[pulper]

hi everyone:

first post here. nice to see a canadian forum for guitar stuff. will be surprised if anyone responds as Vancouver is playing hockey right now!

question here - i've been practicing with an acoustic for about 2 months and love it. however, i've also noticed that i've enjoyed the sound of electric on some songs that i wouldn't have listened to until i became interested in guitar. now, my knowledge of electric guitars is modest at best. i went to steve's today in toronto and played around with a godin electric (about $599) that has something called a soabbox (?) and plugged it into a 15 watt roland amp.

i noticed a significant amount of buzzing. the sound just wasn't clean either. when i asked the worker there, she said that it could be the result of the poor wire, the fluorescent lights, or the soapbox, which will produce that kind of buzzing (i think this is the same as the PRS SE guitar that is relatively new).

what i'm looking for here is just a clean sounding electric that i can play in my apartment (not loud of course). i'm not looking for distortion at all. this time with this guitar left me a little less interested in electrics. i like blues and if you listen to Robert Cray's "poor johnny" you will know what kind of sound i like.

did i just have a bad setup or is this expected for this type of guitar/amp?

any advice/suggestions, no matter how simple, is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Paul

 

[danbo]

Epiphone Les Paul standard is great for blues.
Fender G-Dec Amp is a great teaching tool as well. :food-smiley-004:
Buy used to save $$!

 

[violation]

What kind of cable was hooked up from the guitar to the amp? Cheap ones tend to produce buzzing and noise.

 

[pulper]

she said it was a cheap cable. i guess i could go back and ask to try it with a better cable.

could it be the soapbar pickups on this? should an electric guitar be able to play clean notes without all the buzz?

i will also take a look at the epiphone one, but really like that godin is made in canada.

btw, i think it was the LG P90 guitar, although pictures i've seen on the net are a deep red and the one i played on had an off green color.

thanks,

paul

 

[Bevo]

Used is your best bet, just seen a Fender Fat Strat on Kijiji for $200 with a fresh set up and new strings.

Some of the micro amps like Orange Crush 5-10 watt would be perfect, great sound small size and cheap when new.

Check out Ring music and look at the Vintage line of LP's, great guitar and super cheap.

Bev

 

[david henman]

could it be the soapbar pickups on this? should an electric guitar be able to play clean notes without all the buzz?

...welcome to the world of single coil buzz, paul.

humbucking pickups will solve the problem, but have an entirely different sound.

the other option is to play cleaner, with less gain (distortion).

however, if it really bothers you, i suggest going for a guitar with humbucking pickups - that is what they were designed for.

-dh

 

[pulper]

thanks for the tip about used. unfortunately, i'm not knowledgeable enough to examine a used one right now to see how good it is (especially considering that i need help understanding how good a new one is!) and also i'm not sure how close the prices of the used ones i see compare to brand new for same model. for an educated consumer, used (when patient) is a great way to go and i agree with you for most people that is great advice.

for example, i saw a mexican strat for $400 used. not sure how that compares to new versions of this. could be a steal, could be $50 off of the selling price new. being new to this, i need to be further educated and i think trying to understand what's out there in new models and why i have a problem with the one that i tried would be a start.

i appreciate your advice and will also consider the orange amps.

paul

 

[pulper]

david - that is the type of response i was hoping for. i will now do a bit of research into what you're suggesting.

does this mean that the RPS soapbar SE would sound the same then as far as buzzing?

i did notice as i turned down the gain that it did help a bit. i thought it could have just been my imagination.

are humbucking pickup guitars generally more expensive? i've seen some advertised with 2 humbucking pickups. would that generally be better?

someone in another forum was raving about his new Babicz octane guitar, and when i heard it i realize that this is the sound i wanted (albeit for about $900 US and no Canadian distributors). i think it had two humbucking pickups.

again, thanks for your advice on this!

paul

 

[pulper]

i did a lookup on songs with the single coil stratocaster and hendrix watchtower came up. although i do like that song, i don't think that is the sound i'm going for. i would like something cleaner.

any good examples that you guys/gals know of with from a guitar with a humbucking pickup? any artists that use them?

thanks!

 

[GuitaristZ]

Well...I would recommend a hamm hardtail. www.hammguitars.com

 

[violation]

i did a lookup on songs with the single coil stratocaster and hendrix watchtower came up. although i do like that song, i don't think that is the sound i'm going for. i would like something cleaner.

any good examples that you guys/gals know of with from a guitar with a humbucking pickup? any artists that use them?

thanks!

