Need an electric gtr for the studio. Ideas?

[JGriffin]

immense respect for all of the guitars and basses that came out of the Matsumoku factory in the late 70's - early 80's. Look specifically for quality Vantage and Westone's as well as the Epiphone Genesis.

Electras too. They're getting pricey on eBay but they're cool. I own five, I think.

[comfortstarr]

I notice G&L is making the f-100 again. Those are pretty great and I'd say versatile--at least the old ones were. I came soooo close to shelling for one about 10 years ago, a lot of regret I passed on it. Sadly, the new ones are very pricey.

The Ibanez mentioned is interesting too. My studio is strictly for me, but right now I just have a strat-style (parts guitar, awesome though). I want to one more that has that has non-strat sound.

[meldar produxshunz]

if you had to have one...Tele.
hard to beat the number of bases you can cover there. And for $1000 or less, VERY hard to beat. as to which tele to buy, the 52 reissue is one of my personal faves in that price range. but, the G&L stuff seems like more hit than miss, whereas fender can be a total crapshoot.

there is a hole in my heart where there was once a tele. right now i have 2 Les Paul VOS reissues, a 1940 Epi archtop, a 1963 Epi Sorrento, and i still want a tele. guess that means something...id have to do it with a Lollar Charlie Christian PU though. Lollars goes without saying as to first mods you do!

[Burnt Ernie]

+1 on the Electras. If you can find a set neck one with the built in effects,that's another plus. There's something about the 70's approach to fx that rules/makes you commit. They play great,stay in tune. The set neck Ibanez Gibby copies rule,as well. I would also vota for a Gibby reissue
with P-90's. A single pickup junior,double pickup special,SG,or if you can find it-Gibson made a "55 reissue" in the 70's,that absolutely RULED. 1 solid slab of mahogany,2 P-90's,light as a feather (NO THICK POLY FINISH)
Lighter they are-the more they sing. Happy shopping!

[jgimbel]

My Tele is the one that I find fitting best on the songs I need that really Tele sound on, and also popping up very often on songs I wouldn't have expected to use a Tele on (harder rock stuff for example, a guy I just recorded ended up using it on something pretty heavy and it sounded perfect). I use it for the softest of folk stuff, loud stuff, ambient stuff, everything.

[mrc]

I don't KNOW anything, but I have a few comments. I have a few pretty damn old Gibsons, Fenders and Martins of different persuasions. They are all wonderful instruments. I also have a Squire tele I bought used with a bunch of mods done to it, and finished off everything else myself. One hell of a nice guitar for under $300. Plays better than my 60's and 70's Les Pauls or SG's, sounds great with pro electronics and wiring. Even if I didn't have to think about anything else, I would take the Squire out to do gigs with, today. The Peavey T60's are great guitars, I've played them and been in bands with other guitar players that used them. I have this Squire set up to do what the T60 would do but with a dual rail bridge humbucker and American standard neck pup, 4 way switch and push-pull phase on the tone, top quality pots and caps, and with a tele sound instead of the strat/les sound on the T60...but really, you can make almost any solid body sound as you like, if you know what to do. As for recording single coils, a great DI and mic pre is what you want. Humbuckers want amps, but I have a Les Paul Signature, which will give an amp level signal and a DI at the same time, (with no loading via a built in transformer) through the face and lower side jacks it has.

The sound of most everything is amazingly better through great mic pre's, so build them first as well as a certain Aussie's FET DI (JLM) it's just a major step for your studio.

[jgimbel]

I forgot to mention, my Tele is a Squier. I bought it to have as a beater guitar or one I could change out pickups, etc., with the expectation to get a nicer Tele at some point. Never needed to, it's completely stock, and is probably my favorite guitar I own.

[CraigS63]

Squier Classic Vibe Tele!

[vvv]

MIJ Strat with a H-S-S configuration is pretty flexible, pretty, and used costs about US$500.

I have a couple F-100's (used now going about US$750); they are my faves along with my Am.Std. Tele (used US$5-700).

Another cool guitar is a USA Hamer (used US$500-750). I have one that is a carved-top LP-looking thing, but it seems to have more sound variation than my Paul.

Finally, I have a 70's Ibanez gold-top LP-style that years ago I coil-tapped and phase split and it's got a million sounds, some even pretty good.

[lionaudio]

We have alot of old SG's, a PRS santana, some old gibson that looks kind of like a Brian Setzer guitar, an Explorer, and various other guitars.. The thing is, none of them sound alike and they are all good for certain things but terrible for others. The main thing with guitars is what pickups are in the guitar. I would suggest buying a cheap tele and putting really good pickups in it. Then buying a totally different guitar and putting different really good pickups in it. If you have a standard tele and want to track black metal, it's not going to happen. And if you have a standard Explorer and want to track country, it's not gonna happen either. I love telecasters, and they are very versatile. It would be a great first guitar.

[lysander]

Your budget should include a set-up by a professional luthier, whatever you end up getting. At less than $100, it's the best money you'll spend.

[Sean Sullivan]

Buy used. I bought a 97-98 Fender American Telecaster when I was in high school (2003-2004 I think) for $550 off of Craigslist. It was in brand new condition, only played 3 times, and is still the best playing Telecaster I've come across. The guy who had it originally had it hand selected by his friend who worked at the Corona plant in California. It certainly exceeds any Telecaster I pull off the wall at Banjo Mart. I never would have come across a deal (or guitar) like that if I went online.

I love Craigslist. I've sold instruments to Dierks Bently, Casting Crowns, the Queers, and meet a lot of really nice people through it. Most people selling decent instruments (not Peavey Raptors) are cool, respectful people who love to talk shop.

I've owned lots and lots of different guitars, but the Telecaster has been, and always will be, with me. I have a Rickenbacker 330, but it never sounds "great" to me. It's one of those guitars I bought for looks and saved up for when I was in high school, but it just doesn't blow my mind. It's sort of muffled sounding.

[lionaudio]

Also +1 on the G&L guitars. I play an ASAT bass and these guitars basically correct every flaw that existed in old Fenders. Even the tributes are very nice

[chovie d]

with all modern fender guitars, play them before buying because quality control is kind of all over the map. watch especially for frets that protrude from the sides of the necks.

I have a $200 fender mexi tele. As other have mentioned, i thought it would merely tide me over till I found a nicer tele., but there was no need to find a nicer one. I could change the pickups, but theres no need, they sound great and that bridge pickup drives my amps in a way I really like.

asats and classic vibe squiers are nice too. The classic vibe series has a great rep. Im not into reliced guitars for the sake of relicing em, but those fender "road worn" teles play and sound great

I'd recommend the cheapest used mexi tele you can find and play it first, or have a guitar playing buddy play it first if your not experienced enought ot evaluate it.

[CedarSound]

I have a 1994 American Strat, an Ibanez semi-hollowbody, and a Gibson Blueshawk. The Ibanez has a woody tone that I just love, but for versatility, the Bluehawk is my favorite. It has P-90 pickups and a 5 way selector dial, along with the 3 way pickup switch... So each spot on the dial has three different sounds to choose from - plus the tone knobs!

With tweaking, I can go from a Tele kind of sound all the way to a Les Paul... very versatile.