#Getting back into artcore
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
silentphobia · 1 year ago
Text
0 notes
oozebrain · 8 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
I made a playlist for Art to kill dance to
11 notes · View notes
lapisartemia · 10 months ago
Text
i should get back into violin specifically to make artcore that sounds ok lol
7 notes · View notes
platonic-f-o-things · 2 years ago
Note
Imma gush about my friend Mark!! He’s like an older brother to me!! He's really caring and selfless and strong! We’ve both been through a lot, but we’re always there to support each other! He gives the bestest big ol bear hugs :D
We hang out at each other’s houses all the time! We have pretty different music tastes (Mark’s into 80s indie rock, while I prefer stuff like artcore and future bass), so it’s fun to show each other songs the other hasn’t heard before! We’re both good at baking and writing, and we love to just curl up and relax after a long day. He’s very cozy ouo
It was his birthday last month, and his sister Sarah and his uncle Dave and I all worked together to set things up and get gifts! And Mark really liked it!! I made the cake ouo
Also!!!! An official Mark plush got released recently, and I ordered one and it’ll be shipped sometime around my birthday :D
Howdy howdy Anon!
Your friend Mark sounds SO FUN :D!! I am so so glad you've been able to rely on each other during hard times in y'all's pasts :'>! I imagine having a friend like Mark would be so relieving, especially when you need a big hug and a reliable shoulder to lean on and I know Mark appreciates you and how you're always there to support him too!
I love that y'all have such different tastes in music! I can imagine it's super fun to just hang around and swap songs, maybe put one on to see how the other feels about it in real time :>!! Is Mark more into the rhythm of the song or the lyrics? What about you?
Baking is so so fun!! Are either of you messy bakers? Do you bake together often, or bake things for each other :D? I imagine that Mark gets super happy when you surprise him with something you've made :>!!!
When it comes to writing, do you two like to swap story ideas, or share your writing for feedback? Do you ever gift each other writings to enjoy? Oooooo have y'all thought of writing a story together :>? That all sounds so fun!!!
I hope he had a lovely birthday, which I'm sure he did because he had all his important people with him! Baking a cake for a friend's birthday is so precious to me ;--; ✨️💚!!! It's so exciting that the plush will be coming around your own birthday!!! Yeehaw!! I hope you get it around your birthday, and that you can take joy in having the plush around!! I also hope you and Mark and whomever else you invite for your birthday have a fantastic time, happy birthday 🎂!!!!!!!
Know you're invited to come back anytime to answer the questions I asked whenever or if ever you'd like!!
2 notes · View notes
friend-of-a-cat · 1 year ago
Text
— Monthly Music Recs - June 2024 —
youtube
Zoetrope by Nanashi Hachiya
Back at it again with the monthly music recs! There's a lot of different stuff in this one.
I've been listening to Zoetrope by Nanashi Hachiya on repeat. It's so, so, so good. Also, it's about breaking free from a cycle of abuse, and I think it's a pretty powerful song. I can definitely relate to it. Also the MV is cool as hell. This cover is also really good!
The entire SEEK your SOUND album by 2 Mello and Million Sunday has also been on repeat, especially Estate Sale. It just has a really nice beat, and the rap has a very good flow. Just very chill and stuff. 2 Mello is one of my faves - his music is always god-tier.
EENIE MEENIE by Chungha (feat. Hongjoong) is a massive banger, and I'm obsessed with both it and the music video (the stylist also did a fantastic job - there are so many cool and interesting fits). The best thing about the song is the bassline, however. I'm a sucker for a good bassline. The choreography is so fun, too.
Another life by PinkPantheress (feat. Rema) is a huge vibe. Very chill. I really like her jungle/dnb-inspired tracks. The record scratches are fun, too (I'm a huge fan of record scratches in songs lmao). A lot of people were saying the song reminded them of the Sonic game soundtracks (especially with the electric guitar at the end), and I'm inclined to agree. It's so good.
I've been listening to the Jet Set Radio/Jet Set Radio Future/Bomb Rush Cyberfunk soundtracks, as well, which are all peak. I'm a huge fan. Also the Air Gear soundtrack, which is incredible. I wish the show wasn't an ecchi anime lol (I dislike it because of this) - the premise is really cool, and very much inspired by Jet Set Radio. Also, Hideki Naganuma, the guy who did a bunch of stuff for the JSR/JSRF/Sonic Rush soundtracks (and produced two tracks for BRC) did the music for it with a couple of other composers. I could literally talk about all of these pieces of media, and just Hideki Naganuma in general (he's one of my fave producers), for hours on end lol. Anyway, some of my fave tracks from Air Gear include Skygrinder, Snapped, and Busy? Or Dizzy?; my faves from JSR/JSRF include The Concept of Love, I Love Love You, Let Mom Sleep, and Everybody Jump Around; and my faves from BRC include JACK DA FUNK, GET ENUF, watchyaback!, and Funk Express.
On a completely different note, I definitely recommend listening to Reverie for Another Sphere by Taishi (or any track by Taishi, honestly), because it's an entire experience in of itself. The whole thing. It gets better and better as it goes on. His music is incredible - I discovered him about five years ago, and got really into Artcore music because of it.
I'm also tacking on the Scorccio edit of Summerlove by S-Connection (feat. Anabelle), because it's so catchy and I've been listening to it a hell of a lot this month.
Again, quite a mixed bag, but I hope you enjoy!
0 notes
sky-blue-memories · 3 years ago
Text
Hey what are you doing go listen to underveil its a compilation album of undertale ost remixes by a bunch of doujin/rhythm game artists and it kicks ass
1 note · View note
chronostatic-ghost · 3 years ago
Text
Artcore is genuinely so good wtf
1 note · View note
taelepathic · 6 years ago
Text
list 10 songs you’re obsessed with, the tag 10 friends to do them same!
tagged by: @fairyjhs thank you bub 🌼
The entire BTS album. Ofc 🌷
Ariana Grande - 7 Rings
Steve Aoki & Monsta X - Play it Cool
Astrix - Artcore
Little Mix - Think about Us
Chris Brown - Back to Love
Stray Kids - Miroh
Billie Eilish - Bad Guy
Post Malone - wow
((G)i-Dle) - Senorita
Tagging: @melonkooky @kayakookie @taeguk @pikachulein @njssi @etherealmins @hopetual @bxngtxn-icons @bwiae @mini-pretzel
× if you don't want to get tag in this, pls let me know 🍃
9 notes · View notes
winkong · 3 years ago
Text
I need to stop reading all the Instagram post crap.
Maybe I should unfollow, idk.
But it’s just so jarring and hurtful to see she’s butchering worship lyrics in her secret love affair posts
ADDED:
But without having my stuff back, it almost feels like my guitar is being kept hostage. I don’t want to unfollow and compromise the chance of me getting my artcore back
0 notes
ahsaansblog · 4 years ago
Text
What Happened to Firefly Guitars?
What Happened to Firefly Guitars? Firefly Guitars fill a market hole between the understudy or learning instrument and a head quality piece. It's the ideal choice for somebody who knows a couple of harmonies and needs to put resources into their future playing without burning through cash on a top-of-the-line instrument. At the point when you attempt to discover a Firefly guitar on the web, it can appear to be an incomprehensible undertaking. In any event, when you search claim to fame locales, closeout houses, and disconnected scenes, these instruments are just gone. On the rare event when you do see a posting available to be purchased, the guitars are gone before you click on the button to get it! For what reason is it so hard to track down a Firefly guitar available to be purchased? Chapter by chapter list What Happened to Firefly Guitars? Why Pick a Semi-Empty Body Guitar to Play? Why Pick a Firefly Guitar Today? What to Expect with the Firefly FF-338 Why Are Firefly Guitars Difficult to come by in 2021? What Does It Mean if Firefly Guitars are Sponsored by JSN? What happened to Firefly guitars to make them so great? What Happened to the Sunburst Complete on Firefly Guitars? Firefly Guitar Choices to Attempt 1. Hagstrom Tremar Viking Select Semi-Empty Body Electric Guitar 2. Ibanez Artcore AGS73FM Semi-Empty Body Electric Guitar 3. Epiphone ES-339 P90 Professional Semi-Empty Body Electric Guitar Are You Prepared to Find Firefly Guitars? What Happened to Firefly Guitars? Firefly Guitars are as yet producing instruments. This present brand's prominence, joined with its restricted assembling runs, causes prompt sellouts at whatever point new things are recorded available to be purchased. It isn't uncommon for a store's new inventory to be gone inside six hours. Firefly is one of only a handful of exceptional autonomous guitar creators that actually produce excellent instruments. Despite the fact that they efficiently manufacture them in China, the amounts are kept low to guarantee the quality principles surpass a player's assumptions. Two online business stages sell new Firefly guitars only: Amazon and Guitar Nurseries. You can observe one to be available to be purchased at nearby music stores sometimes when transfers are free. Different locales where utilized Fireflies are in some cases accessible incorporate eBay, Reverb, Mercari, and Etsy. The Santa Clause Cruz Guitar Organization makes a Firefly guitar series, which adds more disarray in with the general mish-mash. Their Fireflies are not equivalent to the Firefly FF-338. Since the organization doesn't have their very own reference site to reference, how might you get your hands on one of these reasonable guitars? Why Pick a Semi-Empty Body Guitar to Play? One of the advantages you get with a Firefly guitar is its empty body plan. This makes a lightweight instrument that moves with you while playing, making dynamic rhythms without compromising each note's quality. The sounds you get from an empty body guitar can be very special. You can blend easily with the remainder of the band while pushing the tune or nailing a performance. In case you're going back and forth about utilizing this guitar development style, here are a portion of the advantages and disadvantages to anticipate when making this venture. Rundown of the Masters of Semi-Empty Body Guitars List of the Cons of Semi-Empty Body Guitars – A semi-empty body guitar is a lot lighter, making it simpler to oversee for practically all players. – It's a plan that is reasonable for kids to figure out how to play. – You'll have an agreeable encounter during expanded gigs or practice meetings with this plan. – The appearance of a semi-empty body guitar is conventional, exemplary, and clean. – Every guitar offers an alternate way to deal with maintain and tone to give exceptional playing encounters. – You have better command over the input and distortion when utilizing this plan. – The expense of most semi-empty body guitars is less expensive than what you'd pay for other designs. –Semi-empty body guitars don't generally offer a full solid, particularly if the vibration along the surface becomes extraordinary. – Each note's tone can now and again solid dainty or dark, particularly when you're not sending the yield through a preamp. – Numerous semi-empty body guitars (not Fireflies) have a woody sound to them that feels practically like a piano while fingerpicking. – Your situating on the stage or while rehearsing is basic since you'll get criticism before your amp. – The support on a semi-empty body isn't generally what you'd prefer to accomplish. Firefly FF338 Semi Hollowbody Guitar Firefly FF338 Semi Hollowbody Guitar Get it on Amazon Why Pick a Firefly Guitar Today? In the event that you select the Firefly FF-338, what you're buying resembles an immediate duplicate of a Gibson ES-335. Gibson's guitar is the cornerstone of their ES arrangement. It originally appeared on the music scene in 1958, setting a standard that different instruments battle to reach. Everything about the Gibson ES-335 says that it's made for the significant player, the excited amateur, and everybody in the middle. The champion component is the Pearloid spot trim with a rosewood fingerboard. The dim, regular tones work with cherry, sunburst, or dark completion to make a guitar that requests consideration. At the point when you play various melodic styles, Gibson conveys an adaptable outcome that offers exact explanation and tuning dependability. You'll likewise see the value in the aluminum ABR-1 extension on the Gibson ES-335. Here is the essential contrast. Assuming you need to play the immortal custom of a Gibson guitar, you'll pay about $3,000 for that honor. Except if you play left-gave, this guitar is practically unavailable as frequently as the Firefly FF-338. On the off chance that you don't have $3k to spend, the Firefly conveys a comparative tone and playing style for under $200. That is the reason it is so famous and elusive! What to Expect with the Firefly FF-338 At the point when you're buying the Firefly FF-338 to play, it is empowering to see a great deal of promotion coming from experienced players. Albeit the organization stretched out beyond the bend as far as generally speaking advertising, you don't continue seeing individuals talk about something that they disdain. Saying this doesn't imply that an accomplished player will not track down some expected issue with this guitar. You're not accepting a $3,000 model, all things considered! In case you're thinking about what happened to Firefly guitars, a few players chose to return or exchange their instruments on the grounds that the support did not merit the issue. The Chinese factories where the Firefly FF-338 is made have bad quality tuning machines. The stock strings don't hold their note by any stretch of the imagination, which implies a prompt overhaul is important when your guitar shows up. Albeit Firefly supplanted the nut on their guitars since it was dangerous, a few issues actually exist to where you need to grind it down or supplant it. The extension will in general be a little buzzy, particularly when you don't do anything with the nut. At the point when you utilize the tuners, they will in general feel somewhat soft or free. That makes an issue for strings that will not secure down a note in the tune. Despite the fact that you'll discover a few grumblings about the nut on the Firefly FF-338, the producer overhauled from plastic to bone without changing the value point. It's those subtleties that cause individuals to return to this plan. Why Are Firefly Guitars Difficult to come by in 2021? Fireflies are inherent Chinese factories. In spite of the fact that you'll get some analysis about seeking after an imported instrument, actually most passage level and mid-range brands produce guitars abroad. Indeed, even a couple of today's top brands are sourcing materials from China to collect their instruments in North America or Europe! The whole cycle occurs in China for the Firefly FF-338, which is the reason it frequently retails for about $139. With the issues that the 2020 circumstance caused for all stockpile chains, it has been more difficult than any time in recent memory to get inventory from China. Everything was upset from toilet paper to singed chicken. With individuals stuck at home acquiring improved joblessness or getting a $1,200 upgrade check, a definitive reasonableness of a Jsn Firefly Guitar made sense. Whatever inventory was left of Firefly FF-338 disappeared very quickly. It wasn't until the pre-fall of 2020 when a considerable lot of the factories returned to begin making instruments once more. Are you playing a knockoff when you snatch a jsn firefly guitar? Sure – but on the other hand it's the ideal venture as a learning instrument or to play with style. What Does It Mean if Firefly Guitars are Supported by JSN? Despite the fact that there is anything but an authority reply about the "Sponsored by JSN" remark found on the Firefly FF-338 and their different models, you can follow the assembling affix back to a particular organization. Who Makes Firefly Guitars The Jeson Guitar Factory creates present day instruments to build up one of the most outstanding mass-showcased items you can purchase at a reasonable cost. Progressing from "Jeson" to "JSN" for the current player removes the potential shame some may look with a Chinese instrument. What happened to Firefly guitars to make them so great? The Jeson Guitar Factory acquired specialists from South Korea, Japan, and the US to foster the instrument producing measures. Rather than keeping up with unlimited authority over the quality administration, it gets reevaluated and normalized to other industry experts. That is the means by which the instruments are made to such demanding measurements and principles. They have sorted out some way to keep up with craftsmanship while further developing creation speeds. You May Likewise Like: Would headphones be able to Scratch Your Head? What Happened to the Sunburst Complete on Firefly Guitars? Where Are Firefly Guitars Made At the point when you see the inquiries posed by likely customers to Firefly delegates, two or three them will in general get posted more than others. What happened to your gold guitars? Where are the sunburst guitars? In case you're adequately fortunate to get a Firefly FF-338, the real tone probably won't make any difference as much as the way that you got an incredible g
0 notes
go-redgirl · 6 years ago
Text
Warren tells Native Americans: 'I have made mistakes' The Hill ^ | 08/19/19 | Julia Manchester - OPINION:  Sure, These Democrats Will Tell You Anything To Get Your Votes.  Why Didn’t She Admit Her Mistakes Before She Decided To Run for The Presidency? Native Americans Should Tell Her, Too Late Ms. White Lady!  You Blew It Big Time.  No Vote From Native Americans Her? ___________________________
INDIVIDUALS/COMMENTS/POSTS:
To: yesthatjallen And she continues to make ‘mistakes’. She has lied about being an Indian, and she lied just a few days ago, calling an innocent cop a murderer. Never trust a presidential candidate who makes excuses for lying while continuing to lie.
