What is the best brand of solid body electric guitar?

Answer 1

That's NOT a simple question. The real question that you should be asking is what is the best electric guitar for me? What kind of sound are you after? How long have you been playing? What kind of music do you play?

After you answer those questions, then internet research is the way to go. Surf around on different guitars sites.

www.warmoth.com has some REALLY good descriptions of the differing woods and their effects on sounds. (They make custom guitar parts and are EXPENSIVE. But there is some good data there.)

www.carvin.com has some good data on guitar types and wood too. (They are high dollar guitars, but they are really cheap for hand-made custom guitars.)

Don't go crazy and buy an expensive guitar to learn on. Buy something cheaper and cut your teeth on that. I'm a BIG proponent of buying used guitars. They've already been set up and broken in.

Answer 2

Trinity has a good answer: find out what your favorite musicians play. Be careful, though, they might have significant mods or the exact model they use is needlessly expensive.

I would not recommend going to guitar stores and playing something and seeing if you like it. The quality of the strings will differ and can make a great guitar sound lousy. Also, everything is very subjective.

I don't think the type of wood is important. If wood is important to you, get a semi or hollow body, then maybe.

Pickups are really important: some people think they save buy buying cheap guitars and then putting in nice pickups.

Neck sizes are important. The 'Strat' neck is longer, the frets a bit longer, and is rounded, which give them a certain feel, especially if you like to emphasize playing a few notes at once. Also each note is a bit clearer with a 'Strat' single coil pickup. The 'Strat' maple neck with a good glossy finish I personally find the fun-est to play. The notes just play themselves, or rather suggests what to play.

The 'Les Paul' neck is shorter, inspires you to play more notes, and is the best for 'shredding' and modern rock guitar. Also, the Les Paul type Hum-bucking pickups are less noisy and you really turn up the distortion - although this has been less favored recently.

Answer 3

I've got a standard Stratocaster HSS, it hasn't let me down once in two years. For a $150-500 price range, you should check out some standard Fender and Ibanez. You could probably get a decent entry-level Gibson or Gretsch too (Gibson Melody Maker, not a Les Paul or anything fancy). And you've always got the beginner level companies owned by the big boys like Squier and Epiphone, they make decent instruments to learn on. I'd go to a guitar shop, play everything in your price range and decide what feels good to you.

Answer 4

Gibson, but only if you are ready to spend, $800-$3000 and get you a new or used SG or Les Paul. Do not fall to the cheaper versions, or you might as well buy a hummbucker and throw it in any old body. The real bodies with the real neck are gonna cost ya. If you can find a vintage used, then that is your best bet.

Answer 5

Personally, I play Fender American Strats... as do (did) these players:

Eric Clapton
Robert Cray
Mark Knopfler
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Bonnie Raitt
Richie Sambora
Pete Townshend
Robin Trower
Frank Zappa
Jimi Hendrix
Buddy Guy
Jeff Beck

and the list goes on and on :)

Answer 6

It depends on what sound you are looking for. If you're not sure, most music stores have a jam room where you can take instruments in and check them out. I would take your time and carefully decide. Also remember, you get what you pay for. The $150 Squire strat, which looks and (almost)plays like the $650 Fender strat, will eventually lead to disappointment. You'll spend half the night tuning.

Answer 7

Like EVERYONE else has said, it all depends on your playing style.....because the guitar specs affect tone too. If you play classic rock, stick with a Fender of any type, but preferably an american strat or a baja telecaster. Metal guitarists usually play Jacksons, BC Rich (what I use), ESP and LTD, alont with many other brands. It would help to know specifically what type of music you play. Look on music video's of your favorite artists. If they play something and you want to sound somewhat like them, research that brand.

Hope this helps...

Answer 8

Gibson Les Paul, or Fender Strat

Answer 9

Les Paul, Gibson, Fender Strat, all depends on the sound you want, and every guitar sounds a little different, I've played maybe five different Gibson's and they all sounded slightly different, you have to go to the place where you want to buy one and play until you find the one that fits the sound that you want.

Answer 10

There are some really great brands out there Gibson, Fender PRS, ect. In my opinion I think Fender gives you more bang for the buck. A U.S. made Fender sounds great, is reletively inexpensive and they can take abuse.

It all really comes down to what you want to play and what you can afford.