Not too long till Christmas now..

Timans

I am going to be getting a new guitar for Christmas, or using Christmas money to buy one and I am a little unsure on what to go for.

I first learned chords and stuff when I was about 10 but have only been playing properly for about a year now, when I say properly, I mean regularly. I have a decent enough guitar but I am itching for a new one so I think I may spring for one while I have a chance.

I know very little about guitars as I am a drummer first and foremost. I like more twangy sounds that would be heard on post rock albums or by Jeff Buckley rather than classic rock sound but I play a lot of different stuff. That's why I have been looking at a Telecaster which I also love the look of. I am open to any ideas people may have though. Tone has more to do with amp and player than guitar really anyway, doesn't it? so I'm not sure whether I should be too fussed about the tone?

My budget will be around €500 I'd imagine, I say that, I mean I have chosen a budget of around then considering I am not a brilliant guitarist so there is no need to pay more. I have been looking at the Lite Ash Telecaster on thomann for €477 which looks quite reasonable, as an aside, anybody know what they go for in Xmusic, if they're even there?

Any ideas, recommendations or general pieces of wisdom to share?

Thanks in advance.

boycey

Any ideas, recommendations or general pieces of wisdom to share?

Dont eat yellow snow!

Apologies Timans, juvenile I know.
Ya cant go far wrong with a good tele though, they'll do just about everything. Keep a good eye on adverts.ie - there's a few nice teles on there at the moment. Those Lite Ash ones seem to get mixed reviews - though I have'nt played one to be honest. The mexican Baja tele gets some great reviews- as always try a few out before you commit to anything.

CianRyan

For a more twangy sound i'd be looking more towards a strat, i find tele's have a very warm sound, or at least the ones i've played anyway.

http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_mex_std_strat_aw.htm
http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_50_classic_stratocaster_mn_sg_egitarre.htm

Corectly set up and well kept, i find my mexican strat is not far off my American, "custom" strat.(i use the inverted commas because its not a custom shop, but is compleatly custom)
And it will be even nicer now when i put the Fat fifties pick ups in it, had them in the costum for a year and will not ee them be sold, love them to much. :rolleyes:


And also, for a slightly chunkier tone, you could consider a fat strat.
http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_mex_std_fat_strat_mn_aw.htm

But for a twangy tone, you'd be better with the first two i posted.

rgjmce

Fender MIM Strat, best guitar for your price range.

Zangetsu

Take a trip up to xmusic, try out everything you can, you'd be surprised with what you find.

CianRyan

Right now im really wanting this http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_50_classic_stratocaster_mn_sg_egitarre.htm and this http://www.thomann.de/ie/thomann_egitarren_koffer_tweed.htm

The colours just make me happy... :rolleyes:

Ravelleman

CianRyan wrote: »

For a more twangy sound i'd be looking more towards a strat, i find tele's have a very warm sound, or at least the ones i've played anyway.

I disagree. Telecasters are all about the twang, especially from the bridge pickup.

spoonbadger

For a more twangy sound i'd be looking more towards a strat, i find tele's have a very warm sound, or at least the ones i've played anyway.

Telecasters aren't good for twang?.

Wtf kinda teles have you been playing :P.

Your right,the tele bridge pickup is warmer than a strat bridge pickup. But that makes it far more useable. Strat bridge pickups are more trebly/twangy, but they sound very weak and icepicky compared to a tele,and are a lot harder to get good twangy tones out of (without crucifying your ears ).

Tim, a fender baja tele would be perfect for you i'd say. They're kinda like upgraded mexican teles. They might be a tiny bit outta your price range (i think they come in about 600E?) but it's so worth it.

+1 to what zang said. Go to every nearby music store and just play ever guitar you can get your hands on and see which one stands out to you.Dont feel embarressed,just walk up to the counter and say "I wanna buy a guitar. I have money. If you let me try your guitars then you too will soon have money" .

Alanstrainor

I was playing a baja tele there over the weekend, thought it was very nice indeed, i was even tempted by one! But as said, try as many as you can before you buy and find out what's right for you!

johnboy8

+1 on the baja tele.i had one for about a year,i only got rid of it because something i wanted more came up.another thing about the baja is that you get 6 different pickup configurations instead of the usual 3 on a normal tele,all of which are very usable.