SX Guitars

[Falkner]

I posted a little while ago about getting a crappy First Act guitar to see if I was interested in playing guitar, and I am. Now I need to buy myself a real guitar and I was thinking SX since I see nothing but praise for their basses here on TB. Does anyone have experience with their line of guitars? Are they the same quality as their basses?

The guitar I'm looking at right now is this one: http://www.rondomusic.com/seg1pg.html

I'm not sure what to expect out of a cheap guitar like that. All I really want is a straight neck with frets that won't lacerate my hands, decent enough pickups (I could always change them anyway), and for it to stay in tune decently. I'm not concerned at all with cosmetics since I'll just be hiding in my room hoping no one hears my horrible attempts at Smoke On The Water. Would an SX fit my needs?

[MyUsernameHere]

First Act guitars suck. However, I don't think SX is going to be a huge step up.

There are lots of cheap, relatively good guitars out there you could get. A lot more of them than basses. I'd spring the extra couple of bucks and look for something better.

[Falkner]

Really? That's kind of disappointing considering all I've heard about SX being a good deal. Would you have any recommendation for a rock guitar for about $200?

[baalroo]

For every bass there's probably 300 guitars out there, thus the resale usually kinda sucks on them. Just go pawn shopping.

[jumbosilverette]

Why not examine the Squier line of guitars? Their basses are good.

[scootron]

+1

For that $200 you can get this brand new onliine:

Squier by Fender Standard Stratocaster Electric Guitar with Tortoise Shell Pickguard

This is the Standard Strat by Squier, not the cheaper "Affinity" Strat. Squier Standard is making better products now, in the basses and guitars, and this is a pretty good one.

You can always look in pawn shops or used and find something pretty cool, but if you want to find something new online, this is a pretty good option. It ships free, so you can get it complete for $199.99.

[Falkner]

I guess I'll probably hold off for a bit and get a Squier VM Strat or something similar. A bit more money that I wanted to spend right now, but my VM Jazz bass is pretty good for the money. How is the whammy bar on those Squiers? Would it just bend the strings right out of tune or have those improved in quality too?

[jon118]

Originally Posted by Falkner

I guess I'll probably hold off for a bit and get a Squier VM Strat or something similar. A bit more money that I wanted to spend right now, but my VM Jazz bass is pretty good for the money. How is the whammy bar on those Squiers? Would it just bend the strings right out of tune or have those improved in quality too?

If it's anything like MIM Fenders you won't be able to do anything heavy and stay in tune, it's fine for a really light touch, but if you're doing any crazy dive-bomb mess then they'll knock you straight out of tune.

$200 will get you a Yamaha Pacifica which I've always heard are good. $250-300 is where you can start seeing the good Squiers and some decent Epiphones.

But overall I don't think the SXs would be too bad, not many bad reviews that I've seen of their guitars either. They could work for you. Plus if you're really worried about staying in tune a fixed bridge might be your best choice right now, it's hard to find trems that hold tune, especially in your price range.

*Check Harmony Central for any guitar before you buy, it's a pretty good site for reviews, the SXs don't do too badly there.

[Falkner]

When I say I'm worried about staying in tune, I mean I'm tired of re-tuning after every song or two on my current guitar. (Hey, it was $20 new). That locking bridge was one reason I was considering the SX, but if those Squiers hold tune as well as my VMJ does I'll have no problems. I'm kinda glad I posted another dumb topic here. I may have to wait a few more weeks, but it'll be all the better.