Buying 1st electric guitar....need help..!!

Discussion in 'Guitar Gear Talk Forum' started by kenny92, Feb 15, 2011.

  1. kenny92

    kenny92 New Member

    Hi,
    Just joined IGT. I live in Delhi and was planning to buy my first electric guitar. I have a budget of about 40k but i have to buy the guitar and amp both within that budget.

    Guitar - I was thinking of going for Fender Mexican Strat but i heard that if something goes wrong after i've bought the guitar i wont be able to buy spares anywhere. Please help.

    Amp - Wanted to buy a tube amp or tube modelling amp. Any Suggestions.

    Effects - Ive only played for like a year and a half, so i don't think going for effects right now will be a good choice.

    Genre - I'm more into playing RHCP type funk rock and classical rock like Led Zeppelin.
     
  2. flood

    flood New Member

    mex strat - AWESOME for a first electric, especially since you can afford it. go for it eyes closed, i say. and not being able to buy spares is pure BS - fender spares and generic replacement parts are a dime a dozen, in the worst case you can order them online from abroad.

    amp - a small tube amp will work very well for your needs and fit your budget too. BE3 amps or check out the laney cub 10R too.

    effects - a maybe a boost or fuzz or something of the sort. nothing nails led zep sounds like a tonebender. don't even bother chasing frusciante's rig at the moment - his pedalboard is HUGE. see here: https://www.digitalburn.org/john-frusciantes-guitar-rig-and-pedal-board/ so maybe, for distortion, you could use some sort of all-round fuzz pedal like a big muff.
     
  3. marooned

    marooned New Member

    I wonder what possibly could go wrong and what spares you would need.. the guitar is great and would highly recommend it.. but for your budget of 40k for both the guitar and amp, i think the mexi strat would a bit of a stretch as the guitar itself costs 39k in india.. unless you're planning to pick it up from abroad or a used one..

    EDIT: so incase you want to fit it all in that 40k budget.. you may want to take a look at the squier classic vibe series guitars.. at about 27k in india.. i've not played them.. but people say that they give the mexi strats a run for their money.. and the finish and specs look mighty impressive.. or you could just buy the mexi strat.. and the rest of the stuff later on..
     
  4. theghost

    theghost New Member

    check out the youtube vids for fender mustang II.
    sounds amazing!
    i tried the laney cub 8, nice tones but u have to pick very lightly for the cleans or the sounds distorts.
    anybody actually played the be3 brat?
     
  5. kenny92

    kenny92 New Member

    Well, i checked out a site Music123. They sell a Mexican Strat for $500 which is like 23k including shipping. But since this is my first electric i don't wanna take any chances. I mean what if it turns out to be badly set up right outta the box? Its a pretty common issue with guitars ordered online.
     
  6. flood

    flood New Member

    to be honest, i wouldn't worry about it too much. online retailers are a lot more reliable these days. and at that price, i would just get a setup done locally for a couple of thousand more.

    the real problem i see here is getting the guitar to india. music123 is a US based company, i dunno if they'll ship to india, then there's customs clearance, sipping, insurance etc. to worry about. if you know someone coming from abroad that might be safer.

    i would NOT pay 39k for a mexican strat or 29k for a squier under any circumstances though. i have been ready to pay up to 22-25k for used mexican strats though. there's a LOT one can do with 39k!
     
  7. Torvoraptor

    Torvoraptor New Member

    mustang is solid state. Although, I'm poor. The Mustang II is gonna be my mainstay amp.

    Since fender strats and north american mades are a bitch to find in india, and you likely don't have a guitar playing relative to pick up one from the US, you should probably just trawl bajaao and stores looking for good asian brands since they'll be available relatively cheaply in india. Or get something that plays great but has shitty pickups and then switch them out for awesome pickups.

    Or go second hand, pick up something nice from IGT (your best bet sadly, unless you're connected to the band circuit), and invest heavily in the amp.
     
  8. kenny92

    kenny92 New Member

    Firstly, this guitar will be like my long term guitar. That's why i have a budget of 40k. I'll save up and buy the effects one at a time and add up to the rig later. Right now its just the amp and the guitar.
    Secondly, i do have relatives in the US and the UK. So i think that'll help. But they don't know anything about instruments so they wouldn't know if its set up right.
    As for the amp, i was thinking of going for Vox VT15 from Furtados. Any thoughts?
     
