[Ultimate Garage Band]

So, you’ve decided to play electric guitar, great! The kind of music you'll want to play on it the most will determine what's best for you. Identify bands or players who's songs you want to learn. When you know what they play, that'll give you a better idea of what guitar to get.

Essentially, there's 2 camps of electric guitars with some sub groups; single coils, ala the Strat and Tele and humbuckers, ala the Les Paul, PRS, etc. You can get Strats w/humbuckers and you can get Les Pauls w/single coils, but a different type of single coil than a Strat pickup. A Strat and Tele sound the way they do because:

1. The scale length is 25.5" and requires more tension to tune than a shorter scale w/the same gauge string.

2. The single coil pickups.

3. Where the single coil pickups are placed under the strings.

4. Construction materials/methods; typically the necks are maple and bolted to the alder bodies.

Les Pauls/SG's sound the way they do because:

1. The scale length is 24.75" meaning the strings are not under as much tension.

2. The humbucker pickups.

3. Where the humbucker pickups are placed under the strings.

4. Construction materials/methods; typically the necks are mahogany and glued or 'set' into a mahogany body and often with a maple cap/top surface.

Most electric guitars are ‘solid body’ guitars meaning that the body of the guitar is solid wood; there is no acoustic chamber inside the body. Popular models of solid body electrics include:

The Stratocaster
The Les Paul
The Telecaster
The SG
The Flying V
The Explorer

And many, MANY others including copies and variations of the above mentioned models. Solid body guitars are predominately used in Rock, especially hard Rock and Metal. Because they don’t feature an acoustic chamber they resist feedback at much higher volume levels. They are also commonly found in Country and Blues.

Another type of electric guitar is the ‘semi-hollow body’. These guitars do feature a small acoustic chamber. Popular models include:

The Telecaster
ES 335
ES 137

And many, MANY others including copies and variations of the above mentioned models. Semi hollow body guitar are used quite often in Rock, Country, Blues, and Jazz.

A final type of guitar, for this discussion, is the ‘hollow body’. As the name would suggest, these electric guitars feature a large acoustic chamber. Popular models include:

The L5
ES 175
Several models by Gretch including the White Falcon

And many, MANY others including copies and variations of the above mentioned. Hollow body guitars are used quite often in Jazz as they are the most prone to feedback in high volume situations, however, some Rock guitar players are known for this using this body style such as Brian Setzer and George Thorogood.

There are obviously many variables to the electric guitar: scale length, pickups, materials/methods of construction, body styles, etc. The more you move away from a clean tone the less any of these factors is apparent. Ultimately, w/pedals, amps, and processors you can make any guitar sound like anything BUT a guitar.

For the sake of this discussion, I'm not going to cover active electronics.

[hermanli_ibanezshredder]

You forgot the "Superstrat" category. They're used mostly in heavy metal especially shredding parts.

[Ultimate Garage Band]

"You can get Strats w/humbuckers..."

I think that covers Super Strats and Fat Strats. The combinations are endless.

[BlackKunji]

I'm currently hoping to get my Epiphone Les Paul Custom guitar but I heard some negative comments on that guitar. I hope you can help me in this.

zzounds.com>Epiphone>Epiphone Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar

This is the website that talks about the Epiphone guitar


Pickups: 2 Humbuckers

Hardware: Gold

Scale: 24.75 in.

Nut Width: 1.68 in.

Neck Joint: Set

Neck Material: Mahogany

Fingerboard: Rosewood/Block

Binding: Body/Neck/Headstock

Body Material: Mahogany/Alder

Top: Mahogany/Alder

Finishes: Alpine White, Ebony
The classic "tuxedo" look and world famous features that have made the Les Paul Custom a hit since 1954 are now available in a great price range with the Epiphone Les Paul Custom. Multiple bound body with arched top and gold hardware, a quick mahogany neck for great action and feel and a solid, glued neck joint for stability and a great sustain all come together to make this guitar one of the best values on the market today.case.
Technical Info
Pickups: 2 Humbuckers

Hardware: Gold

Scale: 24.75 in.

Nut Width: 1.68 in.

Neck Joint: Set

Neck Material: Mahogany

Fingerboard: Rosewood/Block

Binding: Body/Neck/Headstock

Body Material: Mahogany/Alder

Top: Mahogany/Alder

Finishes: Alpine White, Ebony


Here are some info on the guitar.

