The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Most of the time i can set a guitar up to suit me and it stays in tune for weeks at a time ( i don't whammy, and install wood blocks to prevent from moving). Have had a old lefty 1990 strat for years' have never liked it, still don't. Just paid for a pro set up and it still sounds out of tune to me. Thats why i have been all acoustic. Thinking about a lefty 335 wine epiphone, only care to spend around $400 for an electric any suggestions?

I suggest that if you are considering an Epiphone, you should look at the Agiles and Xavieres instead. You can get the same or better quality without the name brand pricetag:

http://www.rondomusic.com/as820wr.html

http://www.guitarfetish.com/XV-900-Semi ... c_154.html

think i have found what i want.

Ibanez Artcore? I've heard good things about them.

From the name on your pic, I'm guessing you're considering buying it from eBay. I've only ever bought one guitar prior to playing it, and it was a big mistake -- if I were you I'd try to find something on Craigslist or at a guitar shop so you can try it out first. You can sometimes find nice MIM Fenders or lovely Hagstroms (a particular fetish of mine) in the $200-$300 range.

For Gibson-style guitars on the less expensive side, I'm all about used Japanese guitars--Tokai, Greco, Orville, Edwards bi have an Edwards Les Paul that is actually really nice. Big, musical sustain great neck carve, long tenon. The top is probably flame maple veneer on top of a maple cap, but the total thickness of the maple is about right. Ibswitchednoit the pickups for Duncan '59s, but at any rate, any Gibson-style humbucker will get the requisite tones, flavor to taste.

I like the Edwards too because the construction is more like a '59 Les Paul than the Gibson standards, for like 30% of the price. I got mine for about $500 and a new standard is what, like $1,500 or more now?

The Artcores are pretty decent for the price as well but I concur with Jerkatorium, I have seldom had great experiences buying online vs being able to try out guitars. I have more than once thought I wanted a particular type of guitar only to walk into the store, try out a bunch of guitars, and discover actually the great guitar was something completely different.

ken wrote:I suggest that if you are considering an Epiphone, you should look at the Agiles and Xavieres instead. You can get the same or better quality without the name brand pricetag:

First Act also makes some surprisingly good guitars (as well as some unsurprisingly terrible ones, YMMV).

I mean, out of my electric collection, the two guitars that see the most regular recording use are my mint green partscaster (aka the sonofsupercar guitar--with all mods and parts that guitar probably cost about $700 all-in)), a $500 (used) Edwards Les Paul and a $150 Chinese Tele copy that's actually quite nicely spec'ed out: two piece ash body, 1-piece maple neck, Wilkinson bridge w/compensated brass barrel saddles, Wilkinson pickups. Those three guitars just happen to have great, great sounds in them. My main gigging guitar is an Am Deluxe Strat because of how it plays. It sounds really pretty great also, but it plays like butter. In studio I can try to get any sound I want and the Tele, the LP and the partscaster really just get all the sounds I want.

I really only have two points I think.

1. inexpensive guitars can sound/play just as good as expensive guitars although you might have to put some time into getting everything tweaked just right.

2. You won't know until you actually play the guitars. I bring this up especially because I don't know if you have your heart set on one particular type of guitar or sound or not. I find that the different sounds of different guitars really does bring out totally different styles of playing from me. Some of that has to do with the different limitations of different guitar designs, and sometimes it's just sound. Like I just play a lot more country bends and 6ths on a Tele. I just do. I try to play that on my Strat and it won't happen, I'll just end up playing funk and rock. The LP makes me play more bluesy and jazzy. The partscaster is very partial to 80s rock/metal stuff. I will play whatever style on any guitar, but the sounds make you go some places more than others.

And some guitars just do certain things better, placebo effect or not, if you feel that way about a certain guitar, that's true enough to influence your music.

So really I guess we'd need to be clear on: what kind of music you want to play, what sounds you want to get, etc.

Or you could just go to your local guitar store and try everything until you find the one that speaks to you. They love/hate me at my local guitar store because of this.

$75 pawn shop special