O/T Hot Rod rockabilly/surf guitar reccomendations on a budget?

I figured this would be a good place to post this question since there's so many guitar players here. I've always wanted to learnt o play guitar but have been too short on cash or intimidated to learn sheet music, bla bla the excuses never end. i want to pick up a guitar and learn some rockabilly and surf music, a little blues. Those are my favorite sounds

What can you reccomend in a guitar under $500. I want good quality, and the proper sound- looks, condition, accessories, etc. aren't important. I've read as much as I can and found varying opinions, but for the most part does it come down to the pickups and the amp that really controls the classic rockabilly tone? Gretsch's seem very popular, but out of my price range (though I've watched some Setzer Hot Rods on eBay go unbid on at $1300)

Fender has some realistic prices, but the only guy that plays a Fender I know I'd want to sound like is Buddy Holly (or Mark Knopfler, but that's besides the point), I don't have any artists to compare to. And can you change the pickups on a Fender, I've read they use their own style?

Gibson Les Pauls are pretty pricey, and Mosrites seem expensive now too.

What about an Epiphone with P-90's or something?

Any reccomendations you could give as far as guitar setups, learning materials, websites, or any information on what setups were used by various rock and roll/rockabilly/surf instrumental artists would be great

thanks!!!

 

Rockabilly- Fender Strat - Buddy H.
Surf - Fender Strat - Dick Dale
Blues - Fender Strat - Too many to list (SRV)

Run it through a Fender 112SE, Has reverb for that great underwater sound.

or how about a Telecaster.

Wish I never sold my guitars, had a 93 Fender American Strat and a 77 Les Paul Deluxe. Both ass backwards, left handed

Of course I don't know shit, though.

Farmall

 

I would say a fender strat is the most versatile out there (next to the es-335, but you want budget price so that is out of the question)....I built my strat so it is the way i want it....various 60's and 62 reissue parts with custom shop fat 50's pickups (probably will try some different ones, maybe van zandt or lindy fralin)...i mainly play blues/rock/jazz/experimental fusion type of thing...but i can get a wide range from the strat....but to be honest the guitar is less important than the amp...a good amp can make a shitty guitar sound great, and a bad amp can make a 20,000 guitar sound like it is being played through a bad amp...if you know what i mean...

....so i would pick up a strat if i were you most expensive one you can afford...and i wouldn't mess around with signature models...you are basically just paying for a name....

 

The key factors are #1 the amp, #2 the pickups, #3 the kinds of wood the guitar contains.
You are going to want single-coil pickups and a maple neck. Most Fenders and fender-type guitars have this combo, as do most Gretsch guitars. Whether or not the guitar is a solidbody or a hollowbody (or semi-hollow, which looks the same) isn't nearly as big a deal on low-end guitars.
A Fender Stratocaster is a good place to start, because they are so easy to find and so easy to sell. I personally think that a Telecaster has better twang, but they can be harder to find and harder to sell. If you had more money to spend, I'd say a Gretsch or certain Gibson semi-hollows, but they are pricey. An Epiphone with P-90s isn't a terrible place to start, but they have a shorter neck and a snottier tone than most Fenders. If you want a really crisp Buddy Holly/Johnny Cash twang, go Fender. If you want a raspier more rock-and-roll sound, go Epiphone. There are also plenty of oddball guitars out there that have the right combo of wood and pickups. I had a heavily-modified Gibson Marauder that gave a perfect surf twang.
If you pick a favorite player's sound, I could probably point you to a reasonable combo that would get you close to the sound. The amplifiere is really important, though. Some amps give great rockabilly, and some just don't. You have to play through them to find out. (I've played some Peavey and Fender amps that had it in spades, and others of those brands that just didn't.)

 

Go with a telecaster, Nice Universal guitar between surf and rockabilly,
And If you really wanna be badass Put a bigsby on it. And a Tube amp and a reverb source is a must.

 

Fender Jaguar is imho the ultimate surf-guitar.

 

I like Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent (though I assume most of what I hear is Cliff Gallup), Stray Cats, Chuck Berry, Link Wray, Dick Dale, early Elvis sounds (though he doesn't play the electric?), and more contemporary Mark Knopfler and Billy Gibbons


also, are foot pedals something I'd want to consider or do you just play straight to the amp?

