Electric guitar for a beginner?

[johncrobinson]

I was once loaned a Martin acoustic it was also a joy to play

There is always the exception.TBH by that time i had developed good hard pads on my finger tips.
Still had them for about 3yrs after i stopped playing

 

[strange-steve]

Another vote for the Pacifica, my mate had one and it was pretty good. Ibanez RG is a decent beginner guitar for a similar price, like this little beauty for £180:

 

[Oneflewover]

I bought my son and Epiphone SG when he was 9. Now 19 and still playing it. It’s good quality for the price point. It’s hard to go wrong with a basic Squire or Epiphone.
If his guitar heroes play Fender go squire, if it’s Gibson go Epiphone. At 14 I was all about Hendrix, Clapton and Rory Gallagher so I went down the strat route. Nowadays I’d probably end up with a Les Paul copy.

Cheers, that's really helpful

 

[Oneflewover]

Another vote for the Pacifica, my mate had one and it was pretty good. Ibanez RG is a decent beginner guitar for a similar price, like this little beauty for £180:

I've done a bit of research since I posted the thread (the homebrew forum is my starting point ) and ibanez RG has cropped up a couple of times in recommendations. He's gone to bed now, but I'll show him in the morning. Thanks.

 

[Alastair70]

Another vote for the Pacifica, my mate had one and it was pretty good. Ibanez RG is a decent beginner guitar for a similar price, like this little beauty for £180:

I’ve played that RG, and the prestige model it was based on. It was incredibly good quality for the money and I love the shark tooth inlay.
The prestige had been modded with active EMG’s instead of the stock Dimarzos. It was an absolute beast.

 

[strange-steve]

I’ve played that RG, and the prestige model it was based on. It was incredibly good quality for the money and I love the shark tooth inlay.
The prestige had been modded with active EMG’s instead of the stock Dimarzos. It was an absolute beast.

I had a Yamaha RG, which I think is very similar to the Ibanez, for many years and I loved it though it was the slightly higher spec RGX with the floating bridge. Great fun to play.

 

[buddsy]

I was in this same position in January. My 13 year old daughter had a steel string acoustic and wanted an electric. She liked the look of the Gibsons. My friend a guitar teacher says the Epiphones are almost more reliable then the more expensive real ones (which he says are often trouble?) The really cheap ones looked a bit cheap to my eyes though but the ones for circa £350 look really nice. Anyway he has a Squire Strat from when he was 13/14 which along side all his expensive guitars he still rates as great & still holds its own.

Due to the style my daughter plays (and as everyone has had one) I bought a Squire Telecaster new fro circa £160.00. Basically the same guitar Leo Fender designed and made back in the 50s. And a little Orange amp as per Black Sabbath albeit on a smaller scale!

Good luck with your search. You wont go far wrong with any of the above really I think.

buddsy

 

[Oneflewover]

I was in this same position in January. My 13 year old daughter had a steel string acoustic and wanted an electric. She liked the look of the Gibsons. My friend a guitar teacher says the Epiphones are almost more reliable then the more expensive real ones (which he says are often trouble?) The really cheap ones looked a bit cheap to my eyes though but the ones for circa £350 look really nice. Anyway he has a Squire Strat from when he was 13/14 which along side all his expensive guitars he still rates as great & still holds its own.

Due to the style my daughter plays (and as everyone has had one) I bought a Squire Telecaster new fro circa £160.00. Basically the same guitar Leo Fender designed and made back in the 50s. And a little Orange amp as per Black Sabbath albeit on a smaller scale!

Good luck with your search. You wont go far wrong with any of the above really I think.

buddsy

Thanks, appreciate your help

 

[Deadhead]

If you can get to a music store (impossible right now with lockdown, but if you're not in a hurry), then definitely go try them out. You/They don't need to be able to play to try them out, you/they just strum and press down on random strings and see how it feels. Does it feel like you/they are able to press down the strings okay? Does the neck fit the hand shape okay? Does it feel comfortable or too heavy (try with a strap/standing too). Looks are important too - Is it cool?
Also, it is funny, but you can play different styles of music on different guitars than you might think of. I've seen jazz played on 'thrasher' guitars at an extremely high level and heavy metal on hollow body guitars!

