Hi, I could not find a applicable forum to post this in, as all the others were guitar style specific, and well, that is my whole question. So I figured posting here would be the best.

I am a keyboardist/songwriter musician that also owns a professional recording studio. I am looking to not only buy my very first guitar and learn how to play via DVD's and friends, etc.. but this first guitar I also want to be good enough to be the studios "in house" guitar. So it must be cool. Good for me to learn on and good enough for a guitar pro to lay down the next flawless hit on and have that million dollar tone.

(don't worry, I know about preamps, they are important for tone, etc.. I got tons of them. Tube to Solid State and boutiquey to popular. So I got that part covered, remember, I own a pro studio and been recording for years.)

So I ask, what is your guy's suggestions on what I should get ?

To help you narrow down your answers, I know I do not want a Bass guitar or a Acoustic guitar right now for this purchase (that will be down the road). So this would have to be a "Electric Guitar". I just don't know which one out of all the choices ? "Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazz Master, Jaguar," etc.. ? What is the difference between each one ? What popular songs represent what each guitar most sounds like ? Then after that, which choice beyond that ? American Classic, '52 Reissue, American Special, etc.. ? What is the real difference between all that ?

My personal production genres range from Hip Hop, Indie Rock, Progressive 80's rock, Funk, R&B, Soul, Commercial Pop, to Jazz. I would want one that is normally used for most to all them genres just fine.

Particular sounds I am looking for is kinda like the old Isley Brothers sound (Footsteps In The Dark and Groove With You) - Whatever guitar they used for them two songs, is pretty much what I want.

So thanks for all help in advance --

The most important bit of info you failed to mention was price range/budget.

A mim strat could achieve those tones with the right effects. There are plenty to be had on ebay and craigslist for between $200-$500.

An American strat could be had for $600-$1,100 given its specs and age.

as far as the what the Isley bros. used on those particular tracks, I havent a clue. However; the strat is a highly versitile tool, and given the right effects, can achieve a broad spectrum of tones.

There are others here who are far more knowledgable than I, and no doubt they will chime in.

Best of luck!

~all_thumbs

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"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

Part of me says +1 on the Strat but I'd go for an american standard Telecaster.

Sure the Strat is nice and versatile, I think if you are going through processors and all the studio / mixing stuff you can add whatever you want to the sound later anyway. I think the Tele is just a good solid, honest instrument which stays in tune for ever and would give you plenty of "cred".

Or you can ask around various "session" guitarists and see what they use...

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MIM Std Tele, MIM HSS Strat, Homemade Mongrel Tele, Blues Jr, Champ600, coupla pedals...sweeeet!

Thanks so much guys for the input so far !!




You are totally right, sorry bout that, I completely forgot to give a price range.....lol !!

I think I forgot, cause really, if you guys say it is all that and worth it, I pretty much have no price range. I mean, I don't think I want to spend over 3k on my first electric guitar. The only reason I would even spend close to that is cause I know this guitar will also become the studio's "in house" guitar, and it better be GOOD.

So as I would like to say "price is of no concern", I still say I want to keep it under 3k. Meaning, from what I can tell, almost anyone is in my price range. Not that many electric guitars seem to have a sticker price above 3k.

Another thing I forgot to mention is I am a total vintage freak when it comes to keyboards. I have a huge collection of them and not one of them was made past 1986. Reason is, is the new ones SUCK in comparison for a nice sound. I was wondering, in the pro guitarist world, is that the case too ? Are older vintage guitars just made better and therefore have a better sound ? Or no ? Are reissues just as good as the real deal ? Or no ? Or since it is a different beast than a keyboard (less circuits, a actual instrument with strings, etc..) then, is it actually the other way around, and a brand new 2010 guitar is actually better than a old school one ?

For the keyboard world, there is just no comparison. Old analog synths just have a super creamy nice buttery sound compared to the rigid, cold sound of any synth made past 1990. Sad but true. And don't even get me started with Soft Synth VI's. - lol

My point to all this is, I wanted everyone to know it is ok to recommend a real old vintage guitar too if they really feel it is the way to go for my particular taste of sound/production, etc...




I was totally leaning toward a Tele, cause most of the guitarists that come by, they actual have both, but usually after they hear what I want them to play, they use the Tele. Why ? I don't know.

But, the reason why I just don't jump and get that is cause, I really don't know if that would be best for me ? So thats why I wanted to ask you guys here at the actual Fender place. If someone can tell me what guitar was used on them 2 Isley Brothers songs (Footsteps In The Dark, and Groove With You), then thats the one I'm getting.. ha ha. Funny but true.

InfaRed

I've been in a few studio's over the years, on this side of the water.

Every one of them had a strat. Usually an American Standard or equivalent. One had a California Series, another a American Series. Their the same kind of ballpark. Just a strat no real extra bells or whistles (that you wouldnt normally get on a strat.

Thats what I'd go for. A bit of a setup and your set with a guitar thats acceptable to any band or any one.

You may want to go with some form of noiseless pickups. Its a lot less agro than chasing particular hum problems out of a studio. That you know will only manifest themselves when you plug the guitar in. Thats another chapter though, full of its own adventure.