 

If you arent out gigging you dont need to spend a whack o cash on a guitar and it is also a big thing to point out that a lot of your sound is coming from your amp/effects and not just your guitar. The main thing you wanna worry about is if the thing stays in tune and if it will actually tune properly. make sure its in tune with open strings and at the 12th fret octave -- this may only require a neck set to fix but you will sure notice it if you are playin with other people and when you go to solo you are outta tune.
If you go with an Epiphone it'll sound pretty good but make sure when you buy it you also buy a really decent set of tuning machine heads and change them buggers out as soon as you get home. They use really cheap machine heads on the lower line Epiphones and they suck -- lose tune as your playin.
I have an Epi Les Paul that I've had for years and my buddy has an ES style that I play when I go and jam with him -- nice guitars once you change the machine heads.
I've only ever owned the expensive type american produced strats so I cant give a valid opinion on the cheaper mexican built ones but I am not the biggest strat fan in the world.
Right now I mainly play a Gretsch Electromatic hollow body -- its got the body style of a 6120 with cheaper d'armond pickups but it plays and sounds really good. Its a cheaper intermediate guitar (about $1100 CDN) I dont know what they are goin for in the states but if thats the style of guitar you like its perfect cause it sounds and plays good and when you do have the cash to buy your dream Gretsch you'll already be used to the way it plays.
I took mine to the local pinstripe guru and had it all done up and shes just as nice as any of the $4000 jobs in my mind.
Hope this helped

http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/index.php?product=G5126&cat1=&cat2=&q=&st=1

You can give my hobby band a listen at

http://www.myspace.com/rocketoneband

 

atomickustom pretty much nailed it. If you want a cheaper hollowbody, the Epiphones are great. I had a Casino with single coils that sounded better than my Gretsch. Amp makes a huge difference, but there are lots of Fender-clones by Peavy that are easily half the price. I have Delta Blues that I have dragged around as a combo amp for club gigs and it has always performed well (except the tremelo on those Peavys is totally worthless, so just forget about using trem!). I got mine used for 325 or something.

But here's the key: GET A TUBE AMP! Solid state amps are too clean and sterile sounding, even if they are "dirtied up" with distortion. Also, tube amps are warm and bright when played clean. It's the way to go.

If you want to spend 500, get a used Mexican Fender (cheap and usually well made) and a used Peavy Detla Blues or Blues Deluxe or Classic 30 something like that. If you 500 to spend on a guitar alone, Samick makes some really good full hollowbody guitars that are Gretsch-esque and have decient pickups, bigsbys and all for 350-800 depending on model.

Stay away from off-brand solidbody guitars.

OH! and get an echo pedal and make sure your amp has reverb!

 

After breaking the headstock off my second Gibson hollowbody (We are a ROCK and ROLL band), I started looking at buying instruments that are cheaper than what I was buying. The $300 Hollowbody that Sam Ash has is a decent guitar for blues and rockabilly. If you really want that classic surf tone, though, you need a strat. Unfortunately, to my ears, a strat sounds like a strat and that's about it. I even have one with double-coils and it still sounds all stratty. Don't get me wrong, I love strats, but I think hollowbodies are generally more versatile. Your amp makes a big difference, too. I would wholly recommend a Fender amp before anything else, but buy an old one. The newer ones have the input soldered directly to the main board so one wrong move onstage and you have a dead amp. Couple that with a 1-year warranty and you'll end up with a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe sitting in your basement doing nothing, like me. My '70s Bassman is a champ, though. I also have a 70s Marshall that I like, but it's kinda like the strat in that it's hard to sound like anything but a Marshall...

 

Get an amp with good reverb and a nice delay pedal -- danelectro makes a really nice delay pedal or for a little more you could get a delay modeler.
I play a fender hot rod deville amp -- real nice. Any fender amp is good for this style though.

 

I agree with everything stickylifter said. Those epi hollowbody is a damn nice guitar and make sure you have a tube amp. That Peavey Delta Blues is awesome, as well. The guitar player in one of my bands has one and it's dead on a Fender Dual Reverb. I tried to buy one once, but I couldn't find one. If you can, though, they're great for the money...

 

There's some good info here, but everyone missed the main point...play something that just feels right in your hands. Go to guitar stores - if there's a used gear store near you, that's even better. Play anything and everything that appeals to you, and don't worry at first if you don't think it'll have a sound you're looking for.

Being more specific, you can get a decent used Strat (there's nothing wrong with a Mexican strat, especially for a beginner) and a decent amp for $500. If you have a little more, and you want a bluesy, surfy tone, look at Fender combos. I have always, ALWAYS been impressed with Hughes & Kettner amps...they have a new line called "Edition" that sounds great, will do what you want, and is way cheaper than it should be. For whatever reason, they aren't a sexy, coveted product, so H&K stufff usually has low used prices.

If you want a Gibson hollowbody clone, check out the Ibanez Artcore line. Way, way, way better instruments than the Epiphones (I've owned 3 Epi copies of Gibson instruments, and Ted McCarty even told me once that he was disappointed in where Epi had gone, and who would know better than Ted McCarty?) and they're much cheaper to get your hands on. I've had their 335 copy for about a year, and seriously, with your eyed closed, you can't tell it isn't a Gibson. Plays and sounds great, and for the price, it just doesn't make sense how nice it is. Look up their 335 clone, the Ibanez AM73, it's just under $300 and it'll kick an Epiphone's ass.