21 posted on 8/19/2019, 2:43:11 PM by norwaypinesavage (Calm down and enjoy the ride, great things are happening for our country) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: yesthatjallen No problem, just drink a bottle of fire water and stream live - problem solved.
22 posted on 8/19/2019, 2:43:36 PM by 1Old Pro --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: aMorePerfectUnion LOL!
23 posted on 8/19/2019, 2:43:55 PM by yesthatjallen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: yesthatjallen She should simply say, “I forgot I was not really and indian.”
In the immortal words of Steve Martin: “Two simple words. Two simple words in the English language: ‘I forgot!’ How many times do we let ourselves get into terrible situations because we don’t say ‘I forgot’? Let’s say you’re on trial for armed robbery. You say to the judge, ‘I forgot armed robbery was illegal.’”
https://youtu.be/zXmQW_aqBks
24 posted on 8/19/2019, 2:44:26 PM by Bubba_Leroy (The Obamanation has ended!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: yesthatjallen Me fukum up big time
25 posted on 8/19/2019, 2:44:33 PM by al baby (Hi Mom Hi Dad
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: yesthatjallen Not accepted. Now, the scalp.
28 posted on 8/19/2019, 2:46:32 PM by grobdriver (BUILD KATE'S WALL!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: yesthatjallen “Hey. I screwed up. So SIOUX me.”
29 posted on 8/19/2019, 2:46:36 PM by smvoice (I WILL NOT WEAR THE RIBBON. I'm. AN ANTI DEMITE)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: yesthatjallen Umph, Fauxcahontas not smoke meat whistle for peace.
34 posted on 8/19/2019, 2:49:46 PM by gathersnomoss (Welcome to North Mexico, Gringo's it...)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: yesthatjallen Yet another tiring Faux Apology Tour.
36 posted on 8/19/2019, 2:51:33 PM by gathersnomoss (Welcome to North Mexico, Gringo's it...)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: tennmountainman
Elizabeth Warren Takes a DNA test
“Ms Warren, we have the results of your DNA test.” “How much aboriginal ancestry do I have?” “Well, there is good news and bad news.” “What’s the bad news?” “There’s no Indian blood. You are 20 percent Irish, 33 percent German, 47 percent Roma gypsy. You are hot-headed, bent on world domination, and completely untrustworthy.” “Damn. What’s the good news?” “You’re in the correct line of work.” 37 posted on 8/19/2019, 2:51:53 PM by sparklite2 (Don't mind me. I'm just a contrarian.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: yesthatjallen Aside from cheating lying and stealing?
39 posted on 8/19/2019, 2:55:02 PM by RightGeek (FUBO and the donkey you rode in on)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: yesthatjallen Claimed racial minority status on TX state bar application under penalty of perjury!
40 posted on 8/19/2019, 2:55:10 PM by northislander
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: yesthatjallen No Fake Squaw...you speak with fork-tongue!
44 posted on 8/19/2019, 3:03:15 PM by Artcore (Trump 2020!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: yesthatjallen The statement, with a dose of reality: "I am sorry for harm I have caused. I have listened and I have learned a lot, and I am grateful for the many Reservations we have had together," she added.
45 posted on 8/19/2019, 3:05:27 PM by C210N (qui) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: yesthatjallen The tribes will gladly forgive her in exchange for piles of cold, hard Federal cash.
46 posted on 8/19/2019, 3:07:17 PM by Buckeye McFrog (Patrick Henry would have been an anti-vaxxer.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To: yesthatjallen Had Liawatha not made that “mistake” she'd still be at the University of North Central Colorado teaching Ambulance Chasing 101. 47 posted on 8/19/2019, 3:10:32 PM by Gay State Conservative (A joke: Brennan,Comey and Lynch walk into a Barr...) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: yesthatjallen Warren tells Native Americans: 'I have made mistakes' AND AT LEAST $400,000 by claiming to be a Native American.
48 posted on 8/19/2019, 3:15:04 PM by The Sons of Liberty ('DEPLORABLE' Member of The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy & Biden Dreg and DAMN Proud of it!.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To: yesthatjallen “Mistakes were made” defense. Next...”What difference does it make?” Then...”Russia Russia Russia”
49 posted on 8/19/2019, 3:21:40 PM by Zathras ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: relictele I forgot that one. The first line of Clinton Defense. “Old News”
50 posted on 8/19/2019, 3:22:52 PM by Zathras ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: yesthatjallen and with that move America can put the pin back in the grenade. She is toast now. 51 posted on 8/19/2019, 3:41:02 PM by Mouton (The media is the enemy of the people.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To: yesthatjallen “Like anyone who’s been honest with themselves ...”
That takes 90% of the “apology” out of her apology.
Furthermore, her problem is honesty with the American people, not herself.
52 posted on 8/19/2019, 3:42:44 PM by cymbeline ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To: All So, does this mean no new edition of Pow Wow Chow?
53 posted on 8/19/2019, 3:42:45 PM by FirstFlaBn
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: yesthatjallen YEP. Liz Warren made a few mistakes. = Her first mistake was LYING about being “part Indian”, when she KNEW that she was a FRAUD.
She has NO N-A blood whatever. - Not even a single drop according to the DNA test done by a certified lab & paid for by the MOHAWK NATION.
“LYING LIZ” WARREN & (the fired for LYING former Colorado State professor) WARD CHURCHILL are about the 2 “whitest people” in the USA. = BOTH are of solely English-German ancestry.
57 posted on 8/19/2019, 4:03:12 PM by TMN78247 ("VICTORY or DEATH", William Barrett Travis, LtCol, comdt., Fortress of the Alamo, Bejar, 1836)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: caww FYI, we REAL Amer-Indians (I’m only a “part-blood” & direct descendant of the REAL Pocahontas, the youngest daughter of DEEP STREAM & LITTLE FAWN, with the DNA test, Church of England records & tribal roll card to prove it.) will NEVER forgive her for her KNOWING LIES and taking one of the FEW “reserved faculty positions” for A-I scholars, no matter what apology that she offers to us.
Fyi, we A-is are “slow to forgive” a LIAR & NEVER forget what the LIAR is.
Yours, TMN78247
63 posted on 8/19/2019, 4:26:44 PM by TMN78247 ("VICTORY or DEATH", William Barrett Travis, LtCol, comdt., Fortress of the Alamo, Bejar, 1836) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: yesthatjallen I think she meant, “I am a mistake.“
64 posted on 8/19/2019, 4:29:53 PM by DennisR (Look around - God gives numerous, indisputable clues that He does, indeed, exist.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To: TMN78247 Warren got caught lying, using and abusing the American Indians rightful heritage in the worst way possible.....she’s not sorry she’s just upset she got caught....or she’d still be pushing her deception and lies.
65 posted on 8/19/2019, 4:34:41 PM by caww ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: caww I cannot say what she is saying as of today but as little as 2 weeks ago she once more LIED about being “Part Indian” at a political gathering at the Iowa State Fair.
I often refer to her as, “Speaks with forked tongue”, as she would very much like to have a “colorful” A-I name.
Fwiw, my Navaho friends her in TX routinely refer to her as a “COYOTE” & that is certainly NO compliment.
Yours, TMN78247
66 posted on 8/19/2019, 4:46:11 PM by TMN78247 ("VICTORY or DEATH", William Barrett Travis, LtCol, comdt., Fortress of the Alamo, Bejar, 1836) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: yesthatjallen Elizabeth Warren, since you are so honest with yourself, how about being honest with us:
Had you not used a false claim to obtain minority preferences to advance your career, would you be in a position to be a Senator or run for President now?
How can you ask minorities to vote for you, knowing you ruthlessly stole their job opportunities, and threw them to the back of the bus?
67 posted on 8/19/2019, 5:16:59 PM by Chewbarkah -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 notes
tofu-beifong · 8 years ago
Text
I’ve been through a lot of music phases and I have been getting a lot of music suggestions so I would like to share some of my music taste with you all as it has been everywhere, it’ll be under the cut if you guys would like to read @gay-pufferfish​
feel free to scroll past this haha
In 8th grade (during my Hell Emo Phase) it was weird phase in my life I listened to Western pop & pop rock and then more edgy Alternative music I listened to stuff like Aly & AJ Random old school pop (Kesha, and you know all those old songs? like Dynamite by Taio Cruz and Rocketeer by Far East Movement, Taylor Swift) Evanescence
Rise Against All American Rejects 30 Seconds to Mars Three Days Grace some Fall Out Boy
And then later idk how I got there but I started listening to European power metal and symphonic metal like Kamelot Epica Dark Moor Nightwish Dragonforce Scar Symmetry (a Swedish melodic death metal band) Solution .45 and I was a pretentious middle school kid and I thought I had the best music taste ever
Then in high school in the second half of my first year, like 5-6 years ago I started listening to Kpop and oh boy I got so obsessed, I was a huge fan of groups like BigBang (I really liked G-Dragon haha) Super Junior EXO (when they debuted) TVXQ SHINee
My Kpop phase probably lasted like 5 months and then I got into Japanese rock and Visual Kei & metal (heavy makeup, wild fashion and hair, goth-like), so I got into bands like Diaura The GazettE BORN Alice Nine Girugamesh Dir En Grey Sadie Nightmare Plastic Tree Deluhi Ganglion
And this is where I started watching anime, 4 years ago i think? I was actually a huge fan of Japanese rock before I got into anime haha
After that it’s been Japanese music since then, I got more into mellower and indie Japanese pop rock where they look normal compared to Visual Kei and I’d say this matches most with what I listen to now (most of these bands I probably discovered through anime openings haha), bands like SPYAIR UVERworld flumpool cinema staff ONE OK ROCK BaseBallBear Galileo Galilei Ling Toshite Sigure (band of artist who did Tokyo Ghoul openings) Hello Sleepwalkers
At the beginning of this year I got into artcore music/vocaloid song covers by different Japanese artists, and some electronical & techno music, I still listen to singers like Amatsuki Mafumafu Rib Itou Kashitarou 96neko un:c
I’ve also been a little into Little Glee Monster recently, the artist who did BNHA 2nd ending~
My favorite bands right now are SPYAIR, UVERworld and Galileo Galilei, also bands like Penguin Research and The Oral Cigarettes and I’m trying to listen to more ONE OK ROCK songs, tbh my music library never stops growing, in fact there are probably a ton of unnamed artists I listened to
I always want to listen to more music but I have a bad habit of just reverting back to my favorite Japanese artists
9 notes · View notes
heavyasafeather · 8 years ago
Text
2016
1. What did you do in 2016 that you’d never done before? Go the gym.
2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Well, as a joke, my resolution was to “stay fat and unhealthy”--and even though I signed up for a gym membership, I still feel fat and unhealthy.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? I don’t think so.
4. Did anyone close to you die? No.
5. What countries did you visit? None.
6. What would you like to have in 2017 that you lacked in 2016? More orchids... that are healthy.
7. What date from 2016 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? January 10, the day David Bowie died--I wasn’t like a super-mega die-hard Bowie fan, but for some reason, the next day, I felt a little empty.  I literally listened to his music all day at work. My birthday--it was just disappointing, overall.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Probably trying to get in shape. I think I also, in a way, got back into music.
