My first electric guitar

[swampguide]

Once you get your tele, you may find this video by Tim Lerch helpful for setup, string gauges to use, etc.

[dconeill]

Hello Forum,

I've been playing classical guitar on and off for ~15 years. I decided to start practicing jazz and buy my first electric guitar
and would like to know your advice on this. After reading through many threads I came to the conclusion that my best option on a €1000 total budget would be:

Fender Player Telecaster SS (solid body is important due to a baby at home) (€780)
Fender Mustang LT40S (I'm not a professional, only to be used at home) (€200)
Headphones (because of the baby at home) (€50)

I went to a shop yesterday and played on a couple of electric guitars, but I am still clueless because I only know classical. I had no idea there are so many types of amps, pickups.
If you think these are not good choices, or you have better recommendations, please share your knowledge.

Thank you!

The following is a bit of a budget-buster for you, but here goes anyway:
I think you might prefer the Fender Player Plus guitars to the Player series. The fingerboard has a larger radius (12" vs 9..5" on the Player ) - 12" is flatter and might be more comfortable for you.

But here's another suggestion: an Ibanez AS93 - a semihollow, is a rather different animal than a Telecaster but is a very versatile style of guitar. This one's in your budget at US$700. It's semihollow, and not very different from a solid body in terms of acoustic output; and its sound might be closer to the jazz guitar sound you have in your head.

A similar guitar is the Sire Larry Carlton H7, at about the same price.

Another amp to look at in your price range is a Boss Katana 50, US$270. Unfortunately no headphone jack, so it probably wouldn't work for you.

The Positive Grid Spark is also a good amp option, at around US$280, and might be more in the direction you want. Has headphone jack, and is well-regarded. I have no experience with this amp, sorry, But the YouTube videos are promising.

[st.bede]

Just in case and if you are going to use a pick, my experience (shared by some others) is that the Dunlop EJ Jazz 3 sounds the most like a finger. However, I think I have some Pickboy picks that also sound even more finger-ish. (… but I just keep using my Jazz 3 for a few reasons).

When it comes to guitars and amps, that is a lot more tricky. There are differences, but there is also a lot of hyperbole.

IDK, maybe physical aspects could be more important. I just know that for me, some things are easier and other things are harder when I switch between electric and nylon. Often it has to do with how far apart the strings are to each other string. .. but my hands are small and wimpy.

For some reason I keep thinking Gibson/Epi. IDK why. Maybe a Casino? Like I said, IDK why… it could be I have been more obsessed with my gib guitars lately… who knows? … and I am a huge tele fanboy…

[Guitlifer]

Here's another vote for buying the best Telecaster you can afford. They can and have been used to play every style of music. They are simple, easily modified and retain their value somewhat. Even if you come to hate it, shouldn't be hard to sell.

Recently, I did a couple solo 'audio wallpaper' gigs at a small place, playing a Tele, fingerstyle, through a Fender Acoustasonic 40 watt amp. These Chinese made amps are relatively inexpensive, have 2 channels with reverb, headphone and auxilliary jacks and work great for acoustic/electric nylon. And they are also a passable substitute, at low volumes, for a solid state "jazz" amp. As long as you are looking for a clean sound with no pedals.

Ted Greene, Ed Bickert, Robben Ford, Mike Stern, Keith Richards, John 5, Redd Volkaert, Danny Gatton, Roy Buchanan, Jimmy Page, Brad Paisley, Jeff Beck, Andy Summers and countless others have made a lot of great music on Telecasters!

[rpjazzguitar]

I think the Tele is a fine choice, but, like with any guitar, make sure you like the way it feels in your hands.

I think that Yamaha guitars are a very good value, speaking generally. I regularly play their cheapest Strat style. Pacifica 012. The hardware is not highest quality, but it's easy and inexpensive to replace. Other aspects of the guitar are fine. May have a thin neck which might feel too small to a classical player.

[Bop Head]

I think the Tele is a fine choice, but, like with any guitar, make sure you like the way it feels in your hands.

I think that Yamaha guitars are a very good value, speaking generally. I regularly play their cheapest Strat style. Pacifica 012. The hardware is not highest quality, but it's easy and inexpensive to replace. Other aspects of the guitar are fine. May have a thin neck which might feel too small to a classical player.

Yamaha guitars are well built and you can get them used rather cheap. Last year I got a used Yamaha Pacifica 120SD tele for very cheap (the natural finish one w/ P/Us already exchanged to Häussel humbuckers) which is my main electric guitar now.

The guy I bought it from had removed the Yamaha logo and recently the double bass player at a jazz session asked me if the guitar was custom built LOL.