[P-90]

Epiphone began as Gibson's biggest rival in the market for archtop guitars, and had a similar reputation for quality. In 1957, Gibson brought an end to the competition by buying the Epiphone company. Epiphone's reputation was not hurt by the acquisition, quality remained on a par with Gibson for some time.

In the early 1970s, Gibson decided to partially change Epiphone into their budget line; in addition to Epiphone's own models, less expensive versions of Gibson-based designs started playing a big role. And with this, manufacturing changed as well. First they moved production to Japan, then in the 1980s they began having other companies manufacture Epiphones under license. And that is where it gets messy. You can find Epiphones which were made by Gibson in Japan or China, or made under license by any of 6 or 8 different contractors in 4 different countries (Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia).

There will always be variation between individual instruments, no matter what. No Guarneri violin is exactly like any other, even though they were all made by the same person. When you're talking about a situation like the one Epiphone has been in for the last 20 years, there is obviously going to be a lot of variation. Gibson has also released a bewildering number of (for example) Epiphone Les Paul and Les Paul Junior versions, which ranged from budget basement ($99 special, with amp, strap and so on thrown in) to virtual clones of Gibsons which cost several hundred dollars. On the nicer ones, you will find Grover tuners, just like Gibson uses. On the cheaper ones, you find cheaper tuners. And so on.

So when you see someone talking about an Epiphone Les Paul, you should remember that they're talking about an isolated example of one version which may be designed very differently from the one you're considering buying, which may not have been made in the same country or by the same company. If you have a chance to play it before you buy, you can be sure that you like the one you're getting. If you can't try it first, here are some things to consider.

You're looking at one of the pricier ones; it comes with premium tuners and so forth. Overall quality is likely to be significantly better than on a cheaper model. And when you do hear someone complaining about an Epiphone, it is not entirely predictable what the complaint will be. "It doesn't stay in tune," "the pickups sound less clear than Gibsons," "some frets had rough edges," "the factory setup (adjustment) wasn't at all to my liking" are the sorts of things you'll hear from time to time, especially when it comes to the cheap ones. Fortunately, these are all correctable, and in even the worst case (hate the pickups), your cost to get it exactly as you want will still be far lower than if you'd bought a Gibson. And many Epiphones (especially the pricier ones) will be dandy right out of the box.

Once in a blue moon someone complains that they encountered an Epiphone which was so bad that it was really beyond redemption, but neither I or anyone I know has ever encountered such a guitar, so I can't say for sure whether grossly defective ones really exist. I suppose a few probably do, especially in the lowest price ranges. People with totally unrealistic expectations also definitely exist, as do people who select instruments which are totally wrong for the sound they're after. Take extreme reviews with a grain of salt.

Speaking of reviews, you might take a look at harmony-central's equipment review section. (Sorry, I'm not allowed to post URLs yet.) There are 168 reviews of the Epiphone LP Custom there, as I write this. At least 3/4 of the reviewers were quite content with the quality of their guitar, and most of the remainder complain only about things which can be fixed without great difficulty or expense. From what I've seen, that's nearly as uniformly positive as anything you're likely to see when it comes to reviews of guitars under $1000.

Some comments on the specifications of the particular model:
Gold hardware: looks great initially, but the gold plating will start wearing off eventually. It's something to think about.

Set, mahogony neck: set necks sound a trifle different than bolted on ones, and cannot easily be replaced in the event of disaster. Mahagony necks will sound a bit richer and darker than maple, and weigh somewhat less.

Humbucking pickups: They tend to sound rich and have high output, as opposed to single coils like P-90s or Fender pickups, which are lower output, brighter, more detailed, with a bit more primal sort of edge, and occasional problems with picking up hum from power lines. What's ideal for you depends on the sort of sound you're after. If you play death metal, you'll probably want humbuckers or active pickups. If you play surf, you'd be better off with a light-sounding single-coil like on a Telecaster or Danelectro. For everyone else, it's a matter of taste.

Two pickup design: With single-coil pickups, three (as in a Strat) can be nice because using both the middle pickup and one of the others at once is naturally noise-cancelling, and single-coils are otherwise prone to hum. With humbuckers, this is not an issue, and two pickups offers you good flexibility in terms of available sounds.

Body design and wood: Les Pauls are pretty hefty solid-bodies, and this gives them good sustain, with resistance to uncontrollable feedback at high volumes. Mahagony is a fairly heavy wood with a dark, rich sound. Alder is a lighter-sounding wood, as well as being physically lighter. The combination of the two will probably satisfy most players who don't have back problems.

All of the statements above are my personal opinions, no offense to anyone who disagrees with anything or everything I've said.