9. What was your biggest failure? Thinking that some people had changed.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Pretty sure I had the flu earlier this year.
11. What was the best thing you bought? A gym membership. My Ibanez artcore (that I named Domhnall!)
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? :3
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? Coworkers, and grumpy patients.
14. Where did most of your money go? Bills.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? My orchid looking like it was growing a root.
16. What song will always remind you of 2016? French kicks, “All Our Weekends” The Clientele, “Reflections After Jane” David Bowie, “Blackstar” Andrew Bird, “Saints Preservus”
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. happier or sadder? Sadder. ii. thinner or fatter? Hard to tell, probably fatter. iii. richer or poorer? I “feel” poorer. 18. What do you wish you’d done more of?  Hanging out with people/family. 19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Feeling like I have no friends, or like my mom hates me.  And over stressing.
20. How did you spend Christmas? I hung out with Adam because my mom ditched me and my dad was at work, and we went to my grandma’s for dinner before watching Sing with my cousins.
21. Did you fall in love in 2016? With somebody new?  No.
23. How many one-night stands? None.
24. What was your favourite TV program? Girls, Awkward.  Good Morning Call!
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? If it counts, I only used to “dislike” certain coworkers.
26. What was the best book you read? --
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? I have no clue.
28. What did you want and get? Andrew Bird’s latest album. My guitar--I’m not one to buy shit on a whim, especially something as expensive as that, but I had to get it as soon as I saw it.
29. What did you want and not get? To go to Andrew Bird’s concert in San Diego. Ramen, on my birthday.
30. What was your favourite film of this year? That I saw in theatres, probably Beyond. Still watching About Time almost every other week for Domhnall.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I went to work.  I went home, cried, and then ate cake by myself.  I turned 25.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably satisfying? To not feel so alone and forgotten. And to see growth in my orchids.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2016? Scrubs.
34. What kept you sane? Trying to nurse my orchid(s).
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Domhnall Gleeson.
36. What political issue stirred you the most? I don’t think I’m allowed to complain about anything, as I am not a registered voter...
37. Who did you miss? @adrianagustin, @ewwwjermss, @joshunderumbrellas
38. Who was the best new person you met? Mostly, patients who were really charming and had really cool stories (mostly old people) or people who would call me nicknames like, “Rockstar,” “Panda,” or “Superstar Amanda.”  It’s fun.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2016: My mom hates me, and I should probably accept it.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. When you wake up, night's falling, someone is by your side. Pull it together, darling, you're not alone.  But when you break up, sky's falling, no one is on your side.  Spoon dirty laundry, darling you're all alone.  And when you wake up, another sunrise.  Another break up, this ship is capsized.
1 note · View note
alanjguitar · 5 years ago
Text
Best Semi Hollow Body Guitars Under $1000
In the under $1000 category, you really start to hit the sweet spot of the best semi hollow body guitars.
These are professional grade semi hollows with the features you need to sound your best from the studio to the stage and everywhere in between.
Some of my favorite instruments of all time are on this list, and I’m excited to show you the best semi hollow body electric guitars for under $1000. If you’re looking for something a little less expensive, check out our list of the best semi hollow guitars for the money.
Our Recommendation
Growing up, one of my favorite bands was Shinedown, and it was a real pleasure to check out the PRS guitar co-designed by their guitarist Zach Myers.
The PRS SE Zach Myers is a semi hollow electric more closely related to solid body models in all levels of performance. Its versatility, fat tone, and deluxe playability earn it the number one spot in this review.
By no means a loser, the last place of this article goes to the Epiphone Wildkat Royale. Borrowing the gold and white good looks of the high end Gretsch models, this Epiphone delivers classic semi hollow sound, though you’ll need to upgrade its pickups to take it to the level of true greatness.
The 5 Best Semi Hollow Body Guitars Under $1000 – Overview
#5 Epiphone Wildkat Royale
youtube
Specs
Top – Maple
Body – Mahogany
Neck – Maple
Fingerboard – Okoume
Electronics – Dual P-90R Dogear Classic single coils
Pros
Great looks at a good price
Bigsby vibrato tailpiece for funky tone modulation
Dependable Grover 18:1 tuning machines
Cons
Single coil pickups that produce a lot of feedback
Sub-par fingerboard material
Epiphone is better known for their low price beginner instruments, but they’ve got a nice lineup of more expensive axes as well, such as this Epiphone Wildkat model.
Construction
The Wildkat is a sturdily built electric, with none of the lightweight flimsy feeling present in the cheaper Epiphone offerings.
Its made with high quality mahogany and maple for the body, with a thick maple neck set in a glued joint that keeps your rig solid no matter how hard you play.
My one qualm with their design choice is opting for an okoume fingerboard rather than a more traditional tonewood, but to keep their prices competitive they had to cut corners somewhere.
Sound
With a mahogany body reverberating warm, woody tones and a maple top that reins it in with a tight crisp, the voice of the Wildkat is centered and snappy.
The Wildkat’s major drawback are its single coil pickups. Semi hollow electrics are best suited with double coil electronics to help punch up the tone and cut down on feedback, and this was a poor choice on Epiphone’s part in my opinion.
Nevertheless, the P-90s it’s equipped with are good as far as single-coils go, and send forth a bright, jazzy song that works well in a lot of applications.
Playability
In all ways, the Epiphone Wildkat is fun and nice to play. Despite its okoume fingerboard, you can still feel like your getting your money’s worth the moment you pick it up.
It uses the SlimTaper D neck profile, giving you enough back-of-the-neck room for strong chord grip while keeping things slim enough to let your fingers fly.
#4 Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93ME
youtube
Specs
Top – Macassar ebony
Body – Macassar ebony
Neck – Nyatoh/Maple
Fingerboard – Ebony
Electronics – Dual Super 58 humbuckers
Pros
Beautiful natural ebony finish
Great sustain, fantastic lead guitar
Versatile Super 58 pickups for a wide range of tones
Cons
Super bright, crisp tone lacks in the bass end
Construction
I love Ibanez’s Artcore series; not only are they solid performers, but they’re downright beautiful as well.
The Ibanez Artcore Expressionist AM93ME is the first guitar I’ve ever seen with an all-ebony body, making it one of the most unusual guitars I’ve had the chance to check out.
Ebony is a very dense wood, and you can feel the heft the moment you pick this puppy up. It’s heavy duty — not the kind of guitar you want to try swinging around your neck.
It’s got attractive gold hardware with Ibanez dependability and an adjustable ART-1 Bridge with a Quik Change III Tailpiece built to keep you in tune through your sessions.
Sound
While the natural ebony finish might look amazing, it leaves a bit to be desired in terms of tone.
The AM93ME doesn’t sound bad, but it is a bit flat through your standard amp. A tube amp with the bottom end opened up will help you to get the bass boost this guitar needs, but otherwise you’re stuck in the land of high end snap and sparkle.
Its Super 58 pickups do a good job of projection though, and you can open the tone knobs to full throttle to fill out your mid range enough for a tone that’s swell for blues and rockabilly. Keep it clean, and you’ve got a nice spanky jazz guitar on your hands.
Playability
If Ibanez is best known for anything, it’s their fast playing necks.
While the Expressionist AM93ME doesn’t have anything like the Wizard profiles you can find on solid body Ibanezes, the AM Expressionist neck shape is still a speedy design.
The ebony fingerboard is crisp and springy, with natural oils that keep your fingers easily flying over the frets.
#3 Guild Starfire II ST
youtube
Specs
Top – Mahogany
Body – Mahogany
Neck – Mahogany
Fingerboard – Ebony
Electronics – Dual Guild LB-1 Nickel humbuckers
Pros
Soft U-shaped neck for vintage playing feel
All-mahogany build delivers rich overtones
Ebony fretboard offers sharp attack and quick response
Cons
No main center-block increases chances of feedback
Construction
Guild is a child-company of Cordoba, famed for the quality handcraftsmanship of each of their models. The Starfire II is a handmade vintage-style semi hollow dating back to the 1960s, with an all-mahogany body in a single-cutaway design.
The woods and hardware of this guitar are top tier, each piece assembled with great attention to detail.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, it lacks a pickguard, making its natural finish susceptible to scratches from overzealous strumming.
Sound
With all but the ebony fingerboard made of mahogany, you can expect tons of tonal complexity from the Starfire II, and an all-around mid-range heavy, generally creamy tone. Its highs don’t squawk and its lows aren’t feeble, staying pretty well balanced in every range.
Its got great Guild humbuckers, unusually sized a bit smaller than the standard double coil but larger than a mini. They sing out with ringing cleans and pack the grit you want for when its time to get dirty. Read more about these pickups and their unique design here.
Due to the lack of the solid middle block that is typical of semi hollow body guitars, the Starfire II may give you some feedback issues at high volumes, but this is tamed a bit by the design of the nickel-plated pickups.
Playability
The Starfire II is meant to both sound and play like a vintage model. With its “Soft U” shaped neck profile and medium sized frets, it accomplishes this feel quite well. A single cutaway gives you good access to the highest frets, and the ebony fretboard responds with a snappy comeback to any playing style.
#2 Hagstrom Tremar Viking Deluxe
youtube
Specs
Top – Maple
Body – Maple
Neck – Maple
Fingerboard – “Resinator”
Electronics – Dual Hagstrom HJ-50 humbuckers
Pros
Tremar vibrato system with increased tuning stability
Powerful, crunchy pickups
Sparkling clean tones in every register
Cons
All-maple build sounds twangy and treble-heavy
Synthetic fingerboard can turn off guitar purists
Construction
Hagstrom’s Tremar Viking Deluxe is one sleek-looking axe, truly an instrument that calls to mind Vikings of old. This isn’t the first time their guitars have landed in our top choices for semi hollows; another Hagstrom model nearly nabbed the number one spot in this review.
It’s an all-maple build, ply on top, back and sides, and solid hard maple for the neck, and feels robust in my hands. It’s quite heavy, but this heaviness makes it seem solid and well-constructed.
Outfitted with a Tremar vibrato system paired with a Tune-o-Matic bridge, a Hagstrom-designed set neck, and a synthetic bridge engineered for durability, this is a semi hollow worthy of hours-long battle.
Sound
The Tremar Viking Deluxe is a great guitar for classic rock and blues, with a bright twang attributable to its all-maple build. The Resinator fingerboard doesn’t have a huge influence on its tone aside from adding to the already abundant sparkle.
Its pickups are Hagstrom HJ-50s which do a great job of eliminating feedback problems you might otherwise experience in such a treble-laden semi hollow. They provide a boost to the bass and mid ranges, filling out the tone whether distorted or clean.
Playability
Hagstrom uses a specially-designed truss rod called the H-Expander that applies tension to the neck at both the body and head ends. This added tension keeps the neck stiff and allows them to use an extra-thin profile in the neck design.
The H-Expander system also allows the action of this guitar to be set super low, so you can fly through your licks like Zoran, the Norse God of Speed.
Normally I complain a lot about synthetic materials like their Resinator fingerboard, but in the Tremar Viking Deluxe, it has a bouncy playability that seems to add quickness to the attack without being altogether detrimental to the feel.
#1 PRS SE Zach Myers
youtube
Specs
Top – Maple
Body – Mahogany
Neck – Mahogany
Fingerboard – Rosewood
Electronics – 245 “S” Treble neck humbucker + 245 “S” bridge humbucker
Pros
Chambered body design eliminates feedback problems
Mahogany + maple body provides superb semi hollow tone
Wide flat neck profile gives a feeling of rock’n’roll power
Cons
Wide neck may be difficult for short-finger players
Construction
Zach Myers of Shinedown partnered with PRS to design this signature semi hollow electric, aiming to craft a guitar capable of extreme versatility.
The result is this SE with a chambered mahogany body capped with a maple top that showcases the best aspects of semi hollows while terminating their usual impairments. You can read more about how chambered bodies affect guitar performance here.
It’s a guitar that feels as strong as it sounds, and carries the PRS markers of quality with little to no downsides.
Sound
Semi hollow guitars aren’t usually thought of as good for hard rock, but this Zach Myers model can do all that and more.
Its mahogany body transmits a depth of harmonic tone that is full of open bass and mids, while the maple top pops the treble and gives it the perfect amount of high end to elevate it from the usual muddiness of semi hollow designs.
The PRS-designed 245 humbuckers carry powerful clean notes just as well as they crush through overdriven breakdowns, and can be played to great effect anywhere in between, making this a truly adaptable axe and the hands-down best semi hollow body guitar under $1000.
Playability
Wide thin neck profiles may scare away the timid player, but the grip behind this model gives you a strong base for chords and a needle-narrow radius for lightning-quick licks.
The neck’s smooth satin finish glides like silk and feels like velvet, so as you jam along the rosewood fingerboard you’ll soon forget the extra neck width.
The Final Word
Semi hollow body guitars are great for their intended purposes, being the model instrument for blues, rock, rockabilly, outlaw country, etc. They’re almost as iconic to blues music as hollow body guitars, the best of which you can see in this review.
They might be a bit limiting, but with the right amp setup you can get a huge array of tones that fit tons of different genres.
Of all these semi hollow bodies, the PRS SE Zach Myers is by far the most versatile, opening up your playing field to pretty much any genre you desire to jam in.
At this price point, you’re in the realm of stage-ready instruments that will meet your every demand, so however you choose, you’ll be sure to be getting one of the best semi hollow body guitars around.
