# New Guitar under $300 CAD



## Renvas (May 20, 2007)

hi right now im planning to get a new guitar, im looking for a good guitar under $300 CAD preferably around 250. 

right now one of my choices that im consider is Hamm HLS II which is around my price range, any guitars anyone can recommend for me to consider?


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## LowWatt (Jun 27, 2007)

what style do you play? Whose sound are you after?


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

jay turser LP, SG, strat, tele.


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## Renvas (May 20, 2007)

LowWatt said:


> what style do you play? Whose sound are you after?


i think i play rock songs the most i guess a guitar that has a rocky grungish kind of feel?


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## LowWatt (Jun 27, 2007)

I absolutely love the new Squier Tele Thinlines and they are around that price new in Ontario. They do everything from roots rock to grunge easily.


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## garretrevels (Mar 9, 2007)

I think you should go vintage 

get an old department store budget vintage guitar. (Harmony, Silvertone ect..)

thats my opinion anyway


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## noobcake (Mar 8, 2006)

I say get the Hamm, you probably won't find anything better for the price, unless you go used in which case there are many many more options open to you.


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## Renvas (May 20, 2007)

well im planning to buy online right now so i only have what i can find

i dont mind having a used guitar even though if its a bit worn out, as long as its worth my money and sounds better than a less expensive new guitar


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

Renvas said:


> well im planning to buy online right now so i only have what i can find
> 
> i dont mind having a used guitar even though if its a bit worn out, as long as its worth my money and sounds better than a less expensive new guitar


Be careful buying online. I wouldn't recomend buying a guitar before you could actually play it and make sure that it feels right for you.

If you want to test drive and HLS II, e-mail me and I'll send one to you so you can try it.

Andy


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

The Godin Radiator, SD, Detour, and Exit 22 are great bang for the buck, and Canadian too. Any of them second hand might be just what you need, and maybe even under your price cap. Definately consider a used axe because lots of folks trade up then regret letting go of a great axe.

Peace, Mooh.


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## danbo (Nov 27, 2006)

Go to your local music store & ask about some "used" axes that you can noodle on.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

hunt around for a used epi LP or SG


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## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

get the hamm that Hamm Guitars is offering you...I have one...it will beat any guitar out there for the price.


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

Ditto what Mooh said. I have both a Radiator and an Exit 22, both of which I got used via Craigslist. Great bargains and real players. Lots of people get restless and trade up for a costlier guitar, only to find (to thier chagrin) that they already had a great guitar and they let it go... if you can stand to buy used, there are definitely some solid deals to be had.


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## Perkinsfan (Oct 17, 2007)

I think test driving one of those Hamm guitars sounds cool.
I never heard of anyone making that kind of offer before.(nice job Andy!)
The reviews I hear of them are all pretty positive as well.

Locally we have a dealer who sells Johnson and Crafter guitars.
The Johnson strats go for $160 and have emg designed pickups in them.
They are good sounding/playing guitars for cheap but you have to pick thru them to find a nicely made one.
The Crafter electrics are pretty fair to middlin' guitars as well.
I bought one of their tele copies last year.
It needed a setup badly,but I'm into that so it wasn't a problem,and for $140
how could I go wrong?
Good luck in guitar shopping.
Eric


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## thecornman (May 13, 2007)

Used Godin is a good choice. They make great stuff for little money.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Hey man, go for the test run. I don't see how you can turn that down.


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## Renvas (May 20, 2007)

ive just been looking at these two 

http://fretcity.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=260&category_id=57

http://fretcity.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=284&category_id=57

both of them for $315+ shipping
it seems like a good deal...

has anyone seen/read any reviews on these guitars, or tried them out first hand?

give some opinions on these two guitars please.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

I believe the guy from Fret City is a member of this forum.


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

Those two fret city axes... they look quite nice and I've been jonesing for an SG standard type... I like neck binding on an SG - without that it looks naked to me. The one thing which throws me off and has me wondering is the fact that both the SG and LP types have bodies made of alder rather than mahogany. Totally different sound, I'm guessing. I could see an SG made of walnut maybe, but alder? Wow, that's odd.

Not to say that it isn't put together well or doesn't sound great. I'm actually very curious as to what these babies feel and sound like. Anyone with any direct experience on these J & D guitars?


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## acdc54_caddy62 (Mar 12, 2007)

Renvas said:


> ive just been looking at these two
> 
> http://fretcity.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=260&category_id=57
> 
> ...



