Buying a 400$ electric guitar !!Help !!

Hey guys,
I am going to buy a 400$ electric guitar from abroad I guess.I have a list of probable guitars which I may opt for.Please help me and don't say search the forum.
I listen to metal and rock.Basically I want a versatile guitar edging slightly towards metal and rock.Metallica,Megadeth,Amon Amarth,Linkin Park,Coldplay,Green Day,etc.So mixed of soft and hard songs.

Also I want you guys to tell me whether to get a tremolo or fixed or a floyd rose.
Getting 1 pretty soon.So help me out !!


Probable guitars !!

Ibanez RG321EX or RG321mh
Scheter Omen 6 or Extreme 6 fr
Esp LTD M-100FM
Ibanez GRGA42
Ibanez SZR-520
ESP LTD KH-202
ESP LTD M-103
ESP MH-50 OR M-53
ESP LTD F-100FM

I want you guys to tell me which guitar you choose and for what reason its better than others in the list.
If you have any other guitar in mind please let me know.

Also which guitar build do you guys suggest?
Asn't which body ,neck,etc.

PS:Sorry for my poor English.

Ty a lot !!

-Ibanez RGA32
-ESP LTD EC- 256
They both are different as far as playability is concerned. EC256 is more versatile guitar whereas Ibanez is purely a metal guitar.

I'd like a few more inputs. Abroad means where exactly? USA? UK? Europe or some place else? What is your playing experience(beginner, intermediate,advanced)? Is this your first electric? Do you prefer active pickups or passive ones? Do use whammy bar for light vibrato and stuff or you aggressively divebomb?? What other gear is this guitar going to be played through?

Have a look at the PRS SE series like the Custom 24 or the Tremonti SE ones. They are pretty versatile and nicely made guitars. Also look at the epiphone Les Paul Standard and the Epiphone Sg G-400

Originally Posted by ayu135

I'd like a few more inputs. Abroad means where exactly? USA? UK? Europe or some place else? What is your playing experience(beginner, intermediate,advanced)? Is this your first electric? Do you prefer active pickups or passive ones? Do use whammy bar for light vibrato and stuff or you aggressively divebomb?? What other gear is this guitar going to be played through?

Have a look at the PRS SE series like the Custom 24 or the Tremonti SE ones. They are pretty versatile and nicely made guitars. Also look at the epiphone Les Paul Standard and the Epiphone Sg G-400

Getting it from Singapore.I have been playing an accoustic for around 1 yr.Basically you can call me a little above beginner.I have never played an electric.Going tomorrow to try some to get exactly what I want.
I would prefer passive pickups [My friend suggested passive].I wont get a guitar for next 4years I guess so I will try to get a FR or ZR tremolo and work my way to solve the detuning problem.Cant be that bad ?
Also I was going to buy a Line 6 15w but my friend suggested a mircocube [something on similar lines].
Budget for amp is 5k-max 6k

Firstly i would say get a better amp. A peavey vypyr or fender mustang would be a good choice. Some would suggest a keyboard amp with processor but frankly low end processors sound bad to me. Stay away from Line6 spiders. The micro cube is crap. Get a Cube 15xl if you really want roland but i would suggest the peavey or the fender. The thing is a good guitar with a bad amp will sound bad.

If this is your first electric please dont buy a Locking tremolo. That is the reason i asked how are you going to use the trem. And i can guarantee you as a beginner you wont be using a trem in the immediate future. Also the thing that matters is will divebombs and stuff be your playing style? If not then no point in a floyd rose, a simple non locking trem will do. Also I own a ZR trem and it stays in tune but it takes a lot of effort you need to set it up properly, tuning itself is not easy. I would not recommend buying a locking one.

I am not sure about guitar prices in Singapore, those recommendations were based on US prices.

Here are some guitars you can consider based on their US prices:
1)PRS SE Custom 24
2)PRS SE Tremonti
3)Epiphone SG G-400
4)Epiphone LP Standard
5)Epiphone SG Special(Buy this only if the above ones are not within budget)(EDIT: Buy the 2011 version)
http://www.epiphone.com/Products/SG/SG-Special.aspx
6)Greg Bennett AV6
7) Schecter omen 6 Extreme

Originally Posted by ayu135

Firstly i would say get a better amp. A peavey vypyr or fender mustang would be a good choice. Some would suggest a keyboard amp with processor but frankly low end processors sound bad to me. Stay away from Line6 spiders. The micro cube is crap. Get a Cube 15xl if you really want roland but i would suggest the peavey or the fender. The thing is a good guitar with a bad amp will sound bad.

If this is your first electric please dont buy a Locking tremolo. That is the reason i asked how are you going to use the trem. And i can guarantee you as a beginner you wont be using a trem in the immediate future. Also the thing that matters is will divebombs and stuff be your playing style? If not then no point in a floyd rose, a simple non locking trem will do. Also I own a ZR trem and it stays in tune but it takes a lot of effort you need to set it up properly, tuning itself is not easy. I would not recommend buying a locking one.

I am not sure about guitar prices in Singapore, those recommendations were based on US prices.

Here are some guitars you can consider based on their US prices:
1)PRS SE Custom 24
2)PRS SE Tremonti
3)Epiphone SG G-400
4)Epiphone LP Standard
5)Epiphone SG Special(Buy this only if the above ones are not within budget)(EDIT: Buy the 2011 version)
Epiphone - SG Special
6)Greg Bennett AV6
7) Schecter omen 6 Extreme

Thanks a lot bro !!
Such detailed reply.
Ok then I will get a fixed bridge.
Basically I will go tomorrow and check out all the 3 versions.
ZR ,FR and fixed.
But you got me inclined to fixed.
Also the guitars you suggested are versatile no doubt but PRS,Epiphone are less inclined to metal right?
I am madly in love with RG321ex/mh and Scheter Omen extreme fr 6 and also the ESP LTD KH-202.