The post Best Semi Hollow Body Guitars Under $1000 appeared first on Beginnerguitar.
from WordPress https://beginnerguitar.pro/best-semi-hollow-body-guitars-under-1000
0 notes
christopherthomas8 · 8 years ago
Text
10 Best Electric Guitars Under $500
10 Great Electric Guitars That Can Be Had for a Song
Becoming a truly skilled guitar player takes time. However, the process can be  made a lot more fun and a lot easier if you start out with a high quality instrument.  A poorly made guitar won’t feel right, it won’t play easily, and it won’t sound good. What are the odds that you’re going to stick with it trying to learn on an instrument like that? This being the case, it behooves you to find a guitar that feels good, looks good, plays well, and sounds great. Fortunately, here you will find the 10 best electric guitars under $500. The guitars that are presented here are of such outstanding quality that they are absolutely suited for seasoned guitarists as  well. In fact, almost every one of the guitars you’ll read about here are economy priced instruments that are being used by touring musicians.
Buying a guitar can be confusing. There are hundreds and hundreds of guitars to choose from and you need to have at least some knowledge of the components of a guitar to make a good choice. This article is thus aimed at making your purchase easier by presenting you with ten guitar options that are all wonderful instruments priced below the $500 mark. Likewise, our list includes several different styles of guitars. So, whether you’re into blues, metal, jazz, rock or pop, you’re going to find a guitar here to fit your style.
The Top 10 Electric Guitars Under $500
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar
Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster ’50s Electric Guitar
Epiphone Limited Edition 1966 G-400 PRO Electric Guitar
Hagstrom Ultra Swede Flame Electric Guitar
Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster ’50s Electric Guitar
Gretsch Guitars G5445T Electromatic Double Jet w/Bigsby Electric Guitar
Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster Electric Guitar
Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plain Top Electric Guitar
Ibanez Artcore AG75 Electric Guitar
Schecter Guitar Research Omen Extreme-6 FR Electric Guitar
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar
youtube
This is a very impressive axe that comes with unique features that include superior Duncan-Designed pickups’
Body and Neck
The Jaguar body is of the offset variety whereby the upper and lower parts of the body are asymmetrical. The upper and lower parts are usually offset. This considerably alters the dynamics of the guitar causing an overall difficulty in some aspects of intonation. For some players, this is a major concern.
The tone wood on the Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar is basswood. The guitar has a short scale neck made of maple. This makes it ideal for beginners. It is also especially preferred by jazz players.
Hardware
You probably are thinking that you will get the standard fixed tail bridge or probably a synchronized tremolo. Nonetheless, on this guitar you find a vintage style trem bridge with the Tremolo sitting at the back and the bridge sitting closer to the pickups as a separate unit.
Electronics
The Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar has two single coil pickups. Interestingly, the pickups do not have a couple of knobs for tone adjustment; they have dual circuits. Rhythm and lead models are fitted on this guitar. Each has its unique set of controls. This offers impressive versatility. Additionally, there are the standard knobs for tone and volume. On the whole, this guitar gives you a wide variety of sounds to choose from.
Sound
Jaguar guitars are different in terms of sound when compared to a Strat or Telecaster. The complex circuit formation allows the players to manipulate the guitar’s tonal configurations a great deal. This means that while this is typically a guitar for surf rock and other vintage genres, it still plays excellent rock and roll. The short scale neck also means that the guitar can additionally pull off a terrific jazz sound.
Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster ’50s Electric Guitar
youtube
Among the guitars that you can get for less than $500 this guitar stands as a time-tested legend.
Body and Neck
It is almost impossible to miss the classic body of the Telecaster.  It is one of the most recognizable solid-body guitars in existence. Squier did not cut any corners when designing this model as a tribute to its name. The body is pine. There are two versions of this guitar. The Butterscotch Blonde version comes equipped with Alnico 5 pickups while the Vintage Blonde version is equipped with Alnico III pickups. Both are fabulous guitars, but the Butterscotch Blonde model seems to outsell the Vintage Blonde by a fairly substantial margin.  The neck is maple with a standard “C” shape profile. The design, craftsmanship, play-ability, and quality of these instruments is nothing short of spectacular. Read some of the hundreds of reviews on websites like Musicians Friend and listen to what owners have to say. High praise is almost unanimous.
Electronics
The ‘5os Classic Vibe Telecaster comes with a set single coil pickups. These pickups are unique to this guitar and are called Custom Vintage Tele pickups. The pickups do a terrific job of filling the huge shoes they are meant to fill. Most players are often wary that single coils will produce undesirable buzzing sounds. These coils nonetheless do a terrific job of canceling the buzz out. Only a minimal buzzing is experienced when playing the ‘50s Classic Vibe Telecaster. Besides the pickup select switch configuration, there also is a knob for tone and another for volume control.
Hardware
As has been the case with other Telecaster models, the hardware here is basically simple. The simplicity doesn’t compromise on its performance in any way whatsoever; the guitar is still as effective as you would expect. What Squier did was genius. They took a proven guitar building formula and adapted it to their own unique Ideas. The final result of this process is an ashtray bridge that is fixed and has three fully adjustable saddles. The guitar additionally comes with a cut-out for the pickup at the bridge.
The configuration is purely classic. The impressive set of die-cast tuners rests on the headstock where they do quite an effective job of retaining the guitar’s tuning. Very minimal creep and free movement occur here. This allows the player to dial in the preferred key with ease and precision. The bridge handles sustain pretty well but is limited to a certain degree by the pine body.
Sound
When it comes to these Squier guitars, their build quality is nearly as good as their more expensive American cousins. Truly, it’s hard to spend a lot more hard cash for the Fender models when these Squires deliver such great quality for so much less. Yes, it’s nice to have the Fender decal on the headstock, but put your ego aside and save some major cash. These Telecasters deliver a great range of sounds. The Butterscotch Blonde will provide you with all the twang you’ll ever need. They are a perfect guitar for rock, country, or blues.
Epiphone Limited Edition 1966 G-400 PRO Electric Guitar
youtube
This is one of the most respected solid body guitars made in China
Body and neck
The G-400 has a solid mahogany body with a double cutaway shape. There, however, exists a walnut model whose body is made of Walnut. The guitar features a natural cherry red finish which gracefully shows off the wood’s grain. The body is constructed in a three-piece design with the back and front being laminated to give an absolutely even grain pattern. The neck and headstock wings and back are glued onto the body.  The neck is mahogany and has a slim-taper profile. The fingerboard is rosewood and is also buffed to a hard sheen. The neck could feel a bit heavy, but this can be countered by balancing the guitar properly on the strap.
Electronics
The G-400 is a respected original design in rock. The Limited Edition “1966” G-400 PRO features two Alnico Classic pickups. The two are of the 4-wire humbucker variety and are regulated through push/pulls controls. There are separate controls for each pickup to adjust tone and volume. This allows for a myriad of sounds to be achieved. It also sports a large pickup guard and doesn’t have any mounting ring around its high output pickups
Hardware
This guitar is equipped with a basic stoptail and the basic Tune-o-Matic bridge. The stop tail and its LockTone bridge counterpart offer more sustain while making the whole affair of string changing quite easy. Additionally, the double cutaway body shape provides easy access to all the 22 frets on the G-400.
Sound
The G-400 offers a surprisingly good clean tone when fully humbucking. In fact, the sound does make you think that it could be a rather expensive guitar. The clean sounds are distinctively clear and could easily outperform many of this guitar’s equivalents. Most solid guitars were built for rock. The G-400 winds up its gain making it a darling in metal and hard rock. This however means that it will also sail smoothly in the waters of jazz and electric blues.
Hagstrom Ultra Swede Flame Electric Guitar
youtube
This is one of the most cherished guitar models by Hagstrom having been on the market since 1958.
Body and Neck
The Ultra Swede has been described as an answer to Les Paul guitars. It, however, comes with a basswood body and a set maple neck. In some models, you may get a splatted maple top with a distinctive black grain. On other models, you get a carved top with flamed or figured maple. The guitar is wonderfully constructed and comes with an appreciable amount of cosmetic additions including pearl/abalone fingerboard inlays, a pearl logo on the headstock as well as pearl celluloid binding on the body, neck, and headstock. The neck is often described as UltraLux because its construction is classically thinner hence making it easier and faster to play than most other models of this class. The Ultra Swede comes in a wide range of colors.
Electronics
The Ultra Swede comes with 2 Hagstrom Custom ’58 Humbuckers. The humbuckers work together to give off impressive definition and a beautiful even-tempered tone. The pickups are augmented by a push/pull coil-split switch. The pickup selection configurations help the player to manipulate volume levels as well as in the thinning or beefing up the sound appropriately. The guitar adopts a control layout that’s akin to that of the Les Paul.
Hardware
The 6-saddle bridge is clearly drawn for the Tune-O-Matic design. The tailpiece is, however, an original design crafted by Hagstrom. It has a curved cover and a clear plastic baseplate for the six-string anchor blocks.
Sound
The Hagstrom Ultra Swede features an airy acoustic character that easily translates into an open-sounding performance when amplified. The humbuckers ae designed to ensure that they deliver a consistent sound that remains focused and expressive. The effects are best felt under clean or gain-laden conditions. This guitar handles extremes well by allowing subtle nuances.
Coil switching offers additional versatility when playing. The guitar additionally has filters that are useable for clean and distorted environments. The filters make the guitar sound different especially during track layering. Having said that, the Ultra Swede is quite flexible and ideal for blues and jazz.
Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster ’50s Electric Guitar
youtube
Squier has been in the guitar business for a long time now. In this whole period, they have been successful in making well-refined axes. In fact, the Classic Vibe ‘50s Strat is one of the most preferred guitars for beginners.
Body and Neck
The Classic Vibe ‘50s Strat comes with the standard body of a Stratocaster. Alder is the tonewood that was used for this Strat. This is rather surprising given that Alder isn’t a cheap tonewood. The guitar comes with well-constructed “C” shape maple neck. In fact, when Squier was working on this guitar, the goal was to remind us of the ‘50s, and we must say that they did quite a decent job of it.
There are quite a variety of finishes that are available for this Strat. The vintage sunburst, however, does take the crown in this arena, though. The design and construction generally looks and feels quite refined and elite when compared to other Squier models.
Electronics
A noteworthy update to the Squier Classic Vibe ‘50s Stratocaster is probably the pickups. This Strat does not come with the usual old average single coils. Instead, Squier installed a refreshing set of custom vintage coils fitted with custom covers and AINiCo magnets. The pickups are controlled by pretty much standard controls including two tone controls, a pickup selector, and a volume control knob.
The pickup switching that Squire implemented did wonders for this guitar. It took the quality of sound to a whole new level. This is probably because the new set of pickups blend perfectly with the Alder body. The final package is that solid and doesn’t have any significant coil buzz.
Hardware
Though this Strat enjoys some remarkable upgrades, the hardware remains pretty much the same. The guitars pack a vintage synchronized tremolo bridge. This is complimented on the other end by a set of die-cast tuners on the other end. The hardware component is, however, decent. A point of caution is that you shouldn’t be too hard on the whammy bar. You nevertheless will get a satisfactory experience when playing this guitar.
Sound
This is a terrific choice for beginners. It is loaded with lots of potential sound-wise. You get the Strat’s long familiar clear and bright tones. The sustain is equally great even in crunch mode.
Gretsch Guitars G5445T Electromatic Double Jet w/Bigsby
youtube
The Gretsch is the kind of guitar that will make you go “Oooh-Aaah!” Though relatively inexpensive, it looks aesthetically pleasing and is thus guaranteed to make heads turn. In simple terms, this guitar looks cool.
Body and Neck
The craftsmanship that goes into making this guitar is impeccable; it is almost impossible to find flaws in the design of this axe. It looks and feels good. It is thus ideal for a person who is looking for a guitar that will get noticed. The body is solid but chambered for weight reduction. This, however, doesn’t change its weight much given that it also has a heavy Bigsby vibrato. Therefore, it has been described as being “boat anchor heavy” by some players. The body is jet-shaped and made of basswood. The top is arched laminated maple.
The neck is made of maple with a gloss polyester finish. The fingerboard is rosewood with Pearloid hump-back inlays. The guitar is designed to make it easy for the player to whizz up and down the neck. It additionally responds very well to finger-plucking.
Electronics
The Gretsch G5445T comes with dual Blacktop Filter’Tron humbuckers. One is positioned at the neck and the other at the bridge. There is also a 3-way pickup toggle switch, and two volume controls one for each pickup. There also are master controls for volume and tone. All of these aspects offer appreciable versatility in terms of the tone and performance that one can get from this guitar.
Hardware
The G5445T comes with an AdjustoMatic bridge that is anchored for enhanced stability. Other classic hardware on the Gretsch G5445T include “G” arrow knobs and the threaded knurled strap buttons on top of the fabulous Gretsch logo on the pickguard.
The Bigsby B50 vibrato is unique to this axe. One thing that players notice is that the arm of the Bigsby vibrato does not swing. Therefore, it assumes the position you make and remains that way unless you move it yourself. The arm is also quite wide. A guitarist looking to add just a dash of vibrato can simply pat the arm instead of needed to grab it.
Sound
The Blacktop Filter’Tron humbuckers of the Gretsch G5445T allow it to produce spanky, twangy sounds. The tones are nonetheless more rockable rather than surf.
Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster Electric Guitar
youtube
As an honor to alt-rock god J Mascis, Squier came up with a striking Jazzmaster axe that packs massive performance and sound.
Body and Neck
Though this isn’t a premium axe, you’ll definitely look great when you show up donning the J Mascis Jazzmaster. Its body shape has a striking curvy contour making it a very comfy guitar. The body is made of basswood that is light and soft. This gives the guitar a resonance that is evenly balanced. It is neither too dark nor is it too brilliant. The maple neck on this guitar is C-shaped, with a smooth and inviting Rosewood fingerboard. The maple is known to get you to the higher frequencies without too much effort.