Yeah, it'd be nice to get an American Strat and an all-tube 2x12 (for stereo chorus/reverb), but you don't need it right now, and it'll be years before you really do.

But I can't stress enough: buy stuff that makes you excited. I've probably owned 20 instruments in the 11-12 years I've been playing, and every one was something that I just had to have, for no reason other than it "spoke" to me or something. Strats, Jaguars, Les Pauls, hollowbodies, Ibanez shredder stuff, basses, 12-strings, acoustics...whatever. When you can pick up a guitar and it just makes you want to play, you instantly forget about whether your pickups are correct to the sound you should have, or whether your amp has the correct preamp tubes. Forget that nonsense.

Yeah, a Strat through a Fender tube amp with the reverb on 10 is the same thing Dick Dale uses. But the best advice, really, is to take a Saturday to hit every store near you, play all kinds of guitars through all kinds of amps, and take home what makes you happiest. I bought a custom PRS when I was 16 - laid down cash, Wayne's World style - and, over 8 years since delivery, I still play it every single day. It still makes me happy, and it's still the first thing I'd grab if my place were on fire. The name on the headstock doesn't mean shit compared to how the thing makes me feel. You can't ask for anything more out of a guitar.

 

great advice everyone. I know what you're saying, though I should probably point out I have 0 musical experience, none, the closest I've come is playing a violin in grade school. Seriously, only had a guitar in my hands a couple times and looked like an idiot, I'd have no idea what to listen for if I were to test drive anything! I just want a good basleine to go from and compare to the artists I aspire to.

Coming from a no experience background, I think it would be easier to make something fit my hands, since I have no feel for it and nothing else to compare it to. Sort of like how vegetables taste good to you as a kid, but you don't know any better?

I can't read sheet music, I don't know the difference between chords (is that what they're called?) what a properly tuned guitar sounds like, etc., I could very well be tonedeaf and not even know it. I just know what sound makes me want to pick up a guitar and think that I have the skills to play it Every few years I'll pick up a guitar magazine, get excited and then shelf the idea cause of some reason or another, but I'm ready, there's no time like the present!

 

Make sure you get yourself a tuner and tune your guitar EVERYTIME you start it. There's few things worse than some bozo who's a great guitar player, but plays constantly out-of-tune...

 

As a newbie to guitar world I will add this. First you came to the right place for some good advise, second as others have said buy the guitar you lust after. I did. Before I made the purchase I had the same concerns as you, others gave me good advise to go hold, and play the guitars I was interested in. The only problem was I didn't know how to play and wasn't about to go into a store and strum on some guitar like I knew what I was doing. So I made the decision to get the best I could afford in the style I wanted and I haven't looked back. I bought a Gretsch and I love it, and yes I am taking lessons and I can't wait each week for the next one. This is something I should have done 35 years ago and as I have told all the people that look at me a little strange for buying this, if I quit playing I'll hang it on the wall and stare at it, I think that much of it. So don't worry if you don't make the perfect choice you will buy another some day and then you will know exactly what to get. Hell I'm already thinking about a second one. Good luck.

 

Hah, nothing wrong with that. I started playing when I saw that Chili Peppers video for Under the Bridge, where the guitar player is just standing there playing the intro, and I went, "I could do that."

So, then, I think a cheap strat (not from the "Squier" line) is the way to go. they're rock-solid instruments, and you can get them cheap because strats are everywhere. You're in Reno, right? Lots o' pawn shops in Reno? Go there, check out prices, then search prices on the internet: look at completed eBay auctions, and new prices on sites like Musician's Friend and Sam Ash. That way, you can be sure that a pawn shop isn't asking $500 for a $150 guitar (that's usually how they roll).

Get a cheap amp from a local guitar store - though I'm not a fan, go to a place like Guitar Center and plug into everything that you can afford, but an entry-level Fender is probably the way you want to go. Don't be afraid of sucking - 99% of people in guitar stores sound like assholes, and the other 1% are just there to buy strings.

So, final advice, find a used Mexican strat and a get a beginner Fender amp with Reverb for surf/rockabilly stuff. And have fun with it.

You know, I still haven't actually learned the intro to Under the Bridge. I guess I should get around to that.

 

If you are wanting to play lead guitar or slide guitar in a traditional rockabilly band, I would go with a telecaster. I worked in a guitar store for a few years, and to be honest, they don't make Gretsch guitars like they used to. I found a lot of problems with them. They are kind of over rated these days as a "rockabilly" guitar because of Brian Setzer. But a good ol' fashioned favroite is definitely a tele. Go to a guitar center, you can find one for a reasonable price. If you are looking for a hollow body "fancy" guiatr, I would suggest going with a Gibson. Just my opinion.