If you wanna go for a SG or LP you might aswell check out some new or used epiphone's. $299 for a epi SG G-400 vintage at musiciansfriend.com same price for some type of LP also. 

But for a personal suggestion I would check out some of these Kramers on www.musicyo.com. Very nice guitars and in your budget also. Dual rail pickups, floyd rose tremolo. Great looking guitars!

Here's the link: http://www.musicyo.com/brandland.asp?dept_id=1


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## scottomy (Sep 20, 2006)

Here's another vote for a Godin. I have an SD and it's a great platform....it even sounded great stock.


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## Beatles (Feb 7, 2006)

Renvas said:


> ive just been looking at these two
> 
> http://fretcity.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=260&category_id=57
> 
> ...


This may help you out a bit ....... 

http://www.guitarscanada.com/Board/showthread.php?p=66796#post66796

I'm quite pleased with my decision :smile:


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## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

I emailed the JD dudes, and asked if their guitars had lead paint hahaha


they dont.


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## Renvas (May 20, 2007)

k here are my choices right now...

get a guitar from 

J&D
Hamm
or find a guitar on musiciansfriend.com thats under 300+(the expensive shipping)


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## 1PUTTS (Sep 8, 2007)

Renvas said:


> k here are my choices right now...
> 
> get a guitar from
> 
> ...


I'm not sure how you can pass up the offer from Andy at Hamm. Seems like a great opportunity to me.


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

Agreed... killer offer and if you decide you like the guitar he ships, the prices are fantastic.


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## skydigger (Oct 20, 2007)

I'd go used myself.

However, if you want something new these guitars get pretty good reviews over at http://www.harmony-central.com

Check out the PRS copy (PS 900) part way down the page. Agile makes all kinds of copies (LP's, Sg's, epi's, strats, teles etc).

http://www.rondomusic.com/electricguitar-ss7.html


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

Hmmm... good point, Skydigger. Yeah, I'd forgotten about Rondo and their gear ... the Agile being one of their brands. Definitely some good QC happening there. Once in awhile you might see 'em pop up on Craigslist and I'm sure you could find a lot of options for them via eBay.


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## fretcity (Jun 3, 2007)

GuitaristZ said:


> I emailed the JD dudes, and asked if their guitars had lead paint hahaha
> 
> 
> they dont.


Guys I can't help but jump in and I hope this is helpful. There are some good Canadian Retailers here and I think we are all trying hard to keep your Business on this side of the Border (eg Fretcity / Hamm / JSD / ). I think all the products are good and have different characteristics. I can't slam any of them. You can't sell online and sell junk because word gets out fast online. 

If you buy south of the Border be prepared for hidden fees. Duty, Brokerage fees etc that can easily add 50% to your purchase price. So keep this in mind. 

BTW regarding our J&D product - it is built at the Yeou Chern factory, the same company that produces Epiphones for Gibson, also does OEM for Ibanez, Aria and Washburn. Its is a quality product and no lead (LOL). (Believe me we get that question a lot lately.) They are built to RoHS Standards for safety. Because of the OEM agreements and for legal reasons, some characterstics cannot be identical to a Gibson Les Paul, for example. And of course Yeou Chern wants to keep Gibson happy. So thats why the headstocks and some design elements have to be different. Regarding tonewoods, the J&D product does substitute Alder however in a side by side test with our test US Les Paul, the sound is very very close. Our customers are extremely satisfied with them and they are very capable and gigable instruments. The quality perception from Chinese products is rapidly changing, and product quality, materials, fit and finish is consistent and very high. If you want to see our product just visit any Epiphone dealer with MIC Epiphones and it will give you an idea of what you get with J&D. 

Good luck with the search and Rock on Dudes !

:rockon:


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

Good post. Thanks for explaining that.... I agree, the Chinese rep is quickly shifting upward.


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## JSD's Guitar Shack (Feb 24, 2006)

fretcity said:


> There are some good Canadian Retailers here and I think we are all trying hard to keep your Business on this side of the Border (eg Fretcity / Hamm / JSD / ). I think all the products are good and have different characteristics. I can't slam any of them. You can't sell online and sell junk because word gets out fast online.


I second that....:smilie_flagge17:


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## skydigger (Oct 20, 2007)

not to destract from the mans thread, but I'm all for supporting 
Canadian retailers. I only know about Rondo because I'm a lefty and I search eBay daily for lefty acoustics and electrics.

