Which is the right Guitar ?

[DevStereo]

Hey Guys,

 

I've been playing Rocksmith 2014 first on Ps3 and then switched to the PC Version because of the awesome cdlc's of course. I bought the Rocksmith 2014 Bundle. So playing like almost 1 Year with my Epiphone Les Paul Junior and have some little issues with the sound of it. I thought maybe my technique was off or the strings just sucked. I restringed it few times with different strings. By far Ernie Ball strings worked the best for me. But still it makes such weird noises when i start playin unplugged.

The scratchy noise gets worse when i use thinner picks. So with a 1.21mm pick it's kinda okay.

Over time i looked for a new Guitar and one catched my eyesight, it's a pretty guitar but also a expensive one. It's a Schecter Hellraiser C-1 FR Gloss White. The moment i saw it, i knew that i have to get one for myself. But there are just some things that are holding me back to buy one.

Like you guys can imagine, i'm a beginner and also i never used a other guitar besides the junior or even used an amp in the first place.

I'm little bit scared if i buy one and it is broken or doesn't work right and i couldn't notice that right off the bat.

 

So first i wanted to ask you Guys, maybe you can help me out a little bit. [emoji4] I'm kinda the fast buyer, i don't check everything on a product expect pc's and stuff i know about. A good example would be Clothing, if i like it i buy it and it's done. The faster the better in this case.

 

I'll get to the point. I want a Guitar that looks good, sounds good, has no production issues, learnin how to use the Wammy Bar and finally use 24 Frets instead of 22. [emoji1]

 

When i buy a new Guitar, how can i be sure that this guitar is fine and has no issues ?

 

Where should i be careful ?

 

Which amp should i choose for regular playin my favorites songs in my apartment ?

 

How often should i clean and restring such a Guitar to secure it lasts longer ?

 

Thank you Guys [emoji4]

[firekorn]

About the scratchy noise, wound strings have that particularity that, depending on the angle of your pick, you will get a scratchy sound when playing. It's perfectly normal and can even sometimes be a big part of the actual way of playing (pick slide mostly rely on the wound of the strings to make that big scratchy sound).

 

 

When i buy a new Guitar, how can i be sure that this guitar is fine and has no issues ?

Simple answer : you can't. Complicated answer, play it and makes your own opinion, compare to what you know, if you can even bring it to a guitar shop/repair center to get advice and get a good check on the setup.

 

 

Where should i be careful ?

Everywhere... Guitar aren't really a complicated instrument but there's a lot of things to take into consideration, the intonation, the quality of the machine head, the wood and how it was glued/screwed, the actual pickup and all the soldering behind and i can go on and on. Many things don't matter that much as they can easily be fixed either by yourself or at a guitar shop near you for a quite reasonnable price. At one point you have to decide yourself where you want to put your attention and what is important for you.

 

 

Which amp should i choose for regular playin my favorites songs in my apartment ?

Tricky question as you can easily say any of them :) How big is the room you're gonna play in is a big factor to decide how many Watt you "need". Do you want/need special effect?  And many other things like solid state or tube can make big differences in the sound you gonna obtain from the amp. As always what are you aiming for is the most important thing to ask yourself before buying something.

 

 

How often should i clean and restring such a Guitar to secure it lasts longer ?

That's the hardest question as everyone will have different opinion and experience. Cleaning would at best be every time you stop playing and at worst never but even there that might not change much effect on the actual guitar. The biggest impact will be on the strings themself. The only important part for the guitar is to never let it without any strings on as it will relief the neck of the tension which might lead to an impressive amount of problem depending on the way the guitar was built (to the complete destruction of the neck to almost no issue). A restring could be done everytime one string break. But, if everything is normal, strings shouldn't break really often and you might want to change them simply to not have rusty strings anymore. It mostly depend on how cheap and how easy it is for you to have a new set of strings. i like to change my strings every 3/4 month but that's really personnal and some people might say that i doesn't change my strings enough or too much.

 

One more thing is that with a whammy bar you might want to avoid detuning the guitar as it will be more complicated to tune the guitar with it (or you can use something to block the bridge from moving but that make the whammy bar quite useless :) ).

[DevStereo]

@@firekorn Thanks man,

There is one thing that irritates me a little bit, probably because of my english.

"One more thing is that with a whammy bar you might want to avoid detuning the guitar as it will be more complicated to tune the guitar with it"

So i should not change the tune of that guitar all the time ? or if i restring it to take out the whammy bar and secure the floyd rose before i cut the strings ?

I kinda didn't understand your last part.

[emoji28]

[MaZtoR]

Restringing and tuning a floyd is ALOT more work than a fixed bridge like the Les paul have.

