FM_Guitar Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 Good afternoon to everyone! I am looking to get back into guitar after 4 years of not playing. I used to play growing up but then since working I have lost the time for it and just never got round to it. Also because of this my gear is a bit out of shape now and it got me thinking, what is the best stuff to be buying right now coming back to the instrument. I probably can spend about £300-£400 on a guitar (potentially a bit more if worth it) and I am not looking to gig so an amp would only need to be good for home playing and taking pedals. I'd really appreciate some help with this and some guidance on what to be looking at as I haven't actually brought my own guitar before! If anyone needs more info then just say and I can do my best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 (edited) 36 minutes ago, FM_Guitar said: ...I'd really appreciate some help with this ... Hello, and welcome to the Forum. Help will come, and will be all the more pertinent if you could expand a little on your aims and preferences. I'm assuming electric guitar (because 'amp'...), but there's a whole world of styles. Where are you located..? Second-hand is a good way to start, but for the non-initiated it can be a minefield. With your location, there may be someone near you that could advise on a second-hand purchase, checking it out together. A new purchase is good, too, or course, as there's a guarantee, but returns can be troublesome, and a new guitar sometimes need to be set up to be at its best. Your budget is OK, but a bit 'thin' for both guitar and amp; I'd recommend spending most of it on an instrument, and playing into a headphone amp at first, then buy a practice amp later (again, second-hand is good...) with a bit more money. Tell us what you're aiming for, as far as style is concerned, and what music you want to play, and we'll be able to give more targeted options. Over to you..? Edited March 28, 2023 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FM_Guitar Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 Hiya, thank you for the comment and welcome. I'm based in Kent in England and have looked around but you hear so much that I might have too much information! Sorry for not confirming but it is an eletric guitar I am interested in. In regards to music I like to listen to/attempt to play it is a lot of different bands. Some examples are: ACDC, Led Zepplin, Def Leppard, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, The Jam, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Pink Floyd, The Smiths, Oasis, The Rolling Stones, the list could go on and on. Sorry if I wasn't clear but for budget in total it would be about £700 for a guitar and amp. I am looking to get the guitar first so if it is a bit over I can save a bit longer for an amp. I don't mind the usual suggestions of teles, strats, les pauls but if anyone has any really good suggestions that would be great as I am open to in time having two guitars to cover the styles of music as one guitar to do all that could be hard to find (but if there is something that can do it all for more money I wouldn't be against putting more money into that instead as it may be better quality and last me longer). Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 Ah, that's better..! I've already recommended this guitar before, for its versatility... Thomann Squier Tele Thinline Deluxe... (other sources exist...)... It doesn't do the standard Tele 'twang', but has a wide range of tones from the HH p/u's. Thomann's price is £350, I believe. There's a whole range of modelling amps, too, at between £250-450. Boss Catana, Marshall Code 50, Vox VT20, Fender Mustang LT40S... The list is long, and not much in the way of pedals needed with most to get some pretty decent sounds. Which are the best value for money..? Not much in it, I'd say; there's as many votes for one as for another. Spoilt for choice, really, but you can't go far wrong with any. Hope this helps. Douglas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FM_Guitar Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 Thank you for the suggestion. Do you think that will cover the tones well or is it worth going for two guitars that cover both areas much better (one for the single coil sounds (RHCP, rolling stones, etc) and one for the humbucker sounds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 I always say that you can’t go wrong with a Yamaha at any price point. Therefore, im going to suggest something a bit left field with their Revstar range. It has a switching system on the pickups, that they refer to as a dry switch, but in reality is going to be something like a coil tap, giving a wide range of tones. https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/220222381756008--yamaha-revstar-rse20-vintage-white Amp wise, it seems that you can’t go wrong although a Boss Katana these days. The 50w version should cover all your needs and bring you in under budget. https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/190923348960008--boss-katana-50w-mkii-1x12-combo For all this, you can’t beat going to a shop and trying stuff in person. As the UK’s biggest guitar store, Guitar Guitar in Epsom would be a good place to have a day trip to, dependent how deep in Kent you are of course. I have always found the staff there to be very helpful and not at all pushy. Of course, other shops are available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FM_Guitar Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 Thank you for the suggestion! I like the left field options as everyone seems to have teles and strats so that sounds good. Is it worth looking into a HH set up guitar and then also investing in a SS or P90/S style guitar as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 Ah, P90s, my favourite pickup. IMO, with a P90 equipped guitar you can cover anything. There is a P90 Revstar, but it’s further up the range and more expensive. In all honesty, with good EQ and gain settings, you can reproduce a massive range of tones from any decent pickup (although a tapped humbucker makes it much easier). Listen to John Fogarty with Creedence Clearwater Revival and you’d swear he’s playing a Tele, but it’s a Les Paul. Whatever you go for, it must be something that you’ll want to pick up all the time, something that inspires. You can always add another guitar down the line, but get comfortable with one to start with would be my advice. After that you’ll have a better idea of what you’re looking for in another guitar, if it even proves necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 On the P90 front, however… https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/191216352622008--epiphone-sg-special-p-90-sparkling-burgundy 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FM_Guitar Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 That sounds great thank you. So it sounds like I need to go into a store and play around with a couple of guitars and then make my decision? I have been given a squier contemporary telecaster by a friend recently as he can't get on with it and I like some aspects of the guitar but find the bridge pickup too strong. Where do you guys suggest selling this? