First Electric Guitar

speedfish · **Joined:** Sat Mar 05, 2011 8:10 am **Posts:** 127

dreilly1982 wrote:

Greetings all, this is my first post here. I am currently a forward deployed service member in the middle east, and about 3 months ago I purchased a relatively inexpensive acoustic guitar (the Fender CD-60) to pass the time in areas of the world that have barely heard of electricity let alone the Internet (shocking, right? I know!). Well this was my absolute first guitar, and the hours of enjoyment it has brought me has well more than payed off, and I believe I have found a new hobby for life. I am now looking for an electric when I get home, and I am absolutely drooling over the American Deluxe Strat HSS. My question is though even though I feel I'm passed the "quitting stage" of learning, are the features actually worth the money at my level of play (high beginner/low intermediate) or am I better off with a less expensive standard or MIM version? Thanks to all in advance!

-Don

Don,

I recommend a 2006 or newer mim and have someone set it up properly for you. It will go the distance, you will have alot more money left in your wallet and just as much enjoyment in your hands.

Good luck!

candycoke09 · **Joined:** Sun Dec 19, 2010 9:14 pm **Posts:** 153

DIN0 wrote:

I don't know any guitar shops in Rome, let along any good ones but I looked on the Fender dealer network for you and the only 'official' store in the whole of Italy is in Bologna!

Anyway, regarding the Deluxe -

Dude, if you play it and it's 'the one', then buy it! Sounds to me like you're loving playing the guitar and you'll save money in the long run by just buying a great guitar from the start.
A friend of mine bought a Les Paul Custom for his first guitar and he had that thing for years; he only changed it because he wanted a white one! My first guitar was a Hohner Les Paul copy and I had to go through 3 other guitars before I finally got a real one. He saved money and had all that extra time playing a really great guitar.

Between you and me, I actually prefer the American Standard Stratocaster to the Deluxe - just feels and sounds more Stratty to me. Try a bunch of them, price be damned, and pick something you really like. And make sure it's in your favourite colour! You'll never live with it otherwise!
One of the best Strats I've had (to date) was a USA STD in Candy Cola. It was a really great guitar but I could never get on with that colour. It was classy and loads of people commented how nice it looked but.... always reminded me of the kind of colour an old man would buy a Jaguar (car) or Mercedes in; it's a sort of metallic burgundy.
What I'm saying is that when it comes to guitars absolutely let your heart rule your head... and your wallet!

That same old man would've bought a white, black, or sunburst Strat. Nobody will complement it, because it's going to look like every other white, black, or sunburst guitar.

bugo · **Posted:** Sat Oct 29, 2011 1:14 am

I've bought 2 Mexican HSS Strats in the last month and a half: a white 2006 and a blue 2009. I highly recommend them. I gave $350 for the white one and $300 for the blue one, which doesn't sound like a great deal until you realize these guitars are in PERFECT condition. I pretty much bought brand new guitars at a much lower price. So I recommend a used Mexican Fender. You might have to look around a bit, so be patient and be prepared to wait a few months for your guitar. You could pick up a Strat and a Tele for the price of a new USA Fender.

Midniterambler · **Joined:** Tue Mar 22, 2011 2:07 pm **Posts:** 267

I think we basically have two camps here as far as the advice giving on this particular subject........we've got the "buy the best quality instrument you can afford" camp and the "buy a Squier or MIM Fender" camp. I'm in the latter. The OP (and this is no knock or judgement against him) doesn't have much expirience with electric guitars. He could spend $1600 on an American Deluxe and after 6 months might find that he doesn't get the enjoyment out of it that he gets out of his CD-60. Maybe it turns out that electric guitar, or maybe just the Stratocaster, isn't for him. I would say he's much better off going with a Squier Classic Vibe or a MIM Fender Standard. At his level, which he says is basically an intermediate beginner with little expirience with electric guitars, a Squier or MIM Fender is plenty. I wouldn't advise spending over $500 for a first electric guitar.

To me, the most important thing in learning to play. This goes for any begginer. You work on your craft, then you get better gear. If the OP buys a Squier or MIM Fender, and it turns out that playing electric guitar is for him, then he'll get his money's worth out of the instrument.

cechansler · **Joined:** Sun May 16, 2010 4:01 pm **Posts:** 393

my first electric was a used godin lg for 300 bucks. not to knock fender but i would recommend a godin over a mexican fender. The quality on the godins are amazing and used you can get them at the same price as a used MIM fender. Godins are canadian and american.

You could get a standard american strat. Used their around 750 bucks.

Best bet though is to get the guitar you want their are people who are going to tell you to get the most expensive guitar in the world and some will tell you to get the cheapest but your the one thats going to play it everyday. The last thing you want is to get a guitar that you settled for.

Good Luck and stay safe

Kong · **Posted:** Sun Oct 30, 2011 11:55 pm

Welcome and thank you for your service first and foremost. A lot of very good advice given here so far. I am surprised though that there has been no mention of the importance of a quality amp when going electric. I'm sure a lot here would agree that a low end guitar played through a great amp will usually sound better than a great guitar played through a crappy amp. The deluxe strat is very nice but a good American standard or MIM model will leave some room for a nice amp purchase. Play some guitars plugged in when you get that chance.

Midniterambler · **Joined:** Tue Mar 22, 2011 2:07 pm **Posts:** 267

Kong wrote:

Welcome and thank you for your service first and foremost. A lot of very good advice given here so far. I am surprised though that there has been no mention of the importance of a quality amp when going electric. I'm sure a lot here would agree that a low end guitar played through a great amp will usually sound better than a great guitar played through a crappy amp. The deluxe strat is very nice but a good American standard or MIM model will leave some room for a nice amp purchase. Play some guitars plugged in when you get that chance.

Good point Kong. I meant to mention a quality amp in my post. I knew a guy who bought a standard MIM HSS Strat and went to the trouble of having Duncan pickups installed and yet he used a crappy solid state amp. Never made much sense to me. He could have kept the stock pickups and bought a better amp and sounded much better.

For years I played low end Fenders and Epiphones through one of two 30 watt Peavey amps, a Delta Blues and a Classic 30. I don't think I gave over $500 for either of those amps when I bought them (the Delta Blues was used) but I probably never gave over $500 for any of the guitars that I played through them either. Back then a new MIM standard Strat was only $399. I don't have either of those amps anymore but I certainly got my money's worth out of them. I played that setup for years, and I eventually got to the point where I felt I was accomplished enough as a player to start upgrading my gear. I got rid of some of my MIM Fender stuff in favor of MIA guitars. I upgraded the electronics in the ones that I decided to keep. For me personally, my musicianship had to progress to a certain level in order for me to start making the extra effort and spending the extra money on better gear. I had to feel like my playing was worth it.

But again, the OP should probably buy what HE WANTS. Consider the different opinions, and then make your own decision. Just be sure to get a decent amp.

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