The only Canadian guitar companies I know of that I can respect is Eastwood, Godin and Larrivee for offering a few to several lefty models.

My last 2 guitars came from Southpaw Guitars in Texas. I'd love to buy from someone in Canada, but who's offering me more than 3 different guitars to choose from?


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## fretcity (Jun 3, 2007)

*Lefty Alert*



skydigger said:


> not to destract from the mans thread, but I'm all for supporting Canadian retailers. I only know about Rondo because I'm a lefty and I search eBay daily for lefty acoustics and electrics.
> 
> I understand Skydigger, I feel bad we don't have any LH in stock at this time and will work on improving this. BTW I went over to Steves Music on Queen Street Toronto yesterday and out of a few hundred Guitars on Display I could only find 3 Lefties.
> 
> ...


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## skydigger (Oct 20, 2007)

fretcity said:


> skydigger said:
> 
> 
> > *** ALERT one of the Lefties at Steves was a used Left Hand TOKAI Les Paul $549 a nice deal! They will ship too ! ***
> ...


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## StankFloyd (Mar 13, 2006)

Renvas said:


> hi right now im planning to get a new guitar, im looking for a good guitar under $300 CAD preferably around 250.
> 
> right now one of my choices that im consider is Hamm HLS II which is around my price range, any guitars anyone can recommend for me to consider?


I just caught this ad on this site.. $275 w/ free shipping

http://fretcity.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=260&category_id=57


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

Price looks very good on that SG, although it appears to be at least two chunks of wood making up the body, possibly more. Makes it much more like a low-end Epiphone SG... the sharp, cowled shape is there, sure - but the real story perhaps lies underneath that slick glossy finish. Add to that the fact that the body is alder, not mahogany, and we're starting to get further away from that classic SG nature. So if you're more of a purist, it's probably not such a great draw.

However, the close-ups on the neck binding and general fit and finish look pretty good. And for that price, too... not bad, not bad at all. It looks like it would rival, even beat an Epiphone SG 400. Wonder how the pickups are.


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## Renvas (May 20, 2007)

here are my two final choices

Hamm Guitars-HLS II - $289+Gig Bag (with shipping???)

J&D Guitars GG1S -$275 with shipping


from the comments so far i seem to be leaning towards the HLS II


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## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

perhaps you are leaning the right way eh?


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## Renvas (May 20, 2007)

Ok. ill most likely be asking for a trial run for Hamm Guitars, by the end of this month. im pretty sure it will sound much better than my current guitar Pacifica 012 (yamaha) im really starting to think that my first purchased guitar was a mistake... i payed $295 for it.....


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## Renvas (May 20, 2007)

thanks for the comments everyone! 

ive decided on getting the HLS II guitar from Hamm guitars. gota take advantage of the Christmas promotion going on now. it seems like a pretty good deal.


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

Good idea.

I hope you'll share your thoughts here, once you've played it for a while?

Gawd, the trans blue finish on that model II is to die for!


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

Congratulations on settling on something! By all means, let us know what you think once you've gotten it and had a chance to test drive it for a spell.


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## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

did ya get it yet? :wave:


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## Renvas (May 20, 2007)

from what andy has told me.. it getting shipped tomorow!!

CANT WAIT!!!


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

Renvas said:


> from what andy has told me.. it getting shipped tomorow!!
> 
> CANT WAIT!!!


It actually shipped out today, so you should have it either on tomorrow (Tuesday) or Wednesday.

Andy


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## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

niiiice! Tell us how you like it (love it) when you get it?


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## RIFF WRATH (Jan 22, 2007)

hey Renvas
got mine today...wow...Guitar Z has been promoting Hamm gits for quite a while...now I know why...you, my friend are going to be blown away
cheers
RIFF


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## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

yeah  They are pretty sweet guitars.


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## gearupmusic (Oct 12, 2007)

Hey:

Godin is a pretty good brand and the necks of the guitars are really nice. Also, you may wanna try Cort G250. It has a coil splitter. So you ca have humbucking sound and single coil sound in one guitar. It can save you some money to put into other stuff like a new effect pedal.


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## Rocco (Jan 8, 2008)

This is a sweet deal.
http://fretcity.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=268&category_id=50


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

gearupmusic said:


> Godin is a pretty good brand and the necks of the guitars are really nice.



...godins are pretty much the best bang-for-buck guitars on the market. even the cheapest ones vastly superior to anything else in their price range.

but, they are not "hot" looking, and so they usually get passed over.

-dh


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