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No no and no

Hi Infa Red welcome to the forum.For 3k you could get both a good Tele and a good Strat and have a full palette of tonal possibilities.As far as a Strat goes a HSS (one humbucker ,two single coils) would probably be more suitable for a house guitar as a lot or guitarists prefer a humbucker when doing leads.Anyway that's my .02 worth.Good luck guitar shopping,it's one of my favourite pastimes.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

It is also common practice for sidemen to bring their own gear to a session. Experienced musicians of that ilk are already into a groove with respect to what kind of flexibility/versatility they may be called on to capitalize on and have their journeyman axes well honed to the task.

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"Another day in paradise!"

Ok, thanks for the suggestion backed by real world experience. So it seems more people are suggesting a Strat over a Tele. (so far) - god this is so confusing for me.

BTW, I so feel ya about "another chapter" - LOL, believe me, I like to do things right, so after I finally do decide which exact guitar to get and then get it, I'll be back here startin new threads about whats the best amp to get, strings, how should I "set up" the guitar for ultimate performance, etc... MAN, I'm already getting anxiety over it now !!


Thank you for the warm welcome guitslinger. Yea, I realize 3k would even be enough for both, but for the time being, I really just want to start off with one. I said 3k cause I want to make sure people know I would be willing to get the best of the best if need be, BUT (as anyone would feel) I would rather not really spend 3k - ha ha. Or I would rather get 1 higher quality guitar (and save up for another one later) than to get 2 medium quality guitars.

Also, I like leaving a good cushion in a mental budget I make so I have breathing room. Just in case someone said that a vintage guitar of eBay or CL is the way to go, I know how the value of them could be.

Either way, I see your another that is leaning towards suggesting a Strat too. Hmmm, this seems to be almost unanimous. Thanks again dude.


This is very true. Every guitarist I have had for my session work (being friends or for hire or both) bring their own axes. I just think it would be a cool idea to have a nice "optional" selection of guitars at my studio not only for me to learn to play on, but also to have a tonality arsenal of similar guitars.

Also, there has been a few questions of mine that has not been answered. I know this could be a very in depth answer, but I really need to know, it is confusing me like hell.

1- I was wondering the real differences not only technically and physically but also tonality, playing wise and sound wise between the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazzmaster, and Jaguar ? What are each known for ? And can anyone give a famous song example for each one so I could really know its sound ? I noticed no one has suggested a Jazzmaster or Jaguar. Why ?

2- Once past the main guitar choice, whats up with all the choices after that amongst the same guitar ? Like American Deluxe, American Standard, American Special, American Vintage, Classic Series, etc.. ? What is the best way to describe the differences between each one ? Why would I want one over the other ? Etc... Same thing, can anyone reference famous songs that have samples of each guitar ? Just to ballpark me ?

3- Are the "Vintage Reissues" as good as the real deals ? Or as usual in the music world, did they just not really capture the real deal ? If they are not as good as the real old deals, are they any better than the other normal modern ones offered today like American Standard, Deluxe, Special, Classic, etc.. ?

I know a normal person should/could just go down and play them all before you buy and get familiar with each one so you can make a very good decision, but my problem is, I can't play yet !! LOL - So I don't wanna do that. I would rather get solid advice from the pros and from friends and go from there.

Sorry for all the questions, thanks so much --

Yeah thats generaly the way it goes round here. You take your own gear in, after you've set up have a mooch through the studio's equipment and see if theres anything you can use to widen the tonal pallette a bit.

Most guitarists that want a change in tone will use their own more offcenter guitar, then something a bit different for bulking rhythm tracks. The guy playing his old 64 telecaster (example)isnt going to want anything else to be the prominent guitar sound on his recordings. He may want a strat in position 2 or 4 for a layered rhythm part though. Similar sound but just different enough to matter.

If you pick a strat you've more tonal bases covered and will appeal to more people. The offcenter gearheads have their own gear and still appreciate a break from their norm. Its argualbly the most versatile guitar in the world, which is exactly what you want. Your not picking a guitar for you but something thats going to appeal to as many guitarists as possible. For that you can only pick the worlds best selling guitar. The reason no one has really chose a Jazzmaster or Jaguar and even a Telecaster in reality is that they have very definate sounds and whilst performing brilliantly, limit themselves.

As for which strat only you can decide. Of the ones you mention the Deluxe will give you the most tonal options, and its got noiseless pickups too. A group of people think it doesnt sound stratty enough. I can hear what they mean but its nothing you cant get with a decent bit of eq control. You also get a decent range of humbucker type tones, as well as singlecoil sounds.
The vintage reissues are great guitars, tonaly very accurate.
The American Standard is a fantastic guitar with plenty of variety of sounds as are all the others.

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No no and no

I'd go with an american deluxe strat and deluxe tele, if I had 3K in my pocket. shop around, you can find each for $1000.-$1400, new. I've found a few used under $1000. great guitars, but if you only want to start with one, I think the deluxe strat will give you more tonal variations. good luck!

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2012 American Vintage Telecaster 1958
09 Fender american deluxe strat.
97 Gibson les paul special P90's double-cut
65 Princeton reverb re-issue
2010 Guild Gad-F40e

"I am a keyboardist/songwriter musician that also owns a professional recording studio" , you are a professional?

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Right my next demo's being done at SBLS's. I reckon the craick will be fierce.

What are the rates?

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No no and no

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Well, seems we've just learned something new about him. This should be interesting.

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"Another day in paradise!"

If you have 3k that you don't mind spending why not buy the two most used guitars to accommodate the most styles and players.
An American Standard which can be found used for around $750 and a Les Paul Standard with the rest (over priced but people love them).

Surely you wouldn't hear too many complaints from any guitarists who enter your studio