Hi, I'm a complete guitar n00b and I want to buy a first electric guitar. I've been looking around and found these three:

Jackson js32t rhoads

Epiphone Gothic Explorer

Ibanez RGR321EX-BK

Which one should I get and are they any good for a beginner? Any help or advice is welcome!

Woah, both of those are waaay better than the first electric guitar I had!

The best thing would be to try before you buy. Explorers feel different than standard shaped guitars, so you should try both to see which suits you best!

My personal choice would be the Explorer, but really, either of those guitars are awesome for a beginner. lol

Written by Angelic Storm on 28.07.2010 at 18:17

Woah, both of those are waaay better than the first electric guitar I had!

The best thing would be to try before you by. Explorers feel different than standard shaped guitars, so you should try both to see which suits you best!

My personal choice would be the Explorer, but really, either of those guitars are awesome for a beginner. lol

yeah really! i personally would also go with the epiphone. but as AS said all of them are good. do you have the costs of all these?

The Epiphone is 288 Euros, and the Ibanez is 322 Euros. lol

Depends on what type of music you want to play (well, its obviously metal, but i meant what genre) and also weather you want to play lead guitar (solo's n melodies) or Rhythm Guitar (heavy chugging riffs) ...

I've tried that ibanez b4 and didn't like its sound at all, the INF pickups sound so artificial and its bridge isn't good, ...

pickups on the 'epiphone' are brandless, so i wouldnt trust'em much, especially that humbuckers are the main sound-defining element of the guitar .. the only thing i like bout it is the 'mahogany' body and neck

so, i'd go with the jackson, its the bests among what you've listed .. its not a GREAT guitar, but its definietly an AWESOME guitar for a beginner, and you wouldn't need to 'upgrade' to a better guitar for quite a long time if you got that jackson

Lol I didnt even see that he'd listed that Jackson!

2 ezz_zombie:
I don't really know about what I want to play, lead or rhythm, I actually never even held an electric guitar in my hands.
But I do wish to learn at least some songs from the bands/artists I like for example Pink Floyd, Ensiferum, Opeth, Pantera, Devin Townsend or maybe even CoB and Megadeth.
It's only a wish though, I realize that I'm years away from that stuff.
The Epiphone is equipped with Alnico Classic Humbuckers, as it says on their website HERE .
Also I chose the Jackson only because of it's sexy shape, are the pickups and etc. are up for the job? I do expect a guitar that can last me at least 3-4 years without major troubles. And I've actually heard nice feedback about Ibanez.

2 Angelic Storm
Forgive me for "hiding" the Jackson, I've re-edited my first post so it's more visible now.
The problem with just going to the store and just trying them out, is that we don't have a wide selection here.
They usually hold either CRAP or really expensive ones like 600+ euros, that are WAY out of my budget. Sorry, i'm just a poor bastard.
PS We don't have Jacksons here.

2 BoxCar Willy

Click on the names to see the prices and details, and use google to convert from euros to USD.

I think that going in-store and trying a few would be your best bet. Just to see how feels in your hands and that it feels natural. The guitars you listed are also way better than my first guitar so quality-wise I don't think you'll be disappointed. You are however likely to find that some guitars just feel more natural than others.

I had a shitty ashton as my first guitar. Personally, i wouldnt spend big money on a guitar until you discover your own style and way of playing, then decide what you need. By a cheap guitar and when you've l;earnt enough, then get a decent one.

Written by Giza on 29.07.2010 at 00:17
2 Angelic Storm
Forgive me for "hiding" the Jackson, I've re-edited my first post so it's more visible now.
The problem with just going to the store and just trying them out, is that we don't have a wide selection here.
They usually hold either CRAP or really expensive ones like 600+ euros, that are WAY out of my budget. Sorry, i'm just a poor bastard.
PS We don't have Jacksons here.

Hehe, thanx! lol *blushing*

Trying in the store is always the best option if its at all possible for you to do that. Finding the right guitar, especially as a beginner, comes down more to feel than anything else. And thats only really possible by handling and playing the guitar first. I think all 3 of those guitars are great for a beginner, although V's can be awkward to get used to at first. Especially playing them sitting down. If I was 14 again now, and had those 3 choices, Id probably get the Jackson. Cos when I was starting out playing guitar, most of my fave players used Jackson's, so I always wanted one!