Electronics
The performance of this guitar is executed via a pair of Single-coil pickups; one at the neck and the other at the bridge. This is a powerful pair of pickups that are designed to bring your ears closer to the tones of J Mascis. You can easily add gain to get an excellent, crunchy distortion. You can also dial in extra overdrive to get impeccable feedback. With lead and rhythm circuits onboard, you can handle almost any situation on stage with this guitar.
In addition to controls for volume and tone, there is also a selector for pickup switching. There also is a 2-position slide switch for the lead and rhythm circuits. By changing the control setup, one can generate different types of tones and sounds with this guitar.
Hardware
J Mascis himself requested the hardware on this guitar. The axe therefore has an Adjusto-Matic bridge with vintage styling of the floating tremolo tailpiece. It has a large ‘60s-style headstock that bears the unique J Mascis signature. The hardware is all chrome while the tuners are vintage-styled.
Sound
The J Mascis Jazzmaster is a great axe with which you can pull off excellent blues and jazzy tones, as well as hard rock, alt-rock, and grunge. The tonal versatility of this guitar offers it a unique characteristic of addictive playability.
Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plain Top Electric Guitar
youtube
If you can’t acquire a Gibson Les Paul original, you have the perfect alternative with this guitar.
Body and Neck
The Les Paul guitar body shape is iconic across the entire world. When looking at the Epiphone, one gets the same aesthetic appeal that is associated with Les Paul guitars. The quality of this guitar is equally inspiring. The body is mahogany while the top is treated maple.
The Epiphone isn’t fancy. However, it definitely is in a class of its own. The neck is made of standard maple, and the fretboard is made of superior quality rosewood. There’s a white binding on the neck and abalone inlays. The effect that all these features have on the Epiphone is felt when one begins playing is surprisingly comfortable.
Electronics
Les Paul guitars are associated with superior Alnico humbuckers. These humbuckers, in fact, were what set them apart back the day. The Epiphone  comes with a set of high-quality Alnico humbuckers controlled by the same classic controls found on other high-end Les Paul guitars.
The guitar has two knobs for tone and two others for volume. It also has a switch to select a pickup. One fact that you can bet on is that these knobs are just as accurate as they are solid.
Hardware
The Epiphone’s hardware is pretty much standard as with other Gibson guitars. This axe has one sturdy Tune-o-Matic bridge that has die-cast tuners on one end and six adjustable saddles on the other. All of the hardware here is chrome which is in line with what is found on the Les Paul Standard. This means that the performance is well above average. A bridge as solid as this one holds both the tuning and intonation quite well. Even the tuners, albeit standard, are relatively sturdy.
Sound
The Epiphone Les Paul Standard rose to fame thanks to its impressive sound. Though it doesn’t come close to matching that of an original Gibson guitar, its sound will get you halfway there. Let that not fool you; the Epiphone is easily the most superior guitar in its category.
This guitar is great at handling distortion, overdrive as well as clean environments. You can easily switch from playing metal to blues by simply fine-tuning your Epiphone. This guitar is truly a treasure; it will easily surpass expectations in almost every situation.
Ibanez Artcore AG75 Electric Guitar
youtube
This is a full hollow-body guitar that delivers dramatic tones and sound.
Body and Neck
This is one fine electric guitar. Both its craftsmanship and quality are surprisingly good for a guitar made in China.  The Artcore AG75 is a full hollow body guitar. Its body’s top back and sides are maple. This construction gives it a vintage sunburst look. The neck is mahogany while the fretboard is bound Rosewood. The neck is set-in offering increased stability and strength. The guitar will feel small in your hands. It, however, plays big and great. It has a woodsy, resonating hollow.
Electronics
The guitar is loaded with a pair of impressive humbucker pickups. There’s an appreciable difference between pickups at the neck and bridge. The neck humbucker is a passive Classic Elite (H) neck pickup with at the bridge we have a Classic Elite (H) bridge pickup. This offers the player a variety of switchable sounds, especially because for each pickup there are control tone and volume controls. The guitar additionally comes with a 3-way Pickup Selector.
Hardware
The Artcore AG75 comes with Sure Grip III control knobs. These are smooth and classical. They additionally are optimized to deliver precise control especially due to their non-slip functionality. The bridge on the AG75 is an ART-1 bridge which offers improved sustain and better tuning stability.
Sound
The Artcore AG75 is unlike many other ‘full acoustics’ that have sound blocks embedded in the body. It thus delivers tones that are rich and complex just like a full-hollow guitar should. When unplugged, it may sound rather quiet, but the sound is clear with nice highs and lows that are pleasingly mellow.  The neck and bridge humbuckers do a terrific job of balancing the sound while delivering a good dose of midrange punch. It is thus preferred by players for its ability to deliver the purity of sound that is ideal for old school style jazz and blues.
Schecter Guitar Research Omen Extreme-6 FR Electric Guitar
youtube
This is a compact metal guitar with powerful sound
Schechter has been in the metal scene for quite a long time now. Their performance in this field has been outstanding, and the Schechter Omen Extreme 6 is one of the most capable guitars that cost less than $500.
Body and Neck
As is characteristic of Schechter axes, the Omen Extreme 6 has a pretty simple body shape. It sports an arched Super Strat design merged with a couple of impressive features. The mahogany body is covered with an appealing quilted maple top. The neck’s profile is poised for speed and accuracy and is made from maple. The guitar’s top and neck are bound with white abalone. The fingerboard is Rosewood and features Pearloid Vector inlays. On the whole, the entire package of the Schechter Omen Extreme 6 is amazingly gorgeous.
Electronics
The Omen Extreme 6 comes with an impressive set of Schechter Diamond Plus passive humbuckers. At first, many tend to dismiss these as being crude. However, with time, people come to appreciate just how much they can do. The humbuckers are hooked to a set of controls including a push-pull enable tone knob, two volume knobs, and a 3-way pickup select switch.
At the bridge, is a Diamond Plus pickup with tuners that fit this 6-string guitar perfectly. The set of screw knobs here is of the Metal Knurled variety. The strings on the Omen Extreme 6 are quite good too.
Hardware
People have come to love Schechter guitars for their impeccable Tune-o-Matic bridges. The Omen Extreme 6 is equipped with an equally impressive Floyd Rose bridge. On its headstock sits a set of locking tuners that do a terrific job of complimenting the super capable bridge perfectly. These two features alone make this one of the best guitars for players who like to go lose with string bending and chord picking. Simply put, the hardware on the Omen Extreme 6 works great.
Sound
Schechter Omen Extreme 6 is the type of guitar that will handle heavy gain distortion while still producing a decent sound. As an in-house pair, the pickups do an amazing job. The guitar also offers a wide range that dials in a variety of distorted and clean tones with pretty much ease. It can even go a few keys lower hence giving you a perfect drop D and deep sound with relative ease.
Guitar #11 – The Guitar I Bought
youtube
O.K., my bad. I had actually put this article to bed, but I was so interested in seeing if there was something better, I kept doing research. As fate would have it, I found another guitar that I just couldn’t keep it off the 10 best list. I  present you with guitar number eleven, the Gretsch G2420 Streamliner Single Cutaway Hollowbody. Buying this guitar was a difficult decesion for me.  I don’t own a Telecaster style guitar and before starting to do the research for this article I was leaning heavily toward the Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster. The reviews for the Classic Vibe Tele were incredibly positive. It’s a great guitar at an unbelievable price. But when it came down to it, I wanted to own a Gretsch.
Personally, I felt that this Gretsch  is the Crème de la Crème of electric guitars under $500. It’s the one I couldn’t help but buy. I purchased it in the Aged Brooklyn Burst and it is visually a stunning guitar. What separated this guitar from the competition was an extraordinary combination of unparalleled versatility, build quality, ease of play, beauty, and its’ incredible tone. Likewise, it is one of the only guitars in the group where I didn’t read at least some owners saying that there was at least one thing they would eventually be changing out. There is isn’t a single component part on this guitar that I have even an inkling of wanting to switch out. That goes for the pickups, tuners, saddle, nut, frets, strings, etc.
Almost every review I read said that this guitar arrived with a near perfect setup. That’s one of the things convinced me that this was the guitar I wanted.  That counts for a lot because a trip to your trusted luthier will set you back at least $100. When I received this guitar the setup was absolutely spot on.  In the end, I decided to buy this guitar from Musicians Friend. They were running a 15% off sale, so I paid less than $400.00 for the guitar delivered to my door.
The Gretsch G2420 is a hollow-body, so it is well suited to many styles of music. In fact, after playing it for a while, I’m pretty amazed by it’s tone and it’s versatility. If you are into the blues, rock/blues, or jazz, this guitar is spectacular. The G2420 is well balanced, comfortable, and plays like butter. It sounds cliché,  but this hollow-body Gretsch really does stand its’ ground with guitars costing a heck of a lot more money.
Important Considerations When Buying an Electric Guitar
You want a guitar that makes you feel great every time you pick it up and look at it. The look, color, the shape, feel, and sound of the guitar are all important. The guitar needs to inspire you to keep playing.
Try and match your guitar to your music tastes. While long time players and professionals may be fortunate enough to enjoy having a substantial collection of different guitars with varying tones, if this is going to be your “go to” instrument, make sure it fits the style of music you’d like to play.  Don’t buy a guitar that was built for shredding and heavy metal if you’re into the blues. That’s not going to be a marriage made in heaven.
Make an accurate assessment of what you can afford to spend and set a budget.  While it is generally true that that the larger your budget, the better the instrument, that doesn’t always hold true.  In the collection of 10 great guitars we review here, there are several that deliver far more value and quality than their prices would suggest. If you are diligent in your research, you’ll end up with a really fine instrument at a price you can afford.
A great electric guitar should open up an entirely new world of music and enjoyment you have never experienced before. However, you need to have some knowledge about the things that differentiate a great guitar from one that is only average. So, to help you out in this endeavor, take a moment to read the information presented below. It will help you make a more informed decision.
The Body of The Guitar
Electric guitars come in 3 distinct body structures; solid, hollow, and semi-hollow. A guitar’s body has a remarkable impact on its sound quality. Consequently, certain guitars sound best in some specific genres and not in others.
Solid Body Electric Guitars – these are probably the most common of all other guitar varieties. The body is made entirely from wood. The solid body architecture of the instrument gives it increased sustain and a reduced feedback. The end result is that electric guitars with a solid body have the widest tone range among all other guitars. They, therefore, can be used to play any music. Nevertheless, they are the champions of rock and alternative music. You thus can’t go wrong when you pick a solid-body electric guitar for rock and/or alternative music.
Hollow Body Electric Guitars – this is the original design that was used on the very first electric guitars. Just like an acoustic guitar, a hollow-body electric has a completely hollow inside. This gives them a warm, mellow tone. The use of the hollow body has been extensive in jazz. It also makes a great instrument for country, folk and rock and roll. You can also tweak the setup to give you a distortion that is sweet, raunchy, and terrific for classic blues or rock tunes. On the whole, hollow body guitars will have more feedback than solid body electric guitars.
Eddie Durham and Charlie Christian made jazz music came to life with their hollowbody electric guitars
Semi-Hollow Body – this is an incredibly good all-purpose guitar. Why? Because it is a hybrid of the solid and hollow body types. Most of the time hybrids like semi-hollowbody guitars offer the greatest utility and allow the musician a better instrument for playing a wider variety of musical styles. These types of guitars have the best qualities of the solid body guitars such as reduced feedback and increased sustain, as well as the finest aspects of the hollow body such as the warm, mellow tones. Blues musicians particularly adore the semi-hollow body electric guitar. It is the duality of a sweet, mellow tone and amazing crunchy sound that makes this a favorite for many.
Chuck Berry and Freddie King touched the souls of many when they played the Blues on their semi-hollow body guitars
Guitar Pickups
The heart of any electric guitar are its pickups. The pickup, in the form of a magnet with a wire coil, collects vibrations from the guitar string and converts them into an electric signal that can be translated and amplified into sound. A pickup can either be a single-coil or a double-coil.
Single-Coil Pickups – these represent the most basic pickup Like the name suggests they simply are a single coil of wire. Classically, single coils produce bright, punchy sounds. These are tones that will cut across other dense band sounds. John Mayer, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Eric Clapton among many other famous players used single coil pickup guitars. However, they produce a slight humming noise in some instances. The P90 is a single coil pickup that doesn’t have this noise. This is because the P90  employs a wide single coil that has a wide surface area for the guitar strings. The pickup thus collects more of the string vibrations resulting in a duller tone than a simple single coil pickup.
Humbucking Pickups – they are at times referred to as dual coil pickups, but more often they are simply referred to as humbuckers. Two single coil pickups are grouped together in series to constitute the humbucker. Humbuckers ‘buck the hum’ produced by single coil pickups. In simple terms, they eliminate it. They thus produce powerful rich tones without any buzzing or humming.
Guitars with double-coil pickups are ideal for thick, loud and powerful tones. They are also quite versatile hence their extensive use in rock, heavy metal and Jazz. Slash, Duane Allman and Jimmy Page are some of the notable names who played using the humbucker pickup.
Multiple pickups – Most electric guitars have multiple pickups. The very earliest electric guitars had only a single pickup. While there still are guitars being manufactured with a single pickup, the vast majority of modern guitars  have 2 or 3 single coils, 2 or 3 humbuckers,  or even a combination of humbuckers and single coils. Such setups offer the player greater range of tonal options. Access to the various pickups in your guitar is manipulated through controls such as rotatory knobs, toggle switches or blade selectors.