[firekorn]

A floyd rose/whammy bar/ tremolo bridge have one issue is that it moves depending on the overall tension on the strings (aka their tuning). Changing the tuning will change the tension on the bridge and therefore it's inclinaison and the change in inclinaison lead to a tension change on the other strings which change their pitch which force you to retune etc etc etc. untill you arrive to a middle ground between all tension. So of course it takes more time to tune than with any non-moving bridge.

 

It's not that you can't change the tuning with a moving bridge but changing it means that you will have to change the middle ground to reflect the tension change overall if you want to stay as close as possible to the perfect setup which means that you have to remake the whole setup or live with the fact that your setup isn't correct when you change tuning.

[Wepeel]

Hey Guys,

 

I've been playing Rocksmith 2014 first on Ps3 and then switched to the PC Version because of the awesome cdlc's of course. I bought the Rocksmith 2014 Bundle. So playing like almost 1 Year with my Epiphone Les Paul Junior and have some little issues with the sound of it. I thought maybe my technique was off or the strings just sucked. I restringed it few times with different strings. By far Ernie Ball strings worked the best for me. But still it makes such weird noises when i start playin unplugged.

The scratchy noise gets worse when i use thinner picks. So with a 1.21mm pick it's kinda okay.

 

That guitar is pretty cheaply made, but it's still a decent beginner guitar.  To help with the scratching noises, check your technique for holding the pick and strumming.  You're likely making contact with the strings with the side of the pick, instead of the point.  Just keep moving the pick in your hand, or adjusting the angle of your hand, until you find the sweet spot.

 

You might also benefit from taking it into a guitar shop and having a setup done.  A guitar's playability can be improved drastically with a proper setup.

 

 

Over time i looked for a new Guitar and one catched my eyesight, it's a pretty guitar but also a expensive one. It's a Schecter Hellraiser C-1 FR Gloss White. The moment i saw it, i knew that i have to get one for myself. But there are just some things that are holding me back to buy one.

 

 

Keep in mind that an expensive guitar won't make you play better all on it's own.  In fact, it can sometimes amplify bad technique and playing style and make you sound worse.

 

You should also never buy a guitar just because you like the way it looks.  Figure out your budget and then go to a guitar store and sit down and play any guitar within your budget that interests you.  Then choose the one that feels best in your hands and has the features you're looking for.  Talk to the people in the store and ask them some questions.  Tell them what you're looking for, what you like to play, and ask for suggestions.

 

In my personal opinion, I don't think you should buy a guitar as expensive as the C-1 as your second guitar.  I would look for an intermediate level guitar ($400-600 range) and start there.

 

I would also recommend avoiding anything with a Floyd Rose, unless you plan on actually using it.  They are a pain when it comes to tuning and changing strings, especially for a beginner.  For instance, if you want to detune your guitar to Eb Standard or Drop D, or any other alternate tuning, you'll quickly become frustrated with the Floyd Rose 

 

If you want to do basic bends and dives, look for something with a standard tremolo (like what a Fender Strat has).

 

 

Which amp should i choose for regular playin my favorites songs in my apartment ?

 

 

For an amp, google "practice amps" or "beginner amps" to see what options are available.  Unless you want to annoy your neighbours, look for something that is 75 watts or less.

 

Modelling amps are good choices for beginners and for home practice.  They're great because they have multiple amp models and effects, all in the same amp.  So you can change amps and sounds just by pressing a button.

 

Vox, Fender, Roland, Yamaha and Amplifi all make good modelling amps.

 

Again though, I would recommend going into a store and playing guitar with some of the amps you're considering.

[DevStereo]

@ MaZtoR @@firekorn @@Wepeel thanks guys for your advices. If the Floyd Rose is such a pain the ***, i won't buy it. Probably because i'm short tempered.

That problem would be solved, a fixed bridge is probably easier to clean anyways [emoji28] .

I'll definitely go check out what my store has to offer. A good friend of mine works there, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal to get one that feels comfortable. And they do like Customizations there, maybe i can grab my junior change pickup and maybe some new overall design. That could be a cool project.

Anyways thanks guys for your advices.

I really appreciate it. [emoji4]

[Wepeel]

@ MaZtoR @@firekorn @@Wepeel And they do like Customizations there, maybe i can grab my junior change pickup and maybe some new overall design. That could be a cool project.

 

Again, this is just personal opinion, but don't invest any money into the LP Jr.  It just isn't worth it.  The Epiphone LP Jr that was bundled with RS2014 was made as cheaply as possible for the direct purpose of bundling it with the game.  

 

It's pretty much a $100 guitar, on par with the Squier Bullet series of Strats.

 

If you like the feel and style of your LP Jr and you want to consider a fairly inexpensive upgrade, take a look at the Epiphone Special II, or the Epiphone LP Studio.

[2groggy]

Spend your money on getting a technician to set up the guitar the you already own. Forget mods.  ignore shiny things.  Get the most out of the LPJR before spending money on a new machine that will probably need a setup anyway.

 

Better yet; learn how to do your own setups