Guitar Players Help Me!

[Watchdog]

Alright. So I want to play the blues guitar as I mentioned in another thread. I'm a big boy; however, my hands are small.

I prefer lightweight guitars with smaller fret boards. Right now the only one that feels comfortable to me at all is the Gibson SG. It is around six pounds plus with a feel that I love.

But the problem is the sound I want is the Buddy Guy sound produced from a Stratocaster.

Question is . . . Can I get the Buddy Guy sound (clearly not his technical proficiency) from a Gibson SG if I run it through a particular amp and/or sound effects, pedals and such I would imagine?

And is there another guitar that you would recommend me trying. The Parkers, I believe, come in at about 4.5 plus pounds. Anyone played or owned one of these?

All opinions are welcomed. And thank you in advance.

[FeelingTheBlues]

I'm not an expert but here are my thoughts on your question:

The Gibson SG is a wonderful guitar that has the advantage of coming with quite a few different specifications. Note that the main difference in the electronic parts between a Stratocaster and an SG is, as far as I'm concerned, the single coil pickups in the former and the humbucker pickups in the second. As far as I'm concerned, you could get a pretty similar sound even with bigger pickups if you use a good amplifier and some distortion pedals (if you want my honest opinion, a guitar that is plugged in a pretty powerful setup will be able to produce an awful lot of different sounds so you may be able to reproduce Buddy Guy's tone). I'm not sure what Buddy Guy uses but I know some tribute pedals have been released a few years ago (are they good? I cannot tell but you can always try them at a music store). The best thing to do in my humble opinion is to go to a store and try different guitars with different accessories and see if you can find a sound that you like before buying anything.

Otherwise, here's a guitar that I bought about two years ago, perhaps you'd be interested in such a model.



The advantage of this one is that it combines two things that could possibly make you sound more like him whilst being comfortable when you play. It's the Gibson SG Special 60's tribute, a light guitar with a comfortable and thin neck that has P-90 pickups (also known as soap bars, they're single coil pickups), its sound is, as far as I'm concerned, a bit different from a regular Gibson guitar, I recommend you to look for a similar model.

Again, I'm not an expert but I hope this will help. Worst case scenario you could always get yourself a good guitar, a good amplifier and only play with the buttons you have. Most of the times bluesmen only play with their tone knobs on their guitars and when the sound comes out of an amplifier with a bit of overdrive you can get a pretty smooth and nice sound.

[b06tmm]

What is your budget? That's the big factor.

Now a days the gear is so much better than what it used to be and with modeling amps you can get almost any sound you want.

I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about what kind of guitar, but what feels good to you. Eric Clapton will sound like Eric Clapton no matter what he plays. As they say, tone is in the fingers.

When I picked up the guitar again in '05 the guy at the guitar store was telling me everything that was bad about that guitar (Ovation Celebrity acoustic), it doesn't have a solid top, it has a plastic back, not made in the USA, etc., but that guitar just felt right.

Go to a several music stores and try every single guitar you might be interested in, and then some. Look for one that has a demo room where the little teen shredders won't interrupt your concentration. Most music stores will understand and will hopefully help you in your quest.

Again, looking back to when I got that guitar in '05, I tested most of their acoustic guitars over several days and my finger tips were tender and sore. When I picked up that Ovation I just knew that was the one.

If you want to just cut to the chase, just get this.

Oh, last but not least, the great thing about learning guitar today is that we have You Tube, I've found it a very valuable resource in learning songs.

If you want I can PM you my cell number if you have any questions as there are so many different things to think about.

[chicfarmer1]

Get a Strat. Done and done. It's not that heavy, the neck is divine, and you will be madly in love with it.

No idea what it weighs, but when I had mine it didn't strike me as that heavy, and I'm not a dude.

[b06tmm]

Whoops, I just realized you said you like the feel of an SG. Get one with P-90's as they are single coils but they'll never get that "quack" that Strat's are known for and in fact sound more like a telecaster.

I just sold a 50th Anniversary Pete Townshend SG because the neck felt like it was a mile long.

