[william84]

I'm going to buy my first electric and amp. What is a good electric but I want to get a really good amp. I'm looking towards a fender guitar.

[USGold]

AMPS are a tough question-you need to make some decisions as to what you expect it to do for you before you can decide which to buy--generally speaking I hear and have seen really nice things about the VOX amps.

[munky]

I'd suggest a Fender Standard (Mexican) Strat and a Marshall combo amp if you're into rock. If you're more of bluesy guy then a Vox like USGold said or a Fender amp would be good.

[Ultimate Garage Band]

1. What style of music do you want to play?
2. Will you be playing in band/jamming w/others or just by yourself/low volume?
3. How much of your money can we spend?

[rockgodess]

I've just started and i invested in a XGuitar by Alesis, its really good and looks a bit like a strat but it has loads of effects.

[USGold]

How about posting some pix in the "lets see" thread? Scott

[rockgodess]

hmmm, i might just do that

[PhilUSAFRet]

I have been doing a bit of shopping myself, especially electrics. I have done a number of searches on Google such as "best starter guitar" electric or acoustic, best amp under $???? and have gotten mountains of ideas. It seems like Marshall Acoustics is the number one choice for beginners, and the electrics are a crap shoot....too many to choose in lower price range. My point is that if you haven't discovered Harmony Central User Reviews, you are missing the best site I've come accross for narrowing down your choices. No matter which one you like, many will like it, many will not. That's why you rarely ever see a seasoned guitar player with just one guitar!

[Matt_11]

OK, so i bought a Vox vr-15 for 120$ can, best deal ive ever found,abosolutly flawless sound, just a bit small, depends on the music style for the guitar, but i would suggest PRS, godin, Gibson/eppiphone, or G&L

[bluesguy]

Originally Posted by william84

I'm going to buy my first electric and amp. What is a good electric but I want to get a really good amp. I'm looking towards a fender guitar.

What style of music do you want to play? What guitarists do you admire? Do they play a particular type of guitar?
Check out:
http://www.jcdisciples.org/guitar/howtobuy.html
and
http://www.electric-guitars.net/
I believe will help you out

As for amps you have three main choices these days:

1. Tube - This will give you a 'warmer' overdrive/distortion than SS. Typically used by blues guitarist the world over
2. Solid State - Harder, cruncher distortion is possible with a SS amp. Tend to be more rugged than a tube amp (tubes being glass). Lots of Jazz artists.
3. Modeling tools - Such as Line 6 products. Almost limitless options. In some cases you will still need to put the output to some kind of speaker system.

Again I would ask you to think about the guitarists you admire and find out what kind of amp(s) they use. That might point you in the right direction.

In my own case, I am into blues artists who play Stratocasters - SRV, EC, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, etc. So I ended up with a Tex-Mex Fender Stratocaster (basically the same model as the Jimmie Vaughan signature model) and a Fender Pro Junior amp. Both work very well for me.