I cant even remember the brand of my first guitar, it was so crappy! But I learned all the basics on that, and you dont really need a decent guitar as a beginner, but I think we'd all have taken it if we had the chance.

Like all the other members said, all those three guitars are way better than my first guitar, a mediocre Yamaha ERG that lasted about 2 years or 2.5 to be precise .. so, any of those three choices would be way better and coudl last at least 4 to 5 years without the need to upgrade.. so, you're safe with pretty much any option of what you have .. but, to breifely describe each guitar it would be:

Ibanez: good woods (body and neck), bad pickups and bridge (the sound defining elements) ... the bridge kills alot of the sustain in the notes as it is a piece of metal bolted on to the wood, so, not the full resonance of the note reaches the guitar body ... also, those pickups sound to "artificial' .. they might sound good with alot of modeling, if you're willing to buy a multi-effect, but they surely sound very artificial, not that natural warm sound at all, so, dont expect to play rock or mellow stuff on it,, the only way to use them is crank up the distortion.. so, its my least favorite in the list

Epiphone: nice shape, GREAT woods (mahogany is by far my favorite wood for body and neck) .. good bridge (a simple bridge is a good bridge) just to adjust string heights and then they strings go into the wooden body.. but, regular pickups (alinco is pretty much the standard), also, the "explorer' shape usually comes with 'rhythm' pickups.. it is not a rule but this is what i've encountered with every guitar i've seen of that shape ... so, overall: there's nothing special about it, not bad, nor perfect.

Jackson: i usually dont trust the jackson beginner models, but, this one is set up nicely; good woods (not the best, but still fine) ... PERFECT bridge.. this simple bridge with the strings thru-body is the best tone-delivering bridge (well, a more 'quality version of that bridge would be the tune-o-matic bridge) but they're the same basic design .. and the shape is cool (if you're into V-guitars) .. they're good as you have access to all frets and you could easily play the 23 and 24th frets which are almost impossible to play on regular guitars .. and, the CV pickups aren't bad.. they certainly aren't awesome either, but, they sound nice playing metal, rock, or even mellow stuff (you could check the sound sample in the link u posted.. its close to how it actually sounds (of course they're using a 1000$+ amplifier in the sample clip)

so, you'd better go to a guitar store, and try out all three guitars as each guitar has a different feel, and the neck scale and contour would differ from one person to another, and would not fit all to play comfortably... so, you have to try them out yourself.. but, if this isn't possible in your case .. then i advise you to go with the jackson. it would work fine for years until u decide to upgrade to a more professional guitar 700+ Euros ... with top-brand pickups: EMG, Seymour Duncan, Di MArzio..etc ... and a top quality bridge (TOM is my fav., also Kahler or Floyd Rose if u like whammy bars), neck-thru or set-thru rather than the painful bolt-on neck, locking tuners; sperzel, high-grade wood...etc

so, have fun with any of these guitars... as they are ALL great beginner guitars, better than any of us had started with.

Thanks guys! I'm really happy that you all responded to this topic and gave me such good advice! I'm definitely gonna go try a few guitars in the local music shops with a friend that plays guitar, as soon as i get my paycheck. If I don't find anything suitable I'll probably go with the jackson.

2 ezz_zombie:

As a matter of fact yes, I really love how the V-shape guitars look, pretty aggressive like a sports car imo.
If I had enough cash I would get myself something like THIS.
Btw are the cheap BC Rich models any good? For example BC RICH SE IT WARLOCK or BC RICH SPEED V I.T. ?

2 Angelic Storm

Yeah some bands that I like (Norther, CoB, Megadeth) also use/used Jacksons! Also I really like the V-shape myself, but I really don't like the Gibson Flying V, It just looks kinda "clumsy" IMO. Sadly, as I've said before, there aren't any Jacksons available here, so I can't try it "in person".

Well have fun with whatever you choose! (personally i would go with the jackson )

I strongly recommend the Ibanez.

