Guitar advice please.
Discussion
Anoetic said:
After playing the piano for a while and then giving it up due to a clash with her teacher my daughter decided she wanted to play the guitar. So she had an acoustic one and started having lessons, then when the conversation came around to birthday presents a few months later I only had one response, an electric guitar. She had her heart set on a strat and it didn't matter if it was a copy or not. To cut a long story short, you only get your first guitar once and when she opening up her present and she saw a ghost silver fender strat HSH, the extra money was well worth it. She even got me playing a few months later....
The HSH refers to the pickup config right? What is special about it?13m said:
The HSH refers to the pickup config right? What is special about it?
It's a decent mix. the two "H"s are humbuckers - the twin coil type you usually get in Gibson guitars which give a stronger and "beefier" output than a single coil, although with slightly less clarity. HSH configuration means you have one near the neck and one near the bridge with a single coil in the middle; that's again a similar configuration to a Gibson guitar. A pickup near the bridge will be much more trebly than one near the neck for all kinds of complicated reasons I don't understand, so the bridge pickup is usually the highest output pickup and used for playing solos. The neck pickup is used for playing rhythm guitar and will have a bassier tone.By sticking a single coil in between the two you retain the option for the classic "strat" sound if you want it.
However, to my mind it really doesn't make a great deal of difference what pickups or even guitar you use provided it is a good one. At some extremes (death metal, for example) you do need some specialised kit (EMG active pickups and a Mesa Triple Rectifier amplifier were vital for clarity at the levels of distortion used, if memory serves), but generally a guitarist will find "their" sound and dial it in on whatever kit they're using.
I used to be a roadie for a band for a while and when we were using the house amplifiers rather than taking our own it was always interesting trying to get a tone on a full Marshall stack that sounded the same as the 20w Fender combo we'd used the night before.
13m said:
The HSH refers to the pickup config right? What is special about it?
Yep, the H means humbucker, the S means single coil. Humbucker tend to be louder, less bright sounding / fatter sounding, and don't suffer so much buzz from electrical interference. I'd probably go for HSS over HSH, but then I really like the neck single coil, and neck and middle in parallel tones.davepoth said:
A pickup near the bridge will be much more trebly than one near the neck for all kinds of complicated reasons I don't understand, so the bridge pickup is usually the highest output pickup and used for playing solos. The neck pickup is used for playing rhythm guitar and will have a bassier tone.
FWIW (and off track from the OP!), my understanding is that the string movement is less at the bridge compared to the neck, so the bridge pickup has less movement to "see", so if the PUs were the same it would be much quieter. To balance the output against the other PUs, the bridge PU is higher output as you said. Putting more windings on the pickup increases the impedance, which increases the natural frequency of the circuit and makes it sound more trebly :-) The Nur said:
I love the Paisley guitars. Blue or pink?
Mine is one of the black and grey ones.http://www.cmcguitars.com/fender-fsr-black-paisley...
It's a lovely thing, but I have zero talent.
conkerman said:
Mine is one of the black and grey ones.
http://www.cmcguitars.com/fender-fsr-black-paisley...
It's a lovely thing, but I have zero talent.
I forgot about those, very nice http://www.cmcguitars.com/fender-fsr-black-paisley...
It's a lovely thing, but I have zero talent.
I want a Paisley tele.
Skyedriver said:
Have you asked him what he would prefer, set a budget.
We had chance to compare a Standard Strat and a Squier Classic Vibe, both in Lake Placid Blue, next to each other. Didn't have chance to play them though. Visually he preferred the Strat.Out of interest - our local music shop has both on sale reduced because they are ex display. They are both immaculate - is ex display a problem?
13m said:
We had chance to compare a Standard Strat and a Squier Classic Vibe, both in Lake Placid Blue, next to each other. Didn't have chance to play them though. Visually he preferred the Strat.
Out of interest - our local music shop has both on sale reduced because they are ex display. They are both immaculate - is ex display a problem?
Hard to say, I wouldn't be worried - but worth checking that it still plays properly, and get some new strings on it.Out of interest - our local music shop has both on sale reduced because they are ex display. They are both immaculate - is ex display a problem?
Having worked in a guitar shop for several years, my advice would be to buy the guitar you can actually 'test drive'. Every guitar will play slightly differently, and so straight out of the box a 'cheap' guitar can play better than a guitar twice the price. As other people have mentioned, the amp end is probably more important. A crap guitar through an awesome FX processor will still sound awesome, but it doesn't work the other way round. You can also plug head phones in to them!
lostnfound said:
Having worked in a guitar shop for several years, my advice would be to buy the guitar you can actually 'test drive'. Every guitar will play slightly differently, and so straight out of the box a 'cheap' guitar can play better than a guitar twice the price. As other people have mentioned, the amp end is probably more important. A crap guitar through an awesome FX processor will still sound awesome, but it doesn't work the other way round. You can also plug head phones in to them!
Good advice, though I cannot play a note and Junior is probably not best placed to judge. Which means either taking someone guitary with us or trusting a shop assistant.I am veering towards a Standard Strat right now. It's what he wants, I believe it will always be worth something and hopefully it will last him longer than a cheaper guitar that he will want to replace more swiftly.
If he is like me and every other guitarist I know, he will cherish his first guitar and keep it forever, so it's not a bad investment. The nice thing with guitars is that the tech doesn't change and they don't become obsolete, unlike a £500 smartphone/tablet/laptop/playstation. In fact, after a while it will start to appreciate. The strat design is pretty much unchanged since its inception 60 odd years ago, I can't see it changing any time soon.
In my experience, the entry-level Fenders are really, really good for the money, and the top end of the Mexican-made range like the Baja are staggering value. I don't think I've picked up a bad one, which is more than I can say for the £1000+ US-made models. (Which seem to range between sublime to utterly mediocre, and you don't know what you're going to get until you pick one up and play it). I've heard similarly good things about the upper echelons of the Squier range, although I've not played one myself.
For a left field shout, I really rate the Ibanez RG series, too. They come in some attractive finishes, entry level is a good slug cheaper than the American name brands, and playability is top notch.
For a left field shout, I really rate the Ibanez RG series, too. They come in some attractive finishes, entry level is a good slug cheaper than the American name brands, and playability is top notch.
13m said:
I am veering towards a Standard Strat right now. It's what he wants, I believe it will always be worth something and hopefully it will last him longer than a cheaper guitar that he will want to replace more swiftly.
13m, don't let perfect get in the way of good enough! Any of the guitars mentioned in this thread will be better than no guitar! I think the Fender Standard Strat will be a fine choice (although I believe you were looking at the HSS configuration, rather than the typical SSS - not that there's anything wrong with either). They are versatile, well made instruments, it's what your son wants and they retain their value of you decide to sell. Other guitars are arguably better at other specialist things (in the same way that a Caterham is arguably better than a Golf GTi for a track day), but the Strat is a truly great all rounder; it can play metal, rock, funk, jazz, country and anything else. Of all the guitars I own, my Strat is my favourite (and many folks feel the same way about theirs) and the one I play the most.Stop agonising, buy one for your son and post pictures of the purchase!
chemistry
Gassing Station | Music | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff