I am looking to buy my first electric guitar, specifically because I want to learn blues licks - any advice please?

Hello Folks, I am looking to buy my first electric guitar, specifically because I want to learn blues licks, specifically bends on an electric. Does that make sense? If yes, what electric guitar brands and models would you recommend for someone who is a beginner with blues guitar? (I already own a couple of acoustic guitars).

I am Dan McGrath and I need help, choosing my first electric guitar

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Hi Dan,

Very much it makes sense. :slight_smile:

I recommend that you find a style and model that feels good to play. since you have some experience with your acoustic, you will find that the electrics feel a bit different. I find neck shape and string diameter the biggest items for me to work between.

Blues is played on a large array of guitars, so you have a lot of options to look at. There are plenty of reasonable copies of popular guitars that have good quality, so you will probably want to examine your preference and then ask about models you have found.

If you are going to target a particular sound, then that can narrow what you will want to look at. Look at the folks you want to use as your influence and see what they have played. Many have played a lot of different models. Eric Clapton has played almost all of the popular models, LP, SG, Strat. BB King is famous for his ES335, but he played other stuff. SRV played a Strat most often. Telecasters and Les Pauls are of course used by plenty of folks. Albert King played a Flying V!

Once you get a shape and pickup type figured out, ask about models of the various brands at that point. Also, be prepared with a budget for folks to recommend to.

I play blues on the following:
Ibanez 761SEW (HSS)
PRS Tremonti SE (HH)
Epiphone SG Modern (split coil and phase invert)
self built Strat kit (SSS)
Godin Kingpin archtop (P90)

Don’t think you need to be picky. you can make anything bluesy.

when you are thinking about an electric also consider:

  • why not lighten the strings on one of your acoustics for the bends?
  • you’ll need an amp (another decision to make) and a place you can hear it without annoying others
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Nice to meet you, Dan and Michael has just about said it all, so I will not add to it, just enjoy your journey here, cheers HEC

one thing that can be helpful to narrow the field is to look at the sorts of guitars being used on your favorite songs/by your favorite blues guitarists.

I’ll probably end up with a strat at some point, but I gave a slight edge to the sound of humbuckers for my first electric. like you, blues is the primary reason I got an electric.

Hi, Dan.
Do you have a few music stores near you? My advice is to go to a store and try out as many guitars as you can. One will have the neck feel you are comfortable with. Get a feel for the balance of the instrument as well as the aesthetics.

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If you are relatively new to guitar and this is your first foray into bending, do consider the different scale lengths too. I found a shorter scale guitar es-335 style) easier than a Strat style, even with 9s on the Strat. Do try a few different models before buying one! Good luck… :+1:

Try Justin’s basic blues for now, if you enjoy it enroll on to BLIM4. What blues do you like! Slow change, quick change, rhythm lead or slide? Chicago blues, delta, Texas?

I think it’s a good suggestion! (Was thinking about the same during BLIM)
Like putting 10s on your acoustic and maybe (if you want to) replace the G string with a plain (not wound) one (not necessary but easier for those bends).
Or a full electric set in that case possibly… doesn’t make sooo much of a difference sound-wise most often.

Depending on how experienced you are, maybe like suggested, try some in a shop. Or get some cheap, but rather good rated E-Guitar and put some not too bad 9s or 10s strings on. I think I heard often recommendations for 9s or 9.5s in the Blues class, but that’s personal preference too.

I think that for getting a better guitar that will make you happy for a longer time, it’s better to have some experience with similar guitars. Just after some time spent with one, you’ll know what pleases and displeases you, so what to look for…

No such beast as a Blues guitar. All the great players have played them all.
Strats, LPs, SGs, ES and acoustics and more. My stable covers all that and more.
It is not about the guitar it is about technique.

So if you want an electric go and find what feels good in your hands, Once you discover that you will have your Blues guitar. But then you will need to put in the hard yards and apply the many many Blues techniques. They are what is important and can be applied to any guitar.

It’s all about technique.

Simples.

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One of the greatest blues guitarists ever, Albert King, played a Gibson Flying V, usually thought of as a metal guitar.

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Hi, Dan, and welcome to the community!
I’m copying my answer from another similar topic, as there’s nothing new I can say about choosing a guitar.
The first thing I can suggest is to choose with your eyes. You want a guitar that you like, that you want to pick up and play as much as possible, that will inspire you just with its look.
Secondly, you probably should pay attention to the pickups, but that depends on the kind of music you wanna play. If rock and metal are on your radar, it’s better to get a guitar with at least one humbucker.
And that’s pretty much it about the specs, the rest you can only figure out while playing different guitar, like what kind of neck you prefer, scale length etc.
The only other thing I can personally suggest is to look more for models with hard-tail bridges, it’s just easier.
One big thing is to try out a bunch of different guitars at a music store if you have that option. That really helps.
As for the amp, I think the best choice is to get some digital modelling amp. You may not use all the features and effects they offer, but it’s better to have such options and not use them than not have any when you need it, in my opinion.

Because it won’t help much? Most acoustic string sets have the third string wound that is almost impossible to bend a whole tone. And there are way to many instances when you need these bends on the third string.

It is based on the bridge setup. I have an archtop with a wound third string. The smallest set I have found is 10s and I can bend those. The tension on that wound string is a little higher than 10s with a plain string, but it is not so high I have obvious trouble bending. I truly do prefer bending lighter strings though!

The strings I have in my collection to try right now are:
D’Addario EXL110W
GHS DYXL

I have the D’Addarios on now and find them noisy with string squeaks. I prefer GHS on another guitar, so hoping those will be more to my liking next string change.

Hello Dan.
Welcome to the Community.

There will be many suggestions but without knowing your budget we are all guessing.
Factor in amp & accessories too.
:slight_smile:

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Now that is well outside the MMS stable but makes the point absolutely.
As the once famous song said

“It’s not what you do but the way that you do it”

Eek scary old vid to follow

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These are still electric strings. On my pretty standard dreadnought I couldn’t bend the third string to a whole tone regardless the gauge, both 12s and 10s are not allowing to do it. But I’m sure there are quite a few other variables I may be missing, so let’s not hijack the topic.

Welcome aboard!
Any idea on budget? You’ll need to get a few bits:
Guitar
Cable
Amp …or
Modelling pedal plus either headphones or an FRFR speaker unit - Check out Youtube channels such as Andertons to see some of the options.

Depending on what you choose, it’s always handy to have a Tuner to clip on the guitar as well, but the pedals and a lot of amps have them built in now.
I think I would start with a HSS (Humbucker-Single-Single) or HSH (Humbucker-Single-Humbucker) Strat style guitar.

The HSH/HSS just describes the types of pickups the guitar has.

Where in the world are you based?

People can make such a simple question overly complicated. This is your first electric, not a forever guitar. Just get a Squire strat or tele and have it set up by a reputable luthier. When you feel like spending more money go shopping and find something that speaks to you.

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Buy one that you think looks cool and you like the way it feels in your hands. Then, get it set up by a guitar tech.

Done.

Thanks Everyone, you were all very generous with your time and responses. I really appreciate it.

Dan

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