Prog Electric Guitar Models

Thank you so much for all the suggestions!  They have been most helpful in my goal of purchasing a guitar.

It seems the majority of people are swaying towards recommending the Fender Strat.  I was checking out some of the local music shops, and this guitar seems to be priced around 800 for the american-made version and 500 for the mexican ones.  I was also checking about some of the usual online-buying suspects (ebay, etc.)  and discovered that the Maxican-made strats drop in price significantly once they've been used for a year or two.  I would likely be able to purchase one from a reliable seller for around $250 or so.  Would this be a good idea?

Also, we here in Vancouver are lucky enough to have a Tom Lee music store which seems to offer the best prices in the area.  They currently have what i believe to be an amazing deal on an Ibanez RG170R-- which ive looked up and seems to usually sell around $300-350.  However, they currently have it on sale for $230 Canadian (190ish US)  The problem is that even i know this model is built for metal-heads.  Yet would it be a good option for a beginner like me?

TURK182! wrote: The best guitar for to have yhe best prog sound is a "Rickenbaker". It's the guitar that've been used buy almost all prog group in late 60'S and begining of 70's. But, I dont know if they still make guitar or still alive!!

Rickenbacker still produces alot of 6 strings and their famous 12 strings, but I prefer their basses, even though i'd rather have an old 4001 with the toaster pickups and dual truss rods over a 4003.

The BC Rich Exclusive is a great guitar. Neck-through, sunburst finish,
classic design with no thingys sticking out of it like you'd expect a BC
RIch to have... I love it. About $1000. The Mockingbird (as seen in many
late-70s acts) is also great.

People speak highly of Hagstroms, but I've never had the chance to play
one.

1970 Les Paul Custom

MikeEnRegalia wrote: Man Overboard wrote: I started with a $125 Japanese Strat knockoff.  It served its purpose well (besides having a bad switch ).  When I get some cash on-hand, I'd like to get a Parker Fly...   That's obvious, because your biggest heros play Parker guitars. they're pretty nice, but priced well above $1.500, if I remember correctly. BTW: Welcome, fellow collaborator!

  Yeah, they're pretty expensive...  I think I'd be content for a chance to PLAY one... 

BTW:  Thanks! 

the guitar i play with uses Ibanez, they sound pretty nice (I'm a drummer as well, and know only a bit about guitars.)

I started with a $125 Japanese Strat knockoff.  It served its purpose well (besides having a bad switch ).  When I get some cash on-hand, I'd like to get a Parker Fly...  

Wormboy wrote: MikeEnRegalia wrote: porter wrote: since you're a beginner, I would suggest not to go too far with brands and especially money, so you'd better choose a cheap guitar...there are some good brands like Epiphone, if you like the les paul style, or maybe you could opt for a Mexican or Japanese Fender, if you like the strat. PLEASE LEAVE ALONE THE VARIAX at this stage, I think it could be a little confusing since, as you said, you still haven't played a scale on a guitar. That's a guitar for the pro's, or for people who already know what they need and what they don't. Quite the opposite. Why do you want to force him to decide whether he's a Fender or Gibson guy? The Variax is certainly a good guitar for beginners - especially the Variax 300. Hey, you not only get both Gibson and Fender sounds, but also quite good simulations of various acoustic guitars including a 12 string guitar. I'd rather say the reverse: The Variax is NOT a guitar for pros, because the sounds are not as good as the genuine versions. But they're DAMN good, and certainly better than cheap versions of Fender and Gibson guitars. BTW: If you use your computer to play music, you might want to consider buying the GuitarPort instead of a fully fledged amp. Its sound is as good as that of the POD XT ...  Sorry, I totally disagree.  A Variax would be a horrible choice for a beginner.  Frankly, it doesn't matter that much what you learn on as long as it's a good instrument.  Go with standards, and worry about the Gibson/Fender split after a couple of years.  No beginner really cares about that kind of crap anyway.  They are just trying to learn a new instrument. Sounds to me like you're pushing a specific guitar for some reason.  Variax rep, are you?

I'm not a Variax rep, I don't even have one. Sounds like you're bashing the Variax for some reason. If you read reviews, ask guitar teachers etc. you'll find out that that Variax isn't a bad guitar at all.

