Adivce on guitar purchase

Hello! I can't make up my mind, am hoping you guys can share some input to help me decide. I have a low end acoustic guitar (Fender Squier). Its overall sound is nice enough, but I guess it can be better. I was originally planning on buying an electric acoustic Ibanez (AEG series maybe, budget $300-500 incl amp), a little upgrade from what I have now, for relatively better quality and maybe I can home record, but lately, I've been thinking of getting a Fender Squier Strat or Epi Les Paul (or any entry level you may recommend?) and maybe a Vox 15R amp (a recommendation I read somewhere) instead. I've always wanted to try an electric to learn this kind of playing and sound (plus it's not so hard on the fingers, hehe).

Which do you think I should go for?

1. Go for the electric because the Ibanez that'll fit my budget won't be much of an improvement from my Squier and learn with an entry level electric before thinking of a more expensive one.

2. Or should I just go for the Ibanez and just save up for a better electric guitar/setup? I read somewhere getting a crappy electric can be quite frustrating in the long run...

3. OR neither choice is appealing/smart buy and just save more for either?

Btw, I'm not a pro, not even a semi-pro... I'm nicely chugging along, but I know enough to realize there's something better than my Squier, soundwise. Ideally, I would get the electric acoustic then buy a 2nd hand electric cheap, but I'm not technically knowledgeable on guitar electronics to gamble on a 2nd hand... so I can't get both and that's not an option. I do want the acoustic electric to be something that I'll be keeping for a looong time, is a $400 already a keeper?

What do you think? Thanks!

Everybody has different opinions. In mine, unless I was significantly upgrading from my current instrument, I would not spend the cash. But then, somebody with lots of cash might not think twice about it. :) To me, that's a lot of money for such an incremental improvement.

If you deduct a cheap amp from your budget, you're going to have $200 - $400 to spend on the actual guitar. I imagine most responses will suggest you should go for a used instrument to get a better deal for that kind of price range. You are not going to get much guitar new for that, I don't think.

In any event, something to consider is your happiness with your current instrument: Are you actually displeased with it, or do you just want something better? If it were me, and I was generally pleased, I would indulge my curiosity with an Electric, rather than an incremental upgrade to my Acoustic. But that's just me. :)

if you want a LP clone check out:

rondomusic.com

Any of Agile guitars will be a great instrument out of the box (even better with a basic setup). The rest of the lines (sx, douglas, ect) can be a little hit or miss and really shine with a good setup (basic adjustments plus a bit of fret work). Read the reviews on harmony central and checkout agileguitarforum.com for more info.

Hi, estetic. Thanks for the advice. Will check those out... but I'm 90% leaning on an Epi LP or Ibanez RG-- due to greatest number of recommendations.

Hi, razbo! Thanks for the input. I'm okay (7/10 in contentment scale) with my guitar now. My reasons for wanting an new AE are:

1. I wanted to try a smaller bodied guitar. Mine's a dreadnought and being a petite person it's a little bulky. I can manage though. In fairness, my cheap Squier (which apparently means high action out of the box, and I didn't know that) "exercised" my left hand a great deal.

2. Though I like the how the sound of my guitar rings (clear highs and lows), I don't know the technical term but it lack some "weight" or isn't solid sounding? Hope you understand what I'm referring to...

3. When I play my friend's more expensive guitar, for some reason it's easier on the left "fretting" hand. I don't think it's just the strings... or this could just be totally psychological, lol. I like my guitar's reverb (is that what you call it?) better tho.

4. I would like to dabble in home recording, and researching on it, I thought with all the individual quality knick knacks I have to buy to set it up, why not just add few more $$ and buy one that's basically plug and play.

Do these reasons make sense?

However, the more I think about it, I might go for the electric for the reasons you stated.

What would you consider a good upgrade under the Ibanez brand? Do you mean the $1k+ guitars? I don't need a spectacularly pro level expensive dream guitar, but I do want to one that can hold its own and can perform great when I'm much better years down the road and I won't have to consider re-upgrading for at least a decade or two ;)

I initially saw raves about the AEG series, but I realized I had a dilemma. It's not a dreadnought and reviews say it doesn't sound nice unplugged, so that another point against the AEG for me, in addition to your advice that it's not much of a step up. I want one that sounds good plugged and unplugged... so I'll just save some more and gun for the Artwoods instead. How about those-- are they considered a good upgrade?