Just go with a Fender, Jackson or Ibanez guitar with both singles and humbuckers... problem solved. The way they're configured will be your choice. Like my Ibanez is H-S-H, a lot of blues guys like a single in the neck and middle but humbucker in the bridge so they go for H-S-S... up to you.

Amp-wise, I don't know... someone who plays a lot of blues can probably help you out great... I'm a high-gain metalhead, :rockon2: :rockon2:

 

[elindso]

Get humbuckers, the HUM will be BUCKED:wink:

For a little living room amp I use the roland Micro Cube.

It's fun and often sits beside me on the couch while I watch TV and annoy the rest of the family.

You can play blues on anything.

B.B. plays a 335, Buddy plays a Strat, Albert Collins played a Tele, Gatemouth Brown played a Firebird.

 

[pulper]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I appreciate it.

I tried out an Ibanez Gio yesterday with a small VOX amp. I wasn't getting any buz which was great. however, it wasn't giving me the sound that i was looking for. i asked the salesman and told him what kind of music i like and the sound i like (like the intro from "sweet home alabama"). he then did a perfect rendition of the riff with the same guitar that i had. he showed me how palm muting stops the sustain which provides the clearer sound of the individual notes. i realized that my 2 months of acoustic training wasn't enough to give me the experience to decide on a good sound with an electric. LOL.

btw, anyone here have experience with the GIO? i guess at $250 i cannot go too wrong with it and it has 3 different pickups.

thanks again!

 

[Fragile Man]

If you lke the Robert Cray sound, then it's a Fender Stratocaster that you want. I have owned Strats for 24 years, a few have come and gone. I own two right now and have never experienced that "buzz" noise you are talking about. Not to say that it doesn't happen because I am no expert that's for sure, but if you are looking for "that" sound it has to be a Strat. Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits also produces that clean sound playing a Stratocaster.
And Eric Clapton hasn't been dissuaded from playing a Strat all these years.
If it's good enough for these guys, you would probably be okay buying a Stratocaster.
This is not a totally biased opinion because i also own a few Gibsons with Humbuckers and enjoy all my guitars for their different sounds and tones.
If I may pass on the same advice I have offered my two sons. Don't buy a cheap guitar, you will never regret purchasing a "Real" American Strat, but you will more than likely regret buying a cheaper version. I also find that playing a quality instrument is more inspiring...you just want to pick it up more. And you would have an easier time selling it if you lost interest. My oldest son owned a Mexi Strat for a short while when he first showed some interest, the pickups sounded horrible. After he showed that he was into it and had some ability we didn't waste time in helping him get a quality guitar. I wanted to start him off on the right foot, something I regretted when I was his age.
Sorry for going on here, but to sum up, we have found that Long & McQuade makes it fairly easy and painless to buy something nice. They have a great return policy if you get it home and decide for whatever reason you don't want it. Also have layaway and pretty decent finance arrangements.
Don't settle for something that is almost what you want, life is too short, so treat yourself. If you are working hard you deserve it.

Good Luck and again sorry for rambling on,

Fragile Man

 

[Bevo]

Good point Fragile man..

L&M also have good used stuff coming and going daily, give all the shops a call to see what they have. If you find something cool let us know and we can give you the thumbs up.

The deal they have is 25% or so down and a monthly payment done internaly. Use your card for the payments and you will be out of there with a new guitar and amp for that $250 you were going to spend and maybe $50 a month..You can also make extra payments or pay it off at any time.
Oh yeah you have 30 days to return or exhange your purchase for the original price.
Thats how I buy my stuff..

Bev

 

[GuitaristZ]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I appreciate it.

I tried out an Ibanez Gio yesterday with a small VOX amp. I wasn't getting any buz which was great. however, it wasn't giving me the sound that i was looking for. i asked the salesman and told him what kind of music i like and the sound i like (like the intro from "sweet home alabama"). he then did a perfect rendition of the riff with the same guitar that i had. he showed me how palm muting stops the sustain which provides the clearer sound of the individual notes. i realized that my 2 months of acoustic training wasn't enough to give me the experience to decide on a good sound with an electric. LOL.

btw, anyone here have experience with the GIO? i guess at $250 i cannot go too wrong with it and it has 3 different pickups.

thanks again!

my friend has a gio and I sure wouldnt recommend it. Save up for something quality...why buy something crappy and then have to sell it and buy something better later on....you WILL have to buy a better guitar as you progress...its just the way it is....