Korgscrew
Group: Super Admins
Posts: 3511
Joined: Dec. 1999 |
|
Posted: July 27 2011, 20:09 |
|
Certainly a massive number of guitars are built by Cort and an even more massive number are built by Samick (who build an insanely high percentage of the world's guitars).
PRS actually went down a slightly different route and chose the smaller World Musical Instrument Co. to build their SE line.
I have to admit I haven't had much experience with them. I had a quick noodle on one once and it seemed perfectly decent and they've certainly had some good reviews (plus there seem to be plenty of happy owners out there in cyberspace), so if you like the look of them and fine them comfortable to hold, then there's probably not a lot of reason not to get one.
You'd probably find one of those a decent choice if you're going after sounds like those of Lindsey Buckingham or some of Mike Oldfield's distorted lead sounds. A Strat might be better for going in the direction of David Gilmour, Chris Rea or some of Mike's cleaner moments, but then you might find that some of them - like Syd has already suggested - might not quite fit with the 'lots of sustain' and 'not sounding too "sharp"' requirements. That said, a good Strat should have a warm but clear sound rather than 'sharp', with a fair amount of sustain (though they tend to not have as much as things with the more Gibson/PRS type construction). Some of the lesser Strats and Strat copies really are just plain thin sounding, though!
The question of whether to go for a more expensive instrument to start on is quite a hard one to answer, actually. Like a lot of people, I started off on cheaper instruments and moved my way up slowly. The more experienced I got as a player, the more I was able to appreciate the subtleties of the better made instruments. That said, I don't think I ever had a really bad one - I think if you get an instrument you really don't get along with, that'll probably be extremely offputting!
Despite having been down that route myself, I think I'd say that if you can find a guitar you really think you'll get along well with, spending as much as you can afford to spare is really not a bad thing. That way you can get yourself something you find really inspiring to play, which then becomes an encouragement to take your playing further.
I'd say that to an extent, all electric guitars demand a fair amount of precision, or at least they're sensitive to it. You might see someone like Pete Townshend doing the windmill arm thing and wonder how much I know what I'm talking about here, but then I can also say from experience that the whole windmill arm maneuver needs a fair bit of precision in itself if you want your hand to still be on the end of your arm by the end of it. A lot of people seem to feel they have to really clamp their fretting hand to the guitar, with the thumb wrapped right round the neck, which seems to always lead to a nasty, sour kind of sound as they pull the notes out of tune (which isn't helped by the stiff kind of vibrato you get if you're playing it like you have to cling on for dear life). So...I think electric guitars are actually quite sensitive to what you're doing on them, especially as you start to wind the gain up.
I'd not let that put you off, though - it's what makes the electric guitar such an expressive instrument.
|