Getting back in to guitar, never really got in to it in the first place. But the bug has bitten me. Bought a Gibson-Baldwin SG without first doing research, and everyone says they're pieces of shit. As a brand new player, it's hard for me to tell a quality axe from an inferior one. But this thing just sounds like shit! Just something about the tone sounds...blech. I have it running in to a Vox Pathfinder 10amp Practice Amp. Is it the guitar? Or does it have to do with the settings? I'm planning on replacing it soon.

Check the intonation. If you have a tuner it's easy, just check that the 12 fret note matches the open string note. If it's off you need to adjust the saddles on the bridge.

Literally a two-month beginner. I've been using a tuner app on my iPhone. Not quite sure how to go about this.

Definitely put the fresh strings on first, if the guitar has been sitting in a shop it likely needs them. Here is a youtube video showing how to check intonation and adjust the bridge saddles if needed:

Thanks!

Like a thread that is worthless without pics, this one is worthless without sound.

Tuner app on the phone isn't the best device to use.



What tone are you trying to achieve?

You may have the wrong tools for the job...and a two months of playing...we all sounded like crap.



A little practice amp will never sound like anything you hear recorded...or live...

Could just be the amp also.  I've never heard a 10 watt solid state amp that sounded good.  They sound like toys.  Fine for low volume bedroom stuff, but it won't bring out the best in your guitar.

I don't think it's the amp
here's a demo of a VOX Pathfinder 10
https://soundcloud.com/jean-pierre-le-roux-3/vox-pathfinder-demo

Yeah that sounds good, but it's a recording.  OP is listening to it in a room.  That amp has a little 6.5" speaker in a small enclosure, and while that may be great for recording, it could sound like crap when you want to rip on your SG and listen through that speaker.  

It may not be the amp.  It could be a combination of a low end guitar and a low end amp working together coupled with unreasonable expectations for that kind of budget.  Plus, OP is a pure beginner.  I'm pretty sure everything I played 2 months in sounded like crap also.

The little Vox is okay.  Nothing fancy, but a decent practice amp.

OP, pick up a Snark clip-on tuner.  SN-5 is about eight bucks.  

Without seeing or hearing you play, it's hard to say what's going on.  Something in the hardware could be fucked up, you could have some weird settings on the guitar or amp, tuning could be way off, or maybe you just...have a lot of opportunity to improve as a player.

Like mentioned above, what tones are you going for? What bands/artists do you like?

As someone else said, without a sound clip it's hard to know what you mean exactly. I was very kindly gifted a cheap Epiphone acoustic at one point in life though, and there was nothing I could do to make that thing sound or play well at all without putting more money into it than it cost

This.  Guitar amps don't sound like "guitar amps" until you step up to a 10 inch speaker.

You haven't played any acoustic guitars through Fishman amps then.

 

Can your acoustic guitar and Fishman amp sound like the tones popularized by Angus Young, Slash, EVH, Eric Clapton in Cream, Jimi, Pete, Jimmy, Paul Gilbert, Brad Paisley, etc.?...

This thread is a discussion about electric guitars, yes?  Acoustics are about as relevant as kazoos to this topic.

For the record, I have - and still prefer the larger Peavey and Fender amps designed for acoustic.  For an acoustic guitar, the top is basically a "speaker" mounted to a ported
"cabinet".  The closer the surface area of the amp used with it approaches the surface area of the top, the better it is going to sound.  At least to me.

Actually a number of good solid state amps were out in pre-modeling days.  I still play through a Fender M80 Chorus head.  John Fogerty got good sounds out of solid state Kustoms, and Tom Schloz and Billy Gibbons also got signature sounds out of solid state amps.  Then there's the Jazz Chorus amps ....

What do you mean "sounds like shit"?  Is it really the tone or perhaps tuning?

Cheap guitars can be notorious for starting to go out of tune within minutes.  Get yourself a good tuner if you don't have one already.  Good being Boss TU-3 or Polytune 2.  Those run about $75 shipped to your door on ebay from sellers like PitBullAudio.  You just need to keep an eye and wait for a sale.  PitbullAudio will sell the Polytune 2 for $66 from time to time, along with their normal ebay price.  If you cannot swing that price, get a clip-on.  These are not great but will show how long your guitar can hold a tuning.  I use Snark.

Another aspect of affecting good tone is the fretboard. Tone can be negatively affected if the frets are not level, the nut is cut wrong causing the strings to be too high (likely) or too low (less likely). or the relief is not right. Learn how to do a setup as there are plenty of youtube videos out there.  You may not want to learn actually doing a setup, but you should learn how to measure which are the first steps in a setup.  For entertaining while learning, check out Dave's world of fun stuff channel.

Finally, check your pickups/electronics/wiring. I've seen wrong capacitor and potentiometer values in guitars.

Do all that in that order, but keep in mind that a professional setup will likely cost more than the guitar is worth (at least in my area).  So you will need to learn how to do it yourself.

Also, with that soundcloud audio clip, the signal chain is not listed.  Don't assume the guitar is plugged straight into the amp.

If decide to look for a cheap replacement.  The best I've played usually end up being Fender Squier which are made in China.  However, I always recommend buying USA, then Japan. You can find some real good deals if you take the time to hunt.  People sell good guitars for cheap because it was buried in a closet for decades and they are unaware of the market price. Buy used!

ETA: I listened to the clip a second time and I highly doubt it was recorded with guitar->amp->mic->daw without any processing on the daw or pedals between the guitar and amp.  So it's not a good representation of that amp.




Even new players can tell quality from crap within a couple of minutes.  Go to your LGS and play several to see what I mean. Don't let an seriously inferior guitar prevent you from having some fun.