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I suspect there will be two answers to that question Phil;

1) In early rock history where PAs were seen as for vocals only, the large rig was indeed to fill a mid-sized venue with sound. Obviously as gigs and venues got bigger this couldn't last.

2) Part of having several amps is that if one cuts out (always possible with tubes) then the guitar star isn't suddenly silent. This applies even when the amps are miked. Clapton started this in Cream using two amps and his guitar cable was split by a simple Y adaptor. Real Clapton fans claim there are some bootleg concert recordings where the level suddenly drops, it's probably one of the amps has died.

Brian May always has a wall of 6/8 Vox AC30s behind him. The Who at Glastonbury this year Townshend was using 4 amps. Triple redundancy!

I would love to know how you wire these stacks up too...

Mike Oldfield has done dozens of albums. The first two after TB, Ommadawn and Hergest ridge, were thought of as flops but between them they virtually invented Ambient music. In the mid-70s he reinvented himself and the albums had more individual tracks, singles material even (checkout 'Five Miles Out' and 'Moonlight Shadow'). He's a great guitarist in his own right, check this clip;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-O-WXcLuM0

Way back in the 60s Ibanez was a small Spanish guitar company. Then the got bought up by the Japanese and in the 70s the name became synonymous with cheap copy instruments, although often the quality was OK. Over the decades Ibanez have smartened up their act to the point where they are well regarded. I'm not aware of a huge collector's market in Ibanez (unlike the cult of Taylor and Martin) but I know people who rate any old acoustic, even those with plywood tops. I'm dubious about this but if it's been well love and played it should be a nice player.

Even a trip out where you don't buy anything is worth it if you are new to electric. Part of the buying process is working out what you don't want. Even just lifting a guitar out of the rack and holding it lightly can give you an impression (Like if when you heft it your shoulder dislocates, or when hold it you immediately feel sharp edges).

Once you've found something you wouldn't mind swinging around ask to plug in. Listen to the basic sound, work the tone and volume, work the switch, listen for pops and crackles. Beware any shop that gives you an amp on the overdrive channel they may be trying to cover a poor tone with distortion.

Don't be afraid to put the guitar back, just let them know it was a bit jangly or a bit muddy, whatever your impression was. Usually the guitar you were most of comfortable with will come to you when you are back home not thinking about guitars. Beware checking out guitars in shops then ordering them online. Finish can vary year to year. Don't get hung up on OLP, there are many quality cheap makers.

Ideally look for a SSH strat or a double humbucker with coil tap to get a Dave Gilmour sound, although my Behringer Vamp2 (similar to Line6's pods) has a preset called Crazy Diamond that will make anything sound like Pink Floyd ;-)

Hi que 552, first off the tone control won't matter if all you want to play is modern metal, that style tone is up high always,  but if you want to get jazzy bluesy you'll want one, pots are worth pennies so keep looking around.

Second your amp, how about dropping to the pocket pod and running it through headphones or the hi-fi (headphone to phono adaptors is most Maplin stores).

Let us know the style you'll want to play and we can narrow you down more. There are lots of good cheap instruments out there but unfortunately they are mixed in with alot of bad cheap instruments. Have you tried out the OLP in person? Have you had a good look round the shops near you. There's usually a bargain in most shops, particularly this time of year. Even the hugely expensive Peach guitars in Essex had a couple of LAG Jets by the door (one no doubt hugely reduced due to a pastel orange top colour!).

Both woods are same hardness 06SC500. Alot of electric guitar necks are made of maple but most are faced with a thin strip of rosewood for the fingerboard. Fender took the radical step of simply lacquering the maple face on all their early instruments, hence the distinctive blonde neck look of 50s strats and teles. Later they did introduce rosewood fingerboards but by then the debate was raging. Personally I like rosewood as you can 'feed' and polish it. Once the maple lacquer wears away it looks grubby.

All depends on what sort of music you want to play Clare. Classical guitars have nylon (often called 'gut') strings which sound very mellow, perfect for finger picked notes, not loud but expressive. You can strum a classical but you won't get the bright, sparkling sound of a steel strung acoustic. The strings are easier to press down on a classical and don't need changing as often.

The guitar you are being offered is bigger. Dreadnought is larger than full size, perfect for being heard at a folk pub. It also has a hidden acoustic pickup that allows you to plug one of those little brown acoustic amps in. With this it should sound even sweeter, you can also add effects like 'chorus' to really get a big sound.

