Need a good beginner electric guitar

[SamRoc]

Don't know anything about electric guitars and would like to buy dd a beginner one. So many to choose from in the music stores. Any advice? thanks!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Hello
OH, you are in for some FUN! It took me a while to get my sons starter too........
According to my ds this is what he says: he says a Yamaha Pacifica is a good start. (better quality than a squier). Guitar Center is a great place to look (he LOVES this place, we actually were there last week and saw Simon and Garfunkels Bass player who came in for another guitar, we got to hear him, WOW!). Don;t be put off by that though, they have plenty of price ranges.... I was told to tell you NOT to get a Fender Squier, as a package it is overpriced as you're paying for the name. OH, he is taking over here, says it is easier for Him to type it (I am too slow for him, LOL)

Honestly, all beginner guitar packs are horribly priced and bring decent guitars with horrendous sounding amps which then undercut any decent sound produced and layer it with squealing and unwanted distortion and overdrive. Such amps would be the Fender Frontman 15w which comes in the Squier pack.
The Drive 20 watt in the Pacifica pack is better than this but is large, extremely loud and has limited tonality. You are best off buying the guitar and amp separately since you will be able to get a modeling solid state amp (Line 6 Spider or Roland Micro Cube) which are far better than anything in the beginner packs.
You are best off looking online at places such as guitar center dot com, sam ash and musicians friend then checking reviews at Harmony Central. The best beginner low priced amp is the Line 6 Spider III 15W solid state modeling amplifier. It is exceptional for the price because of its ability to switch between 4 channels for different sounds and having full onboard effects (echos, reverb, tremolo and three others) This amp runs about $100 and is a great beginner amp.
As for guitar, get a Yamaha Pacifica, Made In Mexico Stratocaster (NOT SQUIER START OR SQUIER STRATOCASTER, MAKE SURE ITS FENDER) To explain, Squier is owned by Fender and is used to produce lower quality and cheaper instruments without harming the integrity of the Fender brand with its lower quality materials and products. They are highly recommended to beginners because most beginners won't be able to tell the difference between that and a quality instrument (though once one does they will definitely want to go back and buy a better guitar) Squiers have poor sound quality, are unable to produce nice clean sounds without a high quality amp and are generally just the very low end of beginner guitars. That said, Fender produces some of the best guitars on the planet and is highly recognized for the Stratocaster, Telecaster and Jazzmaster series. The Stratocaster and Telecasters have been in production since the 50's and 60's and are the most popular guitars today. The other option with guitars however, is going Gibson and Epiphone. These are often more dirty sounding (AC/DC etc) and better for heavier music with more gain and classic rock. Epiphone is Gibson's Squier brand and produces instruments that, while generally higher quality than Squier, are far more expensive as well and their low end is just as poor sounding. Gibson really isnt an option because of its extremely high priced instruments.

Overall, a lower level Pacifica (There are many different models of this series) and a Line 6 Spider are my recommended purchases as well as various density and weight picks (Fender picks are nice and cheap and very good quality) a Korg Chromatic tuner (dont buy one of those cheap ones that comes in the packs, GET A CHROMATIC and Korg are the best) learn how to tune and do some scales.

Definitely take lessons...........until you have the hang of the instrument, can read tablature and maybe sheet and can do some scales, chord progressions and basic songs (Iron Man, Smoke on the Water, House of the Rising Sun etc.)

Me again....(MOM)
This from the DS that purchased a Gretsch G5120 Electromatic and JUST got the Fender American Series Stratocaster with onboard Roland Synthesizer. He took lessons about 8 mos, then the teacher left and he stopped about 5 mos, was not happy with the "new" teacher. BUT, decided to apply HIMSELF and now, a year later is AMAZING (if I do say so myself) and reads music and plays, he is basically self taught now.....actually took a music theory class and that further helped him (BUT was way intense)....It seems to me that with his experience the "hobby" has gotten expensive in way of "options" and amps and all kinds of other guitars (he has 4 now and each is for a different kind of playing/music). I will tell you that it is really beautiful to watch him play and hear the music that he plays....so enjoyable................
So, Good Luck with your journey in guitars and the start of "mak'n music"

 

[Tinijocaro]

All I know is DO NOT get a "First Act" guitar or any First Act instrument. They are garbage.

 

[GeorgeG]

There are hundreds of guitars that could fit the bill and the best way to decide is to visit a music store with a good selection and an honest reputation. Most large stores like that will usually be price competitively with the online suppliers. I buy a lot of my gear online, but for guitars, I like to check them out in person.

I suspect you have a budget in mind. Talk to a reputable dealer and ask to see a selection of the best he has within your budget. The rest is personal taste.

You might also go online to a supplier like Musician's Friend just to get a feel for what the price ranges are.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

How old is your DD? Has she taken lessons before? How committed is she to learning to play?

 

[Golf4food]

What a1tinkfans' son said.

"Beginner" packages and anything you'd get from a normal retail store (Wal-Mart, Target, Sam's, Costco, etc.) are J-U-N-K with a capital, well, every letter. They probably do more harm than good - they are either so bad that they will sound terrible and turn off your child from playing completely and you have then wasted the money, or else are so bad that even if your child does want to keep playing you'll have to replace them with something better so quickly that you will still have wasted your money and in the meantime the player has to relearn certain things on the better instrument because of bad habits that form when you "try" to play on bad ones. You lose either way.

If someone wants to be a professional chef they don't start training with an easy bake oven. You can get good musical equipment without breaking the bank and still avoid all of the pitfalls of cheap junk.

 

[Parkhopper]

DS14 who just purchased his 3rd electric guitar suggested that you visit Musiciansfriend.com.

Suzi

 

[mjkacmom]

DH has been playing for 30 years now, and he recommends a Fender for a beginner. Ds11 asked for a new guitar, even though he has thousands of dollars worth of guitars here, so DH gave him one of his instead.

 

[SamRoc]

Thank you everyone here for your advice! Theres alot of great information here. We'll start looking this weekend.