jhuntshell Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Ok, I have dabbled in the guitar, learning some chords, tunings and some techniques like sweep picking) and I want to buy an electric guitar for somewhere in the neighborhood of 300-400 dollars. I've been looking around, and the one I want is the Epiphone G400 1966 Gibson authorized reissue. I was wondering what other Epi-phans thought of this as a semi-beginners guitar, for someone with a decent ear for music that doesn't want a shitty sounding guitar (I play several wind instruments, so I like my music). Any others you would recommend more highly? I'm of the philosophy that I should buy a guitar now that I'll still want to play when I get decent at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I vote for an Epiphone Les Paul Studio - bought one 1.5 months ago, highly satisfied. Approx. $350-ish at Musician's friend online, Sam Ash online, or your fave store. When you say you play WIND instruments, you mean like THIS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefferySmith Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Ok' date=' I have dabbled in the guitar, learning some chords, tunings and some techniques like sweep picking) and I want to buy an electric guitar for somewhere in the neighborhood of 300-400 dollars. I've been looking around, and the one I want is the Epiphone G400 1966 Gibson authorized reissue. I was wondering what other Epi-phans thought of this as a semi-beginners guitar, for someone with a decent ear for music that doesn't want a shitty sounding guitar (I play several wind instruments, so I like my music). Any others you would recommend more highly? I'm of the philosophy that I should buy a guitar now that I'll still want to play when I get decent at it. [/quote'] I think that you have made a good choice with that guitar. Not too heavy, easy to play, and time tested. You'll need an amp with it, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 the goth lp is on sale I think.. at MF. it's 300.00 the g400 is definately a step above a beginner instrument. either would be excellent! TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 As of right NOW (1:35pm CST) Musician's Friend has a "Scratch and Dent" Epiphone G-400 SG/Cherry color offered for $347.13, in stock. Also features other gits, too. Go to MF website, click "clearance", then "Scratch and Dent", then work your way to Epiphone Guitars using the guidelines on left of screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emetry Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I vote for an Epiphone Les Paul Studio - bought one 1.5 months ago' date=' highly satisfied.Approx. $350-ish at Musician's friend online, Sam Ash online, or your fave store. When you say you play WIND instruments, you mean like THIS? [img'][/img] Don't knock the bagpipes. They're a ***** and a half to play. Okay, that's a lie. Anyone can play them. But to play them WELL? Difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Update - Musician's Friend has a scratch and dent EPI G-400 in Cherry for $347.13 (2:50PM CST) OR..... MF EPI 1966 reissue G-400 Siverburst for $349.00 OR... MF EPI 1966 reissue G-400 Cherry for $399.00 OR... MF EPI "Vintage" G-400 Worn Brown $299.00 OR... MF EPI "Vintage" G-400 Worn Cherry $299.00 The options are limitless.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhuntshell Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 Haha, so guess what. After seeing your replies I decided to confirm my choice. The LP is nice, but the 1966 reissue really struck me. I was going to get the silverburst (a little cheaper, and I wanted to get an ok 15W amp to go with, so I chose to save 50 bucks). Sadly, it was on backorder, but I ordered it anyways... I called in to ask when it would be available/double check (the website said February 2nd and that was yesterday, so I was confused.) When I called Musicians Friend said it wouldn't be available until March 5th!!!!!!! WTF!!! So I complained a little saying it said it would be available on the second of february...long story short they gave me the heritage cherry without changing the price. I saved 50 bucks! Not a lot, but nice. Any opinions on an amp? I'm looking to spend 100 (a little over or under isn't bad) to get myself started for a practice 15W? I was thinking about this Vox. One of my friend's a big fan of Line 6's, but the other is all about Vox: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Vox-Pathfinder-15R-Guitar-Amp-with-Reverb?sku=481948 And by wind instrument this is what I meant (this and the sax, trumpet, clarinet) Primarily I'm into jazz/funk with my alto, but I'm a bit of a classic rock junky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Summerisle Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 For a $100 practice amp, I would recommend one of these. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Crate-FlexWave-FW15R-15W-1x12-Guitar-Combo-Amp-481055-i1175926.gc Good tone, reverb is quite nice too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Is that Flame comin' out or is he lightin' up a... "Flute"? Good Negotiating w/ MF, by the way. I will tell you that if you find a cheaper price that can be verified by them on another website (get name of item and item #), call, tell them, they will match the price. So, they must have a little more bargaining room than we realize. Wonder what their COST is on the stuff they sell...? Classic Rock - Badfinger: "Baby Blue" , " No Matter What You Are", among others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntelligentAl Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Congratulations on saving money on the G-400. As for a practice amp, I'm not sure. You may find it difficult to find a decent Vox for that price, but there are other options. Marshall has some good practice amps for around your budget , so it may be worth checking those out. You can't go wrong with a Marshall! By the way, does anybody know why they call it the G-400? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Quote: "By the way, does anybody know why they call it the G-400?" Is this the set-up line for a Joke? I'm expecting a humorous answer now... Go To www.instantrimshot.com, press red button that will appear on screen, listen, laugh, pass website on to your friends! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinb Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Ok' date=' I have dabbled in the guitar, learning some chords, tunings and some techniques like sweep picking) and I want to buy an electric guitar for somewhere in the neighborhood of 300-400 dollars. I've been looking around, and the one I want is the Epiphone G400 1966 Gibson authorized reissue. I was wondering what other Epi-phans thought of this as a semi-beginners guitar, for someone with a decent ear for music that doesn't want a shitty sounding guitar (I play several wind instruments, so I like my music). Any others you would recommend more highly? I'm of the philosophy that I should buy a guitar now that I'll still want to play when I get decent at it. [/quote'] I had that guitar, and i thought that it was ****ing awful. The pickups were very muddy and too chunky. The neck was wayy too thin and they just dont take careof them like they do their les pauls. BUT theses are just my opinions so check it out and play it and play around with it and then choose. Hope i helped! