Ok, so this Christmas I've decided on asking for another guitar but I cant make up my mind.
I want a Fender Cyclone because Sawao has one, but thier hard to come by. I want a Mustang, but I'd rather have a Cyclone (lol). And I want a Telecaster becasue of Koyuki from Beck. I play alot of Aleterative rock stuff and all opinions are much appreciated .

Don't buy an instrument just because you saw it in anime X, or some guy from band Z used one.

Instruments are for music, which is about sound. It's not a popularity contest, it's not about how well you can emulate the look or sound of someone else (unless you're in a cheesy cover band).

Consider spending hundreds of dollars on something you think will sound good, something that suits your playing style, or what you personally enjoy.

I love the pillows, I love their sound, but that doesn't necessarily mean I should buy whatever gear they're using. For the record, Mustangs generally have thin and nasally sound - even with swapped out pickups. If it's thick lush tones you're going for, there are much better options. Sure you can put a Seymour Duncan pickup in the bridge to get some better distortion out of it...but if it's a metal machine you're going for, consider ignoring Fender completely. Mustangs are by no means a "bad" choice, but there's a reason Stratocasters and Telecasters are much more popular - they're much more versatile guitars.

Besides, if you want to sound like Manabe in his Mustang era, it's gonna take more than a Mustang. It's gonna take the right amp, the right effects, and the right technique.

So first just determine what sort of sound you want. "Rock" isn't a good enough descriptor.
Light and bright tone? A thicker, darker tone? Something jangly? Something that handles distortion really well? Want to do a lot of pinch harmonics? How important is a whammy bar to you? Want something with great clean tones?

Picking the right guitar takes more than going "oooh, pretty!" and making the purchase.

I guess you missed the [b]alternative rock[/b] part. I want somthing with a good neck profile, not big like the V, but small and comfy for chords. And your also too quick to judge, I played my freinds Tele, and I loved its sound. But watching beck, made me like it even more. And I love the Mustang and Cyclone because theyre those guitars you dont see many of. But you see strats everywhere. Right now I play a Squier Strat, its sound great, but I've had this guitar for over 4 years now, Im looking for somthing new.

Sound wise I run a Marshall combo 50DFX, super overdrive (SD-1), and a Blues Driver (BD-1) Boss pedals. I recently made a song that starts clean and then comes in with slight distortion. My gear is nothing short of gig material.

Playing I do alot of C-G-D-Emin-Amin, and alternate picking in intros and verses, and power chords in the chorus's. Somthng that gives me a nice lush sound, that dosnt loos its sound with light dist and medium dist. Im not a high fret, scaling speed freak, (well I cant because when I was 3 I triped and jabbed a key into my fretting wrist permantly messing with a few of my tendons. But anyways) Ive already decided I want a Fender.

Hope this helps.

1. Have a spare day with nothing planned.
2. Go to Guitar Center.
3. Try guitars until you can't think straight.
4. Retry your favorite ones to compare them.
5. Buy your favorite.

That's probably the best way to do it, really.

[quote="Guitarman355"]1) I guess you missed the [b]alternative rock[/b] part

2) And your also too quick to judge, I played my freinds Tele, and I loved its sound. But watching beck, made me like it even more.

3) And I love the Mustang and Cyclone because theyre those guitars you dont see many of. But you see strats everywhere.

4) C-G-D-Emin-Amin, and alternate picking in intros and verses, and power chords in the chorus's.[/quote]

1) "Alternative" rock essentially rules out metal, classic rock, and power pop. I've never liked the term "alternative" when describing music...it's just too broad and vague. Coldplay is alternative, so is Alanis Morisette. It's almost like saying "I like indie" rock. It's pretty close to being meaningless.

2) I'm not too quick to judge - you never mentioned you'd played a Telecaster before. Sure, being inspired by, say, the anime series Beck is great and all..but I'd make sure you dig the brightness and twang of it. (I've got a Tele, loving it...except for the shitty accidental reverse wiring I did during my pickup wiring...heh!)

3) Unique guitars can be pretty cool...but that doesn't say much about how they sound. A new '65 reissue Mustang is gonna be about $600, not including tax. For that much money, you'd better be damn sure there isn't a better alternative for a similar (or even cheaper) price.

4) Congrats, you've described 98% of guitarists that play rock music. (And I have no idea what the hell that chord progression means...)

I'll also add this: Mare's idea of going to Guitar Center is good...but if it's anything like Seattle's you may be disappointed. My GC is fucking Strat CITY. Aside from a few drool-worthy vintage guitars (ancient candy apple red Jazzmaster anyone?) and a few nice looking Teles...the store's kinda lame. Not very good if you're trying to explore many options. Now if you had your heart set on a Strat, it'd pretty much be heaven.
So I guess I'd recommend checking out GC along with trying to find another alternative guitar store.

Also: Youtube can be a fine place to check out guitar and gear reviews/demonstrations. Sure the sound won't be exact, but it's a nice starting point.

Well Im sorry, being you played I thought you understood muscians lingo. :p
Alternaive rock is bands like
The Pillows
Trapt
Paramore
Oasis
Blink-182
RHCP
Atleast thats my definition of alternative. To me there is no pop-rock, emo, etc. non of these stupid sub generas.
and yes Mare, I would do that, but the Greensboro store is just like rhino said, strat heaven. Although I did find a japanese made Tele, didnt play it, but did play a nice black with a metallic pickguard Jaguar.

And was explaining how I play, so dont bash me.

I'm not bashing you, I'm just explaining that you saying "I play these chords/this progression" isn't very descriptive or helpful at all.

Well disregarding all other previous posts, I have made my way down to either a Telecaster or Mustang. I watched a video of a great mustang demo, I liked the way it sounded. Could anybody help with vid demos of the tele?

[quote="Guitarman355"]Well Im sorry, being you played I thought you understood muscians lingo. :p
Alternaive rock is bands like
The Pillows
Trapt
Paramore
Oasis
Blink-182
RHCP
[/quote]
Hahahahaha.

save up a 120 dollars and get a cool knockoff from rondomusic.net, then ask for other stuff for christmas.

[quote="clouds"]save up a 120 dollars and get a cool knockoff from rondomusic.net, then ask for other stuff for christmas.[/quote]

I've actually heard a bit about Rondo...do you have first-hand experience with their stuff? Model?

Well, I have a knock off V (Davidson). Or I guess you could call it that. But I dont like it anymore, neck profiles too big. I was planning on asking for the actual guitar for Christmas. Besides im too much of an idiot to try soldering stuff like new pickups.

It's gonna be a lot easier to get a Tele than a Mustang.

Yeah kenshin, I learned that when I ebayed both of em earlier. But theres so many Telecasters it gets confusing

It's generally best to try the guitar yourself before buying so you know how it feels and sounds.

Also, what style you play shouldn't dictate what kind of guitar you look at, necessarily, how the guitar feels in your hands and sounds to your ears is what matters.