What guitar should I buy?

Dgrate · #1 August 29th, 2007

I have an absolutely horrible guitar right now. A Yamaha. Pickups are damaged, n' stuff. Even on clean, with headphones on, pluck it lightly and you can hear a buzzing sound.

I'm thinking of buying a tele cause I'm starting to play by fingerplucking and on clean too. I know Led Zepp lead guitarist Jimmy Page used a tele to record the solo on Stairway to Heaven, so what do you guys think?

fly135 · #2 August 29th, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dgrate

I'm thinking of buying a tele cause I'm starting to play by fingerplucking and on clean too. I know Led Zepp lead guitarist Jimmy Page used a tele to record the solo on Stairway to Heaven, so what do you guys think?

If you are thinking of buying a Tele solely because JP used it on S2H then I would suggest you consider a Strat. The Strat is more versatile and I think that someone should only pick a Tele over a Strat if they really know they want a Tele. That's my opinion, and I have 2 teles and 2 strats.

P-90 · #3 August 29th, 2007

Page used a tele on all of the first few Zep albums, in the early days he would go through a gig with just the one guitar. So it's hardly just Stairway, it's also Communication Breakdown, and another couple of dozen songs.

On the other hand, Stairway was a total ripoff of the song Taurus by Spirit, and for that Randy California was playing a Danelectro-made Silvertone, so it's obviously possible to do with some different guitars.

While I agree that a Tele is not as versatile as most 2-3 pickup guitars, that may or may not matter. You need to love the possible sounds, and you also need to love the guitar in general. If you try some guitars, and fall head over heels in love with a tele, buy it.

Or maybe you'll fall in love with a 1966 Teisco-made Kingston, which nobody famous has ever recorded on. Who knows? It's an intensely personal decision, almost like asking us who you should go out with. Follow your own feelings, because you're never going to enjoy playing a guitar, however great it might be in theory, which doesn't feel special to you.

(I'm having two custom guitars put together at the moment; sometimes the answer is, "I want a guitar which is not available in any store." And that's valid, too.)

Dgrate · #4 August 30th, 2007

I heard the tele has a more twangy sound. Well, I'll just have to try bot the strat and the tele.

fly135 · #5 August 30th, 2007

I'll add more of my observations...

Tele Pros...

1) When fingerpicking there is no middle pup to get in the way. Maybe other people don't have any issues here, but it bugs me on my strat because I'm always hitting the middle pup.

2) Less cluttered. When strumming on my strat the volume knob is in the way and gets whacked alot and turned down.

3) String thru bridge adds to sustain and alleviates any tuning issues related to a tremolo.

Strat Pro...

1) 5 pup configuration adds a lot to the tone variety if you use it. SRV uses the bridge and bridge/middle combination a lot. So if you have any interest in his style then a strat is a plus.

2) Tremolo. If you want one then you won't find it on a Tele. Unless you add one like I did.

Dgrate · #6 August 31st, 2007

Alright. I have found another guitar that seems to be good. I'll buy it if it is available in my place. I like the acoustic-clean sound of it and is also good for classic/hard rock. I might try to remove the lights though. Maybe there's some batteries to remove for turning off those lights.

Here it is: The Yamaha RGX A2

krissovo · #7 August 31st, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dgrate

Alright. I have found another guitar that seems to be good. I'll buy it if it is available in my place. I like the acoustic-clean sound of it and is also good for classic/hard rock. I might try to remove the lights though. Maybe there's some batteries to remove for turning off those lights.

Here it is: The Yamaha RGX A2

Not my style the Yamaha but for my 10 cents worth a strat is versatile and useful to have around.

I picked up on a statement you made " I like the acoustic-clean sound of it", for the ultimate in clean acoustic sounding have a look at the Godin Solidac (I have one and its nice)they have two humbucker pick ups with a single coil in the midle (So rock/blues not a problem) but they also have piezos in the bridge that will give you a acoustic tone. One stage further is a modeled guitar so have a look at a Variax from line 6 where you have a selection of modeled guitars including acoustic's. I have the 700 and its a good axe, the 300 is a cheap version but still has the full range of modeled guitars.

Good luck

knight46 · #8 August 31st, 2007

Nice looking axe, lights might actually be pretty cool.

Dgrate · #9 August 31st, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by krissovo

Not my style the Yamaha but for my 10 cents worth a strat is versatile and useful to have around.

I picked up on a statement you made " I like the acoustic-clean sound of it", for the ultimate in clean acoustic sounding have a look at the Godin Solidac (I have one and its nice)they have two humbucker pick ups with a single coil in the midle (So rock/blues not a problem) but they also have piezos in the bridge that will give you a acoustic tone. One stage further is a modeled guitar so have a look at a Variax from line 6 where you have a selection of modeled guitars including acoustic's. I have the 700 and its a good axe, the 300 is a cheap version but still has the full range of modeled guitars.

Good luck

We-ll, the country I'm in right now doesn't really have any musician's toy store. The only brands available to me are Yamaha, Fender and Ibanez. Sad really.

addictedtonitro · #10 September 3rd, 2007

for what it is worth I like my nuno. I've only been playing for a few weeks now but I've had people say it plays like a much higher priced guitar.

Stratrat · #11 September 4th, 2007

Yamaha's guitars are very good for their price point. I own a low-end (<$200) Yamaha bass and have no complaints whatsoever about it. That particular Yamaha in your link isn't my cup of tea, but I'm sure it would be a more than decent guitar.

+1 to what Fly135 said about Strats vs. Teles in his above posts. I own both and absolutely love my Telecasters, but that doesn't mean they're for everybody. If you have the ability to sit down and play both Strats and Teles, it would probably be a big help in making your decision. A lot of it has to do with personal preference, and there's no "one size fits all" answer when it comes to guitars.