The beginner's electric

but guys dont u think that no one buys a guitar jus by looking at it... i mean u always wanna have the feel of wat u are going to buy... how can he buy a guitar from mumbai jus becoz its a 321MH without even getting his hand on it..moreover this guitar has been unused for more than an year now...The quality deteriorates if its not played regularly and everyone knows it.. correct me if i'm wrong..

@guitardoctor
if u wanna buy a used guitar then buy it from delhi itself.. it'd be better...thats jus a advice

 

if you can get a used guitar in delhi, and have the chance to play it, nothing like it. my point was that the RG offered here is definitely a better guitar than the GIO and the pac, and will cost him less - even if any minor setup work is required.

the quality of your playing, definitely. i don't see any plausible reason as to why the "quality" of the guitar itself should deteriorate by not playing it...

what rickkky is probably referring to is neck bow that could be induced by tuning up the guitar to full tension and leaving it unplayed or untouched in general for a long time. now that is simply a stupid thing to da, and pretty much everyone knows that if you don't plan to play for a long time (and i don't mean a couple of days, i'm talking about months or years, depending on the humidity levels) that you absolutely must loosen your strings.

except for extreme cases, neck bow can be corrected by a simple truss rod adjustment. this is where the quality of the guitar comes in - my squier simply wouldn't allow for changes, and the bow stayed for a long time. i've owned a number of budget guitars and one decent one, and the ones worst affected by neck bow in the shortest time were always the cheapos... my fernandes neck is straight as an arrow after 5+ years of medium gauge 7 stringing, and up to months on end of normal tuning and no playing.

qualitatively, i would put my fernandes in the area slightly above the 321MH. which is why i recommended the guitar.

the only really valid argument i see is his apprehension about long distance transactions and not knowing what shape the guitar is in (although the pictures are quite detailed). i understand that can kill a deal for some.

EDIT: also, one detractor is that the 321MH is best suited to metal, although it will handle other stuff in a passable manner. i'd say... look for a telecaster clone.

 

Enough with the long distance argument already. No one said that he absolutely must go to Mumbai to pick up the guitar. If it isn't feasible, then it isn't feasible, but it doesn't mean it's not still the best option.

I'm sure plenty of people felt up their Givson plenty before they bought them but it didn't stop the guitar from being shit did it? I agree that you should ideally play the guitar before you buy it but you also need to have some idea of what a good guitar plays like.

If guitar quality deteriorates if the guitar isn't played regularly then why would anyone buy a '59 Les Paul? I'm sure it wasn't being played regularly because if it was then it would mean it was a great guitar to play and so no one would sell it unless they were in dire need of money. Sure, there are maintenance aspects to consider but when the pictures have been put up, and when you can ask for more pictures from various angles then I think one can safely rule out any warping of the neck (and other deterioration in "quality")

The advice to buy used from Delhi is spot on. Nothing like it, look up the classifieds, ask around for people selling used gear. In spite of all your concern about brand and warranty it is more likely that you will get a good guitar in good condition for a good price.

 

what he said.

and if i think i can afford it i'm going to snag that RG. go buy your cute little GIO

 

Been busy, checked the forum today.

Thanks a lot for the advice, guys. I agree that a second hand might be a good option if I can get my hands on someone experienced with guitars to go with me and check it carefully for defects... I'll be sure to check out the secondhand guitar options in Delhi.

@Flood: Like I said, it's just a matter of avoiding long-distance transactions, not any allergy I have from buying used. I mean there's no way I can examine a guitar located in Mumbai before buying it, can I? If someone is selling a guitar in Delhi feel free to point me that way. Giving me the Mumbai link is pretty useless.
And feel free to snag up the RG if you want to... I'm not going to buy something used without testing it for defects, as simple as that.

 

i'd advise you to look for a tele of some sort. pretty straightforward to set up, great to play and good tones. best suited for the kind of music you want to play amongst all the choices too. i think a tremolo of any sort will just be unnecessary and the lower end tremolos are terrible at staying in tune, particularly the GIO.

 

i actually prefer used guitars over new ones. because the wood takes time (years) to dry up from the finish and so sounds better. if you know how to check out a guitar and make sure it is good, do try a used one. and often you can get better quality in a used one selling cheap over an inferior pricey one.

and lot of people make the mistake being cheap with their first guitar. big mistake. a cheap bad guitar will ruin your playing and also dry up your interest due to your lack of progress. in contrast a quality guitar can bring up your potential to the max. even after sometime if you want to give up, a quality guitar will get you a good price in the used market.

 

+1...hit the nail on the head....

 

So, what are the channels of info available for someone looking for people selling guitars in Delhi? I don't think the classifieds would have a column on guitars, eh?

 

Classifieds have a musical instruments section.

Check places like IGT, RSJ, Gigpad, Orkut, etc.

Ask through word of mouth with the people involved in the music scene.

 

Update: I've been busy with examinations (Medical College finals, last about 3 months), meanwhile I've gotten better on my acoustic guitar.

I've upped the amplifier budget. One of my friends told me I would quickly outgrow a shitty amp and regret the buy... I've also been drifting towards a slightly harder rock sound and would like some decent distortion. I'm planning to purchase a Roland Cube 15x for the amplifier.

I will purchase the guitar around December end. And yes, I will consider the used options. And definitely post back here about the experience to help other newbies. Thanks for the help and info, guys.

A final question: About the whammy bar - Should I look for one? Or rather, should I look for a guitar without one. I've heard they're bad for beginners and throw the guitar out of tune. If the bar is present, can it be removed (temporarily).

Thanks again guys.

 

Update: My quest is complete!

After trying out all the major music stores in Delhi and playing atleast 30 guitars, I bought:

Greg Bennett Avion AV1
Roland Cube 15x

Thanks again for all the help and see you guys in rockville!

 

Congrats fr the gear man... quite decent, will last u long enough...
N which college r u?
3 months fr final yr exams is quite good, u get enough tym to study, in my college they end within 10 days

 

I'm from one of the famous medical colleges of Delhi

As for the exams, even 3 months fall short, our final exams include more than 15 subjects, big theory books for each of them, not to mention the heap of time spent with the actual patients!

Thanks mates

 

Delhi guitar-buying tips from a newbie

By the way, for guys reading this who want to buy their first electric in Delhi, here are a few things I learnt.





1. Bhargava's Daryaganj tries to force you to stick a shitty advertising sticker on the front of your new guitar if you want to have a 3-year warranty. Otherwise they'll give you a 1-year warranty. These guys do not relent on this, they won't stick it on the back of the guitar, they won't do JACK. They just want to spoil the face of your new guitar for their advertising. Tell the ****ing douchebags to shove the sticker up their arse. Tell them Furtados offers a 3-year warranty without any sticker bullshit.

2. Do enquire about whether the guitar case is included in the price. Many stores quote you a price, then after you buy everything, they tell you to pay extra for the case. Good examples are Bharat Music House and Bhargavas. Douchebags.

3. Ask about the warranty beforehand. Bhargava and Furtados give 3-year warranties. Others give 1-year warranties.

4. Start off by going to a big, reputed store where you can play the guitars at ease without any buying pressure. Bharat is definitely a store to avoid in this aspect.

5. Visit multiple stores as there wasn't a single store which had all the gear I wanted to try. This is true for both guitars and amplifiers.

Big tip: The G major SALE is going on at Furtados till mid January and is a good chance to pick up discounted gear. Go for it!