Jim Rosenthal
Supporter
Tom,
A few observations:
1) nice to know we have all these guitar enthusiasts in this forum. Building fast cars and being interested in hot rods seem to go hand in hand. I had a friend here in MD who was a really accomplished guitar player (Danny Gatton) who said once that he liked building hot rods and being the garage at least as much as he liked playing music. And he built some very cool cars..
2) I have played and gigged with all the above guitars: my workhorses are a 66 Telecaster (actually an Esquire, but with Tele pickups) and a sixties black LP, the one without the humbucking pickups. The LP is a heavy guitar and after three hours your back and neck really feel it. But how many three-hour gigs will she play? For guitar players, feel of the instrument, the right body shape, and TONE are the most important things. So really this is about going to music stores and trying out a lot of guitars and seeing what she really feels comfortable on and likes to play the most. This probably precludes getting a guitar shipped to you; I think you are better off spending at least a day playing a lot of guitars and seeing what she likes best.
3) as far as Fenders go, the Japanese-built Strats and Teles are the best. The quality is matchless. I would advise you to get the best NEW guitar you can as opposed to a vintage instrument. An older guitar is not necessarily a better guitar and a guitar that is a specific endorser model, like the Beck, Clapton or Vaughn Strats, may be great for that individual player but not to anyone else's liking when compared to a standard model that actually does more things better.
4) As far as Gibsons go, if you can get her to play an SG Custom or an SG Standard, she may like that better for weight and feel. They are not as robust as LPs but they are a fine guitar and a good SG is the equal of anything for playing rock. And their access to the higher frets is as good as anything. SGs have been the preferred guitars of a lot of great players including Jeff Beck, Clapton, Frank Marino, and Terry Kath.
5) I strongly second the advice to get a good tube (valve) amplifier. My newest amp is a black Fender Vibrolux built in the 60s- Fender have reissued almost all of their old designs such as the 4-10" Bassman (not a bass amp, by the way), the tweed Twin, the black Twin and all its' smaller brethren. These circuit designs, some of which are greater than fifty years old, are still built and sold because they are reliable and they sound great. 25-30 watts from a tube amp is plenty for small gigs, and if you need to be louder, you put a proper mic in front of it, and mic it through the sound system.
Vintage guitars are nice and all (I have a few, but they are my daily players, and I have owned them for decades) but you can get just as good a guitar by buying a new one built to an old design. AND she gets to play the actual instrument and not just look at it in a photo- very important.
Also, you should look at PRS (Paul Reed Smith) guitars. Full disclosure; Paul is a friend and he is from this area. But they build excellent instruments and his understanding of pickup design and guitar construction is the equal of anyone now building electric guitars. They are not the same as either a Gibson or a Fender; they have their own voice and style and feel, and thousands of working musicians swear by them. They are well worth looking at.
One more comment: Jeff Beck said, in print, as far as the distinctions between Strats and Teles, something like this: "if you go to a jam session you'll see a lot of people with Strats; watch out for the guy playing the Tele. He means business." A Tele is a very simple guitar, but it has everything you need to make great music, and nothing that you don't. I don't fancy Strats; I think they are needlessly complex and you can't get a good rhythm sound from a Strat. I know that a lot of great players have used them (Beck, Clapton, etc- and the greatest of them all, Jimi Hendrix) but those guys would sound great on anything. And Mike Bloomfield and Robben Ford, two other great players, didn't and don't play Strats. So she may want a guitar that is not so much of a one-trick dog.
Thanks for opening this thread; talking guitars is a lot of fun. Let us know if you have any interest in vintage keyboards. We use a Hammond B3 in one of my bands.
A few observations:
1) nice to know we have all these guitar enthusiasts in this forum. Building fast cars and being interested in hot rods seem to go hand in hand. I had a friend here in MD who was a really accomplished guitar player (Danny Gatton) who said once that he liked building hot rods and being the garage at least as much as he liked playing music. And he built some very cool cars..
2) I have played and gigged with all the above guitars: my workhorses are a 66 Telecaster (actually an Esquire, but with Tele pickups) and a sixties black LP, the one without the humbucking pickups. The LP is a heavy guitar and after three hours your back and neck really feel it. But how many three-hour gigs will she play? For guitar players, feel of the instrument, the right body shape, and TONE are the most important things. So really this is about going to music stores and trying out a lot of guitars and seeing what she really feels comfortable on and likes to play the most. This probably precludes getting a guitar shipped to you; I think you are better off spending at least a day playing a lot of guitars and seeing what she likes best.
3) as far as Fenders go, the Japanese-built Strats and Teles are the best. The quality is matchless. I would advise you to get the best NEW guitar you can as opposed to a vintage instrument. An older guitar is not necessarily a better guitar and a guitar that is a specific endorser model, like the Beck, Clapton or Vaughn Strats, may be great for that individual player but not to anyone else's liking when compared to a standard model that actually does more things better.
4) As far as Gibsons go, if you can get her to play an SG Custom or an SG Standard, she may like that better for weight and feel. They are not as robust as LPs but they are a fine guitar and a good SG is the equal of anything for playing rock. And their access to the higher frets is as good as anything. SGs have been the preferred guitars of a lot of great players including Jeff Beck, Clapton, Frank Marino, and Terry Kath.
5) I strongly second the advice to get a good tube (valve) amplifier. My newest amp is a black Fender Vibrolux built in the 60s- Fender have reissued almost all of their old designs such as the 4-10" Bassman (not a bass amp, by the way), the tweed Twin, the black Twin and all its' smaller brethren. These circuit designs, some of which are greater than fifty years old, are still built and sold because they are reliable and they sound great. 25-30 watts from a tube amp is plenty for small gigs, and if you need to be louder, you put a proper mic in front of it, and mic it through the sound system.
Vintage guitars are nice and all (I have a few, but they are my daily players, and I have owned them for decades) but you can get just as good a guitar by buying a new one built to an old design. AND she gets to play the actual instrument and not just look at it in a photo- very important.
Also, you should look at PRS (Paul Reed Smith) guitars. Full disclosure; Paul is a friend and he is from this area. But they build excellent instruments and his understanding of pickup design and guitar construction is the equal of anyone now building electric guitars. They are not the same as either a Gibson or a Fender; they have their own voice and style and feel, and thousands of working musicians swear by them. They are well worth looking at.
One more comment: Jeff Beck said, in print, as far as the distinctions between Strats and Teles, something like this: "if you go to a jam session you'll see a lot of people with Strats; watch out for the guy playing the Tele. He means business." A Tele is a very simple guitar, but it has everything you need to make great music, and nothing that you don't. I don't fancy Strats; I think they are needlessly complex and you can't get a good rhythm sound from a Strat. I know that a lot of great players have used them (Beck, Clapton, etc- and the greatest of them all, Jimi Hendrix) but those guys would sound great on anything. And Mike Bloomfield and Robben Ford, two other great players, didn't and don't play Strats. So she may want a guitar that is not so much of a one-trick dog.
Thanks for opening this thread; talking guitars is a lot of fun. Let us know if you have any interest in vintage keyboards. We use a Hammond B3 in one of my bands.