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i'm thinking about getting a new electric and i don't have very much money. I'm kind of limited in the 500 and down range. i've been toying with the idea of getting a hollow-body. The reccomendations so far that i am considering are an epiphone dot or an epiphone es-175.

 

i have a few questions though.

 

I know these guitars sound good in rythym playing but how do they sound for lead? i'm not so much a jazz player and more of a turn up the gain and get some distortion going type of guy. Not too loud though, think wilco or neil young. so will one of those hold up with that type of style.

 

and also i hear they are good because even though they are cheap you can keep upgrading them so if anyone has any opinions on that please share. thanks so much in advance!

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i personally would go for a solidbody if you want to go for more distortion, epiphone les paul or SG might fit the bill. The only hollowbody I have is a casino, and in my opinion doesn't get the job done when it comes to overdrive, etc.

 

 

yeah i was afraid of that. i guess i have a pipe dream of playing one and having it sound like this

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6v5E27Fp59c

 

even though thats a really expensive gretsch haha. oh well, perhaps i need to go back to the drawing board

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Really if you're going with hollowbodies you're really going to have to learn the guitar (and the amp) when it comes to overdrive, and you're definitely not going to use the pedal as much (or much rather at all), just the volume knob.

 

 

i really have no idea what i want at this point haha. i was almost dead-set on a hollow-body and now i don't know.

 

if you guys had to get an electric for under 500 what would you pick and why?

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I would totally get a Fender. I have a Epi Goldtop Les Paul -- it really sucks.

 

My friend had a Epi Goldtop Les Paul.. It sounded great, played great, but couldn't stay in tune worth a crap. So he replaced the tuners with Grovers and after that it was perfect. But then it got stolen out of his car... :realmad

 

But yes, I'm a Fender man too.. Always will be. I still play my 1994 Sunburst American Strat.. Best guitar I've ever owned..

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Oh yeah, one of my bandmates just got a Mexi-Strat.. Plays awesome, looks and feels like American, but it doesn't stay in tune as well as my American.. But you get what you pay for. I still like it, and I'm thinking about getting one to use for a back-up. You just can't go wrong with Fender.. Mexi, or American.. I have dropped mine on the concrete before, had a chip on the bottom of course, but it didn't even lose tune and I played the rest of the show.. A friend of mine dropped his Gibson less Paul and the neck completely broke off.

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^^That's too bad about your buddy's stolen guitar. I think my biggest issue with that guitar's playability is that it doesn't (at least mine) feel like a Les Paul. No Gibson neck profile, etc. It feels like I'm playing an Ibanez or a Fender.

 

Yeah -- headstock breaks are really common on Gibsons due to the angle of the headstock. Honestly, I think the build quality of Fender is better than what I've seen on new Gibson electrics.

 

My two main guitars are a 50th anniv. strat and a ES-335. The strat was about half the price of the 335 and is built WAY better.

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My two main guitars are a 50th anniv. strat and a ES-335. The strat was about half the price of the 335 and is built WAY better.

 

Oh man, you've got an ES-335? That's one of my dream guitars! What color is it? I love those beauties.. Just never have been able to convince the wife to let me get one when I already have other guitars.. But yes, my main guitar is my 94 American Strat.. It has a rosewood fret board.. I also have a hotrail installed in the bridge position.

 

It's funny, but I also had a friend that had a 50th Anniv. strat.. Nice axe.. His was sunburst with a maple neck.

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Oh man, you've got an ES-335? That's one of my dream guitars! What color is it? I love those beauties.. Just never have been able to convince the wife to let me get one when I already have other guitars.. But yes, my main guitar is my 94 American Strat.. It has a rosewood fret board.. I also have a hotrail installed in the bridge position.

 

It's funny, but I also had a friend that had a 50th Anniv. strat.. Nice axe.. His was sunburst with a maple neck.

the 335 is Satin Red, but I've buffed it up a bit. So now, it looks like a vintage cherry. Great sounding axe. Just needed a few tweaks when it was new. Tell your wife you can find one for a decent price on ebay. Seriously -- look up satin finish es-335.

 

The strat is the same as your friends, but with a rosewood neck.

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also the telecastor is too twangy for me. i want something with a little bit of a bite to it when i want it to

 

 

I had to contribute to this thread ... you are sorely missing out if you dismiss the Telecaster based on twang. I have owned several guitars ... Strats, Teles, Jazzmasters, a Les Paul Jr. ... the Telecaster bites. Granted, I replaced the stock pickups with a hotter set, but go play one if you can. Get a tube amp cooking or run an overdrive pedal and work the tone knob on the bridge pickup. I guarantee bite.

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A Les Paul Jr. would fit your needs perfectly, a little pricy and only has one tone but your amp or pedals determines the rest. I can get almost any sound out of my Tele, and when driven that thing rips the paint off the walls, which has lead me to my next puchase, the Casino.

 

A Mex Tele would be a good start. And when you get up a little more money you can change the pups and add a 5 way switch, I can't see how you wouldn't be able to get any tone you wanted. I see Tele players in almost every genre of music out there.

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i have an es-335 and a les paul. both are awesome, but i should mention the DOT you're thinking of isn't a hollow-body, it's semi-hollow with a solid core, meaning it will feed back less at high gain, but still have lots of versatility.

 

i've always found fenders to sound kinda snotty and nutless. i'm kinda juvenile in that i want a guitar tone that will shake my ass when i stand near the amp. get a dot, especially if you can find one c. 2003!

 

i LIKE the fender tele, but it's not my tone. it's a bit too quacky for my sound. i prefer my LP.

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It is really hard to say that one guitar can fit every need. There are many guitars I would love to have, and not in a selfish manor either. The quest for tone is never ending and ever so frustrating.

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  • 3 weeks later...
It is really hard to say that one guitar can fit every need. There are many guitars I would love to have, and not in a selfish manor either. The quest for tone is never ending and ever so frustrating.

 

 

how true, I have owned dozens of guitars over the years, all different types. My love and now long time guitar of choice is the Epiphone Sheriden (sp?). Love the sound through most amps (I've had too many of those as well). I have been using a peavy studio chorus 210 of last and just love the tone and drive I get from the guitar through the clean channel. the fender super 210 works well with this guitar too. you can probably get any combo of these in your price range and it's well worth it.

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