[Voivod]

Hi, all

Looking for my first electric. Been playing acoustic for 10+ years (hobby, not seriously)

Price limit: $1200.00 CAD

I'll worry about the amp later, but I'm leaning towards one of the Marshall JCM series

Guitars I've looked at and tried at Steve's Music (Montreal):

-Gibson SG
-American and Mexican strats (there's a difference in feel between the two)
-Ibanez Prestige (a little out of my range at $1500)
-some Yamaha's (didn't really like any of them)

anyone care to offer advice on the following:

-Godin (it's cool that they're Canadian, but I find some of the designs a bit weird)

-Carvin (I'm intrigued by them, but the fact that I can't try their guitars before buying kinda blows, and they don't seem to have Canadian distribution anymore, they ship direct from California).

-Jackson

-PRS


Thanks in advance!

 

[ne1roc]

The Gibson SG Standard is great for you price range! It is such a cool guitar and extremely versatile. I just bought an Epiphone Elitist 61 SG that is incredible. I would recommend at least trying an Epiphone out if you are interested in the 61SG. There is no difference other then the name on the headstock and the finish quality, which is much higher on the Epiphone!

I visited the Carvin factory in San Diego 4 weeks ago! I tried every model they had and let me tell you, they are the easiest and nicest playing guitars I have ever tried. I went specifically to check out their electrics and ended getting an acoustic 980t. Carvins are top qualty guitars. I also have a Legacy amp and TS100 power amp that are awesome.

American strat also fits you price range. Nice guitar too.

 

[elindso]

I played a MIJ Tele at Steve's last week that was wonderful.

It has a bigsby on it is a real nice player.

Another nice one is the Gibson Les Paul special with P90 or a Les Paul Studio.

Some of the Schecters are really nice also.

 

[Xanadu]

Godin's are very nice sounding, my guitar teacher has one, its hollow, but a normal size electric, very nice. I find that jackson has two price ranges cheap ($200-400) and expensive($2000+) For the price Mexican strats are really nice and can be had for about $500.

 

[nine]

If you're really bent on getting a new guitar I'd recommend a Mexi strat or some sort of Epiphone. That way you get not too bad of a guitar that will last a while but if you end up not being too into playing guitar you're not out a heck of a lot of money. Plus, it leaves you some room to buy a practice amp and a pedal or two.

Really though, you could do a lot better for your money to buy a second hand one. Let someone else take the loss on buying new and finding out they weren't really that interested in learning guitar.

 

[Coustfan'01]

I didn't try all of these , but here's what I read on forums .

Ibanez prestige are great guitars , but they almost all have a double locking tremolo .

You should check out schecter c1's . Great reviews , and greats specs , all for around a grand .

Carvin are also great guitars for the money , but their quality control is not perfect . Sometimes they ship guitars with problem , and it could be a pain in the ass to ship it back to cali .

Jackson could be a good choice too , but at that price , I'd avoid the models with tremolos .

 

[Voivod]

Man... I've been on here one day, and already I have a lot of useful info... thanks, guys :smile:

Coustfan'01, I'm not sure how you are able to tell, but I am definitely looking for a guitar WITHOUT a trem unit. I tend to rest my palm on the bridge (bad habit, I know), so I usually look for flat, low-profile bridges.

Xanadu, it's funny you mention the price gap between the Jackson models.. I was at Steve's earlier today and I stood in front of a $245.00 Jackson. I tried to picture Dave Mustaine playing it, and I was like "nah...". It certainly does LOOK like a Jackson, but I think it's a very different guitar than the $2000.00+ models...

I guess I haven't been fair to Godin (as a native Quebecer I should be ashamed of that). I'll give them another look.

I'll let you guys know what else I turn up... I'm not finding this to be an easy decision at all

 

[nine]

I'm sure you'll find something good. You seem really interested in the process of getting a guitar, which is half the battle, really. Just try a whole bunch of them out and see which is best. Even with the same model of guitar- try a bunch. Some are just more musical than others.