Also I dont plan to gig atleast for next 1 year so a 10-15w is sufficient right?
You say peavey vypyr.I will look into them.

I am going to Musician Mall,Charni Road this week.You happen to stay in the locality?

Ty a lot !!

@gunnerwholelife I have my ESP EX 260 for sale, Excellent condition, comes with Seymour Duncan JB SH-4 in the bridge position, No dings or dents etc....PM me know if you are interested......

and yes I agree with Ayu, look for a better amp.

Originally Posted by gunnerwholelife

Also the guitars you suggested are versatile no doubt but PRS,Epiphone are less inclined to metal right?

Who said that? Mark Tremonti is the guitarist of Alter Bridge which is a heavy metal band. Tony Iommi uses a SG. James Hetfield used a Gibson 1959 Les Paul. Randy Rhoads used a Les Paul too, so does Zakk Wylde. Plus the PRS custom 24 has a non locking tremolo which is good so you can have a trem too without the hassles of locking ones. The LTD KH-202 has active pickups i think. As for the schecter get the one without the Floyd rose because the quality of the FR on it is not good.


I dont live in Mumbai.

The PRS Custom is way over budget but I can manage Tremonti.But isnt it same as PRS singlecut? If I get that then?
I cant go wrong with PRS right?
Going right now to check these beauties.Will update soon !

Ty a lot ayu

Hey if you're going to play high gain stuff get the vypyr 15. Trust me. And also, you can find an rg321mh it'll be awesome. I love that guitar but I think its discontinued. Also check out a
-Cort KX1Q. Pretty good specs and they come in either emg hzs (passives) or duncan designed HBs.
-Epiphone SGs are pretty sweet too.
And NEVER get a floating bridge!!! Too much hassle! Just watch a video on youtube on how to restring a floyd rose guitar. I was Like EFFFFF...
And also try to get Mahogany as it wont dent as easy as basswood and it wont sound as 'sterile' as basswood. Mahogany has a tighter low end so it should sound better for metal.

so lets see you are into metal huh?
forget about rgr321ex its made out of basswood it does metal too but not as effeciently as its mohagany counterparts

next the trem stuff in this buget is meh and floating stuff isnt recommended for beginners
next prs mark tremonti is a 6 string erg(extended range guitar) it comes with a long 27.5in neck compared to the standard 25.5/22 it doesnt go above c#,you wont be able to tune it to standard egadbe tuning so knock it off too its for advanced players
get a fixed bridge guitar and considering you wont be getting a new one anytime soon get an ibanez rga42 for 500 usd
whats your budget for the amp?

Guy went to two music stores today.

They confused me further.

One shop said get FR or ZR [I loved FR like hell !!]
they said they will teach me how to fix it if it gets out of tune and stuff.
[I also check youtube FR string changing video.Its bad but not that bad.FR rocks man.I need one like hell]


Other shop said dont get FR/Zr and neither any guitars that I had considered.
He told me to get a RG421 [which isnt dat good] or a GIO series .. . .

Also I tried Roland Amp wasnt that great.
They didnt have peavey.
They suggested Vox .
Also I tried an Ibanez Grg250p .
It was awesome !! It was very clean and smooth sounding.
Didnt try the distortion as I dont know any thing to play on distortion.

Also tried RG321.
Its not that good.

So what do I do now?

Dude trust me do not get a floyd rose I repeat DO NOT get a floyd rose! Especially in that price range. If you don't set it up properly, you're gonna have tuning problems and the fricking thing wont stay in tune. Changing strings will take a long time for beginners. And fixed bridges hold tune much better and require very little setup. And I think you'll get much better guitars than any GRG.
The best amp for metal in that price is the vypyr. Its awesome. Ive been using it for 3-4 months now and I love it so much. If you can get a 30w it ll sound better than a 15w because of the bigger speaker and also it has a midi for the footswitch and for connecting to the computer for software updates. Couldn't you try out the cort kx1q?

Originally Posted by deepsal

so lets see you are into metal huh?
next prs mark tremonti is a 6 string erg(extended range guitar) it comes with a long 27.5in neck compared to the standard 25.5/22 it doesnt go above c#,you wont be able to tune it to standard egadbe tuning so knock it off too its for advanced players

Dude again please check your facts before saying anything about any guitar.
PRS Guitars | SE Mark Tremonti Specs Check the link and tell me where does it say 27.5 scale? It is the standard 25 inch one.

I would suggest you buy the SE Custom 24 over the tremonti because the neck of the custom is thinner. But the pickups have a slightly lower output but it is a great guitar I was going to buy the same one but i didnt find it in mumbai.

Originally Posted by amithkallupalam

Dude trust me do not get a floyd rose I repeat DO NOT get a floyd rose! Especially in that price range. If you don't set it up properly, you're gonna have tuning problems and the fricking thing wont stay in tune. Changing strings will take a long time for beginners. And fixed bridges hold tune much better and require very little setup. And I think you'll get much better guitars than any GRG.
The best amp for metal in that price is the vypyr. Its awesome. Ive been using it for 3-4 months now and I love it so much. If you can get a 30w it ll sound better than a 15w because of the bigger speaker and also it has a midi for the footswitch and for connecting to the computer for software updates. Couldn't you try out the cort kx1q?

Not even ZR ?
I just want that crazy effect thingy.It cool !!
I tried the edge 3 on grg250p.
It nice but will get screwed up in the long run.

See guys I am getting confused like hell

If I go fixed My options?
And if i get ZR my options?

Ty a lot for helping me out !!
Love you all !!