AppId is over the quota
In my many years of working in the musical instrument retail sector, I've seen so many new guitarists look totally mystified when trying to discover how to get the guitar sound they've heard on their favourite bands records... In cases such as this, I find its good to break the "chain" down to its individual parts - Guitar, signal processors, and amplifier. Once we know what kind of musical genre the guitarist wants to play, we can start to offer some advice on selection the right gear for the job.
Of course, as regards the choice of guitar, this will often come down to looks, and the way that certain musical styles favour certain models (ie if you want to play in a local country band, there's a good chance you'll favour a Fender Telecaster, whereas a classic rock player may love the visual appeal of a Les Paul)... These are for good reason - the telecaster pickups give that clear bell-like tone that is ideal for country music, whilst the humbuckers fitted to a Les Paul will usually have a high gain output, ideal for getting that full, overdriven rock tone. For a good general purpose, all round guitar, I don't think you can go far wrong with a Fender Stratocaster (or Strat as they are known)... Its 3 single coil pickups give a wide variety of tones and pretty much suit any kind of music. The market nowadays though is awash with variations on these classic instruments, so its worth spending some time at your local music store to see the huge range available, and then take some advice.
The next item that the "would-be" guitarist would need is an amplifier, and here the choice is massive. Maybe a 10 watt solid state practice amp will suffice if its just for home use. Amps such as the Vox Pathfinder 10 or Laney LX15 will usually have the option of clean or overdriven tones, basic EQ control, reverb, and a headphone socket for silent practice. Next step after this are still solid state models, such as the Fender Mustang or Vox valvetronix modeling amps... these amps can be anywhere from 20 watts output, but their amp modeling capability allows the user to instantly select the sound they want, be it a clean 50's style tone or an 80s American metal sound... its all there at the flick of a switch. Modeling amps are nowadays extremely popular as they offer a very simple user interface... just select your sound and add some of the onboard effects such as digital delay, chorus, etc and away you go. Many also have USB connections so you can connect them to a PC for sound editing and recording. The inclusion of onboard effects also makes them an economical buy...everything you might need is all there in one box.
Moving up we start to get away from solid state technology and head into the realm of valve amps... usually a far bit more expensive, these amps use an almost unchanged technology dating back 50 years.. Classic amps of the 60s such as the VOX AC30 are still as popular today as they were back then, due to the warm, thick tone that you can only get from a tube / valve amp. Valve amps also tend to give a great overdriven tone as the gain level is increased, so are ideal for rock, blues and metal. There is a massive selection on the market and whilst established brands such as VOX, Laney and Marshall still dominate the market share, there is also a thriving market for "boutique" brands (smaller companies producing high-end models ).
Finally, the sound of any guitar and amp combination can be radically changed with the inclusion of effects units, be they single effects pedals or multi effects processors. As regards pedals, the market seems to be dominated by 2 brands, Boss and Digitech, both of whom have a catalog full of weird and wonderful effects, although once again a number of smaller manufacturers have sprung up offing alternatives. Many guitarists start off by adding effects such as Distortion, Chorus, and Delay/Echo... these give a great palette of tones to play with and then further pedals can be added at a later date (phasers, tremolos, loopers etc - the list goes on!). Multieffects are units that have most or all of the popular effects in them... you can decide which effects you want, edit the parameters and then store the overall sound as a patch... they are great for instantly recalling a sound that you particularly like and usually the cost is far lower than the collection of like for like single effects pedals.
This overview is extremely brief and simple... I aim to explain in far greater detail in later dedicated articles.
Davids knowledge of the music industry comes from over 25 years as a retailer, music teacher, and performer. Currently director of a large independent musical instrument store, Nottingham Drum and Guitar Centre, in Nottingham England.
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