They make great quality guitars. Even the cheap ones are way better than other brands cheap models. Jackson guitars are good as well, but for a beginner i'd say the Ibanez is more comfortable and easier to play. And probably better sounding as well. Go for it!

And i know what im talking about. I have two Ibanez guitars, and one Jackson rhoads (used to have two, but i sold the other). Of course mine aren't beginner ones, but still...

And the Epiphone is out of question, i once triend this "gothic explorer" and it was just horrible. Stay away from it...

Written by Giza on 29.07.2010 at 16:44
2 Angelic Storm

Yeah some bands that I like (Norther, CoB, Megadeth) also use/used Jacksons! Also I really like the V-shape myself, but I really don't like the Gibson Flying V, It just looks kinda "clumsy" IMO. Sadly, as I've said before, there aren't any Jacksons available here, so I can't try it "in person".

COB didnt exist when I was 14. lol Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman, Jeff Hanneman, Kirk Hammett, and quite a few others of my fave guitarists used Jackson's at the time. Although the fact Alex Skolnick played an Ibanez made them also very attractive to me! lol xD

I didnt used to like the shape of the Gibson V either, but over the years Ive grown to love it, and Id love to own one. But they're too expensive. The thing about Flying V's, is it can be quite awkard at first to get the hang of playing them. But seeing as you're a beginner, and you're not used to playing more standard shaped guitars, it might not be as much of a problem for you.

Written by Giza on 29.07.2010 at 16:44

...
Btw are the cheap BC Rich models any good? For example BC RICH SE IT WARLOCK or BC RICH SPEED V I.T. ?

Stay away from the BC Rich ! .. even the expensive ones suck, they only sell coz of their looks, and are basically the 'posers' guitars (people will say that Kerry king plays BC and he's not a poser, i say he's customized his guitar so much that its different than any other BC rich)

so, Cheap or Expensive BC rich would be crap .. if you're into weird shapes you could go for the ibanez Xiphos, ESP AX-series, Jackson Warrior, Dean Razorback, ...etc.. but NOT BC rich !!

Written by Angelic Storm on 30.07.2010 at 13:32

I didnt used to like the shape of the Gibson V either, but over the years Ive grown to love it, and Id love to own one. But they're too expensive. The thing about Flying V's, is it can be quite awkard at first to get the hang of playing them. But seeing as you're a beginner, and you're not used to playing more standard shaped guitars, it might not be as much of a problem for you.

i'm not sure why people say that, i have an SG, and the Flying V / King V has pretty much the same attachment system(only it's not that neck-heavy), the only weird thing is it's difficult to play them while sitting down, that's all.

Written by Angelic Storm on 28.07.2010 at 18:17

Woah, both of those are waaay better than the first electric guitar I had!

haha, i could say pretty much the same thing. for about 2 years or so i used to have a crappy no-name Strat copy which i eventually sold for the equivalent of 45 Euros with strap and bag included. damn my standards were low.


@ original poster i have one of these:

http://www.thomann.de/de/epiphone_gothic_g400.htm

and it works fine, not the best guitar available for metal(if you want a specific metal-guitar prepare to shell out some more $$) but for a beginner this should satisfy your needs for about a few years at least. also when buying stuff from Thomann be sure to change in the browser address from "de/gb" to "de/de" because that's the correct price. for example on the british page the G400 http://www.thomann.de/gb/epiphone_gothic_g400.htm is 209 euros but on the correct price page(the germany site) the price is actually 218 + shipping costs.

Written by Valentin B on 31.07.2010 at 10:30
i'm not sure why people say that, i have an SG, and the Flying V / King V has pretty much the same attachment system(only it's not that neck-heavy), the only weird thing is it's difficult to play them while sitting down, that's all.

Yep, I meant that they're difficult to play while sitting down. Im used to it now, cos Ive had my RR Jackson V for 3 years now. But the first few times I played it while sitting down was awkward for me. It took me a little bit of time to adjust to it. Ive never played an SG, so I cant compare the two hehe

Quote:
haha, i could say pretty much the same thing. for about 2 years or so i used to have a crappy no-name Strat copy which i eventually sold for the equivalent of 45 Euros with strap and bag included. damn my standards were low.