If you buy off the internet, definitely would recommend at some point as soon as you are able to, get it setup by a guitar tech who can make sure the action is good, truss rod adjusted, and good and playable. Over time, you/they can learn these skills too.

In the price point, I'd say look for Squiers Strats, or Squier Mustangs, Yamaha Pacifica, Epiphone Les Paul Studios or SG specials, and Ibanez Gio.
Have fun!

If I had my druthers and my husband would let me, I'd spend all my money on brewing equipment, basses and guitars, and vinyl records.

 

[Merkin]

I can't fault any of the excellent advice on here so far.
Only other thing to consider is that Epiphone / Gibson tend to have shorter scale lengths (length of strings, hence fret size) than Fender clones (Squire Strats etc). Might be a factor for smaller fingers.

 

[Joust]

If you don't want to buy an amp yet, you can buy a headphone amp with distortion (and other effects) for 15 quid or so.

 

[Oneflewover]

If you don't want to buy an amp yet, you can buy a headphone amp with distortion (and other effects) for 15 quid or so.

This bit he has already sussed out for himself. He's got an electronic drum kit which we insist he uses headphones for!

 

[AMyd666]

Have a look on gear 4 music or thomann. You can get beginner packages (amp, tuner. Book etc.). Won't bust the bank should he lose interest

 

[crowcrow]

Man, maybe I need to try an electric. I was desperate to play the bass as a teenager (I figured I wouldn't be a lead, and all the bands I knew seemed to want bass players) but we couldn't afford an electric one so I got an acoustic and just played it as a bass.

I lasted a few months and just could never get to grips with it and it hurt my fingers so much.

I have a Fender Strat in my room (turned up in the post one day and ebay said to keep it after the seller refused to have me return it to the US as it was made from some banned wood - I never ordered it - no idea why was sent!) - I've never touched it as I was so put off from my acoustic days - maybe I will get it out and have a go! Cheers for the inspiration guys.

 

[Oneflewover]

Have a look on gear 4 music or thomann. You can get beginner packages (amp, tuner. Book etc.). Won't bust the bank should he lose interest

I've had a look already at gear for music (they've got a nearly new ibanez RG he's got his eye on) but I'll definitely take a gander at thomann too. Cheers.

 

[johncrobinson]

You WILL need to get an electronic tuner as well to start off with.
Learning to tune by ear is the ultimate aim,But to start with an electronic tuner is a godsend.
My Korg tuner cost about £20
(price will be out of date now but that's the sort of cost to expect.)
EDIT Just checked basic Korg tuner from a tenner

 

[Hanglow]

smartphone apps are fine for tuning for free too if they have one

 

[AMyd666]

I got this. Very good

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anpro-Digi...+tuner&qid=1613163302&sprefix=Guitar+&sr=8-12

 

[Loiner-62]

Just chipping in on this one, my lad started out with the Ibanez Gio - think that's now the Ibanez GR series. Couldn't fault it at the time, but Yamaha Pacifica range always look and feel pretty good. Squier strats and teles pretty good as a staring point - better than Epiphone at the same prices IMO.

Tons of reviews for the Harley Bentons (Thomann own brand) on youtube and they seem to get decent reviews from lots of fairly decent guitarists. They have starter packs for ~£130+. Bundle below is a bit higher up the price range but seems to be everything you would need as a starter

Harley Benton TE-40 TBK Bundle 1 – Thomann UK

Beautiful, Carved Top Telecaster at a GREAT PRICE! (Harley Benton TE-40) - Demo / Review - YouTube

Think key thing has already been mentioned by a few on here, a badly made and set up guitar - where the strings sit high off the frets (high action) and heavy strings - can put a young un off really quickly. Remember buying a Columbus Les Paul copy way back, heavy as hell and I never got on with it. Replaced with a Squier Strat which I still have 30+ years later.

Ideally I'd say get down to a decent music shop and see what feels right, but probably not an option at the moment. Any mates or family have guitars he could try out?

 

[Cestrian]

I started off when I was a kid on a Squier strat. That's a good guitar to start out on imo. Set it up with low action and it just glides up the fret board. Later on got a Les Paul, which was great but a lot heavier, not really for beginners, but sounds fantastic.

These days I only tend to play my Yamaha electro acoustic which is always behind the back of the couch for the weekend when everyone else has gone to bed and the scotch is out. APX 1996 special edition. She's a beauty!