Piezo Pickups – unlike the humbuckers and single coils, Piezo pickups are crystalline. These are usually sensors in the guitar’s saddle. They additionally collect mechanical vibrations unlike the coil pickups use magnets to tap string vibrations. Consequently, Piezo pickups are sometimes used to trigger digital sounds or synthesizers. When used on an electric guitar piezo pickups are often utilized in the simulation of acoustic tones. They are also used alongside magnetic pickups to increase a guitar’s tone versatility.
Active Pickups and Electronics – Pickups can also be active or passive. Most guitar pickups are usually passive.  An active pickup incorporates a preamp to shape the sound. They also use energy from batteries. Electric guitars may include also include other active electronics such as filters and equalization circuits. A guitar with active electronic has added sound control, higher output as well as clearer and cleaner sound.
Guitar Accessories
Controls – most electric guitars have volume and tone controls to regulate the output signal. The controls can thus vary the sound giving you warm, mellow, soft tones or even very raw, distorted and brought sounds. Some newer guitars may even come with digital technology that gives you more sound variety than what a traditional electric guitar can give you. Some guitars also feature what is called coil splitting. This gives a player an even greater variety of pickup sounds to choose from in a single instrument.
Scale Length
This is the length of the vibrating string from the nut to the bridge. A short scale length is best for small hand since it offers less tension and easier string bending. A short scale produces warm tones. Long scale lengths, on the contrary, offer greater and tighter string tension. The tone from a longer scale is thus bright with a well-defined low end.
Neck Construction
The neck extends from the body, and it’s the part where the tuners of the guitar are mounted. It includes a headstock and a fretboard. It also has a metal truss rod that holds the neck in place and prevents twisting or bowing. This truss rod can also be adjusted to maintain a constant pitch. The fretboard is commonly a thin layer of rosewood or mahogany. It can also be a maple neck in some models. Inlaid within the fretboard are dots or other markers. In some models, the markers are on the upper edge for enhanced visibility.
A guitar’s play-ability is greatly affected by the profile and width of the neck. These two features also impact on the comfort of the player when fretting. Therefore, the width and the depth of the neck is an important consideration when making a purchase. A player with small hands should go for a narrow, shallow neck. A beefier neck is conversely best for individuals with large hands.
Generally, a neck can be V-, U-or C-shaped. Experimental shape designs are however also available. Three commonly neck structures include:
Bolt-On Necks are usually bolted onto the body. This cost-effective model allows the neck to be replaced with relative ease. It nonetheless offers reduced resonance and sustain when compared to other neck construction models.
Set Necks are usually glued firmly onto the body. This offers stability as well as better resonance and sustain than bolt-on neck guitars. Nevertheless, neck replacements and repairs might be a bit of a problem with necks of this variety.
Neck-Through guitars characteristically feature a laminated neck spanning the entire guitar body with fins or wings projecting from the body. This offers enhanced stability and an increased sustain and resonance from the guitar. As you might guess, neck repairs and replacements here are not only difficult but costly too. Nonetheless, with the excellent stability offered here, such repairs and/or replacements are rarely required.
Tonewoods
Though a guitar’s sound principally comes from an interaction between the vibrating strings and the pickup, the wood of the guitar has a significant role in modifying the sound produced by the guitar. It’s the wood’s resonance that determines the length of the strings’ vibration as well as what shape their motion takes.  The wood may additionally regulate pickup movement. Various tonewood options are available.
Mahogany has been used in all parts of guitars except bridges and fretboards. It is usually rich brown in color and is also dense and strong. It, however, isn’t very hard and thus is best for mellow guitars playing midrange and bass frequencies. It, however, is very resonant and has an enhanced sustain.
Maple is usually favored for the neck. It can also be used on the fretboard to add to the sound definition. It usually is hard and dense. It is known to give attractive grain patterns called figuring. It gives an overall bright tone. The figuring and the brilliant tone mean that maple is often used as a top laminate or veneer for the expensive guitars.
Rosewood is common on many fretboards of electric guitars and occasionally on guitar bodies. It is beautiful with colors ranging from near-black to blond and variegated brown. It is usually very dense and hard; when used on the body, it may make the guitar quite heavy.
Ebony is primarily found on the fretboards of the pricey guitar models. It is usually very hard and dense. It is black and usually has a silky feel to it.
Ash is commonly used to make the body of solid body guitars. Compared to Mahogany, Ash is harder and more resonant too. It not only gives the guitar a well-defined midrange bright tone but also offers a ringing sustain. Ash is particularly appealing in that it is light colored with unique grain figuring. Hence, ash is almost always given a transparent Swamp ash is an exceptionally appealing tonewood that’s found on high-end guitars.
Alder is the most common tonewood on solid body guitars. It has tonal characteristics of ash but is less expensive. It is light tan in color and not as highly figured as ash. Hence, Alder often gets an opaque finish.
Agathis has the tonal characteristics and appearance of Alder. It, however, is less resonant and often used on the more affordable guitar models.
Nato or Eastern Mahogany is a very strong wood found on the necks of the less expensive guitars. It has a warm resonance and is considered to be quite cost effective.
Hardware
Electric guitars come with a host of hardware styles for different uses. The quality of a guitar’s hardware is often directly proportional to the cost of that guitar. Better hardware often means that the guitar will have enhanced stability and versatility. The most crucial hardware components include the tuning machines, tailpieces, and bridges. Tuning machines are of particular importance. High quality tuners (like Grover’s) will not only make the guitar easier to tune, they will keep your guitar in tune for a very long time. Having a guitar that goes out of tune all the time is a major annoyance.
The Sound
Once you know the various components of an electric guitar and how they affect the tone and sound, you must decide on what sound you are looking for. This obviously will be determined by the kind of music that you play. A blues or classic rock player needs a guitar that is powerful and offers a full sound. This can be offered by a solid or semi-hollow body guitar with a P90 or humbucker. Hollow body guitars are an excellent choice if you are playing folk or country.  Modern day electric guitars may differ in tone, but many models do offer tremendous versatility and can be . Additionally, some accessories can help you replicate a myriad of tones and sounds.
Summary
Well, you pretty much can’t miss no matter which of these guitars you pick. We are very fortunate to live in an era when there are finely crafted and super affordable  guitars coming out of China and the Far East. Yes, it’s always great to buy American, but with few exceptions, almost all of the companies we recognize as “American” guitar manufacturers are having the majority of their guitars built offshore. Why? Because they can build and import great guitars and sell them at prices that you and I can afford. How many of us can afford high-end, domestically manufactured guitars? And let’s be candid about this. If I were to give credence to even a small percentage of the criticisms I’ve read online regarding quality control issues with at least one of the domestic manufacturers, I’d be very reluctant to spend big bucks for one of their guitars.
  Source
Source: http://electricguitardigest.com/ten-best-electric-guitars-for-under-500/
from Electric Guitar Digest https://electricguitardigest.wordpress.com/2017/04/18/10-best-electric-guitars-under-500/
0 notes
fayebeasley · 8 years ago
Text
10 Best Electric Guitars Under $500
10 Great Electric Guitars That Can Be Had for a Song
Becoming a truly skilled guitar player takes time. However, the process can be  made a lot more fun and a lot easier if you start out with a high quality instrument.  A poorly made guitar won’t feel right, it won’t play easily, and it won’t sound good. What are the odds that you’re going to stick with it trying to learn on an instrument like that? This being the case, it behooves you to find a guitar that feels good, looks good, plays well, and sounds great. Fortunately, here you will find the 10 best electric guitars under $500. The guitars that are presented here are of such outstanding quality that they are absolutely suited for seasoned guitarists as  well. In fact, almost every one of the guitars you’ll read about here are economy priced instruments that are being used by touring musicians.
Buying a guitar can be confusing. There are hundreds and hundreds of guitars to choose from and you need to have at least some knowledge of the components of a guitar to make a good choice. This article is thus aimed at making your purchase easier by presenting you with ten guitar options that are all wonderful instruments priced below the $500 mark. Likewise, our list includes several different styles of guitars. So, whether you’re into blues, metal, jazz, rock or pop, you’re going to find a guitar here to fit your style.
The Top 10 Electric Guitars Under $500
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar
Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster ’50s Electric Guitar
Epiphone Limited Edition 1966 G-400 PRO Electric Guitar
Hagstrom Ultra Swede Flame Electric Guitar
Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster ’50s Electric Guitar
Gretsch Guitars G5445T Electromatic Double Jet w/Bigsby Electric Guitar
Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster Electric Guitar
Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plain Top Electric Guitar
Ibanez Artcore AG75 Electric Guitar
Schecter Guitar Research Omen Extreme-6 FR Electric Guitar
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Electric Guitar
This is a very impressive axe that comes with unique features that include superior Duncan-Designed pickups’
Body and Neck
The Jaguar body is of the offset variety whereby the upper and lower parts of the body are asymmetrical. The upper and lower parts are usually offset. This considerably alters the dynamics of the guitar causing an overall difficulty in some aspects of intonation. For some players, this is a major concern.
The tone wood on the Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar is basswood. The guitar has a short scale neck made of maple. This makes it ideal for beginners. It is also especially preferred by jazz players.
Hardware
You probably are thinking that you will get the standard fixed tail bridge or probably a synchronized tremolo. Nonetheless, on this guitar you find a vintage style trem bridge with the Tremolo sitting at the back and the bridge sitting closer to the pickups as a separate unit.
Electronics
The Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar has two single coil pickups. Interestingly, the pickups do not have a couple of knobs for tone adjustment; they have dual circuits. Rhythm and lead models are fitted on this guitar. Each has its unique set of controls. This offers impressive versatility. Additionally, there are the standard knobs for tone and volume. On the whole, this guitar gives you a wide variety of sounds to choose from.
Sound
Jaguar guitars are different in terms of sound when compared to a Strat or Telecaster. The complex circuit formation allows the players to manipulate the guitar’s tonal configurations a great deal. This means that while this is typically a guitar for surf rock and other vintage genres, it still plays excellent rock and roll. The short scale neck also means that the guitar can additionally pull off a terrific jazz sound.
Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster ’50s Electric Guitar
Among the guitars that you can get for less than $500 this guitar stands as a time-tested legend.
Body and Neck
It is almost impossible to miss the classic body of the Telecaster.  It is one of the most recognizable solid-body guitars in existence. Squier did not cut any corners when designing this model as a tribute to its name. The body is pine. There are two versions of this guitar. The Butterscotch Blonde version comes equipped with Alnico 5 pickups while the Vintage Blonde version is equipped with Alnico III pickups. Both are fabulous guitars, but the Butterscotch Blonde model seems to outsell the Vintage Blonde by a fairly substantial margin.  The neck is maple with a standard “C” shape profile. The design, craftsmanship, play-ability, and quality of these instruments is nothing short of spectacular. Read some of the hundreds of reviews on websites like Musicians Friend and listen to what owners have to say. High praise is almost unanimous.
Electronics
The ‘5os Classic Vibe Telecaster comes with a set single coil pickups. These pickups are unique to this guitar and are called Custom Vintage Tele pickups. The pickups do a terrific job of filling the huge shoes they are meant to fill. Most players are often wary that single coils will produce undesirable buzzing sounds. These coils nonetheless do a terrific job of canceling the buzz out. Only a minimal buzzing is experienced when playing the ‘50s Classic Vibe Telecaster. Besides the pickup select switch configuration, there also is a knob for tone and another for volume control.
Hardware
As has been the case with other Telecaster models, the hardware here is basically simple. The simplicity doesn’t compromise on its performance in any way whatsoever; the guitar is still as effective as you would expect. What Squier did was genius. They took a proven guitar building formula and adapted it to their own unique Ideas. The final result of this process is an ashtray bridge that is fixed and has three fully adjustable saddles. The guitar additionally comes with a cut-out for the pickup at the bridge.
The configuration is purely classic. The impressive set of die-cast tuners rests on the headstock where they do quite an effective job of retaining the guitar’s tuning. Very minimal creep and free movement occur here. This allows the player to dial in the preferred key with ease and precision. The bridge handles sustain pretty well but is limited to a certain degree by the pine body.
Sound
When it comes to these Squier guitars, their build quality is nearly as good as their more expensive American cousins. Truly, it’s hard to spend a lot more hard cash for the Fender models when these Squires deliver such great quality for so much less. Yes, it’s nice to have the Fender decal on the headstock, but put your ego aside and save some major cash. These Telecasters deliver a great range of sounds. The Butterscotch Blonde will provide you with all the twang you’ll ever need. They are a perfect guitar for rock, country, or blues.
Epiphone Limited Edition 1966 G-400 PRO Electric Guitar
This is one of the most respected solid body guitars made in China
Body and neck
The G-400 has a solid mahogany body with a double cutaway shape. There, however, exists a walnut model whose body is made of Walnut. The guitar features a natural cherry red finish which gracefully shows off the wood’s grain. The body is constructed in a three-piece design with the back and front being laminated to give an absolutely even grain pattern. The neck and headstock wings and back are glued onto the body.  The neck is mahogany and has a slim-taper profile. The fingerboard is rosewood and is also buffed to a hard sheen. The neck could feel a bit heavy, but this can be countered by balancing the guitar properly on the strap.
Electronics
The G-400 is a respected original design in rock. The Limited Edition “1966” G-400 PRO features two Alnico Classic pickups. The two are of the 4-wire humbucker variety and are regulated through push/pulls controls. There are separate controls for each pickup to adjust tone and volume. This allows for a myriad of sounds to be achieved. It also sports a large pickup guard and doesn’t have any mounting ring around its high output pickups
Hardware
This guitar is equipped with a basic stoptail and the basic Tune-o-Matic bridge. The stop tail and its LockTone bridge counterpart offer more sustain while making the whole affair of string changing quite easy. Additionally, the double cutaway body shape provides easy access to all the 22 frets on the G-400.