Btw, is there such an EA guitar that's not a dreadnought that sounds good unplugged? Do I really have to sacrifice getting a smaller body to have a dreadnought's full sound?

Sorry for the many questions I'm unloading on you... I don't really know anyone who speaks guitar that doesn't sales pitch.

Much thanks!

With regard to the acoustic, There is definitely a difference in sound and playability. My inexpensive Vantage sounds and plays pretty good even after 25 years, but it does not hold a candle to my Dad's Gibson, which is probably twice that age. It could be worth upgrading your acoustic afterall. As far as recording, you would only have a fairly inexpensive microphone or pick up to purchase on top of that.

With regard to acoustic/electric, I have only ever played 3 different ones and they do not sound as well unplugged as an acoustic, and when amped, I don't find they match a miced acoustic very well. They are different beasts and they sound different. You should go to a music store and see for yourself. (Having said that, my modelling pedal is doing a great job simulating a miced acoustic with my L6, so maybe I just didn't have a good set up in my experience.)

With regard to electric, some people say there are only 3 kinds of guitar: Gibson, Fender and Ibanez (not my quote! :) ). I don't think you can go too wrong with either brand. I had a couple friends that played Ibanez and and they both were real nice playing guitars.

I think you have to decide on what you really want. As I have been well advised, no single guitar can do everything, so you have to figure out what your goal is. There is a thread around here where I was trying to decide what kind of guitar to build and I think I went completely in a circle at least twice before I figured out what I actually wanted. :o

Take your time. Definitely go to a music shop, but don't buy anything. Try some different guitars and think about it a bit. Or a week. Go back again and reassess and take your time. You are choosing what may be a friend for life. :)

if you want a really good acustic check out the big baby taylor
i bought one a few months back and i love it alot of my freinds tell me they like it also its a smaller guitar ( thinner body ) but it sounds great you can always buy a pickup to put in the sound whole to make it an electric acoustic i have one and use it every once in awhile but the bbt sounds so good you really dont need it

atleast check it out and see for yourself

dennis

If you are thinking about trying electric......then I'll recommend the one that I got, a Squier Fat Strat. I wrote a review on here (Squier Black and Chrome Fat Strat). I'd recommend it for several reasons, in that it is cheap (like 230 bucks) and really well built for the price. Very versatile, and is giving me tons of fun experimenting. The reason I recommend it to you is that you can play a really nice electric, but if you find it's not your thing then you aren't out alot of money, and you can probably sell it to a beginner easier than a higher-end more expensive one.

If you decide to upgrade your present guitar.....then take Razbo's advice (I plan to) and go test drive the guitars you want many times before you lay down 500+ bucks.

I'm still working on GF 2 and trucking along on my Squier. But I know one day my skills will grow out of that guitar, so I'm already shopping for that 'one' guitar to lay down 1000 bucks on. That'll be a long buying process trying to make sure I get just the right one. But that's what I did to get my starter guitar. It took three months of reading, study, comparing, etc etc.Take your time, you'll find it.



GG

Razbo, looks like the list has been narrowed down, and mostly not by choice. It seems the 5 elec/acoustic models I was was looking into isn't available in shops where I am anyway :( That leaves two and it's still a big IF, subject to possible special order. How frustrating. I can order it online, but I think I'd rather test it out... And for the price I estimate it will be sold for, I can get a high end one on a regular price elsewhere when I take a vacation. Ugh. Btw, I've decided, in case I do get an EA, I'll skip the amp and use the full budget for the guitar first. At least I can get one that sounds nice unplugged. Well, I'll know the price within the week. I guess this is one of those times where patience will pay off, literally. When I go back to the shop, I'll try out the electric, maybe that can be distraction enough while I wait for vacation season:D (Actually, I feel a little guilty planning out how to spend such amounts when a laptop for work would be swell right now... lol... priorities!)

GG, yes, thanks for the suggestion! I researched more about it and seems to be the most sensible buy for now, while saving the difference (if I went for a better electric) for the future elec/acoustic. Thanks really! I was researching on pedal and LOL, that was a whole 'nother can of delicious worms! But will stick to basics first :D

bailey, thanks for the suggestion. I already saw the guitar you were referring to (wasn't she so pretty??) but, unfortunately, I'm looking for an EA. The Taylor option I had on the list was a 110e, but it got beat by a Martn DCX1E, hehe. The Big Baby was perfect in size though, sigh.