I've been playing guitar (acoustic and my friend's electric) for almost a year now, and I really want to get my own electric guitar setup. I'm interested in playing metal mostly, and I'd like to have a really nice distortion. Any recommendations for guitar/amp/effects?

Whats your budget?

Jacksons (http://jacksonguitars.com/) are my preference, but they can get pricey. For pedals, try a Boss Metal Zone (which is pretty cheap) and if you don't like that get what you like as far as the sound goes. For an amp, Mesa-Boogies are nice. Try a single rectifier.

axe---> B.C. Rich
amp---> i dunno, NO fender, i have one, and its crappy.
pedals----> metalzone or a nice multi effect

__________________

cant go wrong with what alredy been said id go with i3m jackson are my choice aswell bc rich arnt bad either or you could go with an ibanez they aint too bad some metal bands use em uh iv seen emperor use em i think i have seen morbid angel use one once too but im not sure

__________________

BC rich have the price for the quality. I reccemond a Platinum BC Rich Warlock with a marshall amp. With these 2 you dont really need a pedal.

As you say nothing about budget.....

axe: jackson with a floyd or fixed bridge (preferably emgs too)
amp & pedal: boss gt6

but this might get expensive

__________________

And if you want this combo, and you're left handed, I'll sell you an lefty NJ warlock and a marshall 10 watt amp

I would recomend a parker guitar for a few reasons. 1) They come with dimarzios, so you will be able to get your metal sound still, without having to deal with the thin sound of the emgs. 2) the piezo pickups, if your amp is set at the right settings it will sound alot like an acoustic, which should sound comfortable to you, playing acoustic since you started. 3) they play soooo nice, the cheaper ones play like a dream too, i would recomend getting one of the P series parkers, they dont come with the dimarzios though but they still sound and play awesome.

__________________

Go for Jackson. Kellys are nice guitars, so are Rhoads.
Smth with floyd rose should suite for metal...

__________________

axe: Jackson Dinky /w EMG's (or Soloist) or ESP with Kahler (you do need a fucking extreme trem system !)

amp: Marshall TSL100/Hughes&Kettner Triamp/Mesa Rectifier

fx: Boss GT6/boss analog pedals

i wonder if you ever heard of ENGL amps. this are full-tube amps from germany. you can get preamps seperate, or midi-preamps and then combine them with an effects-processor and something like a 100 W tube power amp. in hi-gain they blow marshalls or mesa-boogie away, so they are ideal for metal. but might get pretty pricey (>1000$ only the preamp)
look at this

Yeah, ENGL amps are quite fucking amazing, didn't know they sold them out of europe, a lot of metalcore bands here use ENGL amps.

waaay expensive though.

dont look past ESP guitars, good for a novice and reasonably priced.

as for ENGL, i have heard good things about them, esp. from mesa converts, but i have to be honest, i was unimpressed, i have heard some really heavy mesa's and marshalls. and nothing will take it away from me.

the new peavey 5150 II sound okay for a peavey, a couple of melodic death bands here are starting to use them, so they cant be that bad.

__________________

Dont overlook mavericks either, great guitars mainly in England tho.
They got great pickups, with my peavey bandit, i can get just about everytone (excepty jazz not that i can play it), going for acoustic, dirty blues, to scooped mid thrash metal.
and they are pretty cheap about my X1 was £500 and i think it sounds as good as most £1000 jacksons and ibanezs

shop around and buy what you feel most comfortable with.

__________________

yeah, you can play Metal on any brand of guitar, don't get your heart set on a Jackson/BC Rich/Ibanez/ESP before trying other brands. you could get like an 900 dollar Jackson, when a 350 dollar Dean would do the job.
you just gotta look around and see what you want. go to a good guitar store and some joe will probably help you out.

if you want 24 frets, floyd rose, and nice looks, go with these guy's suggestions.

__________________

for your first guitar? i'd say an ibanez. That was my first guitar, and i still play it intensly. For amps, buy a used one, don't splurge and get a brand new one, its not worth it for beginning. Pedals, like everyone's saying, metal zone.

__________________

i would suggest a bcrich platinum warlock or kkv with a marshall amp and a digitech pedal

I personally like Ibanez. I have a JS100 and it is pretty nice. I just need to put some EMGs and it'll be perfect, except that is only has 22 frets, that sucks. For distortion, definately, without a doubt, Boss MT-2 (Metal Zone). As for an amp, depends how loud. For loud stuff that won't cost thousands, get Crate or some other brand that is rather cheap (Not saying I have anything against Crate and there are some expensive Crates). If you want something small, get the MG15DFX. I played this in the store and it rules for a practice amp. No need for distortion, just put it on overdrive and boost the Bass, Treble, and Contour to max and drop to Middle to get a VERY nice on-board distortion.