Mine was a no-name strat copy as well. lol All I can remember is that it was black, and I had to replace it after a couple of years when one of the machine heads, then the headstock, fell off. At the time, I was just like "wow, an electric guitar!", I didnt care about the brand really. xD Its only years later that I look back on it, that I know what a crappy guitar it was. <3

Written by Angelic Storm on 31.07.2010 at 10:52

... At the time, I was just like "wow, an electric guitar!", I didnt care about the brand really. xD Its only years later that I look back on it, that I know what a crappy guitar it was. <3

LOL !! yeah same thing with me, i was only interested in acquiring a black electric guitar, that would be the coolest ever ! ... my first guitar kept falling part piece by piece so i had to sell it quickly before it becomes as good as garbage !

got myself this bad boy ---> http://www.espguitars.com/esp2008/guitars_ax.html (The Ax-400FM, the top of the series it was about 550 Euros)

I would go for the Ibanez, i have tried all of the guitars you listed. And if you are a beginner i would never buy a flying-v. its impossible to sit right with it. the epiphone is an ok guitar but i would go for the ibanez because its very easy to play and ibanez make ok pickups i think, but either way you should change the pickups on any of them to Emg's or seymore duncan Alternative 8 or SD Blackout's. and a final word of advice don't buy a guitar with Floyd Rose... alot of beginners come in to the guitar shop i work at and want the kirk hammet signature with floyd rose and i recommend something else, but they want the guitar just becasue it's a kirk hammet signature... they all come back two days later and complain that they can't tune it or change strings.

Written by Zombie on 31.07.2010 at 16:02
LOL !! yeah same thing with me, i was only interested in acquiring a black electric guitar, that would be the coolest ever ! ... my first guitar kept falling part piece by piece so i had to sell it quickly before it becomes as good as garbage !

got myself this bad boy ---> http://www.espguitars.com/esp2008/guitars_ax.html (The Ax-400FM, the top of the series it was about 550 Euros)

By the time I had to replace my original no-name guitar, I couldnt have sold it, it was too badly damaged. lol

That is a beast of a guitar! The shape is very BC Rich-esque.


@Rocketroy: I dont think either of the 3 beginner guitars showed in this thread have a Floyd Rose, but you're right. A beginner definitely should not get a guitar with a Floyd Rose Tremelo. Even I find them annoying and fiddly to deal with, and Im used to them.

Quote:
@Rocketroy: I dont think either of the 3 beginner guitars showed in this thread have a Floyd Rose, but you're right. A beginner definitely should not get a guitar with a Floyd Rose Tremelo. Even I find them annoying and fiddly to deal with, and Im used to them.

I know non of them have floyd rose,just said is as a tip to a beginner. I have no problems with floyd rose myself, The only ones who needs floyd is those who use their vibarm alot, but a quality guitar without floyd rose holds the tuning just as good if you ask me.. the Music man and PRS guitars are good examples

Written by RockeRoy on 08.08.2010 at 18:31
I know non of them have floyd rose,just said is as a tip to a beginner. I have no problems with floyd rose myself, The only ones who needs floyd is those who use their vibarm alot, but a quality guitar without floyd rose holds the tuning just as good if you ask me.. the Music man and PRS guitars are good examples

Well, I use the whammy bar quite a lot. Im a regular little KK Downing! lol

Ive never had a half decent guitar that hasnt had a Floyd Rose on it. The only 2 guitars Ive owned that didnt have one, were budget guitars. And I had to retune those guitars very regularly. Id imagine a quality guitar without floyd rose could hold tuning well, though most guitars without one, or any locking system normally dont have a tremelo arm. Which is the main thing that causes a guitar to go out of tune.

