Rookie looking for help/opinions

[curserboy]

Hi i've just started learning the guitar 3 months ago and i bought a suzuki strat at christofori.however the pickups are horrible and now it's as though i'm not using an amp cause they just won't work at lower volumes. should i get a new guitar which will sustain me until i get better or just change the pickups?

 

[eljo89]

If it's just between the two, get a better guitar! Good pickups might cost more than the guitar... Heh

 

[curserboy]

what guitars would you recommend if i have a really tight budget of S$300?

 

[Likui]

what guitars would you recommend if i have a really tight budget of S$300?

Greg bennet Malibu
or if you are lucky can get samick artist series, if you can find it then just get it.

 

[curserboy]

do you know of anywhere i can get it and would my current suzuki have any value if i sold it?

 

[curserboy]

and other than strats do you have other recommendations?

 

[Dongara]

Try raising up the pickups. You can do this by adjusting the screws holding the pickups in the pickguard. This will increase the volume and will change the tone.

Hope it helps.

Mark.

 

[curserboy]

thanks a lot man but i'm really a beginner so i'm not very confident about modifying the guitar myself. and if i'm able to get a new guitar(i need permission from my parents since i'm still a sec3 kid), i'm looking at the epiphone LP special II. any opinions?

 

[Dongara]

Don't worry about adjusting the pickup height - you can't stuff it up and damage the guitar!

There is one screw at the end of each pickup. Turn it clockwise to raise it and anti - clockwise to lower. This improves the tone of all guitars - even the most expensive! I have played Suzuki's before and find that they sound ok.

If you are set on getting a Les Paul copy, then try out some second hand ones as I find that older guitars feel and sound nicer. I don't have any opinion on the Epiphone as I haven't played any new guitars for years (My guitars are both oldies (a '78 Gibson Les Paul Special and a '66 Gibson LG-0 acoustic)) and I find that old guitars are more settled and have less faults - so maybe an older Epiphone might be one to look for.

cheers,

Mark.

 

[curserboy]

do i turn the screws at both ends of the pickup?

 

[Jumpin'Jellybean]

Yes you do. IMO, amp plays a much bigger part than pickups... and i second the idea of fiddling with pickup height.

 

[curserboy]

but if i'm going to modify the pickup height how much do i raise it and must both sides be raised by the same height?

 

[Likui]

do you know of anywhere i can get it and would my current suzuki have any value if i sold it?

greg bennet u can get at davis, samick artist series probably 2nd hand shops , this guitar no longer in production for 10 + yrs

 

[justheretolook]

Just do it to your liking. U cant always live in fear, take that risk.

 

[eljo89]

Try raising them both a quarter-turn at a time. But make sure they don't get too close to the strings! Or you'll lose sustain. Your guitar should get louder as you keep raising them!

 

[Dongara]

Yes. Try it and tell me how it goes.

 

[curserboy]

thanks a lot guys but i'm afraid it didn't work. i've raised the pickups a lot and though there's some sound coming out, it sounds like some broken record D:

 

[curserboy]

thanks a lot guys but i'm afraid it didn't work. i've raised the pickups a lot and though there's some sound coming out, it sounds like some broken record D:

sorry guys. there was a bit of broken static at first an then there was no sound ._____.

 

[curserboy]

could it be that i'm wrong due to my inexperience and the problem could lie somewhere else?

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

from what you described in your first post, the problem may very well not be with the pickups. could you explain more in detail about the static sound and about "doesn't work very well at low volumes"?

might be the cable, might be the amp, might be the jack might also be the volume pots.