Recommend electric guitar for beginner.

vomikus39

Any thoughts? Anyone care?

DriftingByTheStorm

Tell us your preferred price range, and what style of music or influences you have and we can find something suitable, I'm sure.
Guitars are like cars or women. They come in all makes and models at all points on the spectrum. Without knowing a bit about you it is hard to match you to a guitar.
????

vomikus39

I'd say no more than $300. I need an amp and all that too. Obviously PJ. Alternative and old school rock.

Thanks!!!

DriftingByTheStorm

eessh.
Someone like MiG is going to come in here and tell you to save another $200 and then try for it.
Honestly, that would probably be good advice.

At $300 you are probably best to just buy a half decent acoustic guitar, even though that is explicitly NOT what you are looking for. Lol.

That being said, if you want an absolute beginners package that will probably get you squat for sound and a questionably set up guitar (you may have problems with the fret height \ playability right out of the box) ...
Fender Squier Strat Special w\ Amp - $174

I mean ... for the PRICE ... you can't go wrong ... err ... i mean, sonically, it could be very wrong ... but i just don't know. or spend a month looking on craigslist. (honestly my knowledge of <$200 guitars is pretty sad)

Not sure you got a lot of other options for a guitar AND amp at under $300.
just lots of Squiers and Epi's and some other not-so-hots in a package:
Value Packages - Musician's "friend"

Maybe MiG can guide you through that forest.


or. get this little guy and any $200 squier you can find (or whatever mig says goes. lol)

All Those Yesterdays

Seriously, look the route of something used by Peavey. Descent quality, and extremely low resale value....

Seriously there are tons of 1980's American made Peavey guitars that you can get for under $200. That play great, will come with a case.

Same deal with a small solid state amp. Look for a used Peavey...

DriftingByTheStorm

All Those Yesterdays wrote:

Seriously, look the route of something used by Peavey. Descent quality, and extremely low resale value....

Seriously there are tons of 1980's American made Peavey guitars that you can get for under $200. That play great, will come with a case.

Same deal with a small solid state amp. Look for a used Peavey...

Yeah. And you could probably score a pretty sweet old (like 80's, lol) Hamer guitar too, for around $200-$300.


Hmm. Ebay didn't turn up a lot from the 80's ... (did see a sweet purple Hamer Slammer though) ... but ...
Gold Top with GFS P90s added, new tuners, set up, woopwoop ... oh yeah. $215 ... bargain, right?

AMPS:
Epiphone EP800 -- $SIXTY SIX FUCKING DOLLARS -- should do you right for beginners rock and roll.

Vox VT30 - $150 $150 ... a bunch of amp models and 12 effects ... beats a Roland Cube and beats the shit out of those packaged amps that come with a squier. Not great. But not absolute shit.

And Crates are ... well ... Crates ... but
2x12 Amp for $80??? PISS YOUR NEIGHBORS OFF!!!]

and like was said before ... Peaveys a plenty for sale.

All Those Yesterdays

DriftingByTheStorm wrote:

All Those Yesterdays wrote:

Seriously, look the route of something used by Peavey. Descent quality, and extremely low resale value....

Seriously there are tons of 1980's American made Peavey guitars that you can get for under $200. That play great, will come with a case.

Same deal with a small solid state amp. Look for a used Peavey...

Yeah. And you could probably score a pretty sweet old (like 80's, lol) Hamer guitar too, for around $200-$300.


Hmm. Ebay didn't turn up a lot from the 80's ... (did see a sweet purple Hamer Slammer though) ... but ...
Gold Top with GFS P90s added, new tuners, set up, woopwoop ... oh yeah. $215 ... bargain, right?

AMPS:
Epiphone EP800 -- $SIXTY SIX FUCKING DOLLARS -- should do you right for beginners rock and roll.

Vox VT30 - $150 $150 ... a bunch of amp models and 12 effects ... beats a Roland Cube and beats the shit out of those packaged amps that come with a squier. Not great. But not absolute shit.

And Crates are ... well ... Crates ... but
2x12 Amp for $80??? PISS YOUR NEIGHBORS OFF!!!]

and like was said before ... Peaveys a plenty for sale.

Predators and Generations are fantastic good quality pieces that play well, and sound good. They look normal and they are incredible cheap to buy used. And if someone was looking for a guitar to turn into a project that would be a good piece as well.

he.who.forgets

May be able to find a used MIM strat in the $250 range and have a little left over for a practice amp or something.

mccreadyisgod

Made in Mexico (MIM) Fender Strat with a humbucker in the bridge (HSS configuration). Find it used for about $250-300. Get a small used Line 6 amp, or maybe a Roland Cube. The HSS Strat gets you the popular Fender sounds as well as the popular humbucker sound, and is very easy to play. The Line 6 or Roland Cube amps have some onboard effects to play with, plus they sound okay at bedroom levels (and most have a headphone jack, too).

The Peavey nod is worth repeating, too. They make some decent guitars for good prices. I'm a bit less keen on their entry-level amps, though.

