> Josh has been playing acoustic for more than five years now 🙂 and he's not too bad - to my ears at least 🙂
>
> He says he would prefer a flat fredboard - like his acoustic. I've looked at Gisbon, but they will be out of our price range I fear.
>
> Thankx for the info about pickups - I had been wondering about the differences Strat vs Tele, other than the obvious shape.
>
> We are off today to a good local rockshop for an initial look around...
Let us know how it goes Jim.
Well, the Tele is the ultimate guitar.(IMO, of course);-)
The Strat is curvier and sexier and has a few more tonal variations. He'll probably like that better.
I have considerable experience with Strats, and I would second the thoughts that the Mexicans can be very good, although the quality can vary quite a lot. Especially in the neck/fretboard areas. It's not too hard to tell a bad one, but you should have someone who knows go with you to look at them.
My favorite personal guitar right now is a Mexican Telecaster (with lots of mods).
It might not be your cup of tea being as how they're made in China, but the Classic Vibe 50's Squire Strats and Teles are pretty nicely made inexpensive guitars. I think most of them have pine bodies but the finishes and neck/fretboards are noticeably better than most of the Mexican Fenders.
I've also owned some Deans and I agree that they make a pretty good entry level axe. The American ones are quite pricey though. I currently have a Korean made Hardtail Select and it's a gorgeous axe and plays like a dream. I keep it around for stuff I want to hear humbuckers on.
Just about everyone has a factory in China or Korea or somewhere where they make less expensive models of their American counterparts. Surprisingly, all the ones I've played were pretty good for the money.
Well that was interesting
Just got back from the local rockshop
Josh tried a number of guitars - from low end Aria to real Gibson's
We have found a Dean Deciever that looks good - but by the time we include an amp its right at the top of our price range.
We also found a Sterling AX40 that we really like the look and sound of - but its almost twice the price - so would be a real stretch financially.
Right now we are just sitting & considering...
Been and gone and done it
Well we've been and gone it done it...
Ended up with a Dean Vendetta and a Roland Mini-cube - his choice, couldn't go past the whammy bar 🙂
Thankx one and all for your input - I've learnt a lot...
Cheers
Been and gone and done it
Excellent choice!
Been and gone and done it
That's really the only way to do it - have him try a bunch, and decide which one feels best.
They all vary on string spacing, which is a key factor. Another key factor is placement and control of the pickups. Something like a Les Paul has a tighter, more-acoustic feel than a Strat or Telecastor, and also has the different pickups, and the control up on top of the guitar, as opposed to the lower-mounted 5-way of something like a Strat, which you can flip while whammy-ing (creating Hendrix-style sounds).
At his point, whatever "feels best" is probably best. But eventually, if he's like the rest of us who really "get into it", he'll want multiple guitars for multiple situations...
Fair warning: Music is a major money-sink, if you really get into it... 😉
Good news is that you've done your part... You got him his first guitars. Now he really gets into it, in which case HE gets to try to fund all his additional purchases, or he loses interest... In any case, you should feel you've done enough, and he'll find a way to pay for the rest if he REALLY wants to play...