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 39 minutes ago, FM_Guitar said: ... Where do you guys suggest selling this? How about the Marketplace here, in this very Forum..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FM_Guitar Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 Oh okay, that sounds like a plan. Is there any costs or delivery needed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 1 hour ago, FM_Guitar said: That sounds great thank you. So it sounds like I need to go into a store and play around with a couple of guitars and then make my decision? I have been given a squier contemporary telecaster by a friend recently as he can't get on with it and I like some aspects of the guitar but find the bridge pickup too strong. Where do you guys suggest selling this? You could lower the height of the bridge pickup and thus reduce its output. You could always use it as a trade in against something new. However, I’d keep it, sort the output and buy something different to compliment it. 34 minutes ago, FM_Guitar said: Oh okay, that sounds like a plan. Is there any costs or delivery needed? I might be wrong, but it still may be free to advertise here. As to delivery, that’d be for you or the purchaser to organise via a courier of some sort, if it’s not possible for a pick up or a meeting somewhere. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 (edited) 37 minutes ago, FM_Guitar said: Oh okay, that sounds like a plan. Is there any costs or delivery needed? That needs to be worked out between Seller and Buyer. Personal hand-over is the best method, though. (Posted just after EZbass ^^^^...) I echo his notion of lowering the bridge p/u. That's a pretty fine guitar, and would have to be seriously incompatible to swap for something else, I'd say. Edited March 28, 2023 by Dad3353 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FM_Guitar Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 Hiya, thanks for the suggestions! If I lower the bridge pickup then is there some good suggestions for another guitar that can cover the other side of the tone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 35 minutes ago, FM_Guitar said: Hiya, thanks for the suggestions! If I lower the bridge pickup then is there some good suggestions for another guitar that can cover the other side of the tone? I’m not particularly familiar with that Tele. I’d definitely be inclined to take into a store and do a side by side comparison. I know I’m biased, but it could well be that it’s a P90 equipped guitar that will add to the palette, rather than duplicate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FM_Guitar Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 Thats great thank you. I think a P90 could be a really good shout to especially to cover so much tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 1 hour ago, FM_Guitar said: Thats great thank you. I think a P90 could be a really good shout to especially to cover so much tone. The first time I tried a P90 equipped guitar was a PRS McCarty with Seymour Duncan P90s, I was a convert from the first few notes and I’ve not changed my opinion since. My Tele has pickups voiced like P90s, but still has that inherent Tele sound and my other guitar is an Epiphone Casino Coupé, which is a P90 guitar in the first place. I’ve had other P90 guitars too and they always make me smile. I am, without doubt, a bit of a zealot when it comes to these pickups, or at least the tone they produce and how they react to attack and other parts of the signal chain. Is there a downside? Yes, a pure, single coil P90 can be noisy, but it’s worth it. By way of an alternative, my second choice of pickup would be a Filtertron, especially in a hollowbody. This is all academic of course, I’m not buying the guitar and it’s not my ears (or hands, playability is key too) choosing for you. Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randythoades Posted March 29, 2023 Share Posted March 29, 2023 Also to echo other posts, if you already have the Squier contempory I would definitely keep it, but also suggest lowering the pickup. If that still doesn't suit for cleaner tones then a Wilkinson or Tonerider tele replacement would give you a much lower output and fit with your single coil sounds and leave the neck humbucker for some of the heavier tones. Even with a new pickup, it ends up being just a £50 investment rather than trying to sell it and buy something else. I play everything from rockabilly to blues to ACDC on my teles with no problem at all, just a question of changing the gain and tone on your amp. Different for gigging when different guitars make it easier to change tones and feel quickly. And also agree about a modelling amp solution, any of those suggestions would work for you at home at much less than your budget. You don't need anything powerful, just flexible with such wide tastes. You can then select a clean fender tone one day and click the next preset to get instant Marshall stack the next. But I am not going to suggest that you wouldn't need another guitar or amp at all. As we all know, and tell our wife, they all do something different and you can't possibly live without them.... (even though we play just the one 95% of the time) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FM_Guitar Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 Thats great thank you! It sounds as though P90s could really give both the soft clean tones and thick distortion tones as well. I will have a look as I have seen some interesting epiphones, gretchs, g&ls, etc that look good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