 

Fueled by Burritos said something that rings true for most guitar players. Go to a store and spend a little time there. I know it's easy to think you get an idea for what to look for by opinions, but with the variables of amp and guitar, you have to see (er, rather hear) for yourself what your playing style lines up with.

As far as other guitars for a little bread, you can get a WAY rockabilly sound out of a Danelectro. I don't know why, but they wail. Listen to SCOTS, Rick plays the strings off of 'em.

 

thanks guys, I hadn't considered the Telecaster cause they're not mentioned much, but doing a little research they have a loyal following. Differences betweent the Strat and Tele- the neck thickness, number of pickups, and whammy bar? Do I want a whammy bar for 50's rock and roll?

I'll suck up my pride and hit a few guitar stores and just ask if I can try things out, or at least have somebody that can play go with me to try to play a few licks and I'll see what sounds best to me. My uncle's a pretty good player, I can try and con him into being a tester..... Though he's blind so that always adds a little excitement when we go out with him

 

I have one of the first Strat Specials made that I bought before they were released. Great guitar. I also have an old epiphony Gibson les Paul. Its a great guitar too. I have a stack of others, but these two I have kept. I just was given an ancient silvertone electric that I am going to get back into playing condition because it feels right when I hold it.

Now I just need a good amp. JCM800 for me

 

Exactly!

While I'm not very good, I've been playing guitar on and off for about 17 years...

I love the way that strats sound for surf guitar stuff, but I HATE the way they feel. The necks feel really awkward to me; not comfortable at all! I have really small hands, and I think the necks are just too "fat" for me.


And if it helps any, I have several guitars, including a couple of high dollar ones (Gibson LP Custom and a custom shop Jackson Fusion), and one of the best playing guitars I have was FREE!

My Uncle worked for the Salvation Army thrift store, and whenever guitars came in that didn't work, he'd give them to me (I was like 14 or 15 at the time).
Fix a couple of broken wires, maybe solder in a new input jack, adjust the neck, set the action, and play it!
I actually had 3 of these "free" guitars that played incredibly (And quite a few that I used to perfect my "Pete Townshend"! ), but I gave two away. Two of them were Teisco brand, and the other one didn't have a name on it.
Anyway, you can probably find these guitars at pawnshops for less than $50, and that gives you that much more money to put towards a good amp!

Plus, if you get a cheap guitar, you won't feel quite so bad about taking steel wool to the neck! (an unfinished, or "satin" finished neck is much more comfortable for me...) That's my biggest bitch about my Les Paul; The glossy neck seems almost "sticky".


Hope this helps a little!
Steve

 

I just started to learn. Most of the guys i knew told me to get an accostic to learn. Picked mine up for 140 bucks from guitar center.

 

You cant go wrong with a strat or tele, but remember a good enough wood carver can carve wood with a piece of glass, all the high priced equipment in the world aint gonna make you a tone king unless you can play! So grab a axe and practice!!

It dont mean a thang if it don't have that twang!!

 

Have a browse here........Danelectro's are not too pricey

http://www.danguitars.com/Guitars.html#Danelectro Inventory

Kev.

 

Here is my $0.02 I have 10 guitars and 5 amps. My band plays classic rock style music, everthing from the Beach Boys to The Baby Doll. I have a MIA Strat and an ES335 plus others but my Number one gigging axe is my MIA Telecaster ( see avatar <----- ) All the amps I have, and I use a small 35 watt with 1 12 inch speaker to gig with. All the others are too heavy to carry around. Fender has a very nice Tele called the Highway 1 for about the money you want to spend. P.M. me your address and I'll send you a C/D.

Mick

 

If you're looking for something different try this guy:

http://www.myrareguitars.com/demoguitars.html

He's up in Canada. The guitars are Chinese. I was scared to try his stuff out, but I bought a demo for $250 and its really well made. Been playing for 12 years and own 7 guitars (Gretsch, Danelectro, Harmony, etc) and I love my Eastwood. Great place to start.

If you don't care about looks then get a Strat or Les Paul, but they are easily the two ugliest popular guitars in my opinion.

No matter what you choose, you've made a great decision to start playing.

Another great place to try is: www.musiciansfriend.com
Best damned on-line store in my opinion. Check out their scratch and dent specials. Just a little scratch on something means they can't sell as new, and its a great way to save cash.

Mike

 

Forgot a cool site www.fenderforum.com lots of good info like this place.

 

I forgot, Heres a good one for reviews on gear
http://www.harmony-central.com/

 

Fender actually sells a Dick Dale Strat.
Fender and JBL both worked with Dick on product development.