Acoustic guy--------- wants axe

[DaveH]

Acoustic guy--------- wants axe

I have a client that cooks on acoustic guitar.
Plays both 6 and 12 strings. Has 4 or 5 high end
acoustics. Been playing almost 20 years.

But he has only “played with’ electrics.

He is looking to get a “very nice” electric guitar(s)
for rock, light rock, pop. Wants a "keeper" that keeps
him interested.

I know guitars that I would like to record, but I know zip
about what is a good "feeling" electric guitar.

We live n the woods of Northern Califonia and there are not
that many "experts" to talk to.

General directions?
Specific guitar recommendations?

Although he hasn't stated it, it seems like common sense that
he will need an amp as well.


Thanks,

[madstrat]

Considering his backgroud...I would look @ semi-holow bodies...
Gibson 335 or 175 or 355 or even a jazz-box. PRS makes some nice
fiddles as well. The fenders might be a tough transition. Then there is
the almighty les paul...you might have to play 20 lp's to find a good 'un.
As for amps...well..find the guitar 1st and then move into an area of
gearsluttery that i'd rather not talk about....but start with a twin...

cheers

[Jeff16years]

the gibson les paul.

it is the greatest guitar ever made, and it is the best electric guitar for every/any kind of music.


no i'm not opinionated

[bionicears]

I think the first thing I would consider is neck size. There are lots of great electrics out there, but no matter how good they sound, I am not happy unless the neck feels comfortable and it's easy to play FOR ME. For example, I have 70s strats, 70s LP, 90s tele--all slightly different neck width/depths, but all comfortable for me. I HAD a 90s ES335 and a 00s LP Std and they weren't as comfortable--the ES335 was too wide and skinny, for example. So, have him play some guitars and see what he likes. That being said, I think a Strat would be a good first electric. Buy vintage if you can or get one of the newer American Deluxe series. My $.02.

[SiliconAudioLab]

Yep,

Les Paul

[Tibbon]

I personally prefer a ES330TDC to a 335, but that's just me. I happen to like single coils.

A 175 wouldn't be a poor choice either. I'd make sure that he's set up with some pretty high gauge strings, just because he's going to be used to having to work a little more (my strat and mustand for example are a piece of cake to play, and feel really odd after playing acoustic or bass guitar)

[infiniteposse]

He needs to go play some guitar's. It's highly personal search and out of 10 seemingly identical guitars, 1 might be the ticket while the others suck.

I think of guitars as being broken up into food groups:

Tele's, Strats, Les Pauls (p-90's and humbuckers), Gretsches, ES335 style guitars, ES135 style and then there's a whole world of custom guitars out there... A local builder around these parts, Saul Koll, can build you anything you want.

Luckily, you're in Northern California and there's some good shops around.

Personally, I own one of all of the above mentioned guitars except the ES135 and I love them all for different reasons... Some people bond with a single style of guitar - I really appreciate the different directions they all take me in. And maybe I'm also a crackhead about buying them. Maybe.

You could do some more reading up on these forums:

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/
http://www.fenderforum.com/forum.html

Good luck!

[DaveH]

Thanks for help so far.

madstrat: “look @ semi-hollow bodies.
(Didn’t think of that at all.)

madstrat, Jeff16years,SiliconAudioLab,
Les Paul (This is one of the top 3 I like to see him try)

bionicears: “neck size”, “Strat”
(Thanks “neck size” is great reminder. Strat was on top
3 list as well).

Tibbon: “ ES330/335” “single coils”
(Any comments why you prefer “single coils”)?

infiniteposse :
please post or pm what you believe are some “good shops” in Northern Cal. I have
limited experience shopping for guitars. Also thanks for links I
will do some reading.

===========================================
There are two shops that I get good service and discounts just because
of amount of stuff I’ve bought. One shop seems very straight forward.
But I wanted some options and a game plan
so the sales guys can’t so easily ”hype” us into something that “smells”.
(An engineer and an acoustic guitar guy seem like an easy mark).

Although it chews up a day just to get to a store and back I have offered some time to help.
And he will offer some of his time to allow me to do some mic/pre shootouts
using him, his guitars and playing skills.
(I have not been out of the studio for over 4 months now, its about time
to go play for a day or two).

[covert]

I'll second the suggestion on hollow/semi hollow. THre are lots of decent choices out there in several price ranges.

On the flip side, Telcasters and Gretsches seem to do well as the electric guitars for acoustic players. Several Gretsch models also fall into the hollow/semi hollow thing too.

[eligit]

only the player should pick out the guitar he is going to play...he needs to go to a used guitar store with a bunch (a couple hundred if possible) of good guitars available to try out with a bunch of quality tube amps.

[SparkyCanada]

Hey there.

The other big thing I noticed when picking out an electric - after playing acoustic for 20+ years - was the string size.

I found the small gauged strings often found on electrics were just too odd & difficult to adjust to.

I put heavier strings on my electric - and it feels better - but I still prefer the cables I use on my acoustic

SparkyCanada

[neve1073]

I could post a list of guitars I like, but that is useless IMO.

What he needs to do is get out of the woods to a guitar store and try out some guitars. Here in Northern Cal he could drive down to E Guitars in marin or Real Guitars in San Francisco. He needs to do some empirical research (in other words he needs to play a bunch o guitars). It's the best way.

[Ben Walters]

One brand he should definitely check out is Parker. A lot of acoustic players really enjoy playing these. I especially like playing electric parts with the piezo pickup blended in, it give the sound so much more of the attack I'm used to from acoustics.

[KevWind]

I have also been thinking about playing an electric after playing acoustic for 40 yr. one possible solution is the Taylor T5 try one out

[DaveH]

These comments will help:

If something is not “feeling” right.
I would have never thought about
Neck size, string size.

It will be interesting when we go shopping if
he picks up on the above two items quickly on
his own or mentioning these will help the process.

Also thanks for the heads up on:
Parker and Taylor T5.

(But I'm just the engineer, maybe I can "hold"
a guitar while he's playing the other).

[eligit]

Originally Posted by DaveH

These comments will help:

If something is not “feeling” right.
I would have never thought about
Neck size, string size.

It will be interesting when we go shopping if
he picks up on the above two items quickly on
his own or mentioning these will help the process.

Also thanks for the heads up on:
Parker and Taylor T5.

(But I'm just the engineer, maybe I can "hold"
a guitar while he's playing the other).

Taylor and Parker.

ug. and ug.

owned both. both sterile and not nice. "perfect". but not nice. although only one was actually made of plastic they both felt like they were made of plastic.

G+L teles kick ass. tell him to at least try one of those...among many many others.

[Saucyjack]

From your description I would steer him towards one of the newer Gretsches.
They are cool, fairly unique and the hollowbodies have a nice acoustic tone unplugged.