Stephen Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Ok here's my problem...I son't know crap when it comes to electric guitars or amps...and I really wanna get away from acoustics. So I was wondering what you guys would recomend for me. I'm hoping to get a guitar and amp that will run me a total of $600 (give or take) or less. Any recomendations? Also I've been hearing a lot about pickups...and I have a few questions about those to. 1: What exactly are they? 2: What do they do? 3: How can you tell the quality of one? 4: Can you change your guitars pickups? Any help would be REALLY appreciated...so thanks for reading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elantric Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Get an education about the type of gear that recreates the styles of music you are passionate about. Read this book Guitar Rigs: Classic Guitar and Amp Combinations (Paperback) http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Rigs-Classic-Amp-Combinations/dp/0879308516/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c These are typical Gibson type Humbucking pickups with chrome covers removed: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 As for which guitar and amp, it really depends on the kind of sound you want to get or the style of music you want to play. Pickups are those things underneath the strings; you can think of them as being like microphones for guitars. Here's a picture of a type you typically see in Gibson guitars: Yes, you can change pickups in guitars. The quality of one is basically determined by whether you like the way it sounds or not. Of course, some are constructed better than others but they're pretty simple gadgets and I don't know of any that are built so poorly that they fall apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callen3615 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 You just have to dive in and buy one, then you start to figure stuff out. I doubt you will find a gibson and an amp for around 600 dollars tho... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 If your just starting with guitar all the brands have a Jampack which is a preselected guitar and amp. They are beginner guitars and amp but would be more than enough for at least a year and around 300. +1 Anyway... the pickups are what take the sound your guitar's strings make and transform it into a signal to be amplified by the.... amplifier! There are lots of models and lots of variations, but the most common are single coils and humbuckers; you also have p-90s, motherbuckers, piezoelectrics, and some more; and in time they can be pasive or/and active, in short, actives need a 9volt battery to operate and have a little preamplifier built in or that needs to be instaled in the guitar. Most guitars come stock with pasive pickups. Traditionally fenders come with single coils, gibsons with humbuckers (I say traditionally because there are F and G models that come with other kinds of pickups). There are thousands of guitar models... some of them recognizable either as a widely known model (les paul, stratocaster) or variations of such (superstrat: almost every ibanez and jackson; there are also what could be reffered to as super Vs super pauls and super whatever, most made by jackson, esp, and other known brands.). Now, what are the dfifferences between single coils and humbuckers? In short, single coils pick up mains hum. Humbuckers (as they name sugests) dont. (Ok ok they do but that hum is killed by the pickup...). Humbuckers are kind of 2 single coils put together, so that they canel hum without canceling the signal... they sound a little fatter than single coils. For clean tones I preffer single coils and p-90s, for overdriven to heavey tones I preffer humbuckers. For everything in between (and the above mentioned) I prefer p-90s... they are great as long as you dont mind a little hum... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSG_Standard Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I think that you should forget the $300 budget and find a way to purchase a Les Paul R9, a 100 watt Marshall tube head and a 4x12 half stack. Plug in, stand directly in front of the amp, turn it up and start wailin' ... You will soon figure out what you need to know and you will eventually find a tone that you like... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted February 26, 2009 Author Share Posted February 26, 2009 Ok, I've been hearing a lot of 'what music do you like to play' for picking the right pickups. For the music I like Heavy Metal (IRON MAIDEN, HAMMERFALL, JUDAS PRIEST, the good metal bands not posers like Disturbed, my apoligies to Disturbed fans...they just don't sound like music to me, just a guy screaming) And KSG_Standard, you have no idea how much I'd want to do that but I'm on a REALLY limited budget and I don't even have the $ yet. I'm in the research phase right now so I know what guitar to get. And yeah I'd really like Gibson for everyone whose said that but I'll say it again, don't have that kind of money right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Hey man, good taste in music... really! I think the quality increase between a 300 set and a 600 set is less than 10%... so invest 300, keep 300 and start saving for the guitar you like (when you grow acustomed to electrics and decide/find out what is it you like/are looking for on a guitar). For real metal you'll need humbuckers (at least one!) so that the noise single coils make doesnt turn you down. (guys, I