Sorry, the highlighted bits in your post are just nonsense. It's true that no beginner cares ... but they should. If they buy the Variax, they are free to explore the Fender sounds and the Gibson sounds. The WORST thing a beginner can do is to buy a Fender Strat and then discover that he needs humbucker sounds, or he buys a Gibson and misses the "twang".

As I said in the above post: If you don't like the Variax, buy an alround guitar from Yamaha, Ibanez etc. but not a Fender Strat or a Les Paul.

Damen wrote: Unless you're willing to shell out ALOT of money, you can't get a decent guitar in this day and age, which is why all my equipment is vintage 60's or 70's. New equipment is all mass produced, even in companies like Gibson, so the quality is definately sub-par, and companies like ESP or Peavy gear their equipment towards metal or punk. I suggest going to a pawn shop and looking for an old Les Paul or Gibson SG or something along those lines. Pawn Shops sell things ridiculously cheap, and usually in good condition.

Careful!  As a beginner he doesn't know a good instrument from a bad.  So why go someplace where it's Dicey?

Well, you need to ask yourself what kind of sound you want.  Who is your model?  Gilmour?  Gilmour played a strat mainly.

The best all-around guitars out there are Fenders and Gibsons.  You can get cheap knockoffs of these, but I wouldn't.  You can also get a guitar by a lot of other companies, but there's a reason why they are not the best.  Gibson and Fender have a long history of great quality control.


So if I were in your shoes, I'd get a Fender Stratocaster.  The Telecasters are cheaper, good guitars, but I think they're not as high quality.  The Strat is probably the best value for your money.  But if you like a less twangy, fuller-bodies sound, a Gibson might be your choice.  The double humbucker of a Gibson Les Paul makes a big sound difference, as well as the wood and bridgework (as somebody mentioned).


One note: if you're going to pick up an instrument and you want to get good at it, why in the world would you cut corners?  Learn on quality, and learn right the first time.

Second note: don't bother with collector's items.  Who cares if it's old?  Not me.  Go with a company with a long tradition of quality.  Fender and Gibson are that.

Also, maple necks can be easier for beginners.  That's what the strat has.  Rosewood is different.  I like it better, but it takes some getting used to.



And me?  I play a Fender Master Series Flame Ultra, which I bought new in 1986.  It's a white (actually platinum blonde) beauty, and I've taken excellent care of it.  The Master Series guitars were made with double humbuckers with coil splitters, so you can play with double pickups or singles.  The body makes it sound like a Gibson, but the coil splitters and neck make it sound like a Strat.  So, depending on setting and whether you ujse the coil splitterss, the guitar can sound either like a Les Paul or a Strat. 

Master series: http://www.vintageguitar.com/brands/details.asp?ID=18

I've had several people offer me several times its purchase value, but I won't sell.  I've had one friend claim it has the best action of any guitar he has ever played.

I play it through a Roland JC120, though it's getting a little hissy and maybe I need a new amp. 



Think hard about the approach you want to take to learning.  I recommend a combination of 1) basic chord books, 2) basic soloing book, 3) a guitar workout book (drills for speed and dexterity), and 4) PRACTICE WITH A METRONOME (so many self-taught guitarist have lousy rhythm).

Some big tips: do not try to go faster than you are able!!!!!  If you mess up, then you are going too fast.  It is better to practice slowly making no mistakes than faster making mistakes, as you are actually PRACTICING the mistakes!  Think about it!  My mother in law is a concert-level pianist who has taught master classes her entire life (was one of those child prodigies).  She endorses this method.

Two--warm up with drills.  You are basically an athlete, and athletes don't just play their sport, they train a lot to enhance their ability.  Doing extensive picking, fingering and chord change drills was the best thing I ever did for my technique.

Since I was emulating Gilmour, I also added vibrato drills to my guitar drills routine:  quarter, eighth, sixteenth, triplet and sextuplet vibrato at various  tempos.  Later I added doing this with bends with various fingers.  Hard core, but that's how you get the world's best vibrato, like Gilmour.  Now I can play most Gilmour solos, no problem, vibrato and all.



Edit: tremolo arms are a cop-out for wusses, at least if you are using them to add vibrato.  No reall pro uses them for that purpose, and an experienced ear can always tell.  Using them for other purposes (like Adrian Belew ) is another matter!  Also, remember that excessive tremolo use really detunes your guitar.  Belew uses a high-end tremolo system, and still needs to retune all the time.


Edited by Wormboy