What is the best pre-made single coil LH guitar i could buy for £400 or less?

[cjturnrr]

i will be playing mostly indie rock music on it so preferably something suitable for that genre, keep in mind i am open to any brand of guitar

 

[Cagey]

Honestly, it's getting tough to find a bad guitar these days. Properly set up, most anything will play well, and sound is subjective so you can't really go by that. But, it's not like the bad old days, where even the top-end brands turned out clinkers on a frighteningly frequent basis and some brands turned out nothing but junk.

Find some candidates, and ask for specific opinions on those.

 

[cjturnrr]

Honestly, it's getting tough to find a bad guitar these days. Properly set up, most anything will play well, and sound is subjective so you can't really go by that. But, it's not like the bad old days, where even the top-end brands turned out clinkers on a frighteningly frequent basis and some brands turned out nothing but junk.

Find some candidates, and ask for specific opinions on those.

ok will do, will update with candidates shortly

candidates so far:

electromatic gretsch

secondhand telecaster

squier surf strat

mexican strat

Ibanez RG370DXZL

 

[Jeremiah]

Since you've included the HSH Ibanez, I assume guitars with humbuckers as well as single coils are acceptable.

Yamaha Pacificas are great value, I'm not sure which models are available left handed, but there should be some in your price range.

 

[Dan025]

not sure of the cost in europe but at the conversion rates i'm almost certain you could get a g&l tribute series legacy or asat.

they are basically strats or teles made in asia for g&l, a company that was owned by leo fender and george fullerton after fender went to cbs. the tributes use g&l designs such as a tone control that cuts bass and one that cuts treble instead of the fender and fender clone way of cutting treble only but connecting the knobs to different selector positions. they also often have a switch that adds the 3 pickup combo and the neck+bridge combo built into a tone knob.

i've played the tribute versions of the g&l and they are a fine instrument and have a little more flexibility than a fender due to the different controls and better pickups than a sub $1000 fender.

 

[swarfrat]

Lots of manufacturers make HLH single coil guitars and forget to identify them as left handed (Hendrix Left Handed)

 

[stratamania]

Here is a search for left handed from Thomann, some are below £400 some above.


http://www.thomann.de/gb/search.html?KF=on&gk=gieglh&oa=ala&bn=&pr=400a800&wgfid1=8544&wgf8544=&wgfid2=8545&wgf8545=&wgfid3=10198&wgf10198=&wgfid4=10200&wgf10200=&wgfid5=8547&wgf8547=&wgfid6=10201&wgf10201=&wgfid7=10202&wgf10202=&wgfid8=8546&wgf8546=&wgfid9=8548&wgf8548=&wgfid10=10203&wgf10203=&wgfid11=10204&wgf10204=

Here is one but there are other colours for around £426 a Mexican made strat. If you go for a Fender made strat the chances are if in the future you want to swap parts in and out you will have a good deal of choice available.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/fender_standard_strat_2011_mn_awt_lh.htm

Or in Candy apple red, £398

http://www.thomann.de/gb/fender_standard_strat_2011_mn_car_lh.htm


There are other stores of course so this  is just for giving some options.

 

[Dan025]

looks like guitars cost a bit more in england after the exchange rate, but for a tad more than 400 pounds i did find an ad for a left G&L tribute legacy. http://rguitars.co.uk/products/legacy-left-hand?s=recomatic#.U6IQYKfEEXc

it's the single coil pickup guitar i'd buy if i were going to buy a guitar off the shelf.

 

[stratamania]

It's not so much the exchange rate as the 20% of Value Added Tax. It's a type of sales tax.

A business has to charge it, but can claim it back on things purchased for the business. You then calculate the difference between what you bought and sold and fill in the returns and pay the difference.

A retail customer has no choice and the price at retail is usually including the tax.

I think G & L are more easily found in the US.

 

[Dan025]

well even at 20% VAT it's a little high for a tribute series. a USA G&L would be much more money. but the tributes are made in asia. though they might be the best asian made strats and teles i've played. these days a cheap asian guitar can play very well some can even be compared to american guitars at much higher prices. but i think the G&L tributes are a real standout even for a modern guitar.

 

[stratamania]

This is something in the UK, even adding on 20% the prices of things just don't compare on a parity to the US. It's the same with computers and jeans. We call it rip off Britain sometimes.

I'm sure the G&Ls are good I just personally have never seen one apart from on YouTube etc.

 

[cjturnrr]

at the moment guys its between a Fender Mexican Strat LH and a Gretsch Electromatic G5435 Pro Jet LH (ik thats its a humbucker), what do you guys think? I was drawn towards the gretsch because you can tighten the coils (i think im not really sure) and it changes the sound to much more strat-like in doing so.

 

[stratamania]

I would suggest now you have it narrowed down to two choices go and try them out if you can and see which you prefer.

My choice would be in my username and you will have more future upgrade potential, but it's your choice you have to pick something for you. 

Guitars are a bit like wands, a personal thing.

 

[cjturnrr]

thanks will do

 

[DavyDave53]

Four hundred quid?

http://www.andertons.co.uk/solid-body-electric-guitars/pid34338/cid671/chapman-ml1-natural-electric-guitar-walnut-body.asp

 

[Re-Pete]

I'd personally go for the Mexican Strat. If a piece of hardware on that is not up to scratch there's plenty around on the market to replace it with something better (that's if you need to do that, of course).

Gretsch's are less so in replacement parts.

 

[Strat Avenger]

ESP's "LTD" series has some nice Strats now. I think you can get one new for under $300.

http://www.espguitars.com/products/9776-st-213-rosewood-3tb?category_id=1963308-st-series

 

[cjturnrr]

i'm going with the mexican strat, just have to find a good deal on one now

 

[stratamania]

i'm going with the mexican strat, just have to find a good deal on one now

Ok let us know how you get on...