  9. kenny92

    kenny92 New Member

    Woah..!! Dude..!! Mustang is awsome..!! That's it my amp has been decided. But where do i buy it from in Delhi? If Bajaoo has it for 13.5k then it should be cheaper at a retailer.
     
  10. Torvoraptor

    Torvoraptor New Member

    It's also perfect for a computer-phile like me with all its strange customizations.
    I couldn't find the mustang anywhere in delhi about 3 months ago. Hopefully its been shipped in by now. Good luck with your search.

    The problem with having a relative buy is that they may pick up a a piece that isn't great even if they get the right 'brand', then there's the whole arduous carrying back to india hassle. An above par Classic Vibe squier will likely outperform many MIMs, and if you play it you can ensure you get a good piece.
    I think that there are guitars out here that might be able to match MIMs (the 'upper end' models of asian companies)... but I really have no clue where to begin looking for them. It'd be a lot of work either way. Bajaao for example has a paul gilbert custom ibanez thats cheaper than a MIM strat... I find it hard to believe that the paul gilbert custom is worse than a MIM but I haven't played either. Can't say.
     
  11. kenny92

    kenny92 New Member

    Well, Bajaao is selling the Mustang 2 for 13.5k. If u buy it from outside then u get it for 10k(exclusive of taxes). So if u add all the other customs and taxes then it sums up to the same amount. So i don't think that buying the amp would be a big issue. The hard part is buying the guitar, making sure that the setup is okay and then getting it to India without laying a scratch on it. I can buy it here in Delhi but there is a big difference b/w 39k(for guitar alone) and 27k(with hard shell case included). And, if u get to play the PG custom then do tell me cause even i find it hard to believe that a signature custom model is less than 40k.
     
  12. theghost

    theghost New Member

    getting the guitar is here very easy if you carry it in a hard case.
    but that ******* GC employee sold me a lemon,i talked to him on the phone and told him to do a setup with low action and new daddario 9's and he was "yeah sure its all done".
    When i opened the case it was clear he sold a floor model with the worst setup ever!

    He also suggested a TS9 will sound better with my marshall mg15 than a processor!
    I looked him up and turns out he's a platinum room manager..hah

    If you are gonna ask a relative to bring it from the US then make sure its a local mom n pop store as you can talk the owner directly and get a good guitar.ALso look up the store reviews on yelp.com
     
  13. kenny92

    kenny92 New Member

    What's a TS-9?
     
  14. flood

    flood New Member

    kenny92, i know a guitar player (plays for one of india's bigger metal bands) who is selling a mex strat within your budget. i could PM you his contact details if you're interested.

    a TS9 is a tube screamer, an awesome overdrive pedal. you need to use it with a tube amp though - it will get very scratchy with a solid state amp. i love my tube screamer to death, i have the TS10 though which is somewhat different.
     
  15. kenny92

    kenny92 New Member

    Yah....but im finding the Mustang 2 a very good amp for the money.
    Solid state...24 pre amps....40w.....kinda good fr home and giging...i not planning to do any major gigs.....and besides maintainence of a tube amp is a tough job in india...!!
     
  16. Torvoraptor

    Torvoraptor New Member

    Because they're expensive, need to be imported and won't be bought by experienced hands?
     
  17. flood

    flood New Member

    analogue stompboxes all the way. hands down. i've never liked a processor enough to buy one, so i've bought stompboxes from day one. then i started building them and my collection just grew...

    i do own 2-3 digital effects - two delay pedals and the digitech whammy. also the kaoss pad mini but that isn't a pedal (or strictly speaking a guitar effect).

    particularly if you're a classic rock fan, you can't go wrong with stompboxes. start small and get them one by one. i don't regret it one bit.

    just don't get too ambitious early and try to replicate the john frusciante pedalboard :D
     
  18. kenny92

    kenny92 New Member

    Does GC ship guitars to India..??
     
  19. kenny92

    kenny92 New Member

    Okay so the guitar and the amp is decided...what stompbox should i start with??
     
  20. theghost

    theghost New Member

    GG does ship guitars to india but it will be expensive than the local price coz of the shipping, customs and octroi.Also the selection will be limited.

    If ur amp is gonna be the mustang then stompboxes is a bad idea as it a modelling amp, better get the laney cub 10.
     

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