Hello Cujo,
I've been playing guitar and bass (mostly bass) for almost 30 years and have bought and played a shedload of both over that period. First, there is no "best" electric guitar, in the end it all comes down to personal preference, if you like a particular guitar you will be much more likely to play well in whatever style you choose. Also, any decent guitar plugged into a decent amp and cab should be versatile enough to take on a wide range of styles so don't buy into the popular misconception that a particular guitar is good for a particular style and nothing else, e.g. Les Pauls are only good for metal (or whatever). A few years ago the idea that Edge would play the solo for New Year's Day on any instrument other than a Strat seemed inconceivable but when in the mid/late 80's he started using a Les Paul (which is often alleged by would-be gurus to sound nothing like a Strat) for that solo no-one could tell the difference by sound alone. I would also point out that there are lots of good guitars made by firms like Epiphone or Tokia that are, to all intents and purposes, almost indistinguishable from the Gibsons and Fenders they look like. I have played some real dogs by Gibson/Fender and some lovely Epiphones and Squiers (Fender's budget line). You do not need to spend a fortune on a guitar to get a good one. Consider G&L by all means, along with Fenders and Gibsons. But if this is your first guitar I would suggest that you also have a good look at the Mexican Fenders, Fender Squiers, Epiphones, Tokais and whatever else catches your eye in that price range. These guitars are much less expensive than the top of the range instruments, the good ones play very nicely and there is no reason why you should not be playing it in 20 years time, assuming you keep playing of course. I would suggest a good starting place would be an Epiphone Les Paul (with the humbuckers, not the noisy single coil P90 copies) or a Telecaster of some sort, perhaps a Tokai or Japanese Squier (second-hand only but worth finding). Both are classics of guitar design and you should be able to do pretty much whatever style takes your fancy with either. Don't swap the pickups out untill you have played it through a good amp for a while and are sure the change is necessary, especially on the Tele, the pickups are not as bad as many people claim and Fender's own pickup is inherently noisy too. I would suggest staying away from cheaper Strats because of the tremolo system which can be a bit iffy unless it's well made. Also consider second-hand instruments. If I had to recommend a copy guitar, I would have to give my vote to Tokai, who I think make some of the best mass production guitars on the market at any price. My main bass is a Tokai Jazz, and I own a real Fender Jazz and a 70's Rickenbacker 4001 amongst others so the competition is fierce.
Good luck, let us know how you get on.
Mick
), sometimes the clones can give as good if not better service! Alot of fellows will tell you to switch this and that if you buy an Epi, I say if it ain't broke...