The Yamaha teles are not so easy to find now but you can find the Pacifica strats very often. I think a lot of people are looking to make some money because of the rising inflation and are selling the guitars bought during the corona lockdown having found out later that they did not have the nerve to learn an instrument. Try to find one with a fixed bridge (no tremolo).

[GordonM]

You should go to a shop and sit down with some different shaped solid body guitars to see which feels more comfortable for you. I also started on classical guitar but would not advise any particular type of electric as feel and comfort are most important. FWIW I'd rather have a Flying V than a Tele because it's really comfortable to play when seated but you really have to try and make up your own mind.

[alltunes]

Here’s is a pretty sweet looking Squier blackguard less than 8lbs. The lighter the better for me.

Access to this page has been denied.

[Bop Head]

Here’s is a pretty sweet looking Squier blackguard less than 8lbs. The lighter the better for me.

Access to this page has been denied.

Saw the same one used today for 360 EUR asking price.

Squire by Fender Telcaster Classic Vibe '50s Butterscoutch Blonde in Berlin - Pankow | eBay Kleinanzeigen ist jetzt Kleinanzeigen

[aemanon]

I think you might prefer the Fender Player Plus guitars to the Player series. The fingerboard has a larger radius (12" vs 9..5" on the Player ) - 12" is flatter and might be more comfortable for you.

But here's another suggestion: an Ibanez AS93 - a semihollow, is a rather different animal than a Telecaster but is a very versatile style of guitar. This one's in your budget at US$700. It's semihollow, and not very different from a solid body in terms of acoustic output; and its sound might be closer to the jazz guitar sound you have in your head.
.

Thank you for this advice! Yesterday I went to a shop to try the Player Plus (due to its different fingerboard, as you said). Then the shopkeeper recommended an Ibanez AM53 and it was surprisingly quiet without the amp, almost as quiet as the tele. So I might have started out in the wrong direction when I was looking for a tele. The semi-hollow Ibanez was surprisingly comfortable. AS93 was not on stock, I am going to look for it in another shop.

[dconeill]

...Then the shopkeeper recommended an Ibanez AM53 ... AS93 was not on stock, I am going to look for it in another shop.

Just a couple of things to be aware of. My apologies if you know these already.

The Ibanez AM line has a smaller body than the AS line. The AM lower bout is 14.5 inches, while the AS lower bout is 15.75 inches.

Most semihollows that have a center block have a "stop" tailpiece, as was on the AM53. The tailpiece and bridge are bolted into the center block.

Some similar-looking guitars are hollow or nearly hollow. The Ibanez AMH90 is almost fully hollow, for example. (I'd recommend the PRS SE Hollowbody Standard to you but it's out of your stated price range.) Most such guitars have a "trapese" tailpiece, reminiscent of a violin tailpiece, attached to the end of the guitar. The AMH90 might suit you apart from possibly being too loud acoustically.

Life sure gets complicated, doesn't it? Good luck in your search.

[Doctor Jeff]

Ok to be contrary—IMO possibly the easiest transition from classical to electric would be the Godin Kingpin. It is so similar in form. I had someone tell me he stopped playing classical repertoire on nylon string and played the Kingpin instead, which I think is baloney, but fingerstyle will feel very similar. Great acoustic sound, and of course nice sound plugged in.

I currently have 2 Teles, which are obviously great guitars, but with quite a different feel to a true archtop.

As far as amps, I agree a Fender Champ would be a good option.

[orri]

As far as amps, I agree a Fender Champ would be a good option.

I think we need to be a bit careful with the terminology here. To me at least "Fender Champ" would usually be a "tweed champ" (most often the 5F1 circuit), it has so far not been mentioned in this thread (unless I missed it?).

The Vibro Champ has been mentioned, it is on the inside kind of a "tweed champ with add ons" but the tone stack makes its sound character a bit different.

The modern Champion 20/40 series has also been mentioned and those are very different amps (as far as guitar amps go, it is still a guitar amp).

I am currently having a "champ" phase where I play a tweed champ clone a lot. I really enjoy it, but it's sound character is a bit dependent on the volume setting. I think it needs to be a bit louder than "typical watching TV volume" to sound nice. I think both a tweed champ and a vibro champ are really cool amps but if OPs top criteria is to play with headphones and play at low volumes I don't think it belongs at the top of the list of recommendations.

[John A.]

I think we need to be a bit careful with the terminology here. To me at least "Fender Champ" would usually be a "tweed champ" (most often the 5F1 circuit), it has so far not been mentioned in this thread (unless I missed it?).

