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Well I'm getting near the skill level to finally justify the purchase of an electric guitar and the other equipment needed.

I need a lot of help. I don't know anything about equipment... all my time has been spent learning just to play the thing, read music and tab etc.

I don't want to spend a fortune and honestly don't want great stuff. Just a simple setup to get going. The reason for this is I want to know how an average guitar sounds so when I do drop a couple of grand on a les paul I can understand the differences. I have pretty much taken the same stance with acoustics and can now understand some of the differences between shitty and decent acoustic guitars.

First off i'm left handed.

If I could pick one band that I would like my equipment to best sound like it would be early Metallica. I have spent a great deal of time learning their better works and want a setup that can get the sound pretty close.

I also don't want the equipment to take up a huge area... I just need something that will sound good where I practice... which is my bedroom... so I don't need a huge stack or whatever.

So if you guys could kind of explain everything I need and tell me whats what I would appreciate it. Oh, and please let me know what effects and pedals and shit I need so I can rawk.

KK, here goes. I would recommend you look at the lower end PRS guitars. I've owned and played nearly every major brand of guitar out there. I have a Strat and Les Paul collecting dust amongst others since I bought my PRS. Now PRS can come from 500bucks to 7000bucks quickly. The lower end PRS guitars play incredibly well for the price, and will last the test of time. You may also want to look at Ibanez.

As far as amplification, there is only one option for you. Vox Valvetronix. Portable 12" tube amp with Valvestate effects. I have the 2 x 12" version through a 4 x 12" cabinet, and its the best sound I have ever had. Better than my POD, Marshall JCM2000, and any other tube amp I have played through.

Here's ya some links.

http://www.prsguitars.com

and

http://www.voxamps.co.uk/products/valvetronix/ad60vt.htm

Incredible setup and sound for less than 700 bucks.

I have the Vox AD30VT. It has a great sound to it, and is actually louder than what I need. You can pick it up at guitar center for around $200 bucks.

You can also pick up an Ibanez pretty cheap. Decent quality for a low price

I would head into a Guitar Center near you and you play everything that catches your eye. They are really good about letting you fuck with all the equipment they have.

Dont forget to scour the pawnshops, especially around military bases, some of the best deals to be found are in pawnshops, people fall on hard times/move or get relocated/buy something they never learn to play and decide to get a little bit back on their investment rather than throw the thing away. And while most pawn shop owners know at least a little about guitars (because they see them soo often) you can often find guitars worth ALOT more than the asking price because the pawn shop owner doesnt know what he has.

Play it, feel it, don't let a brand name take you for a ride, decide if this neck/action is right for you. keeping in mind that the action on electrics is always MUCH better than acoustics. To sum up, dont make a hasty decision look around at all your options and get the guitar that you like best.

You can also pick up an Ibanez pretty cheap. Decent quality for a low price

I <3 my shit ibanez.

i would also have to suggest ibanez for you ralf

they are inexpensive without being overly cheap, and they do a great metal sound

amp-wise, imho there is only one brand worth checking out if you're going to play rock: mesa/boogie. unfortunately they're all hand-built and super fucking expensive, so in lieu of that fact i would defer to the other posters here.

I saw this guy on tv hawking guitars


you too could learn to play like Estebez

I own a Jackson DR3, a Squire Fat Strat, a Les Paul and an SG and I've always come back to recommending Stratocasters for electric guitar newbies. I love my Jackson and I'm probably going to get another one, but I would definitely recommend you play a simpler guitar before moving onto something with a Floyd Rose. I would definitely suggest that you try a Fat Strat. It's got a pair of single coils and a decent humbucker so it's great for a variety of musical styles. Most importantly though, you can beat the absolute shit out of it and it'll still play.

As for simple gear setup: I'm sure the purists will rampage on this, but get yourself a midsize Fender amp (nothing outrageous) and get a Line6 POD. The POD is a really simple digitial multifx processor and it's a great tool for playing around with different sounds. The only complaint I've heard about the POD is "wahhhhhh it's digital!!!!11" and that doesn't really stand up when you hear how it sounds. Remember: you're not buying gear to become a rockstar...you're buying gear to facilitate your learning and enjoyment.

I was going to suggest a fat strat, they play and sound awesome

Out of all the guitars I've messed with (as a beginner) I like the sound of an Ibanez.

They're not very expensive either, which is good.

As far as amps go I've only been exposed to a select few. I have a marshall here, I think it's a 200 watt. Pretty crisp and definitely loud enough to mess around on.

Cool posts guys... I'll take everything into account and let you know what I end up with.

oh true i hadn't thought about the floyd rose trem issue fefn good point

those things are a royal bitch if you break a string, so for sheer ease-of-use i would have to recommend getting a non-floyd-rose-trem guitar. if you can find one of the more metal-y ibanez models without one then that's great but i think they are pretty standard

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=g ... id/519728/

I picked this up at Guitar Center for $150 new, about 2 months ago...it does the trick

yeah if you just want a beginning guitar get something like foutty mentioned or a mexican-made strat. either will run you around $150 and a lot of the times they come with a free practice amp. i have a mexican strat and the only difference i can honestly really feel between it and my father's two vintage strats from the '70s are that the neck is lower quality and so are the pickups. but if you're just starting, you shouldn't really care about that. just get a decent set of thick strings and it will sound very nice.

I'm telling you.......lower end PRS.

way too expensive for an entry-level guitar... and way too heavy for a guitar anyway, imo ;p

i would rather have a telecaster plz

Drem wrote:i would rather have a telecaster plz

I got a '72 Tele Custom at a pawn shop for $150. I play more bluesy stuff (when I play electric at all), but that rounded fretboard is SCHA-WHEET! Got an old crusty dusty Crate that gathers dust about 98% of the time but it really makes those humbuckers sing.

i have a tele too

Strats were overrated, Tele's were where it was

ya a guy in my band runs a brand new tele thinline (with f-hole!) through a lovely new twin

the cleans are fucking stellar

Kirk Hammett has a bunch of ESP M-II guitars which seem to be his preffered concert guitar... What do you think of a lower end ESP?

Definitely agree with the Telecaster as I'm buying one at some point during this summer.

I personally would not recommend ESP.

on our first album the singer used a low-end mexican tele through a boss dual overdrive stompbox into a crappy solidstate crate amp

it was still one of the chunkiest guitar sounds i've ever heard

he has since upgraded to a peavey (blecccchhhh) and got himself a footswitch so he can use his amp's overdrive channel for fuzz (crate solid state fuzz BLEEEECCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHH)

meanwhile on the other side of the stage you have pat with his thinline and his twin chiming like bells

sometimes the contrast is interesting but usually i just wish jeff would ditch that piece of shit crate

how would you classify your bands music? and just out of curiousity are you guys just having fun with the band thing or planning on going commercial and making a living at it?

rock n roll

yeah it is mostly just to have fun

(but i'd be lying if i said i didn't still treasure that small hope deep down that we'd "make it" someday)