Crappy Axe Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Hello all I’m a bass player of 35 years experience here fed up with people saying “oh you play guitar play as a tune” My aim is to be proficient enough to twang through a few numbers for the bucket list. The time is now. I bought a dirt cheap Tele cos it looked cool. Not the best decision especially with my dumpy fingers, Dunno why I did it when people ask me about basses I always say but the best you can afford lol So what do peeps reccomend ? new or SH my budget is £300 to £500 i convincing “classic rock” rhythm tone is the only must have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 19 minutes ago, Crappy Axe said: ...So what do peeps reccomend ? ... Can't go wrong with this one, offered on our very own Marketplace section by a trusted member. Way below your target budget; is that so bad a thing..? Yamaha Pacifica Tele-type guitar, ungraded ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musical Mystery Tour Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 (edited) For that kind of budget, you have a lot of scope. A Telecaster is actually a good choice for what you are after in terms of sound (the Telecaster was good enough for Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones after all), although it will take some getting used to in terms of playing if you are used to playing bass. Any six string is initially going to feel small and hard to fret if you are used to playing bass of course, but you can get used to it. However, if you really can't get along with that Telecaster, then within your target budget, I'd recommend one of the Epiphone versions of the venerable Les Paul, and there is a good reason for that, which is... A Telecaster has (depending on which exact model it is) a neck width at the nut of about 1.65 inches, whereas most Epiphone Les Pauls (and the pricier Gibsons from which they are derived) have a neck width of 1.69 inches at the nut. This might not seem like a big difference between it and that Tele, but you will definitely notice the difference between that Gibson style neck and a typical Fender neck, since the profile is usually a bit fatter and more rounded on an Epiphone neck as well. What is worth noting too, is that Fenders typically have a scale length of 25.5 inches, whereas Epiphones have a scale length of 24.75 inches. This means the string tension is less on an Epiphone than it is on a Fender, and that's a plus point when learning to fret stuff. Of course if you simply want to be able to bang out a few campfire chords and sing to them when someone asks you to 'play a song', then you could always go with an acoustic or electro acoustic guitar, since these too will have a typically wider neck than the average electric guitar. If you do decide to go with an acoustic, you can go a long way with just a few chords and some 'travis picking'. But back with that Les Paul, and specifically the Epiphone versions, be aware that there are some cheap ones around which have a screw on neck, and some better ones with a set, glued in neck. It's one with a set neck which you want. You will probably find an older second hand one of those on ebay for somewhere around three hundred quid. You might get lucky and pay a bit less of course, particularly for a Les Paul Studio version which doesn't have all the fancy binding on the body (These are very good, particularly the Korean-made ones from around the early 2000s). Don't get hung up about single coil versus humbuckers in relation to the sound you are after; the truth is that it's the amp which has to most affect on how a guitar will sound, not the pick ups, but having said that, if you can find one with P90 pickups, that'll give you the best of both worlds as although P90s are single coils, they sound a lot more ballsy than a typical single coil. If you are not a 'logo snob' and are prepared to go with a copy rather than a Epiphone version of a Les Paul, then I can recommend taking a look at the Fazley Midas on the Bax Music website, which is basically a copy of a Les Paul Gold Top with P90 pick ups. They cost 140 quid and are pretty damn good in spite of that very low price. That'd leave you plenty of cash for a decent amp. Here is my Fazley Midas alongside one of my Les Pauls; as you can see, it's pretty much the same guitar but with P90s rather than humbuckers and without the 1500 quid price tag you pay for a Gibson because of that overpriced logo on the end of it: Edited March 17 by Musical Mystery Tour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crappy Axe Posted March 17 Author Share Posted March 17 Thanks for the detailed responses. The neck o the Tele copy I have does feel a bit cramped (not enchche by the poor fretwork but then it was £79! I was thinking Single cut Epiphone or maybe PRS SE. Or if the Sire guitars are as good as the basses ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphybridget Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 On 16/03/2024 at 21:59, Dad3353 said: Can't go wrong with this one, offered on our very own Marketplace section by a trusted member. Way below your target budget; is that so bad a thing..? Yamaha Pacifica Tele-type guitar, ungraded ... That seems to be a good choice for a mid-level player. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
