New Player needs advice

[Platypus]

I've only been playing for a short time, and am not very good, but I'm looking to get a decent sounding setup so it will be more fun to practice. I'm wondering if someone could recommend a guitar/amp + accessories setup that would be good for all around rock/metal guitar. I also don't want to spend more than $500-$600 dollars, since I'm still at the beginner stage and am just looking to entertain myself at this point.

Any input would be appreciated.

[evansst]

Cool... Depending on which country you live in (I'm guessing with a name like platypus - Australia??) will affect the dollar value when people reply to your post. Soooo... In Australia, lots of the bulk buy music stores (like Musicworld) have guitar & amp deals. You can pay up to that figure. You could look at guitars by Samick or Ashton perhaps. Samick seem to be slightly better quality. Ashton do amplifiers as well. But you won't get a high power amp. Maybe 20-30 Watts. If thats cool, get some pedals as well. Try second hand first. Download some practice midi's from Gregs Midi & Tabs (http://www.midi-tab.com/) and rip into it!!:thumbsup:

[axeman]

Guitar: You should go for something with humbucker pickups as these sound great for rock/metal. Really crunchy. Gibson Les Paul or SG would do the trick. Failing that you can get the Epiphone version which still sound good, but are way cheaper.

Amp: I would have to agree and say go for 20-30 watts. Make sure it sounds metal enough when you turn up the gain, as I've never really been impressed with amp distortion. I've always used pedals.

Which brings us to....

Pedals: If you're happy with your amp distortion you probably don't need any. I tend to play through songs, and if I come across one that absolutely definately needs *that* effect for the song to work I start saving to get the pedal.

If you don't like your amp distortion get a pedal. If you go to http://www.harmony-central.com/Effects/Data/ it lists all the pedals (that I've heard of at least) with user reviews. From comparing the reviews to my own pedal experiences they're pretty accurate. A good place to look when you're thinking of getting a new effect.

[kal73]

hi there...while im no exper i regularly see people ask this question over at musicplayer.com and people give some really good indepth answers. Hopefully that might help you.

[kriswilx]

I got the best sound ever when I plugged my digital processor pedal(about 200 bucks) into a stereo with the stereo jacks sounded awesome, I played it for hours. Your already on the right track, it is much easier to practice with a good tone

[jetsam]

as long as the guitar is not really nasty it won't matter too much what you get - base the choice on your favorite style i.e. strat/single coil pick-up style or gibson/humbucker pick-up style. be wary of the bridge/tremolo on cheap guitars, and make sure the action on the strings can be set reasonably low - too low is buzzy on the frets, too hard is difficult to play. beware old strings on a good guitar will sound dull and heavy, new strings on a crap guitar will sound bright and shiny. A good weighted body will give sustain, check the neck is straight - look down the neck of the guitar and make sure the frets make parallel lines - if not neck could be warped or not on straight. check the switch works and isn't to crackly, and that the volume/tone knobs turn smoothly without crackling. check the lead when plugged in feels secure and doesn't cause the signal to crackle or cut out.

amp - on a budget i suggest it doesn't really matter what you get - although i wouldn't get anything less than 15 watt - you won't really be able to play in a band with this but it is adequate for a bedroom or a jam with friends in your house. Some amps have built-in reverberation (i.e. short delay effect to mimic an echoey room)

Don't bother with the distortion on any cheap amp - in fact don't bother with the distortion on anything less than an amplifier with tubes (i.e. valves!). You won't be able to afford this yet - but your best bet is to get a pedal, such as a BOSS distortion or overdrive pedal (i.e. weaker distortion). Depends on your favorite music again- either a metal pedal or bluesy rock pedal - try them out first. Many are available second hand. You will be much more satisfied with the sound if you set the diostortion with the pedal and use the amp clean to basically just amplify. Add a little reverb. next to create texture and depth, and learn how to make the best sound by altering the equaliser and pick-up position on the guitar.

Often practising without distortion or amplification can be really good to improve tone - you rely on what your fingers are actually doing than the effects. A cheaper compromise would be to get a guitar and a pedal that you can put through your stereo - you can use a large mono jack to small mono jack converter, then use a small jack to phono converter and usuing a phon splitter put it in the auxillary input on the stereo - but be careful not to overload the signal and rip your speaker cones. This often will sound much better than a cheap amplifier and is a cheap way of making recordings - useful for practising solos against pre recorded rhythms, but then you cannot play back the tape and play through the amp at the same time.

when you get better you will know what you want more - committing yourself to a sound too early can be limiting, but like most guitarists you'll probably end up with more than one in the end.

[hui4o]

Ibanez guitar would be ok for rock and metal.And some cheap Zoom for DSP.

[Jobu]

Since your only looking to entertain yourself at the moment I would suggest going to your local music shop and trying a Line6 POD through headphones. I would even go so far as to take your guitar to the store so you can here how it sound through the POD. They sell for around $250 US new, and can be had around $150-200 used again US $. Their are plenty of other manufacturers that also make the all-in-one "boxes", its up to you to decide what one you think sounds best.

Another thing I would do is look into playing along with Midi files, if you dont allready do so. some places provide Midi and Guitar tabs to play along with - http://www.midi-tab.com/ . This can be a good way to keep things interesting for yourself. I think you will find you practice more if you "find" ways to make it more ineteresting rather than "buy" ways to make it more interesting.