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What is a good guitar for playing Surf-Rock, Jack Johnson style and, Blues?
I am looking for a good and versatile guitar for playing Surf, Blues and, pretty much everything in-between. I have a pretty big price range of around $200-$500 and I was thinking about something like a "Fender" but I am not sure. I am looking for an electric guitar if that helps, because sometimes people give me acoustic guitars as responses...
Hello there,
This is easy. Fender Standard Stratocaster.
Later,
Hello again,
You can use a Fender Jaguar. But not every one finds the short scale length (only 24 inches) to be comfortable to play. I played a short scale Fender as a kid when I was learning to play. Now that scale length is not comfortable for me to play. If you like the Jaguar, try one before you buy.
Nearly everyone finds a Strat pretty comfortable to play. The guitar has good balance (neck is not going to hit the floor if you let go). The weight is comfortable (lighter than a Les Paul). The double cut away body gives you easy acess to the bottom frets. Fender single coil pickups are bright and clean in tone. Nothing beats that for surf.
At $200 to $500, you are in the ball park with some options.
The Squier Classic Vibe is a very good guitar (yes there are good Squiers contrary to what some think). It has Alinco 3 magnets in the pickups like the vintage Fender American pickups. It comes in the 50s series and 60s series. Either is good for surf. Not everyone will like the low output 50s pickups. Try them before you buy. New is sells for about $350. Limited color choices. All have 3 singles and a vintage tremolo bridge. No pickup configuration variations.
The Fender Standard Stratocaster is the work horse. This baby is built to last. My new one is a 1997 year model. Can be had in SSS or HSS pickup configurations. Lots of color choices. Rosewood or maple fretboards. New it is $500. There are many used ones on the market. They last forever, so there are always lots of used ones around. I see used MIM Strats sell on ebay for $200 to $285 all the time. I recently bought a used MIM Strat with a maple fretboard in Lake Placid blue for $200. I like the maple fretboard better than rosewood for 2 reasons. 1) It sounds slightly brighter. 2) I like the feel of lacquered maple under my fingertips.
The Fender Strat is the most versatile guitar out there. It can be used for about anything. SRV to Jimi Hendrix to Malmsteen to Clapton to George Harrison.
Hello again,
I started playing surf over 50 years ago. Over the years I have played it on about every guitar imaginable. I have played it on a 63 Harmony Bobcat (better than you might expect), a 63 Gibson ES-335, a 64 Fender Strat, a 64 Rickenbacker, numerous funky 60s and 70s Japanese imports. Most days now, I play a (custom built) Squier Tele and several MIM Strats (a few custom built ones). You really can use about any guitar. So fine a guitar that is comfortable for you to play. Whatever it is, it will work. The amp is a big part of the sound. I used a black face Fender Bandmaster for years. These days I play a 69 Fender Dual Showman Reverb (my personal tribute to Dick Dale).
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