Sound
The G-400 offers a surprisingly good clean tone when fully humbucking. In fact, the sound does make you think that it could be a rather expensive guitar. The clean sounds are distinctively clear and could easily outperform many of this guitar’s equivalents. Most solid guitars were built for rock. The G-400 winds up its gain making it a darling in metal and hard rock. This however means that it will also sail smoothly in the waters of jazz and electric blues.
Hagstrom Ultra Swede Flame Electric Guitar
This is one of the most cherished guitar models by Hagstrom having been on the market since 1958.
Body and Neck
The Ultra Swede has been described as an answer to Les Paul guitars. It, however, comes with a basswood body and a set maple neck. In some models, you may get a splatted maple top with a distinctive black grain. On other models, you get a carved top with flamed or figured maple. The guitar is wonderfully constructed and comes with an appreciable amount of cosmetic additions including pearl/abalone fingerboard inlays, a pearl logo on the headstock as well as pearl celluloid binding on the body, neck, and headstock. The neck is often described as UltraLux because its construction is classically thinner hence making it easier and faster to play than most other models of this class. The Ultra Swede comes in a wide range of colors.
Electronics
The Ultra Swede comes with 2 Hagstrom Custom ’58 Humbuckers. The humbuckers work together to give off impressive definition and a beautiful even-tempered tone. The pickups are augmented by a push/pull coil-split switch. The pickup selection configurations help the player to manipulate volume levels as well as in the thinning or beefing up the sound appropriately. The guitar adopts a control layout that’s akin to that of the Les Paul.
Hardware
The 6-saddle bridge is clearly drawn for the Tune-O-Matic design. The tailpiece is, however, an original design crafted by Hagstrom. It has a curved cover and a clear plastic baseplate for the six-string anchor blocks.
Sound
The Hagstrom Ultra Swede features an airy acoustic character that easily translates into an open-sounding performance when amplified. The humbuckers ae designed to ensure that they deliver a consistent sound that remains focused and expressive. The effects are best felt under clean or gain-laden conditions. This guitar handles extremes well by allowing subtle nuances.
Coil switching offers additional versatility when playing. The guitar additionally has filters that are useable for clean and distorted environments. The filters make the guitar sound different especially during track layering. Having said that, the Ultra Swede is quite flexible and ideal for blues and jazz.
Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster ’50s Electric Guitar
Squier has been in the guitar business for a long time now. In this whole period, they have been successful in making well-refined axes. In fact, the Classic Vibe ‘50s Strat is one of the most preferred guitars for beginners.
Body and Neck
The Classic Vibe ‘50s Strat comes with the standard body of a Stratocaster. Alder is the tonewood that was used for this Strat. This is rather surprising given that Alder isn’t a cheap tonewood. The guitar comes with well-constructed “C” shape maple neck. In fact, when Squier was working on this guitar, the goal was to remind us of the ‘50s, and we must say that they did quite a decent job of it.
There are quite a variety of finishes that are available for this Strat. The vintage sunburst, however, does take the crown in this arena, though. The design and construction generally looks and feels quite refined and elite when compared to other Squier models.
Electronics
A noteworthy update to the Squier Classic Vibe ‘50s Stratocaster is probably the pickups. This Strat does not come with the usual old average single coils. Instead, Squier installed a refreshing set of custom vintage coils fitted with custom covers and AINiCo magnets. The pickups are controlled by pretty much standard controls including two tone controls, a pickup selector, and a volume control knob.
The pickup switching that Squire implemented did wonders for this guitar. It took the quality of sound to a whole new level. This is probably because the new set of pickups blend perfectly with the Alder body. The final package is that solid and doesn’t have any significant coil buzz.
Hardware
Though this Strat enjoys some remarkable upgrades, the hardware remains pretty much the same. The guitars pack a vintage synchronized tremolo bridge. This is complimented on the other end by a set of die-cast tuners on the other end. The hardware component is, however, decent. A point of caution is that you shouldn’t be too hard on the whammy bar. You nevertheless will get a satisfactory experience when playing this guitar.
Sound
This is a terrific choice for beginners. It is loaded with lots of potential sound-wise. You get the Strat’s long familiar clear and bright tones. The sustain is equally great even in crunch mode.
Gretsch Guitars G5445T Electromatic Double Jet w/Bigsby
The Gretsch is the kind of guitar that will make you go “Oooh-Aaah!” Though relatively inexpensive, it looks aesthetically pleasing and is thus guaranteed to make heads turn. In simple terms, this guitar looks cool.
Body and Neck
The craftsmanship that goes into making this guitar is impeccable; it is almost impossible to find flaws in the design of this axe. It looks and feels good. It is thus ideal for a person who is looking for a guitar that will get noticed. The body is solid but chambered for weight reduction. This, however, doesn’t change its weight much given that it also has a heavy Bigsby vibrato. Therefore, it has been described as being “boat anchor heavy” by some players. The body is jet-shaped and made of basswood. The top is arched laminated maple.
The neck is made of maple with a gloss polyester finish. The fingerboard is rosewood with Pearloid hump-back inlays. The guitar is designed to make it easy for the player to whizz up and down the neck. It additionally responds very well to finger-plucking.
Electronics
The Gretsch G5445T comes with dual Blacktop Filter’Tron humbuckers. One is positioned at the neck and the other at the bridge. There is also a 3-way pickup toggle switch, and two volume controls one for each pickup. There also are master controls for volume and tone. All of these aspects offer appreciable versatility in terms of the tone and performance that one can get from this guitar.
Hardware
The G5445T comes with an AdjustoMatic bridge that is anchored for enhanced stability. Other classic hardware on the Gretsch G5445T include “G” arrow knobs and the threaded knurled strap buttons on top of the fabulous Gretsch logo on the pickguard.
The Bigsby B50 vibrato is unique to this axe. One thing that players notice is that the arm of the Bigsby vibrato does not swing. Therefore, it assumes the position you make and remains that way unless you move it yourself. The arm is also quite wide. A guitarist looking to add just a dash of vibrato can simply pat the arm instead of needed to grab it.
Sound
The Blacktop Filter’Tron humbuckers of the Gretsch G5445T allow it to produce spanky, twangy sounds. The tones are nonetheless more rockable rather than surf.
Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster Electric Guitar
As an honor to alt-rock god J Mascis, Squier came up with a striking Jazzmaster axe that packs massive performance and sound.
Body and Neck
Though this isn’t a premium axe, you’ll definitely look great when you show up donning the J Mascis Jazzmaster. Its body shape has a striking curvy contour making it a very comfy guitar. The body is made of basswood that is light and soft. This gives the guitar a resonance that is evenly balanced. It is neither too dark nor is it too brilliant. The maple neck on this guitar is C-shaped, with a smooth and inviting Rosewood fingerboard. The maple is known to get you to the higher frequencies without too much effort.
Electronics
The performance of this guitar is executed via a pair of Single-coil pickups; one at the neck and the other at the bridge. This is a powerful pair of pickups that are designed to bring your ears closer to the tones of J Mascis. You can easily add gain to get an excellent, crunchy distortion. You can also dial in extra overdrive to get impeccable feedback. With lead and rhythm circuits onboard, you can handle almost any situation on stage with this guitar.
In addition to controls for volume and tone, there is also a selector for pickup switching. There also is a 2-position slide switch for the lead and rhythm circuits. By changing the control setup, one can generate different types of tones and sounds with this guitar.
Hardware
J Mascis himself requested the hardware on this guitar. The axe therefore has an Adjusto-Matic bridge with vintage styling of the floating tremolo tailpiece. It has a large ‘60s-style headstock that bears the unique J Mascis signature. The hardware is all chrome while the tuners are vintage-styled.
Sound
The J Mascis Jazzmaster is a great axe with which you can pull off excellent blues and jazzy tones, as well as hard rock, alt-rock, and grunge. The tonal versatility of this guitar offers it a unique characteristic of addictive playability.
Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plain Top Electric Guitar
If you can’t acquire a Gibson Les Paul original, you have the perfect alternative with this guitar.
Body and Neck
The Les Paul guitar body shape is iconic across the entire world. When looking at the Epiphone, one gets the same aesthetic appeal that is associated with Les Paul guitars. The quality of this guitar is equally inspiring. The body is mahogany while the top is treated maple.
The Epiphone isn’t fancy. However, it definitely is in a class of its own. The neck is made of standard maple, and the fretboard is made of superior quality rosewood. There’s a white binding on the neck and abalone inlays. The effect that all these features have on the Epiphone is felt when one begins playing is surprisingly comfortable.
Electronics
Les Paul guitars are associated with superior Alnico humbuckers. These humbuckers, in fact, were what set them apart back the day. The Epiphone  comes with a set of high-quality Alnico humbuckers controlled by the same classic controls found on other high-end Les Paul guitars.
The guitar has two knobs for tone and two others for volume. It also has a switch to select a pickup. One fact that you can bet on is that these knobs are just as accurate as they are solid.
Hardware
The Epiphone’s hardware is pretty much standard as with other Gibson guitars. This axe has one sturdy Tune-o-Matic bridge that has die-cast tuners on one end and six adjustable saddles on the other. All of the hardware here is chrome which is in line with what is found on the Les Paul Standard. This means that the performance is well above average. A bridge as solid as this one holds both the tuning and intonation quite well. Even the tuners, albeit standard, are relatively sturdy.
Sound
The Epiphone Les Paul Standard rose to fame thanks to its impressive sound. Though it doesn’t come close to matching that of an original Gibson guitar, its sound will get you halfway there. Let that not fool you; the Epiphone is easily the most superior guitar in its category.
This guitar is great at handling distortion, overdrive as well as clean environments. You can easily switch from playing metal to blues by simply fine-tuning your Epiphone. This guitar is truly a treasure; it will easily surpass expectations in almost every situation.
Ibanez Artcore AG75 Electric Guitar
This is a full hollow-body guitar that delivers dramatic tones and sound.
Body and Neck
This is one fine electric guitar. Both its craftsmanship and quality are surprisingly good for a guitar made in China.  The Artcore AG75 is a full hollow body guitar. Its body’s top back and sides are maple. This construction gives it a vintage sunburst look. The neck is mahogany while the fretboard is bound Rosewood. The neck is set-in offering increased stability and strength. The guitar will feel small in your hands. It, however, plays big and great. It has a woodsy, resonating hollow.
Electronics
The guitar is loaded with a pair of impressive humbucker pickups. There’s an appreciable difference between pickups at the neck and bridge. The neck humbucker is a passive Classic Elite (H) neck pickup with at the bridge we have a Classic Elite (H) bridge pickup. This offers the player a variety of switchable sounds, especially because for each pickup there are control tone and volume controls. The guitar additionally comes with a 3-way Pickup Selector.
Hardware
The Artcore AG75 comes with Sure Grip III control knobs. These are smooth and classical. They additionally are optimized to deliver precise control especially due to their non-slip functionality. The bridge on the AG75 is an ART-1 bridge which offers improved sustain and better tuning stability.
Sound
The Artcore AG75 is unlike many other ‘full acoustics’ that have sound blocks embedded in the body. It thus delivers tones that are rich and complex just like a full-hollow guitar should. When unplugged, it may sound rather quiet, but the sound is clear with nice highs and lows that are pleasingly mellow.  The neck and bridge humbuckers do a terrific job of balancing the sound while delivering a good dose of midrange punch. It is thus preferred by players for its ability to deliver the purity of sound that is ideal for old school style jazz and blues.
Schecter Guitar Research Omen Extreme-6 FR Electric Guitar
This is a compact metal guitar with powerful sound
Schechter has been in the metal scene for quite a long time now. Their performance in this field has been outstanding, and the Schechter Omen Extreme 6 is one of the most capable guitars that cost less than $500.
Body and Neck
As is characteristic of Schechter axes, the Omen Extreme 6 has a pretty simple body shape. It sports an arched Super Strat design merged with a couple of impressive features. The mahogany body is covered with an appealing quilted maple top. The neck’s profile is poised for speed and accuracy and is made from maple. The guitar’s top and neck are bound with white abalone. The fingerboard is Rosewood and features Pearloid Vector inlays. On the whole, the entire package of the Schechter Omen Extreme 6 is amazingly gorgeous.
Electronics
The Omen Extreme 6 comes with an impressive set of Schechter Diamond Plus passive humbuckers. At first, many tend to dismiss these as being crude. However, with time, people come to appreciate just how much they can do. The humbuckers are hooked to a set of controls including a push-pull enable tone knob, two volume knobs, and a 3-way pickup select switch.
At the bridge, is a Diamond Plus pickup with tuners that fit this 6-string guitar perfectly. The set of screw knobs here is of the Metal Knurled variety. The strings on the Omen Extreme 6 are quite good too.
Hardware
People have come to love Schechter guitars for their impeccable Tune-o-Matic bridges. The Omen Extreme 6 is equipped with an equally impressive Floyd Rose bridge. On its headstock sits a set of locking tuners that do a terrific job of complimenting the super capable bridge perfectly. These two features alone make this one of the best guitars for players who like to go lose with string bending and chord picking. Simply put, the hardware on the Omen Extreme 6 works great.
Sound
Schechter Omen Extreme 6 is the type of guitar that will handle heavy gain distortion while still producing a decent sound. As an in-house pair, the pickups do an amazing job. The guitar also offers a wide range that dials in a variety of distorted and clean tones with pretty much ease. It can even go a few keys lower hence giving you a perfect drop D and deep sound with relative ease.
