powerpopper Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 As I'm assuming we have mostly acoustic players in this forum, I wanted to know what you guys and gals think of this question. As a primarily acoustic player, what do you think is the best electric guitar for recording mostly rhythm guitar? I play electric guitar very infrequently and would be interested to know what your favorite is and why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballcorner Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 The Squier Thinline Telecaster - rings like a smooth, worn bell and works right through chicken pickin into jazz. Love it! Listen here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 my only electric is a danelectro U2. great little pawn shop find. the infrequent amount of play it gets keeps me from acquiring any more electrics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumps Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 this might come down to 1000 different responses, but I play nothing but acoustic anymore, but I went through a few months of thinking I'd want an electric so I tried everything under the sun... what I found liked were the Gretsch hollowbodies - the korean made eletromatics felt nice to me, good action, nice sounds, but the pickups were weak, but you could get some nice rhythm out of them. Maple necks naturally put a smile on my face, and I liked a couple telecasters I played, but for all around versatile sound I'd buy the gretsch if I was going that route. I found teles to be great for the bridge pick up work, but I couldn't get that fat sound out of the neck pickup like I wanted, strats all sounded too thin to me, I liked the pick ups on the SGs but the neck felt too heavy and awkward... I doubt I'll buy an electric, but there's may answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidbg63 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Everyone has their favorites. I had to pick two. As for Gibson.......my ES-335 (far right in my avitar pic). Other brand.....Gretsch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnt Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 ES 335 for me too ( "the Dumb Blonde", so called because try as I amy I can't make her sound like when ThermioNik plays her so she stays in case) have huge hankering over a 60s Rosewood Tele but I don't think I could lift one these days LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 definitely a hollow body. like the ES, gretsch, etc. i do some recording and like using my Guild X-700 (jazz box) for rhythm which is more a less a value based L5. i like the range of tone options from the hollow body and the acoustic component of the sound - no surprise there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Personally, I think that choosing an acoustic is much harder because it's almost completely about the sound required. I don't tend to overdrive, wah-wah or fuzz my acoustic sound. My electric guitars were chosen with more of a 50/50 slant on looks/sound. As you can see, I have a preference for semi-acoustics but I can pretty much make them sound any way I want with a few effects and rolling tone on/off. For those times I don't use effects then I have the single coil 'jangle' of the Rickenbacker or the humbuckers of the others. The closest I've ever been to an acoustic neck/fretboard on an electric is the Chet Atkins Tennessean - maybe that's why I bought it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinny Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I have a PRS McCarty that sounds like a million bucks. I play it on weekends with a group of 80's rocker boys. It's a blast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Pup Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I have a Flying V for the hard stuff and a SG '61 Reissue for everything else. I'm hoping to get my grubby little string pluckers on a ES-339 soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I've got an old Gretsch, an old LP, a Tele I think I was born with, a Kramer aluminum neck, some others, I dunno, I'd have to look... For whatever reason, I just can't get excited about electrics anymore. Oh, I get GAS but it's mostly nostalgia or guitars that I couldn't afford 'then' and and want make up for it. But no matter how frustrated I used to get with electrics, I knew I could take the old Tele off the wall and have a fun time for a few hours; now I can't even do that. I've always avoided much in the way of pedals and liked using the Tele straight into an amp with just some reverb. Now I can't even do that. It's so artificial sounding. I thought it was just a mood or phase but it's been a year or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr newhaven Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 as the proud owner of a 62 reissue strat...a les paul...a melody maker...and an L-00 i can safely say that its all a matter of personal preference! i bought the strat because it sounds different than the LP. I bought the melody maker because it was a great deal and sounds a little different than both the strat and the LP. the one guitar that i bought and then gave to a friend is the one guitar that i would probably buy again...and that is an Epiphone Casino! first off...its much cheaper than a gibby es! also 3 out of the 4 beatles played them lovingly and sir paul even said that if stuck on an island with only one guitar...the Casino is it! Chinese models go for around $600 and they arent bad at all! The Elitist models made in japan to 60's spec go for around $1200-$1500 and the lennon revolution models are 2000+ my opinion is go for the elitist and save some loot! the hollowbody is the best choice for an acoustic player in my opinion. there is something very familiar to the sound and feel! gibsons are obviously excellent choices for all things guitar...but something about that Epiphone Casino screams vintage cool and very versatile! plus with the money you save over buying an ES or nice Gretsch...you can buy yourself a nice little amp to boot...because lets face it...the guitar is only half the equation when talking about electrics! the amp is a very important component as well! go hollowbody and go epi in my opinion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Player Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I have tried several great electric guitars over the last couple years in a quest to find an electric I liked. I have had everything from a Custom built dual humbucker beauty to an Eric Clapton Signature Strat. I found out that I preferred the Strat sound through a good tube amp. I ended up trading away the Clapton Strat for my Taylor GSMC recently and find I have as much fun playing my 80's Phantom Strat copy as I did the Clapton! I am much more of an acoustic guy and get much more pleasure from the Taylor than I did the Clapton Strat. The only electric guitar I am gassing for would be a hollow body. A ES 355 would be the holy grail but I would settle for a Casino Elitist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I have a number of electrics but from an acoustic player's perspective, I would have to say my Epiphone Casino is my favourite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertjohn Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I