Advice about what guitar to buy?

First off, I'm buying a guitar for my brother's birthday. However, I'm not musically inclined at all so I don't know what to buy. Here are the facts.





1) For my brother.





2) He's been playing for 4 years and he's pretty good.





3) He's started a college band recently, so I'm assuming he'll use the guitar I get for him in whatever gigs he gets.





4) He currently has a fender stratocaster. Don't ask me what type it is cause I'm clueless. I can tell you its a brownish color.





5) I've got money to spend so I'd like to get him something that is higher end so he can use for years to come.





6) He mostly plays rock/punk stuff.





ThanksAdvice about what guitar to buy?
You really don't have enough info to answer this, but here's some leads. You need to know how much you want to spend, too. I'm assuming if he has a brown strat, that it's at least a highway 1 or USA fender - unless it's wood grain and not painted. If it's wood grain it might be a standard instead, then the USA strat is the step up. These are about a grand, generally.


Epiphone is the Squier of Gibson - meaning the entry level. If you say you want a step up, avoid anything with that brand name for punk. A Gibson SG works for punk, though, and again about 1100.


Another option for tone differences, if he already uses a USA strat, would be a Paul Reed Smith, swamp ash version - this has a different pickup set than a regular PRS, which isn't as good for punk, but the swamp ash version has a little bar in the middle called a stacked humbucker that does well. You can find them used for 1500, if you go to Guitar Center and have them search the chain.


If you are wanting to spend 3 grand, I'd recommend two guitars - the Les Paul (I don't recommend the Les Pauls under 2500 bucks), or the Paul Reed Smith. Les Paul has more sustain - longer sounding notes, the Smith has more different tone range, and a wider, thinner neck - faster playing. Neither are particularly for Punk, but both can pretty much do anything.


Some punk uses hollowbody guitars normally for Jazz use - Guild Starfire series are good, and the Gibson 335 series - prices are all over the board for those, and I wouldn't get one unless you are sure he wants it.





The only PURE SOLID recommendation I have is to get something from someplace that has a no hassle return policy, like Guitar Center or Sam Ash. I think Ash's is 15 days, GC's is 30, but It's been 2 years since I worked there.





OH, one more thing if you are patient. Fender Master Built (NOT custom shop) guitars are 3500 and up, and are better than 99.999% of all Fenders made after the early 60's. They are built to order, and not quick to ship, but basically are the end all be all of his guitar. If you have more questions,or want amp recommendations instead, hit my blog below and comment.Advice about what guitar to buy?
The basic insight is that if the guy is a Strat player, he's a Strat player - he will not switch to another sound or brand, generally speaking. That's fair enough, as they are maybe the most versatile guitars in terms of sound.





Now, I'd say:





(a) Unless you hit a jackpot in the lottery and can buy him a 1959 vintage Strat, it might be just as great a gift to ADD to his existing guitar set-up - a couple of pedals, a new amp, maybe? This will be equally appreciated.





If you have the cash, and you're determined to get a guitar, then find out whether his favourite player has a Fender Signature Series. Just check at:





http://www.fender.com/





(b) Unless you have brilliant mind-reading skills, just ask the dude what he wants, or take him on a surprise trip to a music store and ask him to take his pick.





Happy birthday and keep rocking : )
fender stratocaster is one of the best guitar having s-s-s


gibson les paul (h-h) is a uitar for playing leeds .instead of buying guitar you may buy him a pedalboard or a pick up for distortion or a processor or rock effects
Fenders are great, but i prefer Epiphones. they tend to last longer, and they have a richer sound. you can find a listing of what you can buy on the website (http://www.epiphone.com) but i have a les paul chameleon that is to die for... tricked paint job, fantastic sound, durable as hell!





you might want to take him along, honestly. a guitar is an extension of yourself... it's hard to pick out a guitar that someone else will honestly love.