Guitar #11 – The Guitar I Bought
youtube
O.K., my bad. I had actually put this article to bed, but I was so interested in seeing if there was something better, I kept doing research. As fate would have it, I found another guitar that I just couldn’t keep it off the 10 best list. I  present you with guitar number eleven, the Gretsch G2420 Streamliner Single Cutaway Hollowbody. Buying this guitar was a difficult decesion for me.  I don’t own a Telecaster style guitar and before starting to do the research for this article I was leaning heavily toward the Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster. The reviews for the Classic Vibe Tele were incredibly positive. It’s a great guitar at an unbelievable price. But when it came down to it, I wanted to own a Gretsch.
Personally, I felt that this Gretsch  is the Crème de la Crème of electric guitars under $500. It’s the one I couldn’t help but buy. I purchased it in the Aged Brooklyn Burst and it is visually a stunning guitar. What separated this guitar from the competition was an extraordinary combination of unparalleled versatility, build quality, ease of play, beauty, and its’ incredible tone. Likewise, it is one of the only guitars in the group where I didn’t read at least some owners saying that there was at least one thing they would eventually be changing out. There is isn’t a single component part on this guitar that I have even an inkling of wanting to switch out. That goes for the pickups, tuners, saddle, nut, frets, strings, etc.
Almost every review I read said that this guitar arrived with a near perfect setup. That’s one of the things convinced me that this was the guitar I wanted.  That counts for a lot because a trip to your trusted luthier will set you back at least $100. When I received this guitar the setup was absolutely spot on.  In the end, I decided to buy this guitar from Musicians Friend. They were running a 15% off sale, so I paid less than $400.00 for the guitar delivered to my door.
The Gretsch G2420 is a hollow-body, so it is well suited to many styles of music. In fact, after playing it for a while, I’m pretty amazed by it’s tone and it’s versatility. If you are into the blues, rock/blues, or jazz, this guitar is spectacular. The G2420 is well balanced, comfortable, and plays like butter. It sounds cliché,  but this hollow-body Gretsch really does stand its’ ground with guitars costing a heck of a lot more money.
Important Considerations When Buying an Electric Guitar
You want a guitar that makes you feel great every time you pick it up and look at it. The look, color, the shape, feel, and sound of the guitar are all important. The guitar needs to inspire you to keep playing.
Try and match your guitar to your music tastes. While long time players and professionals may be fortunate enough to enjoy having a substantial collection of different guitars with varying tones, if this is going to be your “go to” instrument, make sure it fits the style of music you’d like to play.  Don’t buy a guitar that was built for shredding and heavy metal if you’re into the blues. That’s not going to be a marriage made in heaven.
Make an accurate assessment of what you can afford to spend and set a budget.  While it is generally true that that the larger your budget, the better the instrument, that doesn’t always hold true.  In the collection of 10 great guitars we review here, there are several that deliver far more value and quality than their prices would suggest. If you are diligent in your research, you’ll end up with a really fine instrument at a price you can afford.
A great electric guitar should open up an entirely new world of music and enjoyment you have never experienced before. However, you need to have some knowledge about the things that differentiate a great guitar from one that is only average. So, to help you out in this endeavor, take a moment to read the information presented below. It will help you make a more informed decision.
The Body of The Guitar
Electric guitars come in 3 distinct body structures; solid, hollow, and semi-hollow. A guitar’s body has a remarkable impact on its sound quality. Consequently, certain guitars sound best in some specific genres and not in others.
Solid Body Electric Guitars – these are probably the most common of all other guitar varieties. The body is made entirely from wood. The solid body architecture of the instrument gives it increased sustain and a reduced feedback. The end result is that electric guitars with a solid body have the widest tone range among all other guitars. They, therefore, can be used to play any music. Nevertheless, they are the champions of rock and alternative music. You thus can’t go wrong when you pick a solid-body electric guitar for rock and/or alternative music.
Hollow Body Electric Guitars – this is the original design that was used on the very first electric guitars. Just like an acoustic guitar, a hollow-body electric has a completely hollow inside. This gives them a warm, mellow tone. The use of the hollow body has been extensive in jazz. It also makes a great instrument for country, folk and rock and roll. You can also tweak the setup to give you a distortion that is sweet, raunchy, and terrific for classic blues or rock tunes. On the whole, hollow body guitars will have more feedback than solid body electric guitars.
Eddie Durham and Charlie Christian made jazz music came to life with their hollowbody electric guitars
Semi-Hollow Body – this is an incredibly good all-purpose guitar. Why? Because it is a hybrid of the solid and hollow body types. Most of the time hybrids like semi-hollowbody guitars offer the greatest utility and allow the musician a better instrument for playing a wider variety of musical styles. These types of guitars have the best qualities of the solid body guitars such as reduced feedback and increased sustain, as well as the finest aspects of the hollow body such as the warm, mellow tones. Blues musicians particularly adore the semi-hollow body electric guitar. It is the duality of a sweet, mellow tone and amazing crunchy sound that makes this a favorite for many.
Chuck Berry and Freddie King touched the souls of many when they played the Blues on their semi-hollow body guitars
Guitar Pickups
The heart of any electric guitar are its pickups. The pickup, in the form of a magnet with a wire coil, collects vibrations from the guitar string and converts them into an electric signal that can be translated and amplified into sound. A pickup can either be a single-coil or a double-coil.
Single-Coil Pickups – these represent the most basic pickup Like the name suggests they simply are a single coil of wire. Classically, single coils produce bright, punchy sounds. These are tones that will cut across other dense band sounds. John Mayer, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Eric Clapton among many other famous players used single coil pickup guitars. However, they produce a slight humming noise in some instances. The P90 is a single coil pickup that doesn’t have this noise. This is because the P90  employs a wide single coil that has a wide surface area for the guitar strings. The pickup thus collects more of the string vibrations resulting in a duller tone than a simple single coil pickup.
Humbucking Pickups – they are at times referred to as dual coil pickups, but more often they are simply referred to as humbuckers. Two single coil pickups are grouped together in series to constitute the humbucker. Humbuckers ‘buck the hum’ produced by single coil pickups. In simple terms, they eliminate it. They thus produce powerful rich tones without any buzzing or humming.
Guitars with double-coil pickups are ideal for thick, loud and powerful tones. They are also quite versatile hence their extensive use in rock, heavy metal and Jazz. Slash, Duane Allman and Jimmy Page are some of the notable names who played using the humbucker pickup.
Multiple pickups – Most electric guitars have multiple pickups. The very earliest electric guitars had only a single pickup. While there still are guitars being manufactured with a single pickup, the vast majority of modern guitars  have 2 or 3 single coils, 2 or 3 humbuckers,  or even a combination of humbuckers and single coils. Such setups offer the player greater range of tonal options. Access to the various pickups in your guitar is manipulated through controls such as rotatory knobs, toggle switches or blade selectors.
Piezo Pickups – unlike the humbuckers and single coils, Piezo pickups are crystalline. These are usually sensors in the guitar’s saddle. They additionally collect mechanical vibrations unlike the coil pickups use magnets to tap string vibrations. Consequently, Piezo pickups are sometimes used to trigger digital sounds or synthesizers. When used on an electric guitar piezo pickups are often utilized in the simulation of acoustic tones. They are also used alongside magnetic pickups to increase a guitar’s tone versatility.
Active Pickups and Electronics – Pickups can also be active or passive. Most guitar pickups are usually passive.  An active pickup incorporates a preamp to shape the sound. They also use energy from batteries. Electric guitars may include also include other active electronics such as filters and equalization circuits. A guitar with active electronic has added sound control, higher output as well as clearer and cleaner sound.
Guitar Accessories
Controls – most electric guitars have volume and tone controls to regulate the output signal. The controls can thus vary the sound giving you warm, mellow, soft tones or even very raw, distorted and brought sounds. Some newer guitars may even come with digital technology that gives you more sound variety than what a traditional electric guitar can give you. Some guitars also feature what is called coil splitting. This gives a player an even greater variety of pickup sounds to choose from in a single instrument.
Scale Length
This is the length of the vibrating string from the nut to the bridge. A short scale length is best for small hand since it offers less tension and easier string bending. A short scale produces warm tones. Long scale lengths, on the contrary, offer greater and tighter string tension. The tone from a longer scale is thus bright with a well-defined low end.
Neck Construction
The neck extends from the body, and it’s the part where the tuners of the guitar are mounted. It includes a headstock and a fretboard. It also has a metal truss rod that holds the neck in place and prevents twisting or bowing. This truss rod can also be adjusted to maintain a constant pitch. The fretboard is commonly a thin layer of rosewood or mahogany. It can also be a maple neck in some models. Inlaid within the fretboard are dots or other markers. In some models, the markers are on the upper edge for enhanced visibility.
A guitar’s play-ability is greatly affected by the profile and width of the neck. These two features also impact on the comfort of the player when fretting. Therefore, the width and the depth of the neck is an important consideration when making a purchase. A player with small hands should go for a narrow, shallow neck. A beefier neck is conversely best for individuals with large hands.
Generally, a neck can be V-, U-or C-shaped. Experimental shape designs are however also available. Three commonly neck structures include:
Bolt-On Necks are usually bolted onto the body. This cost-effective model allows the neck to be replaced with relative ease. It nonetheless offers reduced resonance and sustain when compared to other neck construction models.
Set Necks are usually glued firmly onto the body. This offers stability as well as better resonance and sustain than bolt-on neck guitars. Nevertheless, neck replacements and repairs might be a bit of a problem with necks of this variety.
Neck-Through guitars characteristically feature a laminated neck spanning the entire guitar body with fins or wings projecting from the body. This offers enhanced stability and an increased sustain and resonance from the guitar. As you might guess, neck repairs and replacements here are not only difficult but costly too. Nonetheless, with the excellent stability offered here, such repairs and/or replacements are rarely required.
Tonewoods
Though a guitar’s sound principally comes from an interaction between the vibrating strings and the pickup, the wood of the guitar has a significant role in modifying the sound produced by the guitar. It’s the wood’s resonance that determines the length of the strings’ vibration as well as what shape their motion takes.  The wood may additionally regulate pickup movement. Various tonewood options are available.
Mahogany has been used in all parts of guitars except bridges and fretboards. It is usually rich brown in color and is also dense and strong. It, however, isn’t very hard and thus is best for mellow guitars playing midrange and bass frequencies. It, however, is very resonant and has an enhanced sustain.
Maple is usually favored for the neck. It can also be used on the fretboard to add to the sound definition. It usually is hard and dense. It is known to give attractive grain patterns called figuring. It gives an overall bright tone. The figuring and the brilliant tone mean that maple is often used as a top laminate or veneer for the expensive guitars.
Rosewood is common on many fretboards of electric guitars and occasionally on guitar bodies. It is beautiful with colors ranging from near-black to blond and variegated brown. It is usually very dense and hard; when used on the body, it may make the guitar quite heavy.
Ebony is primarily found on the fretboards of the pricey guitar models. It is usually very hard and dense. It is black and usually has a silky feel to it.
Ash is commonly used to make the body of solid body guitars. Compared to Mahogany, Ash is harder and more resonant too. It not only gives the guitar a well-defined midrange bright tone but also offers a ringing sustain. Ash is particularly appealing in that it is light colored with unique grain figuring. Hence, ash is almost always given a transparent Swamp ash is an exceptionally appealing tonewood that’s found on high-end guitars.
Alder is the most common tonewood on solid body guitars. It has tonal characteristics of ash but is less expensive. It is light tan in color and not as highly figured as ash. Hence, Alder often gets an opaque finish.
Agathis has the tonal characteristics and appearance of Alder. It, however, is less resonant and often used on the more affordable guitar models.
Nato or Eastern Mahogany is a very strong wood found on the necks of the less expensive guitars. It has a warm resonance and is considered to be quite cost effective.
Hardware
Electric guitars come with a host of hardware styles for different uses. The quality of a guitar’s hardware is often directly proportional to the cost of that guitar. Better hardware often means that the guitar will have enhanced stability and versatility. The most crucial hardware components include the tuning machines, tailpieces, and bridges. Tuning machines are of particular importance. High quality tuners (like Grover’s) will not only make the guitar easier to tune, they will keep your guitar in tune for a very long time. Having a guitar that goes out of tune all the time is a major annoyance.
The Sound
Once you know the various components of an electric guitar and how they affect the tone and sound, you must decide on what sound you are looking for. This obviously will be determined by the kind of music that you play. A blues or classic rock player needs a guitar that is powerful and offers a full sound. This can be offered by a solid or semi-hollow body guitar with a P90 or humbucker. Hollow body guitars are an excellent choice if you are playing folk or country.  Modern day electric guitars may differ in tone, but many models do offer tremendous versatility and can be . Additionally, some accessories can help you replicate a myriad of tones and sounds.
Summary
Well, you pretty much can’t miss no matter which of these guitars you pick. We are very fortunate to live in an era when there are finely crafted and super affordable  guitars coming out of China and the Far East. Yes, it’s always great to buy American, but with few exceptions, almost all of the companies we recognize as “American” guitar manufacturers are having the majority of their guitars built offshore. Why? Because they can build and import great guitars and sell them at prices that you and I can afford. How many of us can afford high-end, domestically manufactured guitars? And let’s be candid about this. If I were to give credence to even a small percentage of the criticisms I’ve read online regarding quality control issues with at least one of the domestic manufacturers, I’d be very reluctant to spend big bucks for one of their guitars.
Source
from Electric Guitar Digest http://electricguitardigest.com/ten-best-electric-guitars-for-under-500/ from Electric Guitar Digest https://electricguitardigest.tumblr.com/post/159718074680
0 notes