generally play rhythm and love both my 335 and Strat (particularly the inbetween tones). I bought my son a Squier Tele a few months back and that also a great rhythm machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Lot's of good choices, but I'll second the Casino, if only because one of the greatest rhythm guitarists of all time prefered it (John Lennon), as was noted. The best choices are one of the Epiphone Lennon reissues, the Epiphone Elitist Casino (awesome value), or the Gibson ES330. The standard-issue Casino is a pretty good guitar if you're on a budget. If you want a guitar with a big body like an acoustic, you could consider an Epiphone Broadway. I know it's thought of as a jazz box, but you can rock with it, too, as long as you're mindful of the feedback. The big maple body and laminated spruce top give you a very cool rhythm tone that's half way between an acoustic and an electric, not unlike a vintage J160E. The build quality is fairly astonishing for this price, too, and this will feel most like an acoustic to you, in terms of neck profile and body shape (if that's a concern). If you are playing lots of clean tones or Jazz, the Elitist is again the better choice, as the tones are a lot more complex. For really cutting rhythm, an SG is a good choice. And of course, an ES 335 can do almost anything. Have fun choosing. Let us know what you end up with, and why. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glynsong Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 My vote go's with the tele and then the casino Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Wilson Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Ditto David and Jon....... there's not much more versatile than an ES 335. Others that I've played worth giving a look are the Les Paul, it's know for riffs and solos, but don't think it's not a workhorse cut out for most anything! I've always liked the ES 137. Gretsch's are great I'm partial to the White Falcon and Chet's Country Gentleman. And you can discount a blond Tele. Keith's often seen playing one when he doesn't have the ES 335 or a Les Paul in his hand. If you're interested in something different, Check out Tom Petty and Mike Campbell. They use more guitars on stage than maybe anyone. Danelectro, Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Some off the wall stuff that's hard to find, etc. and while Mike is as good as it gets he along with Tom play near flawless rhythms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo312 Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 telecaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Hard to beat a Tele for arpeggios, little partial chords and low end honk. Strats can get a lot of that, but not so much punch. And a 335, but harder to keep it clean. Teles take it right down the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchabalk Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 The first electric i had was a fender strat. I don't know why, it just seemed like it would be the best thing to get and they were pretty easy to find on craigslist in my area. It was called a "Big Apple" strat (or at least that's what i've seen them called from time to time) dual seymour duncan humbuckers, similar config to a gibson. I never really played electrics thinking they were all about the same. i bought it after very little research. I sold it after a couple of years cause i didn't like the way it felt, the neck wasn't right for me and i never played it. I got an epiphone sheraton ii and put a bigsby on it later on. it's a big heavy mutha and feels pretty good sometimes. I found it was just too much of somethings and not enough of others, i don't really play it that much but i'm not selling it, they're not worth that much and it's fun to play sometimes. A couple of years later i got an relatively modern SG standard (craigslist again). I really like these, it's light and small, the neck feels good. Great guitar all around, everyone should have one but i never really fell head over heels with it.. Just very recently I got a Les Paul after looking around at them forever. It's right on, i love it. There's really no right answer here of course. Just play a bunch of them at a bunch of different shops and get the one you like the best. Don't be in a hurry? I played Les Pauls for a long time before going for it, never plugged this one in until i brought it home. clouds the perspective too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfidl Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Hamer has a nice electric guitar (called IPROV) for about $10,000. My Newport Custom Pro lists at $4,500 (but you know it is worth it). http://www.hamerguitars.com/?fa=detail&mid=387 On electrics you want LOW action (faster), crisp clear sound, excellent pickups (two -- treble and fretboard), easy to use controls (volume and pickup selection), no feedback looping, strong hardware for the jacks and the tuners. Tail piece. Tuners stay in place (no need to adjust). Like this:(wait for Homan's solo) I like double cutaway so I can reach the second octave easily enough. We want to be able to play soft jazz chords (nice soft 2-5-1 and heavier bluesy 12-bar sequences and 1-6-2-5 -- and maybe some harsher rock-riffs) . We want to be able to fit in with sax, flute, trumpet, coronet, trombone, keyboard, vibes (fine tone adjustment),. My J-100 is strictly acoustic (I rarely use the pickup and I don't like it) .. but I had to mess with it a little to get the action low-er than most acoustic players like -- also I do not "beat" it .. I get a nice sound without being heavy handed. God some players are wailing away on their acoustic. (it's their guitar) I saw a guy break FOUR strings all at once. That was weird. I would never let him touch either my Gibson or my Hamer. .. hey listen to this .. I am very close to being able to do the same with the Hamer .. albeit guitar (anybody want the chords?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfidl Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfidl Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 You can oplkay any of these on a Gibson acoustic -- perfect fretboard - perfect tone. Sunny Gets Blue (do you want the chords?) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsV8ZL7mijI&feature=related Never Be another you -- Herb Ellis (the lips -- he sings his solos) I Thought about You Midnight Sun (do you want the chords??) Love is Here to Stay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDChrB4hBUQ&feature=related I'll Remember April -- Listen to the HS kid solo the guitar about half way through the video Makes you humble... This Gal can sing! .. takes a long into though .. nice guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinNoName Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Sorry to ressurect an older post.... My Epiphone Sheraton II is marvellous for rhythm playing, and I don't think anyone else has given them any love, but seriously good guitars for the money. I still have the factory p/ups n'all, but I gather with a little tweaking, these can go from good to great guitars. I love a bit of Tele as well, but don't love the look as much... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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