blues guitars

[georgeguitars]

good blues guitar for under £450?? im thinking fender roadhouse but kinda look for something other than a mex fender??? any ideas?

[Niallmo]

You can play "The Blues" on anything, it's an attitude, not a sound

Having said that, a good Tele on the neck pick-up or something with p90's in would do nicely

Or just get a Tele with P90's!

[frankus]

Most of the guys on the IGF Blues courses that got up and played .. played Teles ... a few strats a few LPs..

[imported_timmyo]

Imho it entirely depends on your preferences and personal interpretation of what a blues guitar is of course. For many it is indeed the Strat (that texas-style neck pickup sound is firmly ingrained in people’s minds after all and the bridge pickup can be used for cutting through) but personally while I love what many people do with them I prefer to play humbucker-equipped guitars, and a low-output, 2 ‘bucker guitar is my preference – or it was until recently when I stopped pigeonholing my guitars and realised that one of them is pretty much best at everything

Seriously though, if it were me I’d go for a 2xHB guitar with coil splits on the pickups for when a vaguely single-coil sound might be called for. If you’re not a fan of HBs or like to use those Strat in-between sounds then your choice will be different. Heck, I’ve even seen people get good sounds out of a <shudders> Telecaster! It’s all preferences. A decent player will get a great blues tune out of a pointy Ibanez with mega output pickups and a Floyd – so I say go for whatever you’ll enjoy owning and playing the most and labels be damned.

[Foster]

I'll echo what has been said, it dosn't matter one bit what guitar you play on. blues is the blues.

I use a Gibson flying V and a Gibson SG special faded. Also gots a Gretsch and a Squier telecaster (amongst other guitars).

If you want a fender and something thats a workhorse then go look at telecasters.

[Supernovaa]

My main blues guitars are my Fender Strat (with Tex Mex pickups) and my P-90 Les Paul.

I think P-90's are great for blues. Bit more gutsy than a single coil whilst retaining more clarity than a humbucker.

Saying that, I used to have a Telecaster with a humbucker in the neck and that was a fantastic blues guitar

It's probably best to go for a guitar that feels good to you, and then perhaps experiement with some different pickup combinations to get the exact sound you are looking for.

Definately consider P-90's

[Blueseric]

Originally Posted by georgeguitars

good blues guitar for under £450?? im thinking fender roadhouse but kinda look for something other than a mex fender??? any ideas?

Okay,
your contempt for this reply will be understandable......so why don't you
try out a Variax 600 (you could pick one up off 'e' bay for less than £300 and the Workbench)?
Having had just about all the Strats and Les Pauls money can buy and despite my deep reservations,I gave it a go and (slag me off if ya' like) I have hardly touched my 1968 Gold Top or '62 Blues Strat since and that was 18 months ago.Look at the lowest common denominator or 'how bad could it be?' and accept that electronics go wrong.....but consider this also;These things don't hang around long on 'e' bay, which means you'd probably get your outlay back,if you couldn't take to it.All guitars require a 'Bonding' period with the player and yes....it's no PRS, but once bonded with and then 'fell for' it is a pleasant surprise.Shocking and disgusting from a bloke who's been playing at all levels for over 40 years and can still hold his own with a Les Paul.....but there ya' go ....one mans' meat etc.etc.
Best Of Luck,
John (Blueseric)

[Foster]

Originally Posted by Blueseric

Okay,
your contempt for this reply will be understandable......so why don't you
try out a Variax 600 (you could pick one up off 'e' bay for less than £300 and the Workbench)?
Having had just about all the Strats and Les Pauls money can buy and despite my deep reservations,I gave it a go and (slag me off if ya' like) I have hardly touched my 1968 Gold Top or '62 Blues Strat since and that was 18 months ago.Look at the lowest common denominator or 'how bad could it be?' and accept that electronics go wrong.....but consider this also;These things don't hang around long on 'e' bay, which means you'd probably get your outlay back,if you couldn't take to it.All guitars require a 'Bonding' period with the player and yes....it's no PRS, but once bonded with and then 'fell for' it is a pleasant surprise.Shocking and disgusting from a bloke who's been playing at all levels for over 40 years and can still hold his own with a Les Paul.....but there ya' go ....one mans' meat etc.etc.
Best Of Luck,
John (Blueseric)

One the other hand i rarely touch my variax 500 - yes it does a lot of things but for blues i'd rather have a guitar that does one thing well.

Plus with a regular guitar, if the electrics go wrong then it's a simple case of playing with a soldering iron for 5 minutes.

[frankus]

Originally Posted by Foster

if the electrics go wrong then it's a simple case of playing with a soldering iron for 5 minutes.

.. then your fingers are suitably burnt and you can't playt he guitar any more and have to sing the blues till the blisters heal? ... by which time the local tech will have repaired the guitar?

[evilmags]

TBH the real question is "What Amp" and not what guitar..