Any one know about electric Guitars???

[Woohoo]

I've been trying to learn the guitar for a few months. Got an acoustic which sounds good (when someone else is playing it!!! ) But I bought a cheap rubbish electric one - one of the £99 jobs with amp, but the thing is it sounds shite!! even when i'm not playing it. It's got an awful twangy sound. Is it the guitar that's crap or the amp? Does any one know where I can get a half decent amp or giutar very cheap!!

 

[tek-monkey]

It definately tuned in right? I know sod all about music, thats all I can help with! There are enough band members on the forum, I can't help you but I'm sure one of them can

 

[Sofa]

Cheap pickups means a cheap sound and since one good pickup costs around £80 (most guitars need two) a £99 guitar is not likely to sound extremely good.

 

[Wookie]

I've been trying to learn the guitar for a few months. Got an acoustic which sounds good (when someone else is playing it!!! ) But I bought a cheap rubbish electric one - one of the £99 jobs with amp, but the thing is it sounds shite!! even when i'm not playing it. It's got an awful twangy sound. Is it the guitar that's crap or the amp? Does any one know where I can get a half decent amp or giutar very cheap!!

How does it sound when you're not playing through the amp? (Apart from quieter, obviously.) If it still sounds twangy unplugged, it's crippling the sound before you start.
As Sofa said, a decent pickup is £80 on its own, but tbh unless you're running through some serious ampage you won't notice the difference between that and a cheaper one.
Where did you get the guitar? Can you post any links to pictures of it or anything?

It might help if you give it a bit of a going over and set it up properly. Most of these cheap guitars are very badly set up at the factory, which helps keep the price down. Sometimes they can be immeasurably improved by taking a screwdriver to them.
Cheap guitars; hmm. Probably best to avoid 2nd hand unless you've got a teacher or knowledgeable friend who can give it the onceover for you. In Stafford, there's Guitar and Son on Bridge Street and Song and Groove on the Wolverhampton Road; if you're prepared to go as far as Hanley, I recommend Kay's on Hope Street. You really need to spend about £150 on the guitar to get anything that'll last.
My advice? Stick with the acoustic for a bit. When your hands can fly around an acoustic, if you then switch to an electric, you'll find it *so* much easier to play.

I'll send you the invoice for the consultancy

 

[Goldilox]

£99 new, including amp? That's possibly a bit too cheap. What's the name on the headstock, just out of interest? There's perfectly usable guitars around for £130-£150 (Squier strats, yamaha pacificas and the rest). There was a nice cream coloured squier strat in the window of Oxfam last week for £75 - but I doubt it's there now! I find gumtreet pretty good for bargains on nearly new guitars - as long as you can pay cash and collect. There's a Epiphone SG that went up on Fri fpr £95 that would be very tempting if I was in the market for more guitars. Other than that Andy at Song & Groove carries some nice starter guitars (Dean Les Pauls for £89 new! - actually my bandmate rich has one for sale hardly used if you're interested) and will usually cut you a deal. Eric at Guitar and Son is worth speaking to as well although due to the physical size of the shop they seem to have a smaller range.

hope some of that helps

 

[Woohoo]

Thanks for the replies, looks like i'll just have to spend a bit of money(which doesn't come easy!!!!!) Unitl then i'll have to twang away (steady!) with my headphones on so no one can hear.