What brand of guitar is the best?

[RedXIII]

because it seems that First-Act is cheap,but i read horror stories about First Act Guitars,while a guitar by Gibson at Sam Goody seems to be $168 U.S. Dollars,while Fender is the most expensive.

Which one is the best.

[bridgit]

1. Gibson, Martin...

:shrug:

[driver8]

2. A Gibson guitar for $168.00??

No freakin' way.

If that's true, I'll take 10!

It depends on what kind of music you want to play.

Acoustic -- Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Takamine, Guild, Yamaha...depends on how much you want to spend.

Electric -- Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, Guild, PRS, Epiphone. If you are just starting out, you can't go wrong with a Mexican made Stratocaster. It's a good guitar to start with. I don't know anything about First Act.

Give us a little more info on what you are looking for...

[av8rdave]

8. I have a Mexican strat....

It's reasonably good, though I understand you may or may not get lucky with the particular one you buy.

[PVnRT]

14. Another vote for a Martin acoustic

I inherited my grandfather's. It's easily 20-30 years old, but the sound is still incredible.

[driver8]

17. Wow -- I'll bet it sounds amazing.

Sorry about your grandfather, but he left you something very special.

[qnr]

3. If it makes you feel better about spending $168, I spent about $800 on a Martin

for my wife once. They can get expensive! And yeah, it was worth it, even though we're on fixed income and I had to save for a while.

[av8rdave]

9. They make some beautiful sounding instruments, don't they?

[qnr]

10. They certainly do. Um, well, not in my hands, though :) n/t

[av8rdave]

12. I have the same problem...when people ask me if I play guitar, I reply

"I don't actually play it...I hold it and make terrible sounds with it."

[av8rdave]

4. Totally depends on what kind of playing you're going to do...

acoustic or electric? If acoustic, acoustic-electric, dreadnaught or cutaway? Different makers are good at different types. Same for electric: Solid body or hollow or semi hollow? Neck through or bolt on? Pickup arrangement? Again, depends on what you're looking for.

Fender is probably the best known name....probably best known for being versatile electrics, though not necessarily the best. Fender makes guitars in the US, Mexico and I believe Japan. The US made are the most expensive, and tend to be better quality.

Also, many guitar makers have premium and not-so-premium lines, much like the American automakers do. Sometimes the less expensive line is just as good as the premium, sometimes not...depends on the maker.

Price alone is not a good measure of how good a guitar is. If you're thinking of buying one, take along someone who knows guitars...look at a lot of them and play them a lot. Most importantly, have an idea what kind of playing you want to do. If you're just starting out, most of the major makers have guitars for just that purpose - reasonable quality for a good price, though if you become a serious player you'll want to "upgrade" at some point.

[driver8]

19. The Japanese made Strats are very nice, too.

They are hard to find, though.

Does anyone know if Fender is still producing guitars in Japan?

[av8rdave]

29. Never played a Japanese strat...as of a couple of years ago they

still were making them there, but don't really know if they are now or not.

[Taverner]

5. It depends on what you want to do with it

You know, if you're doing a 30+ minute version of "Dazed and Confused" and you dropped a tab of acid right before you went on at MSG...that double-necked Gibson EDS-1275 just works.

[KitchenWitch]

6. Accoustic or Electric

If I were getting an electric I would get a Gibson. Accoustic, either Martin or Taylor.

[driver8]

20. I almost forgot Ibanez!!

They make some great guitars and are often overlooked because they don't have the "name" that Fender and Gibson has.

They are also more "reasonably" priced than a Gibson or Fender.

[Oeditpus Rex]

22. Isn't Ibanez

a subsidiary of Gibson?

[driver8]

30. Epiphones are made by Gibson --I don't think Ibanez guitars are.

But, I may be wrong!

[Oeditpus Rex]

33. Ah, yeah

That's what I was thinking of. Thanks. :hi:

[KitchenWitch]

24. True!

I like Ibanez's as well.

[Poiuyt]

7. This looks to be a nice one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/2006-cedar-650mm-Ruck-Classical-Guitar_W0QQitemZ170087513883QQihZ007QQcategoryZ2385QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item170087513883

Though you may also want to look at an Esteban

[edbermac]

11. Esteban; that's what he keeps saying on his infomercials.

Plus he wears a cool hat.

[Omphaloskepsis]

13. If you have to ask this question you should get...

something cheap and see if you really like playing.

[MissMillie]

15. that's what I would recommend

never start out investing a lot of money on a new hobby.

[johnnie]

21. Unless it's too cheap

A cheap guitar can really make you lose interest fast.

[KitchenWitch]

25. johnnie - Alfred E is back!

