making the switch need advice please?

I am making the switch over to electric guitar after learning on an acoustic for the past 6 months. Due to small funding I'm looking at the Ibanez Ijs40 and 50 starter kits. They seem to supply me with an affordable way to get going. Any information good or bad as to whether this is a wise investment would be greatly appreciated.

I personally am no fan of Ibanez guitars- they never really feel comfortable to me and they don't generate tones I like. But some people swear by them, so it's up to your tastes. What I would suggest is NOT getting a beginner pack. No matter if it's Ibanez, Fender, Epiphone, or whoever, you're buying a low end electric and a low end amplifier that comes with cheap picks and a short amp cord. If I were you, I would avert my attention from a package deal (like that) and wander over to the used rack. Find a used mid range guitar (which will cost about the same as the new low end Ibanez or Fender or Epiphone) but will sound and play worlds better. Then go look at used amps, and again, go for mid range. If you can do this all at one shop, and the sales people are remotely cool, you can probably talk them into giving you a break on the whole package.

I know money is important (I'm bound by it too), but go by tone and feel as much as possible. Regardless, if you buy used stuff now, you can get a better amp and guitar for equal to maybe $150 more now, as opposed to trading in the cheap Ibanez and amp in six months when you realize that it just doesn't cut the mustard. You have an acoustic now, so you still have something to play on while you save, and beleive me, it's worth the wait to save the extra money.

..Or you could sell the acoustic if it would help you get funds for a quality electric guitar. But Rask is totally right, buy used equipment. Even though the concept of buying unblemished, new equipment may be more appealing, get the used stuff. The quality is higher, and the cost is cut in half.

Awesome advice Rask.. I too will be making the change soon as soon as I get the funds. I have no idea what to look for an an electric, never played one before. Thanks for the advice of staying away from cheap beginner packs. Have a question... does it matter what kind of amp you have? I have one that I use with a pick up for my accoustic. It is a Dean DBK 820...was a gift one year for Christmas... it's small, but it sounds ok... should I get a bigger one? -Robyn

Well, it depends. You can still use your amp, and it will probably sound OK, but are you planning on playing with other people any time soon? If you are, you'll want a bigger amp, and I think it's better to invest early in good 50 watt (or so) tube amp early. That said, I'de think about it if I were you, for a few resons:

• Amps cost money, you probably won't get a lot of money for your Dean amp if you trade it in, so you'll be footing most of the bill.
  


• Tube amps (which most people agree have the best tone) are HEAVY, if you're adverse to the idea of lugging around about a pound a watt (give or take a couple ounces), you may want to wait.
  


• You allready have an amp. If you aren't planning on playing out or jamming with some friends in the near future, then a large amp will only annoy the neigbors (and tube amps are ment to be turned up a bit, so they get less than ideal tone at low volumes).
  

So that's some stuff to think on. If you do decide to buy a larger amp try to sit down with a guitar that's similar in design to yours and play with it for a while. Try different amps and see what sounds best to you. If you go for about 50-60 watts of tube amp you'll have something that will cut through if you're playing with friends or a small show, and can be miced for larger venues. If you're just going to be playing alone for a while though, it's probably a good idea to wait and invest a little more money into the guitar. Try to keep in mind though that tone and playability is what's most important. Make your self happy, not the salesman.

The move from an acoustic guitar to an electric can be a beautiful thing.(emphasis on 'can')Acoustic players are usually very unsure of the type of tone they want to look into and unscrupulous music shop sales teams make it appear as though they can get "everything they need to get started" but thats the thing, You have already started and you do not want to go through it again, am I right?Buying an electrical setup is very important and you should take your complete time when doing so to make sure you get your hard earned moneys worth. In some cases used equipment can be good but in others its not the best choice. Good equipment is worth any wait!

[Edited by Captain Crunch on 07-17-2001 at 01:50 AM]

thx rask and captain you guys are great....


How am I gonna know what sounds better if I've never played electric before? Will I just know? Is going for one of the more expensive models a guarantee it will sound better? ugh can you guys just come pick one out for me?!?!? lol


-Robyn

In order to make a confident decision you first must choose which tone your after.To put it quite bluntly: What do you wanna play?

well I wanna try lots of stuff, but I think mostly alternative and classic rock stuff

look under my Post(transition guitarists) to keep talking

Hey r-moreno
I envy your position. There is nothing more fun than guitar shopping. Since you sort-of know what sound you're looking for, try many guitars and amps and pick the equipment that produces that sound the best. If you have friends who are knowledgeable with guitars, it would be a very good idea to take them shopping with you. This would greatly reduce the risk of being ripped off.

Getting a more expensive guitar does not neccessarily mean you'll get better tone. Here's what I look for: Does the guitar sound good unplugged? Though you'll find guitars that typify a genre, it really doesn't matter what you play because any guitar can be used to play anything, just be sure you're comfortable on it and you like the way it sounds. I want to be sure that when I get a guitar that it's really resonant unplugged because every part of a guitar effects it's tone. So though the pickups actually "pick up" the sound, the body and neck of the guitar effect tone too. As for playability, well, you know what works for you, be sure the guitar is comfortable, you like the way the neck feels, you don't hit the pickup selector very often when you're playing (but you can still get at it). From the sounds of it you may want something with humbucking pickups like a Les Paul/SG or Fat Strat sort of thing. Maybe a Tele with a humbucker or two- like I said, go to a shop and start playing stuff.
-Have a blast!

Just a quick adendum to my last post:
I have a strat that I got for $300 that out tones majorly expensive custom instruments. It's a mutant: it was made from several different guitars, but it's got TONE and it plays really really well. My favorite instrument- my 81 Korean made Fender Jazz Bass was about $250 used, but the neck on it is perfect. Eventually the pickups died so I replaced them with EMG pickups and I haven't looked back. The tone is incredible, it outplays $1,500 Warwicks and has a tone I like a lot better too.
So shop around, you should eventually find something pretty cool.

Hey Rask....
I got a question for you man....
How long have those replacement EMG's(or the batteries) worked for you?Over a year? Mine only lasted about 6 months and then the sound deteriorated.I guess thats because i play atleast 7 hours a day 6-7 days a week.
Thats really cool you got some nice used equipment because there are some great guitars out there that qualify as used, but play better than new (a lot of vintage stuff). I just wish there was a way for people who know stuff about guitars(like us) to be there to help consumers shop.

I wish that too Captain , but I'm so glad I came here first cause you are helping me ;)

Yeah, my batteries go to hell about every six months or so, but that depends on how much time the bass spends plugged in. Sure does use 9 volts a lot more efficently than my wireless. But when it comes to bass pickups, I absolutely love EMG's. I'm currently saving to put EMG 40DC's and EMG preamps in my fretless and five string.