[Watchdog]

Originally Posted by FeelingTheBlues

I'm not an expert but here are my thoughts on your question:

The Gibson SG is a wonderful guitar that has the advantage of coming with quite a few different specifications. Note that the main difference in the electronic parts between a Stratocaster and an SG is, as far as I'm concerned, the single coil pickups in the former and the humbucker pickups in the second. As far as I'm concerned, you could get a pretty similar sound even with bigger pickups if you use a good amplifier and some distortion pedals (if you want my honest opinion, a guitar that is plugged in a pretty powerful setup will be able to produce an awful lot of different sounds so you may be able to reproduce Buddy Guy's tone). I'm not sure what Buddy Guy uses but I know some tribute pedals have been released a few years ago (are they good? I cannot tell but you can always try them at a music store). The best thing to do in my humble opinion is to go to a store and try different guitars with different accessories and see if you can find a sound that you like before buying anything.

Otherwise, here's a guitar that I bought about two years ago, perhaps you'd be interested in such a model.



The advantage of this one is that it combines two things that could possibly make you sound more like him whilst being comfortable when you play. It's the Gibson SG Special 60's tribute, a light guitar with a comfortable and thin neck that has P-90 pickups (also known as soap bars, they're single coil pickups), its sound is, as far as I'm concerned, a bit different from a regular Gibson guitar, I recommend you to look for a similar model.

Again, I'm not an expert but I hope this will help. Worst case scenario you could always get yourself a good guitar, a good amplifier and only play with the buttons you have. Most of the times bluesmen only play with their tone knobs on their guitars and when the sound comes out of an amplifier with a bit of overdrive you can get a pretty smooth and nice sound.

Thank you so much for your informative post. I learned a lot and will use the information.

[Watchdog]

Originally Posted by b06tmm

What is your budget? That's the big factor.

Now a days the gear is so much better than what it used to be and with modeling amps you can get almost any sound you want.

I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about what kind of guitar, but what feels good to you. Eric Clapton will sound like Eric Clapton no matter what he plays. As they say, tone is in the fingers.

When I picked up the guitar again in '05 the guy at the guitar store was telling me everything that was bad about that guitar (Ovation Celebrity acoustic), it doesn't have a solid top, it has a plastic back, not made in the USA, etc., but that guitar just felt right.

Go to a several music stores and try every single guitar you might be interested in, and then some. Look for one that has a demo room where the little teen shredders won't interrupt your concentration. Most music stores will understand and will hopefully help you in your quest.

Again, looking back to when I got that guitar in '05, I tested most of their acoustic guitars over several days and my finger tips were tender and sore. When I picked up that Ovation I just knew that was the one.

If you want to just cut to the chase, just get this.

Oh, last but not least, the great thing about learning guitar today is that we have You Tube, I've found it a very valuable resource in learning songs.

If you want I can PM you my cell number if you have any questions as there are so many different things to think about.

Thanks for all the information. I have always liked the look of Ovation guitars. I think you're right about just finding one that "feels" right.

[Watchdog]

Originally Posted by chicfarmer1

Get a Strat. Done and done. It's not that heavy, the neck is divine, and you will be madly in love with it.

No idea what it weighs, but when I had mine it didn't strike me as that heavy, and I'm not a dude.

I really like the Strat sound; however, I enjoyed the lighter weight of the SG. The neck on the Strat is great, as you said.

[Watchdog]

Originally Posted by b06tmm

Whoops, I just realized you said you like the feel of an SG. Get one with P-90's as they are single coils but they'll never get that "quack" that Strat's are known for and in fact sound more like a telecaster.

I just sold a 50th Anniversary Pete Townshend SG because the neck felt like it was a mile long.

P-90s may be the way to go.

Thanks again!

[carrieruppert]

For Strat sound fender is believed to be best. So You may go for it specifically for strat sound pickup. One more interesting thing is that Gibson comes second and Fender comes seventh in top brands for guitars. See http://www.ranker.com/list/best-acou...werner-brandes