a squier strat pack is very inexpensive and comes with everything, and ive played several squiers they are consistently good playing guitars ... us vs. import ... well, tom morello played a buttload of awesome stuff on an import telecaster :2 cents:

The Most important thing you should do is let your son pick the guitar, within reason price wise.

I have owned many guitars and sold quite a few of them after figuring out that they didn't FEEL comfortable to play. The guitar has to feel right, like it is an extension of you. if you son is just learning he won't feel THAT strong a bond with the guitar, but it will be there.

i currently have a 92 Gibson Les Paul custom, Mid 70's Gibson Flying V, a mid 70's Ibanez (Artist) Ice Man and a Fender Acoustic. Each of these guitars have much different Characteristics. The Ibanez has a thinner neck compared to the Les Paul, The Flying V can't have the action as low as the Les Paul and I could keep going on and on about the differences but the most important thing to me is that they all feel right to me when I pick them up.

Wherever you decide to go to buy, spend the extra time having your son try as many different guitars as he can ...... in your price range.

:2 cents:

If your son if young, you better think of the weight. A Gibson Les Paul is a heavy motherfucker. Go for a Gibson SG or a Fender Strat or Fender Telecaster!

Ibanez is for heavy metal people, and you dont want to buy him one of those!

Or if he can carry the weight, the Gibson Les Paul Classic or Standard is the WAY best guitars!!! But its $$$$

Fender stratocaster all the way, Ive owned mine 12 years and its the single best pick it up and go guitar out there. Hendrix, clapton, SRV, Jeff Beck and Herb Kornfield cant be wrong :)

A mix of everything....SANTANA... THE BEST!

That's why I got my Ibanez. http://www.hpics.com/gfy/eddie.gif

Fender strat

The only Gibson that I liked was some completely abused paint stripped corroded orphan that someone had on consignment at a guitar center. It was so ugly I couldn't imagine owning it - but it played better than any other guitar I have ever felt.

I like Ibanez because of the Floyd and the sheer speed of the fingerboard. The downside is that no matter what you do to it, the Ibanez will ALWAYS sound like crap. Nonetheless, I play my Ibanez more than any of my others.

They REALLY need to work out a solution to that. I think a third knob may solve the problem:

Volume
Tone
Suck

I know a thing or two about guitars. If you want more info check out my band forum http://tptrash.com/bbs1/ The name of the band is Trailer Park Trash so don't be thrown off. And if you do decide to post on that board keep the "porn thing" on the down low.

do you mean strats? if so, you need to get a dictionary and look up the word tone.

Yeah I meant strats. I know what tone is. I get plenty of it from my Les Paul :) I'm about to get even more when I get my JTM-45 shipped to me next month :)

There really isn't a "best". Certain guitars sound good for certain styles.

Generally, I think Paul Reed Smith guitars sound best for alot of styles.

i love gibsons myself amigo - but to say a strat has no tone ... i'd like to see you get the same fender strat single coil tone with any humbucker on earth. you arent going to get it through the jtm45 either ... (although it is sweet tone also) ... gibson+marshall i love it ... but its limited :2 cents: