First guitar... Kind of.

[RickBlacker]

Hi all... I'm looking at learning to play guitar. Got a question that may have been answered and if so, I appologize for the redundant question....

I know that guitars come in all price ranges having said that, what is the overall feeling on buying a simi ok guitar and upgrading over time to help cut initial costs? I was thinking something along the lines of buying a $300 ~ $400 guitar to get me started, then as time goes on, I could replace various components. In fact, I was thinking buying used as well.

Also, my desire ( at 41 years old ) is to go back in the good old days of the 80s and learn to play like the good old riffs that have long passed. I really miss the 80's style of rock :(

Oh and I say kind of in my title because I used to have an Ibanez bass many years ago.

[RickBlacker]

Anybody?

Can a $300.00 guitar ever be as good as a $800.00 guitar?

[head_creeps]

Hi,
Great guitarists can make a knackered $10 guitar sound sublime whereas I could play a custom shop Gibson and make people wanna kill themselves :D
If you're just starting to (re)learn the guitar then it makes perfect sense to buy a cheaper one (epiphone, squire, yamaha etc all do great entry level axes). That way you can always upgrade when you want to, you will know what you want in a guitar and can make a more informed choice. Also if you find out the guitar isn't for you, well you haven't wasted too much cash on it!!
Good luck

head_creeps

[estetic]

Take a look at the Agile line at : www.rondomusic.com, the LP copies are AMAZING for the price. I have heard the SX line is also great if you can clean up the frets and swap pickups.

There are plenty of great budget guitars out there, be sure to check out the gear reviews at harmony-central.com and others before you purchase.

[pennyanmurph]

I bought a new Mexican Fender Stratocaster a few years ago. I believe they are about 400.00 now. I love it still, and I'm sure there are many better guitars out there (as far as tone, etc.), but to learn or re-learn the fundamentals, I don't see how it could be beat. I also see no reason why it couldn't be played live or while recording. However, personally I don't think you can beat an acoustic to get your fingers back into shape. Plus that unplugged sound...

[RickBlacker]

Hi all... I ended up getting the Jackson MG Series DXMG Dinky.
http://www.jacksonguitars.com/products/search.php?partno=2910103544

Not a bad little guitar. I like it so far. I would like an acoustic as well, but that can come in time.

This weekend, a friend and I are driving out to another one of my friends house about 6 hours away to get my old KUSTOM tube amp. This is an old 70's era amp that my grandfather left me in his will. The friend who has it now says it screams. Looking forward to hearing.