Purchasing my first-ish guitar

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

HAL9000 said:

If the Epiphone Lucille is what you ultimately want then get one rather than buying 'stepping-stone' guitars which, in the long run, will only end up costing you more money.

Try one first of course.

Judging by the headstock in his profile pic, I think that sounds like very sensible advice!

You should be able to find the odd Lucille on the 2nd hand market (although a lot fewer than around than the likes of Dots/LPs etc), and may well be worth stretching your budget a wee bit. Plus I believe they hold their value pretty well, which can't be said for most beginner guitars when bought new.

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

If you're able to get to London, this could be worth a look?

https://reverb.com/item/12612051-epiphone-lucille-2012-black

Lynx

HAL9000 said:

If the Epiphone Lucille is what you ultimately want then get one rather than buying 'stepping-stone' guitars which, in the long run, will only end up costing you more money.

Try one first of course.

Wish I could man..they're just a bit too expensive at the moment and I'm so eager to start that I don't really want to wait a few months. As mentioned below I may look for a second hand one and just dish out the extra cash..can't really go 500+ though at the moment.

Lynx

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

HAL9000 said:

If the Epiphone Lucille is what you ultimately want then get one rather than buying 'stepping-stone' guitars which, in the long run, will only end up costing you more money.

Try one first of course.

Judging by the headstock in his profile pic, I think that sounds like very sensible advice!

You should be able to find the odd Lucille on the 2nd hand market (although a lot fewer than around than the likes of Dots/LPs etc), and may well be worth stretching your budget a wee bit. Plus I believe they hold their value pretty well, which can't be said for most beginner guitars when bought new.

I honestly think it's the most beautiful guitar ever made. This may sound actually stupid but I get choked up sometimes listening to BB King and looking at that guitar gives me a really insane emotion,..Thank you for posting the second hand one! Driving to London definitely isn't an issue but it will have to wait till I'm back from Holiday in a week's time. The only reason besides the hardware for potentially choosing the HB was because it looks so much like Lucille except with a slimmer body and neck. If I end up actually buying a second hand Lucille I may actually melt lol

Lynx

Musicwolf said:

There's plenty of good advice here already about trying as many guitars as you can without preconception, getting help with a setup etc so I'll just throw one more thing into the mix.  From the selection of perfectly playable guitars that you end up with - pick the one that you like the look of (or better still, love).  It takes time and effort to learn an instrument.  If you have a guitar that you want to stare lovingly at and which you can't pass by without wanting to pick it up then it will help.  I've just set a guy in the office up with his first electric and amp.  I was selling the amp but I gave him the guitar for free (a LP copy by Vintage).  He absolutely loves this guitar and he put in several hours practice over the first weekend (he's been playing acoustic for a couple of years).  If the name is important to you, get that name.   Colour to match your favourite team? If it matters to you then it's important.  This is your guitar, not anybody else's. 

Thanks for your advice Wolf, and kudos to you for doing something so nice for your colleague! 

BeardyAndy

it will have to wait till I'm back from Holiday in a week's time.

There's your issue right there, you've got your priorities all wrong!

Lynx

BeardyAndy said:

it will have to wait till I'm back from Holiday in a week's time.

There's your issue right there, you've got your priorities all wrong!

Yeah I've tried explaining that to my wife hahaha  

Lynx

Small update for you guys..managed to find the only available pre-owned Lucille in the country. Found it on Gumtree and it was in Cardiff (2.5 hours away). Spoke to the gent, offered to send a deposit to secure the guitar and said I'd be away for a week. He mentioned he'd email me back after he arrived home. Sent me an email an hour later and said it was sold. Kinda heartbroken right now lol

andy1839

There one in London, but its pickup only sadly 

https://reverb.com/item/12612051-epiphone-lucille-2012-black

And there's a couple for sale on Facebook marketplace.

Lynx

andy1839 said:

There one in London, but its pickup only sadly 

https://reverb.com/item/12612051-epiphone-lucille-2012-black

And there's a couple for sale on Facebook marketplace.