:yourock:

[johnnie]

27. LOL

:hi:

[XNASA]

16. Why take our word for it? Consult the Oracle.

http://www.harmony-central.com/User_Reviews/

From what I know about First Act, they're not a bad guitar. Here are some of their clients.

Notable First Act clients include Brad Whitford of Aerosmith, Paul Westerberg of The Replacements, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, Mike Scaccia of Ministry (who had a guitar painted in his own blood), Perry Bamonte of The Cure and Martin Gore of Depeche Mode.

So there ya go.

[Phillycat]

18. It depends, but I think Guild.

[Giant Robot]

23. Get that Gibson

$168? That seems to be in the too good to be true range. I like Fenders myself. You can pretty much beat the hell out of them and you will never need to tune them. Meh. It depends what you want to do, what your interests are, skill level, etc. Play it before you buy it. See how it feels.

[driver8]

31. I am thinking this Gibson for $168 may be an Epiphone.

I have NEVER seen a Gibson in a retail store selling as low as that.

A buddy of mine found a Vintage Gibson SG in a pawn shop in Idaho -- and got it for $250.00. But those stories are rare...

[Strawman]

26. There's always the B.C. Rich Warlock to consider

jk

[Twillig]

28. that one should come with complimentary leather pants

ala Joe Perry Ca. 1977. :-)

[mitchum]

36. My eyes! My eyes!

God, do you remember when Reed was playing one of the abominations without a headstock in the late 80s -early 90s? But, then again, he was also working a serious mullet at the time. Must have been a period in his life when taste really didn't matter.

[Strawman]

39. That's why he wanted a Mistrial to clear his name

[mitchum]

42. Or maybe he was trying to prove how hetero he was

"Y'know, man, straight cats don't give a shit about how they look"

[pdx_prog]

32. The best kind is the one you can afford....

You can pick up starter Fender acoustics for around $100 that play very nicely. If you want an electric and you are just starting out you can find a Squire Strat for around $99 usually.

[Blue-Jay]

34. Buy whatever looks good on your webcam.

Don't even bother learning to play it. You'll still get ALL the chicks.

[Firepit 462]

35. Albuquerqeue New Mexico made - Pimentel and Sons

http://www.pimentelguitars.com/history.html

[Whoa_Nelly]

37. Dean guitar

I love mine! (Acoustic with amp pick up)



http://www.deanguitars.com/home.php

[Redstone]

38. Electric or acoustic? For acoustic, I'd have to go with Martin, even though mine

is one of the last handmade Yairies. And I have an Alvarez 12-string that is quite nice.

Redstone

[Dukkha]

40. I swear by my Fender Strat

a 70's reissue equipped with David Gilmour's EMG circuitry. Probably more than what you want to spend. I have an Epiphone Les Paul I got back in 2000 for $400 and it's really good for the price. a great rock axe.

Paul Reed Smith is now making some budget guitars that are nice. I used to have a Jackson PRS copy that played great. Ibanez are great too. for a cool vintage sound try Danelectro.

for acoustics i love Alvarez. a nice deep full sound. Takamines are my other favorite. avoid Ovation's fiberglass bodies that do not resonate musically.

[driver8]

43. Paul Reed Smith is making some great "budget" guitars.

I was looking at them in one of my catalogs and I couldn't believe the selection they offered! If I didn't think my wife would kill me, I would think about getting one!!

[smoogatz]

41. A lot depends on your budget, and the kind of music you want to play.

Sounds like you're not into spending more than a few hundo, so that limits your options significantly--especially for acoustics. If you're in the market for an electric, things start to get interesting in the $500-or-so range; you could get a decent Mexican strat or telecaster for around that, or the very good Epiphone "1956 Goldtop" with P90s; a terrific-sounding and playing guitar for a good price. The best of the best? It's been said here already--for acoustics, the mid-upper-end Martins and Gibsons (though I'd throw in some boutique-y makes like Santa Cruz and Collings); for electrics, I'm a bit of a traditionalist--American-made Fenders and Gibsons are what I like to play. Then there's a whole other discussion about amplifiers...

[Drum]

44. Tee hee...

. . . . . .:evilgrin:. . . . . .

[Reverend_Smitty]

45. I've played a Yamaha Pacifica for the better part of 10 years

and they are wonderful electric guitars may I suggest the Pacifica 102S http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/product/Yamaha/Pacifica+102S/10/1 It's a great cheap starter guitar.

I own a 402S which is just like the 102 but is a little more expensive and has fancier hardware

[gr8dane_daddy]

46. For acoustic, I recommend Takamine...

sounds great.

[Lethe]

47. Robin Guitars from Houston

These guys hand craft some bad ass sounding guitars. I owned a Robin Ranger Custom for several years that had incredible tone. They are really expensive brand new ($2000), but you can get a second hand one pretty cheap ($500)

edit: http://www.robinguitars.com