Yes, they have a certain cool factor. Its undeniable!

If the theremin can be an electronic instrument, then maybe an electric guitar is too. Well, at least quasi-electronic. The pickup converts the waves of the strings, into an electronic signal. They also sound very cool and might be worth putting into your production setup. Guitars actually sound great when played side by side with synthesizers.
With a guitar you will never have to worry about Polyphony, Midi (unless you bought those new USB ones), and using digital interfaces.

Let’s find out more about them before we choose.

Pickups:
There are two main types of pickup: single coil and double coil (known as humbuckers), each of which can be passive or active. Single Coil have a brighter sound, whereas, double coil is known for its noise cancelling abilities.

Body Style:
Electric guitars can come in solid body or hollow body designs. Solid body has NO inner holes which would allow the strings to resonate further (like acoustic). Hollow bodies do have these inner holes.

Tremolo Arms:
Also called the Whammy bar. This device moves the bridge to alter the pitch during play.

Most electric guitars are completely passive. They require external amplification and effects! But you can jack them into an audio interface that supports phantom power and use plugin effects and guitar amp emulators! This is a great way to not clog up your studio and get any kind of guitar sound that you want for cheap. The effects you use on your guitar also can determine style of music you want to produce. Examples would be distortion, overdrive, chorus, etc.

Electric guitars come in many body styles for you to choose from. They also having varying degrees of quality. You must be considerate of price too, as you are just buying a piece of wood with strings attached to an electric pickup. A very expensive guitar might be close to that of a cheaper more affordable one. Other than actually going somewhere and just picking up and playing a guitar, you’ll want to check out some guitar reviews:

Stick to what feels good, something in your price range, and what sounds good.

Guitar Reviews:
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar

I hope that helps you get started!! I think I will be buying my guitar soon.

Extra: Use your Guitar to trigger synth tones to differentiate your sound with this module Roland GR20

Below are some models of guitars I would check out!

Price Ranges

Under $200
Behringer V-Tone II & Amp $109 Cheap, and nicely rated.
Epiphone Les Paul Special II Electric Guitar Classic looking.

Over $200
Fender Standard Stratocaster Electric Guitar Nice!! I would get this or something similar.

There are alot of guitars out there and it will come down to personal choice! Find something you like!

UPDATE: Open Labs upgrades MIKO SE and MIKO LE: Link

From future music blog

UPDATE: Mackie Anounces Control Pro Surfaces: Link

Mackie anounces Tracktion 3!!!! (I love Tracktion’s ease of use and its better mastering plugins)

TAPCO Anounces 4×6 Firewire audio interface for $249: Link

UPDATE: KORG IMAGES on Gearjunkies.com: Link (currently having server issues)

A Stupid Mixer, MINI Kaoss Pad (***AWESOME***), M3 Synth, and R3 (new Darth Vader edition microkorg).

Check back for status and pictures / adds.
If you know anything, please comment!

Most Anticipated / Rumored:

Apple Logic version 8 or 7.5: Unconfirmed

Alesis Master Control Firewire Audio Interface: Confirmed


Alesis Master Control
Nice!! Check out the specs on this audio interface. Its everything you’ve ever dreamed of….6 discrete outs, 5.1 surround. 8 Channels of 44.1-192khz audio in. Motorized Faders, MIDI, 2 Preamps, SPDIF, LCD, Jog wheel, fully editable presets.
New Korg Microkorg called the R3: Leaked Images / Confirmed From Gear Junkies



New Korg Mini Chaos Pad: Leaked Images / Confirmed From Gear Junkies

Roland MV-8800 Sampler Workstation: Confirmed

MV-8800

Roland V-Synth GT: Confirmed

V-Synth GT

Previously Confirmed:

(Coming in March)
Arturia Origin: Origin is the first Arturia Hardware synthesizer. It is a modular system of a new generation opening innovative avenues in sound design.
Loaded with modules extracted from the best synthesizers of all time (Moog Modular, ARP 2600, CS-80, minimoog and Prophet VS). Details Link
(Arturia Origin sounds like it could be really expensive…)

No word yet on Steve Urkel Edition Moog.

Korg M1000 Product Page

Future-proof digital recording is here
With the pristine fidelity and ultimate flexibility of 1-bit technology, the new, surprisingly affordable MR-1000 and MR-1 ensure that your final mixes and location recordings are never obsolete.

MR-1000
The MR-1000 is the perfect tool for the professional who wants to record and archive their final mixes in the studio, while its compact size and portability make it ideal for location recording. Whatever the use, you get the benefit of capturing it at the new high 5.6 MHz rate. After recording and editing all your tracks in the DAW/hardware system of your choice, you can mix directly, or via an analog summing mixer, to the MR-1000. This gives you the superb fidelity of high-rate1-bit technology, which when transferred to your computer can be converted to the mastering format of your choice thanks to AudioGate. And backing up in 1-bit format “future proofs” your mix for potential reuse in the future.

Uncompromising, future-proof fidelity at an unprecedented price
Korg’s new, super-portable MR Professional Mobile Recorders break new ground by providing high fidelity 1-bit recording technology at unheard of low prices. The hand-held MR-1 provides high quality 1-bit/2.8 MHz recording and playback, while the mobile/tabletop MR-1000 delivers an astonishing 1-bit/5.6 MHz, doubling industry DSD recording quality standards.