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A basic guide for Beginner Electric Guitars.

Lets face it, shopping for an electric guitar or any guitar for that matter is a tedious and time consuming process, and this is especially true for beginner's electric guitar. What makes one guitar different from another? Is a guitar that costs $1000 better than one that is $500 or$100?

You get what you pay for.
It can be overwhelming especially for beginners looking at all the different electric guitar models trying to make a decision as to what to buy. And when you add amps, effects, and everything else involved you end up saying to yourself?

OK, what do I REALLY need?
Let me just say for the record that I'm far from an equipment expert. There are plenty of "gear heads" out there that get something new every month. These guys always have the latest and greatest...but I find these guys can hardly play a lick because they're too busy buying all their gear!! I've always been a "just let me play" kind of guy. But it's always nice to have friends like this so you can go over to their place and try out all their stuff.

This article has the beginner in mind so if you've been playing for a while you're probably going to think "well, duh!" But my goal here is to discuss what you need and your different options. Everything below is solely the opinion of this author.

What kind of Beginner Electric Guitars should you buy and how much should you spend?
If you're a beginner just starting I don't recommend spending any more that $500, if that much. You can usually find something to learn on for $2-300 or even cheaper at a flea market or online. You don't need anything more than that, especially if you lose interest. I've only gone through 3 guitars in my life, the first being a cheap Dean that I got for Christmas out of a Sears catalog. I then got an Ibanez 560 Frank Gambale model that I ordered from Suncoast music for Christmas when I was 16 or 17. I had that one for a long time up until 4 years ago when I went guitar shopping for the first time and got a custom made Ibanez S-Series that listed for $1500. By this time, I was advanced enough that I justified paying that much for something good.

The point is don't spend an arm and a leg right off the bat unless you are seriously interested in the instrument. I would focus more on playing and getting better than getting all the different gear.

Its tough to make recommendations but I've always been partial to Ibanez, but there are a lot of good guitars and companies out there. The best thing I can recommend anybody looking for an electric guitar is to go to the store and play different models. This is the ONLY way you can figure out what works best for YOU. Then you can start haggling the sales clerk at the store about their prices.

Usually, buying a Beginner Electric Guitars online will give you significant discounts as well as special deals. You can find lots of great bargains here. Here are some great starter packages. Any of the above packages would be perfect for a beginner, whether you want to play electric, acoustic, or the electric/acoustic combo! And the best thing about I bought one of my Yamaha acoustics from them and I'm quite happy with the customer support, and I also received it in a couple of days. I've since bought a couple other guitars and a Pandora PX4 and I've been 100% satisfied with every online purchase.

2) What about buying beginner electric guitars amplifiers?
This is something that you have to go to the store and try for yourself before you make a decision. I have a Crate GT-200 that I played my Ibanez through at the store when I went shopping that day 4 years ago. For amps you most definitely get what you pay for. Mesa Boogie are the best amps I've heard, but I never could afford them. Depending on your budget, try to make the best decision based on quality vs. your personal budget. Again you will get significant discounts online, but you will definitely want to hear how your electric guitar sounds with the amp you're looking at.

3) What else do you need?
If you have a beginner electric guitar and amplifier you'll need a few other things. Some of them are optional...and mostly a matter of preference.

A realistic method of choosing a low cost electric guitar is to find an instrument with good quality wood, and at least reasonable quality workmanship. Guitar manufacturers tend to cut corners with cheaper guitars, by using cheaper pick-ups, and hardware, but these are all upgradeable items.

FOR DECADES, metal guitarists have favored Ibanez Electric Guitars for their flat fretboard, greasy-fast playability and modernized double locking tremolos. But for a guitar to appeal to devoted metalists, it must do more than play like the devil; it also has to look the part, as well.

After the success of the mildly radical Iceman guitar, Ibanez was convinced that the time was right to build a truly outrageous instrument. The new Xiphos is the company's first guitar specifically built for hardcore and metal players. The Xiphos Ibanez electric guitar takes its name from the brutally effective double-edged sword used by Greek and Spartan soldiers, and true to form, it delivers notes with surgical precision. It is one of the fastest guitars in the Ibanez line, and its specially selected DiMarzio D Activator pickups give it a truly demonic edge.

THE CHALLENGE FOR Ibanez Electric Guitars designers was to create a guitar shape that was incredibly aggressive without giving up any of Ibanez's famous comfort and playability. They achieved this by building the guitar around a five-piece maple Wizard II neck-through design. This rock-hard centerpiece creates enormous sustain, and because the bridge is mounted in this same dense plank, note definition and clarity are maximized. The remainder of the radical X-shaped body is made from mahogany, which adds warmth and depth to the maple's bright core. Although the Xiphos' long beveled points may look unwieldy, the guitar is surprisingly lightweight and superbly balanced.

An Ibanez electric guitar this wild would not be complete with an off-the shelf finish. So Ibanez chose to cover the Xiphos in a sparkling color-shifting paint that they call their Chameleon finish. As you move the guitar, its finish appears to quickly change colors, like an alien cyber skin. The Wizard II's neck shape is thin but not squared, and its somewhat rounded feel is enhanced by the thick Chameleon finish. The fl at fretboard and jumbo frets produce Ibanez's trademark feel. Only a light touch is required to sound a note, and the action is low and level. This style of neck is purpose built for the player that wants to play fast, sweep through the strings, use two-handed techniques and move across the board in a nonlinear fashion. The Xiphos Ibanez Electric Guitars feature Ibanez's Edge III double-locking tremolo. One of the company's most advanced Floyd Rose–derived bridges, it boasts easy tuning adjustment and a very unobtrusive profile. Its tone is very neutral, and it is certainly capable of performing any whammy trick you can imagine. The Ibanez electric guitars new weapon may be the first production guitar to feature DiMarzio's brand-new D Activator pickups as original equipment. They are designed to accurately deliver the same resonant peaks, long sustain and tantalizing harmonics found in today's hottest active pickups. Being passive, they have organic tone and natural response.

IF A RAZOR blade could be musical, it would be the Xiphos. Its acoustic clarity and sharp definition mix perfectly with the DiMarzios' rich output and harmonic enhancements. Plugged straight into a Marshall JVM, the Xiphos delivered a very Zakk-like tone. The DiMarzio's excited harmonics made chords sound enormous, almost as if I was using a chorus. But the punch from the Xiphos' maple core pushed notes right through the Marshall on single note attacks. Even when we played at top speed, every note was clear and distinct. Staccato blasts, especially, cut the air like a machine-gun's rattle, while properly picked sweeps sounded like alternate-picked runs.

We tested the Xiphos' ability to produce clean tones with my modified Mesa RoadKing. In no time, I was finger picking student exercises and recalling my favorite etudes, as if the Xiphos was a fine classical guitar. Even though the DiMarzios are built to sound like active pickups, their passive design ensures a warm response.

In Summary - Bottom Line...

WITH ITS FIVE-PIECE Wizard II neck, Ninja-weapon body, double-locking Edge III trem and DiMarzio D Activator pickups, the Xiphos Ibanez Electric Guitars are one of the most aggressive guitars on the planet. Hardcore ax players may try this Ibanez Electric Guitars because of its hot looks, but they'll buy it because of its lightning-fast playability and blowtorch tones.

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