 

[SCREEM]

hurry up! http://montreal.craigslist.org/msg/214345616.html

 

[nine]

A bolt-on PRS? Isn't that sacrilege or something? :smile:

 

[GTmaker]

my opinion is that there is no better feel/playable neck then a well made Fender.
what ever you get, get a good one. Stay away from the cheap stuff that some folks say are great guitars.
Is a 300.00 dollar guitar really made from the same quality stuff that a 1,200 dollar guitar is made of? I think not!
If you only have 300 dollars then thats the guitar for you but dont think your getting anything more then what its worth.
Just picking up a giuar in a store and strumming a few chords does not get you any closer into finding out what you real have in your hands.
Take your time, play it thru an amp you think you may get someday and then try to get a feel for its playablity and tone.
Good luck on your quest...

 

[SCREEM]

A bolt-on PRS? Isn't that sacrilege or something? :smile:

regardless, if a had a grand I'd be all over that evilGuitar:

 

[Brian G]

Re: Carvin, I have a CT3 that I bought without ever seeing or trying one, and I can attest that you get a lot of guitar for the money, more than in most store/new purchases. Also, Carvin pick up the taxes and importation to Canadians, which shocked me, but true (but always check that they're still doing that). The guitar tech who recently did an RS Superkit upgrade for me commented that the guitar was a "10" in terms of quality and construction. The letdown on Carvin's, IMO, is the pickups and secondarily, the electronics (the electronics bear improvement on most production guitars anyway, but is inexpensive to do).

I also own a CS Strat, a MusicMan Axis SS with P90s and a Godin, and I would say the Carvin is right up there after a pickup change (lots of Carvin owners like their pickups, I found them somewhat lacking in character).

You also have to decide what rings your bell in terms of single-coil vs. humbuckers - don't think you indicated that? What scale length do you like - Fenders tend to be 25 - 1/2", Gibsons tend to be 24 - 3/4", PRS (and my Carvin) in the middle at 25". Also, the guitars you mention are somewhat different in terms of how the neck feels, etc.

Best of luck.

Brian

 

[hoser]

try a fender tc-90 or an sg classic if you can.

 

[elindso]

A bolt-on PRS? Isn't that sacrilege or something? :smile:

Nah. I'm sure there are some good ones out there:smile:

 

[david henman]

...take a look at an aerodyne tele. you may want to replace the pickups.

and, of course, you won't go too far wrong with an sg, but also check out a les paul double cut with p90 pickups.

godins offer serious bang for your buck.

-dh

 

[gtrguy]

GONE

 

[Voivod]

I just want to thank everyone for their opinions again. I now have guitars to consider that I would have never thought about.

You've been a great audience thanks5qx:

I think I have a serious case of GAS now, LOL...

:rockon2:

I'm not at the point where I can put together a short list yet (I'll create a separate thread when I do), but here is a general set of characterstics I'm looking for:

-Mahogany body, if possible (there's a feeling I get when I hold one of these, cannot explain it)

-No trem unit

-the least amount of pots and switches possible (I'll make an exception for the SG-type)

-Flat, wide neck (I got big hands, which gives me some trouble with Fender strats)

-Seymour Duncan pups would be nice None ... but not required

-A weird one: I would like all the switches and pots to be aft or just under the bridge, so my right hand doesn't hit them while playing... and SG-type layout, basically.

Hmm... obviously, the astute among you can see what I'm gravitating towards, but I am open to variations on that theme. I'm actually not too crazy about the fact that Gibson SG's have glued-in necks (it's a hang-up I have), I like bolt-on or thru-necks.

I plan a trip to some other music stores besides Steve's in the coming weeks (suggestions for the Montreal/Laval/South Shore area more than welcome).

 

[nine]

Sounds like you're leaning towards an SG, which is a good choice. Except for the Firebird, all Gibsons have glued in necks, so I wouldn't worry too much about the quality or sound of them. It's a pretty tried and true way of putting a neck on.

Go for an SG!

 

[elindso]

See ya Sunday

Firebirds have set necks not bolt in. Gibsons anyway, maybe there is an Epiphone that has a bolt on neck.