do know some of the big guns in metal play with single coils, but they have noise gates and lots of stuffier stuff than our new friend can take on learning right now). Are you willing to buy used stuff? maybe you can find a mex fat strat... that guitar should do and you can mod it (upgrade pickups, etc) as time passes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikko18 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 hey welcome to the forum my suggestion is to go to craigslist.com and find a used fender fat strat (that is a stratocaster with a humbucker). you can probably find one for around 300 to 500 dollars. then you should get a kustom tube 12a amp, these run for around 150 dollars new or i got mine for 45 dollars off of craigslist. i know you said you want a gibson and a fender is basically the opposite but for your first electric guitar it would be good. then you just need to go get a cable and start learning. good luck dude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstMeasure Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 A pickup produces a magnetic field that the metal string excites as it vibrates. The frequency of the interruption is transmitted through the cables to the Amp and comes out Rock-n-Roll. The 'Bigger" the magnetic field, the "Thicker" the sound. Humbuckers produce a large magnetic feild that picks up a broader range of the strings harmonics. A single coil produces a narrower magnetic field that pick up less of the strings harmonic range, lending single coils their Sound. Being as you're an acoustic player, I'd suggest an Epiphone Dot or Casino . I'm a Fender guy with Three strats, but they're really the furthest thing from an acoustic. Teles might be your bag, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callen3615 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Ok' date=' I've been hearing a lot of 'what music do you like to play' for picking the right pickups. For the music I like Heavy Metal (IRON MAIDEN, HAMMERFALL, JUDAS PRIEST, the good metal bands not posers like Disturbed, [/quote'] +100000 They kickass m/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted February 26, 2009 Author Share Posted February 26, 2009 Hey man' date=' good taste in music... really! I think the quality increase between a 300 set and a 600 set is less than 10%... so invest 300, keep 300 and start saving for the guitar you like (when you grow acustomed to electrics and decide/find out what is it you like/are looking for on a guitar). For real metal you'll need humbuckers (at least one!) so that the noise single coils make doesnt turn you down. (guys, I do know some of the big guns in metal play with single coils, but they have noise gates and lots of stuffier stuff than our new friend can take on learning right now). Are you willing to buy used stuff? maybe you can find a mex fat strat... that guitar should do and you can mod it (upgrade pickups, etc) as time passes.[/quote'] Glad to know that I'm among fellow meatalheads, and thanks for the tip. Course no idea what a mex fat strat is but I can probably google it. Again thanks everyone for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikko18 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 what part of wisconsin are you in? i'm not a rapist#-o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted February 26, 2009 Author Share Posted February 26, 2009 My mommy told me not to talk to strangers:-# lol I live about 30 minutes outside of Stevens Point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanner1994 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 you could get a gibson melody maker and a little 10watt fender frontman amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikko18 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 haha okay. judging from google maps you are pretty close to milwuake (i know fail at spelling it), so i have gone to the milwauke craigslist and have been looking about. here are some things that would be good starters in your price range. http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/msg/1037480685.html http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/msg/1033242619.html this one is definately cool, especialy for what you want. http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/msg/1018417849.html http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/msg/1051916095.html this one is kind of crappy being a squire, but you wouldn't notice at first being new to electric. eventually you could upgrade. this one has every thing you need i believe (i'm a poet and i don't even know it). http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/msg/1047227097.html and if none of those appeal to you, or you like one that doesn't come with an amp, just search around hear. http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/ just cause it's used doesn't mean that a guitar is bad (59 LP). this one also seems to be a good match for you. http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/msg/1018775013.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 what part of wisconsin are you in? i'm not a rapist#-o He's is not. He just likes to cut people's heads off and eat their brains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikko18 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 He's is not. He just likes to cut people's heads off and eat their brains. exactly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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