Written by Angelic Storm on 08.08.2010 at 21:12

Written by RockeRoy on 08.08.2010 at 18:31
I know non of them have floyd rose,just said is as a tip to a beginner. I have no problems with floyd rose myself, The only ones who needs floyd is those who use their vibarm alot, but a quality guitar without floyd rose holds the tuning just as good if you ask me.. the Music man and PRS guitars are good examples

Well, I use the whammy bar quite a lot. Im a regular little KK Downing! lol

Ive never had a half decent guitar that hasnt had a Floyd Rose on it. The only 2 guitars Ive owned that didnt have one, were budget guitars. And I had to retune those guitars very regularly. Id imagine a quality guitar without floyd rose could hold tuning well, though most guitars without one, or any locking system normally dont have a tremelo arm. Which is the main thing that causes a guitar to go out of tune.

Moast gitars have vibarms, floyd rose ore not, but not every one got the floating system

I dont like floating bridge systems like floyd rose and kahler as they dont work well with active pickups, i've seen guitars with floyds and EMG actives or seymour duncan blackouts and the pickups are too powerful they pick up noise from the springs in the back of the guitar which floating bridge.. you have to use a rubber band and sometimes tissues to decrease the vibration of the springswhich sounds like quite alot of trouble for the sake of one or two whammy'd notes per track or single divebomb... so, i prefer fixed bridges, and the more simple the bridge is the better for me... my Tune-O-Matic bridge is my fav., a very simple bridge yet great in delivering the tone.

EDIT: The noise associated with floyd rose bridges and active pickups happens when the floating bridge isn't a genuine part (a replica instead) ... a friend of mine got a guitar with n original floyd and active EMG pickups and the guitar sounds great

A while back, I was thinking of getting a Schecter as my new guitar. But lack of a tremolo arm is what put me off. The only Schecter's I have seen with them, are Jeff Loomis' custom built ones. Floating bridge systems can be a nightmare to work with at times, but because of my style of play Ive developed over the years, it would be hard for me to adjust to a guitar with no locking system or tremolo arm...

Out of those 3, I'd go for the Ibanez as a first choice. The body, the fretboard, and perhaps the pickups are good quality and more standard than the other two. To me it's a better guitar to really get to understand what is it to play the guitar.
You might want a fancy guitar like the explorer or the V if you're 100% into a band whose lead guitarist has one like that, but else it might be a disappointment.

Of course, as Angelic Storm and others have said, the best is to try in a store, although it's a lot better to have held a guitar before, and to make sure you won't be coming back every week just to "try". There was a store tempting me in Tallinn two weeks ago, but as a tourist it was quite certain they wouldn't take me as a potential buyer...

Today i finally got the chance to check out one of the music stores with a friend, who is an experienced guitar player. We checked out an ESP LTD MH-50 and an Alexi-600 just to get an idea how a V-shape actually feels like. We both liked the MH-50, it felt kinda natural and really comfortable to play, also the sound was really nice. The Alexi-600 was on the other hand really uncomfortable to play while seated, so I think that I'm certainly not buying a V-shape, at least not for now. So is the mh-50 a good choice?

Gonna check some other stores soon to try an Ibanez that fits my budget, because at that store they only had the Prestige series and a Steve Vai signature JEM, so stay tuned for more. Thank you all again for the good feedback!

P.S.
Just realized that the MH-50 has a Floyd Rose, so I'll probably go check another guitar.

The MH is a good guitar, but the MH-50 isn't as good as the MH-350... go for the MH-350, it's great, a friend of mine just bought it a few days ago .. its a top-notch guitar .. and even though it has a floyd rose (which i generally dislike) the sound is incredibly clean as the floyd rose is an original part (and not a replica) and the pickups are so good they cancel out any noise it is about 600$ .. it might be expensive buy i doubt that you'll ever need to replace tht guitar anywhere in the near or far future.. it is a professional level guitar made of high-quality, top brand parts ...

if you're short on cash then i'd reccomend getting the MH-50 .. and upgrading it later with EMG active pickups 81 and 85 (it would be like the MH-350 then but with bolt-on neck rather than set-thru .. and different guitar body wood)

you can send a pm to http://www.metalstorm.net/users/pm_send.php?user_id=108087 and ask him about the guitar if you want .. he's my friend who got the MH-350

So I settled with a MH50NT link . I just went to the store, tried it, and really liked it. I've been practicing for a while, and broke 3 strings in a week. It must be my clumsiness and not the guitars fault.