Here are some reviews of the basic model although I suspect they are for one without the additional electronics. Sounds like a decent starter instrument.

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/revi … CD-60/10/1

In a nutshell there between Napoleon and SG's posts is why I recommend you take your time and try plenty of guitars. One person's hot recommendation is another person's nightmare axe. Guitars are very personal and what we demand from neck, body or pickups varies. The good news is that as an experienced acoustic player you will make a far more informed and appropriate choice of first electric than a total novice would.

"blues, country rock, bluegrass"

The telecaster is a very country, big block of wood like the LP but with single coil pickups like the Stratocaster. Beware some teles that are more rock, some have humbuckers. The other prime tool for country players is a compression pedal. This little gizmo, equalizes the sound of the strings making travis picking sound great.

I think we're also in Gibson country here, some of their semi-hollowbodies will do blues but also rock and country.

Gretsch is the epitome of Western twang, they shout COUNTRY! from twenty paces but may not do rock, blues as convincingly.

Stratocasters can do it all. A good combination is SSH, two single coils for a fine solo sound and a humbucker near the bridge for growling rock. Likewise if you find a two humbucker guitar make sure it has a coil tap. You pull a knob and only get one of the coil pairs, hence it now sings like a single coil guitar.

Your budget gives you entry into PRS's top flight and Fender's Custom Shop models but don't forget that amp. You'll want to get a tube/valve amplifier, look at Fender's Blues Junior or Hot Rod Deville or even Torres Blues Rock which is even more accurate to the old Fender sound.

OK Charlotte here's the lowdown on Les Pauls compared with other electric guitars.

Les Paul's are heavy, that body is a big hunk of wood. This creates sustain, the guitar notes go on ringing a real long time. This is really good for blues solos. Les Pauls vary in weight due to the depth of body or in the case of Gibson's new Classic Antique model the presence of tone chambers.

In comparison stratocaster type guitars are light, original Fender strats were thin plywood. Original stratocasters came with 3 single coil pickups, which gives that waspish, ethereal solo sound. Les Pauls originally came with humbuckers, these are more powerful hence only 2 are needed and this leaves a nice gap between that's a natural to play into. Humbuckers as the name suggest give a strong signal without buzz, the single coils on strats tend to pick up hum from computers, neon bar signs etc.

If you know nothing about electrics I would certainly recommend you find a friendly shop on a quiet afternoon. Ask to try out a telecaster, stratocaster and Les Paul. I'd guess since you've got a banjo and acoustics you can play single notes runs or rolls. Try these out with a standard amp clean channel moderate gain. The different sounds of the 3 types should reveal themselves.

You may find the shop assistant will be quite cagey when you start getting high value instruments down but explain you are already an acoustic player and are looking in the thousand pound zone and they'll understand if you don't immediately buy.

You may find going from acoustic to electric that the new sound is very different and a bit of a shock (I did).  I would almost recommend you purchase a Line 6 Variax and a Line 6 Flextone amp as a trial electric before you put down the big bucks. The Variax has digital electronics inside so impersonates all the major types of electric guitar, likewise a modelling amplifier can give you all the classic amp types and again these make a big difference. Les Paul through a 60s Marshall gives the Eric Clapton BluesBreakers tone. Same Les Paul through a Roland Jazz Chorus 120 gives that sterile 80s art rock sound.

Let us know the kind of electric playing you'd like to do and we can try and narrow down what sorts of guitar you should try out. I don't recommend internet stores unless you are buying a guitar you know already (like you need a second one as a live backup, had one stolen or sold it and now regret the mistake). Real shops can let you get hands on and you'll find out if the neck is right, if the body digs in or the controls get in the way if picking etc.

Hi Charlotte is there any particular reason you want a Les Paul? Do you like the sound, the look, the history?

Picking one is a real bear pit at present. All the respected makers do a Les Paul alike. Some insist that Tokai's 'Love Rock' copy is as near perfect as you can get even next to a current Gibson. Gibson for their part have confused things with various reincarnations of the Les Paul, so last year we got the BFG and others.

I would strongly recommend you pick up and play your various candidates as the sound can vary with the pickups used and the weight of wood. With 3K to spend you have lots of quality choices, have you looked at the reintroduced PRS single cut? Not strictly LP shaped but it has that vibe...