shoppin around :)

[jaytee]

okay....until now i have been playin an acoustic....
ive got that need for something new....and i want to get an electric....
ive got plenty of time to shop...i want to make sure i am not wasting my husbands hard earned money...heehee...so im aimin for christmas :) (he gets me better stuff than my parents ever did....haha...i got a new santa claus...the old ones sucked)

anyways....ive been lookin at a couple washburns....and ive realized nobody has really mentioned them....
a relative had just bought one a little while ago ...hes played for years...he really liked the one he got...but he made a comment that made me think washburn didnt have a very good rep...i dont know....i was wonderin what ya'll think...

i dont know much about this stuff so id appreciate any feedback....

i gotta get an amp too but i think ill leave that more up to my husbands discretion..he knows alot about electronics and speakers and sound in general....but id appreciate any suggestions for a good model...just dont get me spendin 2K...lol...ill just point the way to Klipsch...haha

also...what do you guys think about maple necks? im just not sure...if this is industry standard....or something to steer clear of...

thanks!

--jt

[ESP_Viper]

Well I haven't ever played a washburn. They are great guitars, from what I hear. Try lookin at ESP: LTD's. They are fairly low priced with great quality. Ibanez is also another good one. You may want to look at this new Santana guitar that is made by PRS. Its like 500 bucks and it's a very pure sounding guitar, great worksmanship, and it's got a very nice neck. I was very suprised how low the price is. I played it THEN looked at the price tag. I almost **** myself how cheap it was.

For amps, look into something versitale. Like a Marshall AVT. Check them out, they aren't cheap, but they sure do put out great tone. You may also want to look at a Line 6 Flextone II combo or the Line 6 Spider. Both types are very good sounding, and extremely versitale. I have the Line 6 POD and I can't get enough of it. The spider and flextone II's are just a POD with a speaker and an amp on it. They are pretty good price-wise too. Just go to guitar shops and play lots of stuff. It's all in what sound you want, and your tastes.

[jaytee]

hey esp...thanks for all the input :)

i looked online and...i think i just got my heart set on that washburn...hehe....you know how it is...i kinda figure too...as little as i know about guitars...im gonna have to trust SOMEBODY to give me reviews and tell me what they think....considering the one i picked out has gotten great reviews from everywhere...i think its the one for me...of course ill go look in person when im really ready to buy and perhaps ill change my mind...but itd hafta be an awful special guitar to change my mind i think...haha....besides i found that one on sale much cheaper than the list price....always a plus :)

anyways...two questions....

the first is pretty simple....

is it industry standard to use maple for the neck? and if maple makes a nice neck...is it worth it to spend like an extra hundred for a mahogany neck? (well itd also have the color i like better and gold hardware instead of chrome..but of course color isnt THAT important) im considering spending the cash...but like i said before...its my husbands paycheck....hes so good to me...i dont wanna go overboard....

the second question is about amps....

you suggested i looked at marshall avt's and a few others....coming to an agreement with my husband...i think i should get a smaller less expensive amp.....something i wont have to replace a coffee table with in order to have room for it...i dont have to play for the whole neighborhood...but id still like it to have some...well...for lack of a better word...haha...balls....

ok enough narrative hehe told you guys i was longwinded...
question is:
how small is too small? i just want something that will be decent...not wimpy...not professional...whats a good inbetween size?

thanks again!

--jt

[mjamer]

ESP_Viper - "You may want to look at this new Santana guitar that is made by PRS. Its like 500 bucks and it's a very pure sounding guitar, great worksmanship, and it's got a very nice neck."

I'm gonna be lazy and not research myself hehe.. I seen a a guitar at Hames music in SC a few weeks ago, it just said "Santana" on it. The back of the head said made in korea... is this the same guitar you're refering to? It looked like a PRS santana guitar, it had a PRS head on it, and was about the same price, bout 560$. I just thought it was some knockoff hehhehe.


jaytee, I'm in no way savvy with equipment. One thing is for sure though. PLAY THROUGH THE AMP BEFORE YOU BUY. I learned the hard way, that just because it says marshall, fender, crate or any other quality brand, doesn't mean it's going to have your "your sound", or that you are even gonna like the sound.

Heck, once you get your electric, take that guitar with you and test out amps. That way you know exactly what sound you're going to have when you get home. You'll be woulds happier that way =)

mjamer

[ESP_Viper]

Maple seems to be the standard for guitars. My guitar has a mahagony but wasn't hundreds of dollars more. If you can get mahagony get it. It will give you better sustain. I prefer mahagony necks over maple myself.

Go into the music shop and walk around looking at amps. Find one that is about your price range and size and plug into it. Play it for a while on clean, distorted, and with different EQ settings. Play a wide range of things to feel how the amp responds to them. If you want a smaller amp with balls that will cost quite a bit, look into the mesa/boogie tube 1x12 combos. They are LOUD. If you want lower priced I'm still for the marshall AVT combos. Take a look at crate GFX amps. They are much lower priced than the AVTs and have pretty good tone and volume for what they are. I'm still getting suprised with the sound my GFX-212 puts out!