Trust us all on our advice to look for used guitars. If you are a seasoned guitar player, you can occasionally find a brand-new $300 guitar that is pretty good. But a seasoned guitar player knows what s/he is looking at, like how straight the neck is, how good the frets are, and the condition of the electronics. If you have a guitar playing friend, family member, or acquaintance, feel free to ask them to check out anything you buy, for just these reasons. As for used gear, if it isn't beat to snot, then it's probably got plenty of play left in it. A $300 used guitar was probably a $500 new guitar, and it's not like there are a lot of things that could break on a guitar that wouldn't be obvious. Things to check: Neck is reasonably straight, or if it's bowed, it's bowed in only one direction (doesn't curve one way and then curve back the other way). You can play all six strings, one at a time, at each fret, with not a lot of buzz. When you roll the Volume knob all the way down and then all the way up, the volume smoothly goes all the way down and all the way up, without cutting out or making static or crackling noises. The Tone knobs make the sound muddy as they go all the way down, and bright when all the way up (again, with no cutting out or noise). Wiggle the cord in the jack to make sure there isn't any loose connection there, either. Switch between the pickups and make sure the sound is roughly the same volume in all positions. You might want to budget a proper setup by a guitar technician, which can be $20 to $50, or thereabouts, just to make sure you are off to a good start.

See, people *do* care. Good luck.

keeponrockin

Used is the way to go. I've been playing 10 years, and don't plan on buying a new guitar ever again, especially when I've gotten used guitars at 200-300 under market value!

Search craigslist, kijiji, and the like.

vomikus39

Thanks for the input guys!!!

Nice to see good people in a sometimes fucked up society. Although we are only talking guitars here.

Thanks again

gimmesometruth27

i would just find the cheapest one you can find. once you learn to play on that it will be much easier to play on a better guitar when (not if, but WHEN) you eventually upgrade.

vomikus39

thanks for the advice guys. Very detailed answers, much appreciated.

I've been taking lessons on an acoustic for a few weeks now, fucking hard, lol.

thanks again guys!!!!

he.who.forgets

vomikus39 wrote:

thanks for the advice guys. Very detailed answers, much appreciated.

I've been taking lessons on an acoustic for a few weeks now, fucking hard, lol.

thanks again guys!!!!

keep at it! I'm a firm believer that learning on an acoustic is the way to go...it makes it a whole lot easier when you're ready to plug in, especially with things like bar chords, bending strings, etc. It's really difficult at first and there will be times where you think you've hit a wall and want to give up, but dont. Play often, even if it's only a few minutes at a time.

veddertown

You'll find a decent amp cheap as chips on the Bay if you look around. As some have mentioned Squier is a pretty good place to start although I'm a bigger fan of Epiphones. I have a couple of top name guitars and I pick up my Epiphone SG Custom as much as any of them. Best advice however is not to be hasty and read reviews of anything that takes your fancy.

phungi

late reply to the OP, but Danelectro makes great strat-like guitars.... if you can pick up a used Hearsay, Innuendo, or Danoblaster for $200-$250, grab one.

vomikus39

he.who.forgets wrote:

vomikus39 wrote:

thanks for the advice guys. Very detailed answers, much appreciated.

I've been taking lessons on an acoustic for a few weeks now, fucking hard, lol.

thanks again guys!!!!

keep at it! I'm a firm believer that learning on an acoustic is the way to go...it makes it a whole lot easier when you're ready to plug in, especially with things like bar chords, bending strings, etc. It's really difficult at first and there will be times where you think you've hit a wall and want to give up, but dont. Play often, even if it's only a few minutes at a time.

Apprecite the advice, thanks pal!!

vomikus39

phungi wrote:

late reply to the OP, but Danelectro makes great strat-like guitars.... if you can pick up a used Hearsay, Innuendo, or Danoblaster for $200-$250, grab one.

I've heard a Hearsay is a smart investment. Thank for the advice, happy holidays!!!

vomikus39

veddertown wrote:

You'll find a decent amp cheap as chips on the Bay if you look around. As some have mentioned Squier is a pretty good place to start although I'm a bigger fan of Epiphones. I have a couple of top name guitars and I pick up my Epiphone SG Custom as much as any of them. Best advice however is not to be hasty and read reviews of anything that takes your fancy.

Thanks Veddertown!! Happy Holidays!!!

dogfootblues

Hey buddy, I agree with the made in Mexico Fender Telecaster Standard, and yea, you can probably find a really nice one used. There selling a awesome FSR Butterscotch Blonde MIM tele at MusiciansFriend now for $450new whice is awesome. Now i know you said $300, so, another tele that is, shocking to me until i picked one up for myself, is the Squier Classic Vibe Tele or Classic VIbe Custom Tele. They come in white blonde, butterscotch blonde and the custom is a bound alder sunburst body. The blondes are really cool, pine bodies like the originals and honestly, Ive been playing for 17 years, there really a great fuc$ing guitar with a little setup. Look em up, i bet you can find a used one on your local craigslist for $200 or under

vomikus39

dogfootblues wrote:

Hey buddy, I agree with the made in Mexico Fender Telecaster Standard, and yea, you can probably find a really nice one used. There selling a awesome FSR Butterscotch Blonde MIM tele at MusiciansFriend now for $450new whice is awesome. Now i know you said $300, so, another tele that is, shocking to me until i picked one up for myself, is the Squier Classic Vibe Tele or Classic VIbe Custom Tele. They come in white blonde, butterscotch blonde and the custom is a bound alder sunburst body. The blondes are really cool, pine bodies like the originals and honestly, Ive been playing for 17 years, there really a great fuc$ing guitar with a little setup. Look em up, i bet you can find a used one on your local craigslist for $200 or under

Thanks so much for the advice!! I'm trying to stick with this, lol. Appreiate the input....happy holidays!!!