A Guitarist's Guide to Purchasing the First Live Rig

I'll Show You How to Do it on a Budget

You've been playing for a year and you've finally got pretty decent at playing guitar. Since then, you've become friends with a drummer and bass player and another guitar player at school. You're ready to take this thing to the next level. A GIG! Time to upgrade your $100 First Act electric guitar that doesn't stay in tune and little Gorilla amp and get a gig worthy killer guitar rig. I'll show you how to do it on a budget.

First of all, what kind of music to you play? Certain guitars are optimal for certain types of music. Rock and Metal music sounds better with a solid bodied electric guitar while Blues and country can sound great on a hollow bodied electric guitar. But really, it's the WAY you play your instrument that makes it sound good.

Let's assume you're playing modern rock or metal. There's always the trusty Fender Stratocaster made famous by Eric Clapton and Jimmy Hendrix and they are still used as much today in every type of music from Country to Heavy Metal and everything in between. A top of the line, new USA Fender Stratocaster will run a street value of almost $1000 US dollars. If that price is a bit too steep for you a good compromise is the Mexican made Fender Stratocaster which runs a street value of about $380 US dollars. I've owned both. The Mexican ones have a lower grade alder wood body and lower grade hardware as compared to the USA models. The tremolo bridge on the Mexican ones do not stay in tune as well either. As far as I'm concerned, the Mexican ones in terms of sound and feel are equal to the USA standard stratocaster and I've owned both.