The best advice for buying gear is get what makes you happy and what sounds good to you. Everyone has their preferences and tastes with everything.

[jaytee]

thanks guys....

so i only see one problem...which you cant fix for me.....oh well...

the problem is...I SUCK!
i am way too...believe it or not...shy...to play in a store even if i was any good....i still wouldnt do it....yeah i know....laugh...go ahead...

i asked my husband to play for me again like he did when i bought my acoustic....which worked out very well...but he has declined...says he doesnt play electric...i guess its true...
and me...im so horrible...and i dont KNOW a "wide range" of things to play!

guess im stuck this time...

do you think its a big mistake to have a stranger play for me in a store? im actually thinkin bout it....
thanks anyways guys....

--jt

[ESP_Viper]

Hey don't worry about playing in a store. There are little kids at sam ash that turn up too loud and play just terrible stuff. Plug into an amp and turn it down. People will think it's cool that someone is trying to learn and is enjoying it. I don't see anything wrong with having someone at the store try stuff out for you, let them know what u want and they should understand. I always feel like an ass in a store when I am playing... I just feel like everyone is going "look at that asshole!" But I just keep on playing.

[jaytee]

uh yeah but...lol..i bet you dont sound so bad you could be mistaken for a little kid (whose parents obviously arent watching well enough)....haha

[Towelie]

ESP, the difference between me and you is they think "look at that asshole" about you but say "OMG, who let that asshole into the store?" to me :) I can be playing Metallica and people will be all "Cool" but the second I play a Blink 182 song the vegstables <-(Probably spelled wrong) start flying :)

[ESP_Viper]

Hahaha well I don't think someone is an ass if they play blink. It's when they try to act hard because they can play blink. No one is truly comfortable playing in a music shop. So don't worry about it.

[the_doors_girl]

HI everyone

I think if you are looking for a new guitar the best thing to do is use the internet and do your homework. Check out the web sites of the many different guitar companies. If you got questions email them they are really good when it comes to answering there questions. I was looking to buy a gibson and I looked over the net for all the information then I contacted them to ask a question and they were only to happy to answer it. Also go to your local music store ask them for help sit down and try out some of the guitars they got. Finally go on this message board and ask other people on here what they think of what you want to buy. This is a great tool to use to find out information.

Hope I could help a bit

[jaytee]

i dont think i could even get "asshole" status...i think theyd turn and look and think "what the HELL is THAT?"

[Towelie]

The only time I was completely comfortable playing in a music shop was when a bassist and drummer joined me in playing Slayer and some Milencolin.

[jaytee]

im considering the marshall mg50rcd so far and one from the avt series....but the avt is much smaller...

i can only find one review of the mg50rcd tho....and it was pretty good...

but has anybody here played thru one of these? i just like lotsa ideas and feedback...i want to hear others opinions....

tia

--jt

[ESP_Viper]

I don't like the MG series at all. If you want a straight solid state amp look into the crate amps. They are much more for the price than the MG's are.
The MG amps are made by Park. Park is the lower line company for marshall (like epiphone to gibson). Marshall just puts their name on it. This makes it more expensive. I guess they are pretty cool that they have a CD input but so do the smaller AVT's.
The AVT will give you the best tone even if it's smaller. You said that you don't need to play loud, the AVT20 will be great. Closed back 10" will give ya pretty good bass. I love the whole AVT range.

[jaytee]

i will definitely keep that in mind esp...thanks for the info....

--jt

[Coffee]

Hi Jaytee

Just one comment. Don't know what model you're looking at, and yes, Washburns are great guitars, but If it's a electric with hollow side with f holes or a deep body watch out. Some of these types of electrics have cutaways that make it look like you can play way up the neck but in fact the guitar body or the heal of the guitar usually get in the way of actually playing above about the 12th fret. Good luck in your quest.

[jaytee]

hey coffee... :)

yeah ive read in some peoples reviews of other guitars where they were unhappy about the REAL availability of anything above the 12th fret...so :) i paid attention

i havent actually made it to a store yet to shop...ive just been readin ALOT of reviews and stuff online....tryin to cut out some of the footwork...when you live in the country its no fun to have to make 5 or 6 trips to find what ya want....god love the internet :)

basically..well if you really want to know...here it is...

http://washburn.com/idol/index.htm

i think i will go with the DL model....with the mahogany neck in blue...aint it purty? haha...mike calls it my "most recent obsession"

--jt

[ESP_Viper]

DAMN! That looks like a nice guitar. I'd like to have one. Two tone two volume knobs will be awesome. That really looks awesome! I like it.

[jaytee]

hehe...i KNEW youd see why im in love.....

i just hope when i actually go to check it out in person that it works out for me and fulfills all my expectations...