The Vibro Champ has been mentioned, it is on the inside kind of a "tweed champ with add ons" but the tone stack makes its sound character a bit different.

The modern Champion 20/40 series has also been mentioned and those are very different amps (as far as guitar amps go, it is still a guitar amp).

I am currently having a "champ" phase where I play a tweed champ clone a lot. I really enjoy it, but it's sound character is a bit dependent on the volume setting. I think it needs to be a bit louder than "typical watching TV volume" to sound nice. I think both a tweed champ and a vibro champ are really cool amps but if OPs top criteria is to play with headphones and play at low volumes I don't think it belongs at the top of the list of recommendations.

Any variant of a tube Champ is most likely out of the OP's budget (€1000 max for guitar plus amp). He's looking at amps <= €200.

Also, I think we've all missed the obvious: Keep playing your classical and don't worry about waking the baby. The recommendation we always got was not to go to any extra effort to be quiet for the baby. That way the baby gets used to normal sounds and sleeps through noise. When my son was an infant, I played around/to/for him all the time. It actually helped him fall asleep.

[aemanon]

Keep playing your classical and don't worry about waking the baby. The recommendation we always got was not to go to any extra effort to be quiet for the baby. That way the baby gets used to normal sounds and sleeps through noise. When my son was an infant, I played around/to/for him all the time. It actually helped him fall asleep.

Thank you for this advice.

[Doctor Jeff]

I think we need to be a bit careful with the terminology here. To me at least "Fender Champ" would usually be a "tweed champ" (most often the 5F1 circuit), it has so far not been mentioned in this thread (unless I missed it?).

The Vibro Champ has been mentioned, it is on the inside kind of a "tweed champ with add ons" but the tone stack makes its sound character a bit different.

The modern Champion 20/40 series has also been mentioned and those are very different amps (as far as guitar amps go, it is still a guitar amp).

I am currently having a "champ" phase where I play a tweed champ clone a lot. I really enjoy it, but it's sound character is a bit dependent on the volume setting. I think it needs to be a bit louder than "typical watching TV volume" to sound nice. I think both a tweed champ and a vibro champ are really cool amps but if OPs top criteria is to play with headphones and play at low volumes I don't think it belongs at the top of the list of recommendations.

Yes I was thinking of the Champion 20/40. I myself have a SuperChamp XD which is a nice amp, no headphone jack though and not currently being produced. I imagine it could be found reasonably cheap these days.

[Abandoneur]

I don't have babies anymore, but I live in small apartment where sound bleed is an issue. I sold my Eastman archtop because it was too loud. The Squire Jazzmaster that replaced it is absolutely fantastic.

The Fender Champion 20 is a really wonderful, affordable small amp with a headphone output that I use for probably 90% of my practice. I think they run about $120 new, but can usually picked up used for less.

The Blackstar amPlug 2 Fly is also a great little headphone amp -- about the size of a pack of gum -- that plugs directly into the cable jack on your guitar. I use it for couch noodling at night. I think they run like $70. Vox makes similar units; I found the Blackstar to have (slightly) superior clean tones.

More importantly, congrats on the baby!

[Doctor Jeff]

I don't have babies anymore, but I live in small apartment where sound bleed is an issue. I sold my Eastman archtop because it was too loud. The Squire Jazzmaster that replaced it is absolutely fantastic.

The Fender Champion 20 is a really wonderful, affordable small amp with a headphone output that I use for probably 90% of my practice. I think they run about $120 new, but can usually picked up used for less.

The Blackstar amPlug 2 Fly is also a great little headphone amp -- about the size of a pack of gum -- that plugs directly into the cable jack on your guitar. I use it for couch noodling at night. I think they run like $70. Vox makes similar units; I found the Blackstar to have (slightly) superior clean tones.

More importantly, congrats on the baby!

Do the Champ 20 and 40 use the same software models as the Tonemaster series? Seems like Fender has the modeling thing down, if you like their tube versions.

[John A.]

Do the Champ 20 and 40 use the same software models as the Tonemaster series? Seems like Fender has the modeling thing down, if you like their tube versions.

I suspect (but don’t know for sure) that they do, with some differences (e.g. the Champions only have bass and treble knobs, so they can’t fully mimic a TMB tone stack). I think the biggest difference is in the amount of processing power the Tonemasters throw at the software, and of course cabinets and speakers. But the C20 is phenomenal little bit of gear.

[TheGentleTone]

Another amp to look at in your price range is a Boss Katana 50, US$270. Unfortunately no headphone jack, so it probably wouldn't work for you.

Boss Katana 50 does have a headphone jack at the back.