What guitar to buy?

[SPFH73]

Hi,
I am looking for a guitar that i can use to play classic rock and other rock genres. I am looking for an electric guitar which would be easy to use to play fast solos and lead guitar. I have been looking at Ibanez and a few other guitar manufacturers and i am realy not sure what to get. I am thinking of buying the guitar just after christmas and would be willing to spend upto around £400.
Any advice on a good guitar would be much appreciated,
Thanks in advance

[sphelan]

Originally Posted by SPFH73

Hi,
I am looking for a guitar that i can use to play classic rock and other rock genres. I am looking for an electric guitar which would be easy to use to play fast solos and lead guitar. I have been looking at Ibanez and a few other guitar manufacturers and i am realy not sure what to get. I am thinking of buying the guitar just after christmas and would be willing to spend upto around £400.
Any advice on a good guitar would be much appreciated,
Thanks in advance

Don't have any experience of Ibanez electric guitars but I do have an Ibanez bass which I like.

I have a Squire Strat which should be in your budget. I like it and a good mate reckons it is easily as good as his genuine Fender Stratocaster. Worth taking a look at imo...but I suggest you try to play various models you are considering in order to know what suits you playability wise!

[saxman]

I agree that you should really try to play a few guitars so you can judge the feel and sound yourself. 400 pounds will get you a nice Epiphone Les Paul, Fender Tele or Ibanez.

If you are close to one of the DV247 dedicated guitar showrooms then you should try to visit them;

[terminal3]

Indeed there is a lot of selection under £500, and some are very good - but even within one brand/model I suggest you try a few - when it comes to any guitars this is the case, really, but it's especially important at the low end where QC might not quite be as rigourous. You might find that between two of the exact same £400 guitar one of them is a dog and another one sings. So yeah, if possible, play a few, or at the very least make sure that you're absolutely happy with the one the shop has got if they don't have more than one of the model you're interested in.

[SPFH73]

Thanks guys. Forgot to mention that i currently have a fender standard mexican strat which i am very pleased with. I have played a few ibanez guitars and i like them but i am wondering if anyone knows a good ibanez guitar to get within my budget such as the rg series or maybe the js100 which is slightly over my budget. Or are there any other guitars which would be great guitars to play at around the same price.
Thanks

[sphelan]

Originally Posted by SPFH73

Thanks guys. Forgot to mention that i currently have a fender standard mexican strat which i am very pleased with. I have played a few ibanez guitars and i like them but i am wondering if anyone knows a good ibanez guitar to get within my budget such as the rg series or maybe the js100 which is slightly over my budget. Or are there any other guitars which would be great guitars to play at around the same price.
Thanks

If I were in your shoes...and I am, more or less, as I mentioned earlier I have a Squire...then I would save a bit more and move up a price bracket or two. Buying another budget guitar imo might not be the way to go. But again, try out different guitars is solid advice.

[I_Am_Bic_Pentameter]

If I was buying an Ibanez with a floating bridge then I would get the slightly more expensive ones that return to zero point using the ZR Trem. I don't like the one I got. I said on their forums that they go out of tune too easily and I got the usual replies of it's how you set up. While that is true to a degree, it was as plain as a pikestaff that it was still flawed. Anyway, if it's how you set up, then why have they started to fit them with the new ZR Trem and the one they started on was the one I had? If you go fixed bridge obviously there is nothing to worry about. I bought a tremol-no for mine and locked it. Plays great and stays in tune - now.

Ibanez give you different sound to the Strat but you should note that they have a wide variation types of pick-ups and also how they are set up. Their forum is quite extensive and you can hear pick-ups on various makers sites and find out who uses what quite easily with some research.

You will probably want two humbuckers at least. There seems little point getting anything remotely toward the Strat sound. A lot of people change pick-ups which isn't a bad idea with Ibanez. A cheaper Ibanez guitar with changed pick-ups is a lot cheaper way to go. Ibanez is a good rock guitar make.

The Tele is just great and it rocks very well up to medium rock. But You probably want something that is more rock orientated. It's my favourite but not a lead type guitar unless you're into McFly. I'm not but I have done a version of 'It's All About You' which could be used to blackmail me at some point.

[Ian B]

If you can stretch your budget to around £500 and like Les Pauls, I suggest you have a look at the Richwood Tree of Life LP clones. I've got one and the build quality is such that Gibsons own custom shop would struggle to match it, it is absolutely stunning, tho' the Tree of Life inlay on the fretboard is considered a bit ostentatious by some, but it looks fantastic to me.

Mines in Amber burst, they are limited editions, 24 made in each of 7 colours and the choice may now be limited. I believe Richwoods are available in shops, tho' I'm not sure about these tbh, I bought mine online, and while I can understand people being reluctant to buy unseen/untried, especially at this price, they are well worth at least looking at, oh, and the price includes a good quality hard case and certificate of authenticity.

I'm not sure if DV stock them, but here's a post from the MyLP forum which backs up my opinion http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/othe...tree-life.html

[TrevCircleStudios]

I'd be doing a salt/pepper thing if I was you. If strat is salt, a les paul is gonna make you sneeze (and you could probably pick up an LP studio on fleabay within your budget)

[SPFH73]

Thanks a lot for all your replies. I have been looking at all your suggestions and have been researching a bit. I have seen a few guitars which i like but i want something quite different from my strat. I know that a lp would most probably be a good way to go but if i was looking for something a bit more like an ibanez or esp kind of guitar are there any models which any1 would recommend? I would like someting which would contrast my strat and would have a, "rocky" feel and look about it.
I am planning to visit a dv store this weekend to play a few guitars and to see what i think.
Thanks alot for your help so far

[I_Am_Bic_Pentameter]

It's quite difficult to recommend 'an Ibanez' because as you have probably spotted, there's a shed-load full of them with numerous configurations and pick-ups. There's also the aesthetics of the guitar. I had to overlook that a bit to get what I wanted but not everyone can.

I do recommend you go on their forum Here. They have people who seem to have played or bought every single model, in every colour. It's a good resource in that respect. You may get the odd smart remark (I cannot condone this behaviour) but there were plenty with a good knowledge of Ibanez.

Another way is to use their search facility. If you have a few types that you like the look of then enter it in. There were a lot of 'which would you buy' and 'which is better' and 'what's X like' type threads. I also watch youtube vids of people using them. People do love their banjos and like to show them off.

[spyder]

For sure, if you have a Strat (single coils) then for your second guitar you should think about getting one with humbuckers. If you like the JS100 you may also want to look at the PRS SE guitars. I have a Custom 22 myself and the SE's I have tried - although much less cost - are pretty good value and certainly well made.

[bluebearddub]

check out a gordon smith
stretch the budget to 700 and your gonna get a decent guitar, i wouldnt spend the 400 as really you'll just be giving stores their profit margins without getting a decent usa standard strat etc. les paul studio is a great guitar , you could also buy a decent martin accoustic for around 600 quid these days !

[TrevCircleStudios]

Originally Posted by spyder

For sure, if you have a Strat (single coils) then for your second guitar you should think about getting one with humbuckers. If you like the JS100 you may also want to look at the PRS SE guitars. I have a Custom 22 myself and the SE's I have tried - although much less cost - are pretty good value and certainly well made.

PRS are great for live work and look very pretty but somehow every time one turns up in the studio it just never quite produces the goods...