Now, I'm not huge on what-should-I-buy threads, but when it comes to guitar, I'm clueless.
The Squier Strat's starting to fall apart after seeing many owners, myself being the latest of them. Both straplocks ripped out, the knobs are falling off, tuners rattle, and it generally refuses to stay in tune at all anymore - don't touch that trem. Or whatever it's called, I wouldn't know.
In school, the band director has decided that with our two guitarists soon to be departing at the end of the year, I (finally) can put down my trumpet and play a stringed intrument. And since we already have a bassist, I get the guitar. The guitar that's at school right now - a 60-something reissue MIM Strat, sounds like genuine crap. No one can coax a decent tone out of it.
And whoamygod, we're gonna play some Trans-Siberian Orchestra stuff. It's like a dream come true.
Thus my current situation: I need a guitar. I'm looking at the $400 range, give or take a little since I'll have a summer job. Requirements are 22 frets (at least) and...uh, not pointy, please. Kinda hurts to sit down with those things. I honestly don't know what else to look for...I've heard the locking tremolos are a pain, so I'd probably rather not get one of those. I've been looking at getting something from Rondo, considering the good things said about the Agile Les Paul copies. I'm liking the looks of the rootbeer colored bodies and the ebony fretboards.
Also, if someone could suggest a good pedal or two, I'd greatly appreciate it. I like effects a lot; I play experimental and ambient stuff on solo bass (Shameless plug: look me up on myspace.
www.myspace.com/fearofpancakes). In this case, though, I don't think I'll be needing the horrid amounts of delay and reverb or wah pedals I use there. I currently have a Digitech RP100, but I'm not too fond of half the distortions on it. I think I'd prefer overdrive...I'm sure everyone's familiar with the cranked Marshall half-stack sound. That's the effect I'd like to achieve, preferrably without having to shell out another $600 on a half stack. I'll be playing lead parts like what's on TSO's Christmas Canon Rock and Carol of the Bells (hah, not that I can actually cleanly play those yet...)
I'll be playing a lot of other stuff with it, too, though, so it can't just be a metal guitar. We do jazz, improv over blues stuff, and have recently gotten into funk with The Chicken (one song I do get to play bass on ^_^).
Any help is appreciated - I want to have as much input as possible before I start to shop around. I can't get to music stores very often, and even then only for an hour or so at a time, so I need to make that time as effective as I can.
Thanks,
Nate