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiberna Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 well guitars wise, you gotta try them out till you find a guitar that suits you. I mean id never trade in my rivieras for no guitar in the world, not even a gretch white falcon (Id probably still take the white falcon though just for the crack). i cant play anything thats not on my rivieras. im still looking for an electric that suits me, the closest ive come is a silverburst which i brought and a james trussart which i tryed out one time. amps are a different matter due to the fact that normally everyone will favor the high-end expensive ones (There are many to choose from, the're just damn expensive) but to start out at, i suggest a Line6 flextone III, simply because they are cheap, not in short supply and AMAZING SOUNDING. Seriously, ive compared mine (And mine is as old as the range goes) to most valve amps and it kicks all valves below the the price of around £600 (Thats $863 to you yanks) and it comes with every effect just about under the sun built into it. Takes quite the bit of ajusting but if you get some midi cables and plug it into your computer you can use it like a pod and automatically download the exact sounds of what ever song your playing. anyway, thats my advice, have fun with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Man, I just LOVE this Forum. You can "accidentally" learn things in the most unlikely places. Jhuntshell started the topic with a commentary regarding a G-400, including mentioning "sweep-picking". My brain said: "WHY does this sound familiar? Better research it...". I did, which led me to YouTube to watch a video or seven regarding the "art". INSTANTLY a HUGE, BIG-AZZ lightbulb went off in my head (blew up, really) for a couple of reasons: 1. I just realized how a lead run that's been kicking my @ss over was played. 2. JUST A PLAIN FREEEEEKIN' IMPRESSIVE TECHNIQUE!!!!!! Scales, arpeggios, doodle-a, doodle-a, doodle-a and all! What hole have I been living in????? WHY hasn't someone at least MENTIONED this??? I SAW it executed, and I KNOW that I, TOO can do this!!!!! 100+ points for the G-400 price negotiation AND for the mention of the "SWEEP-PICKING"... Massively COOL!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhuntshell Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 Haha, that's amazing. Glad that I helped you out, albeit accidentally. Sucks that your guitar blew man....I don't know, I'm no pro but I played the guitar and the neck was a little skinny for my hand at the first fret, but since I learned what I do know on an acoustic I'm used to pinching really hard on the steel strings, so when I played it the fact that my hand has to close up a little more around the skinnier neck at that end actually felt fine... Besides, I'm used to wrapping my hand around a smaller instrument anyways (yep...I realize I'm asking for it there...lol) I really liked the sound personally, and I've listened to it played by better musicians than myself, and I know it can perform well for people who are far better than I will become in the next year or two. Besides, upgrading pickups isn't that hard I hear... I'm still torn over the amp to get...But I am going to take another look at what Line6 has to offer. My brother used to have a crate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generation zero Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 By the way' date=' does anybody know why they call it the G-400?[/quote']Because it isn't close enough to the original concept to be called an "SG". Which is funny to me, considering that an SG is called an SG because Les Paul didn't think it was close enough to his original concept to be called a "Les Paul". For my money, I agree with Mr. Paul... I'd rather have one LP than 2 SGs any day. I'd even take an Epi LP over a Gibson SG. But, it is a personal preference thing... SGs are decent guitars, if you can be comfortable playing one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aphawki Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I have a Line 6 Spider III that I like. It was my first amp...nice at 99 bucks. Easy to use and pretty much saved money on the pedals by getting this amp. Of course after about 3 months I went and bought a 10W Marshall MG (10 watt due to price) and kept that for about 2 weeks before I returned it and got a 15W Marshall MG. (Couldn't have a new amp with lower watts than the last one!!!)...but I am happy to say I just traded in the Marshall for a new Epi Valve Junior! Not that you needed that story...all I am saying is go with what you want to start out with...even if you have to dig up the extra 20 bucks. Otherwise you just won't be happy and you will end up trading the darn thing back in! For the money, I would look at the Line 6 Spider III 15W. And welcome! Just to let you know I don't think the buying ever seems to stop!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I have a Line 6 Spider III that I like. It was my first amp...nice at 99 bucks. Easy to use and pretty much saved money on the pedals by getting this amp. Of course after about 3 months I went and bought a 10W Marshall MG (10 watt due to price) and kept that for about 2 weeks before I returned it and got a 15W Marshall MG. (Couldn't have a new amp with lower watts than the last one!!!)...but I am happy to say I just traded in the Marshall for a new Epi Valve Junior! Not that you needed that story...all I am saying is go with what you want to start out with...even if you have to dig up the extra 20 bucks. Otherwise you just won't be happy and you will end up trading the darn thing back in! For the money' date=' I would look at the Line 6 Spider III 15W. And welcome! Just to let you know I don't think the buying ever seems to stop!!!![/quote'] Most of us have spent money on several amps to get to the point where we are happy with our final choice. I recently went through three amps to get to the Vox AD50VT. If I add up the money I spent, even with the sale of one on consignment, I could have purchased the right one in the beginning or just spent it all on a really nice one to start. Still, it's hard to make the choice until you experience the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntelligentAl Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Thanks for the info, GZ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedgeSG Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 +1 on Dave's experience. Hard to gauge performance until you get it home, hard to break even once you do. This is true on many, many, things that make large quantities of racket not just amps or guitars. Sometimes the appearance of the amp or guitar will cause racket from other things. Normally this would be refered to as sympathetic sound. This can become confusing since in these cases the only real sympathy you'll recieve will be gleaned from members of this site. Wedgie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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