The one on Reverb was listed 1 year ago though...not sure if that's still available lol

steer

If it is still available, seeing as it is the OP's dream guitar, he should buy it. £ 350 is not a life changing amount of money. The alternative is that you buy a cheapo Harley Benton or similiar for not much less, and you lose money on it when you eventually decide that you should have got what you really wanted in the first place. 

andy1839

Lynx said:

andy1839 said:

There one in London, but its pickup only sadly 

https://reverb.com/item/12612051-epiphone-lucille-2012-black

And there's a couple for sale on Facebook marketplace.

The one on Reverb was listed 1 year ago though...not sure if that's still available lol

I messaged the seller on reverb and it's still available.

Only trying to help bud.

Kalimna

Having bought an Epi Dot used for less than £200 (including Epi hard case), and also having played a friends Epi Lucille, I prefer the Dot, despite the price difference.

Now, obviously aesthetics are personal, but a stepping stone maybe to get a Dot in ebony to get you most of the way there (difference being lack of f-holes and the Varitone on the Lucille). If you don't like it, you will have no trouble selling it on, and if you do like it then all's the better. There are plenty more Dot's available too on the used market (expecially if you aren't absolutely bothered about the colour) than Lucilles too.

Either way, good luck.

Adam

Lynx

Sorry for the delay in replying chaps I’m on holiday atm. @andy1839 thanks so much for messaging him!! I’ll be back to blighty tomorrow so hoping to make a decision and make the purchase. I’ll have a look at the one on reverb again and then make my final call thanks everyone for all your inputs I’ll keep you all updated  

andy1839

Lynx said:

Sorry for the delay in replying chaps I’m on holiday atm. @andy1839 thanks so much for messaging him!! I’ll be back to blighty tomorrow so hoping to make a decision and make the purchase. I’ll have a look at the one on reverb again and then make my final call thanks everyone for all your inputs I’ll keep you all updated  

No worries, hope you had a good holiday and hope you get sorted with your guitar when you get back 

Lynx

Hey everyone, so just a small update from my side. Got back from holiday on Saturday (we had a great time). On Sunday I decided to take a drive to PMT in Birmingham and had a little snoop around. Someone came to help and took down some guitars for me to try and feel. To my absolute surprise, what I thought was right for me was completely wrong. The 335 and similar guitars (although I'm still in love with them) feel too big and uncomfortable. The Les Pauls, heavy and a bit larger neck than I'd like although felt OK. I was then handed a Tele, and a Strat. I was gobsmacked! The Strat and Tele were the most comfortable, felt wonderful, light, and great neck feeling. Went home and had a hard think. I finally decided to place my order, so a nice little strat is currently making it's way to my house along with a VOX amplug 2 Blues and a clip on tuner. Time to start!

Thanks once again for all of your help and advice!

BeardyAndy

Well done @Lynx , as you can tell by my profile pic i'm a fender guy. The great thing with guitars is that they dont take up a lot of room so you can always scratch that Epiphone itch at a later date.

I too have just bought an Amplug, the AC30 and was very impressed with it, also didnt realise when ordering that it has a built in chorus, delay and reverb. There's some clever folk out there thats for sure!

HAL9000

Excellent. As a matter of interest, which Strat? Also, you know it’s the law here that you have to post an NGD thread with pictures, don’t you?

Lynx

BeardyAndy said:

Well done @Lynx , as you can tell by my profile pic i'm a fender guy. The great thing with guitars is that they dont take up a lot of room so you can always scratch that Epiphone itch at a later date.

I too have just bought an Amplug, the AC30 and was very impressed with it, also didnt realise when ordering that it has a built in chorus, delay and reverb. There's some clever folk out there thats for sure!

Thanks Andy! I believe the blues version also has chorus, delay and reverb. It's definitely an amazing piece of kit for 40 quid!

Lynx

HAL9000 said:

Excellent. As a matter of interest, which Strat? Also, you know it’s the law here that you have to post an NGD thread with pictures, don’t you?

Ha! soon as it's in I will surely take pics and post them not sure how you're all going to take this but it's a Harley Benton ST62MN in vintage white. From the reviews it seems to be quite a bit of kit for the money so I think it will be a good starting point for me. I won't be using the tremolo bar though as I would prefer to learn bends. Is it ok to just remove it and leave it off?