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What's The Best Electric Guitar For A Begginner?


fishbass99

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I'm really happy with my Godin SD. You could probably find one for $300 or maybe $250 if you don't get the figured top.

IMO buying a super cheap squire (or any crapo guitar) is one of the worst things a beginer can do. It's so much easier to play a half way decent guitar and it will allow you to focus on learning insted of struggling with the guitar.

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There are many good guitars on E-bay that you can get for a fair price. I bought my son a Yamah Pacifica 821R that was painted over but structurally sound for $150 dollars. It has a fast 24 fret neck and a Floyd Rose tremolo which can be a pain to tune when changing strings.

I bought myself a Yamaha RGZ620Z brand new for $225.

I picked up a Yamaha AEX520 for $250 dollars without a mark on it. I am a Yamaha fan since they make great guitars at at a reasonable price.

I bought a Yamaha SE203 strat clone (older model) for $89 which I sold to my sister. That had a great tone and really solid build quality but the neck was too narrow for me.

I am learning to play at age 56 and my fingers aren't very nimble. My son flies up and down the fretboard and I am stuck in the upper frets. I don't care really it is a great way to release some stress and I like the sound of the guitars.

Their Pacifica lines, pacifica 112 and up are great values. Go to harmony-central.com then guitars and then product review database ..guitar.

Guitar owners rate their instruments and you can get some idea of the quality of their models. Don't buy a cheap guitar to start out. Buy a good used one. You are taking a bit of a risk but if the seller has good feedback you should be OK. The two things I ask the seller about is the condition of the frets and the width of the nut. You could try out several guitars and get a feel for what width neck you like.

myrareguitars.com has a new Tokai Goldstar Strat clone for $399 which is approaching a USA Strat in quality. I almost bought it but I am assembling a guitar by purchasing parts and finishing it myself. Which I am finding out is a lot more expensive.

There is alot out there if you spend some time looking.

Have a good day and enjoy looking.

Tony...

:D

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Ugh.. I had my Yamaha PAC112 as first electric guitar.

Honestly, I didn't enjoy it very much. Although I learned alot for about a year, I sold it to another beginner. :D

Like Godin said, buy a cheap used guitar.

And don't go for the looks. I suggest you take someone who knows about guitar and tour around the shop or even eBay. Um.. by someone who knows about guitar I mean probably someone who knows what kinds of brands are out there, how each guitar sounds like, what kinds of music they're suited for, what kind of necks are on the guitar, on top of his/(her) head.

But not the salesperson..

I got majorly screwed over... not because Yamaha's are bad.. but just because.. It's not the "best guitar for beginners".. and I believed him.. :D me so naive..

peace out

-IR

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I like Yamaha basses, but their regular guitars have never spoken to me. Probably some of the most sterile guitars I've ever played.

Anyway, save some money and buy a good guitar, even if it's used. You won't go wrong with a big name, just stay away from the crap at Walmart and Best Buy--even the "Gibson" at Best Buy. Smaller hands tend to do better on a 24 3/4 Gibson scale guitar, larger hands can take a 25 1/2 Fender scale no problem. My first electric was my Fender Standard Strat, and the redesigned ones for '06 are pretty nice with the medium jumbo frets now.

Strats make great project guitars too 'cause there's so many accessories and mods available for them as well.

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Is the Fender Squire a good choice?

One of my guitars is a Squire Strat and it plays absolutely perfectly, nothing wrong with it as a beginner guitar. I use mine for playing any non-thrashy/metal stuff.

I find the pickups can sound a little 'twangy' but maybe thats because all my others instruments have humbuckers? In any case I would gladly have sold some of my internal organs to have learned on a guitar like that 15 years ago instead of the plank I used to play :D

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What did you replace it with?

I replaced it with a JayTurser guitar

If you're interested I got the JT200 VINEQMT

It's a LesPaul knockoff, but for the money I paid I'm pretty happy.

I got it for about $300, it's originally $500CAD but it had a blemish,

There was a bump on the neck, which I sanded it out and now almost nobody can see/feel it.

And I got it from music123.com

I wanted to get something used from eBay, but my 'rents didn't let me set up an eBay account. haha

Oh and the guitar's Chinese made... I regret that I should've got the Ibanez Iceman400

I find the pickups can sound a little 'twangy' but maybe thats because all my others instruments have humbuckers?

Most of the 'twang' sound of strat/teles come from their 25.5" scale. The pickups do make it accentuate, but even if you had humbuckers, it will still sound 'twangy'.

-IR

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I'm probably gonna catch a lot of heat for this, but it won't be the first time ... :D

For the money, it's hard to beat the SX line from Rondo Music. They have some spuds as far as looks go, but the one I have is very good bordering on excellent. Warranty, satisfaction guarantee, fast shipping, etc. If they weren't made in China they'd probably be 4 or 5 times the price.

Me and my SX at soundcheck. On bass, Charles Manson. :D

th_Dvc00188.jpg

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Me and my SX at soundcheck. On bass, Charles Manson. :D

th_Dvc00188.jpg

Charlie Don't Slap

:D

I don't think a beginner should purchase a guitar on the 'Bay. There's just too many bad guitars out there that get thrown on the 'Bay and someone who doesn't know what to look for could get stuck with a juicy lemon.

As for SX and Rondo, buyer beware. I've heard almost as much bad as good about them and I'd be looking it over very carefully before I bought one--even for $100. Shoot, you can buy a Dean Evo for $100 and it'll have a warranty on it that'll be honored.

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I have a squire strat right now but i got sucked into the whole

'strat pack' dealy. Strats play good as a 1st guitar but make sure

you dont buy the pack.

Buy and ibanez or jackson and buy it for the sound not looks.

looks will end up costing 100$ more than needed.

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I learnt how to play on an Encore strat knock-off, i sold that as soon as possible and got an epiphone Les Paul studio, i cant begin to tell you how good this thing is for £250, but i think i got lucky, i got one that played nice. You should go in to the store play as many guitars as you can even if you just know how to play 'smoke on the water' and get the one that feels nicest to you.

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squire tele STANDARD. make sure its not affinity or what ever.

they are a str8 up good guitar for a learner. easy to play, and sounds good id also say the jagmaster is a nice one.

if bit advanced go for the strat.

just dont go lower then standard or ANYWHERE near those packs.. lol

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  • 1 month later...

my First Guitar was a Yamaha se 203 strat style, my brother is using it now as his first, but that was almost 20 years agoe, i dont know about the cheaper ibanez guitars but i have a Jackson JS1 now, i paid too much for it but i think its probably the nicest playin guitar ive ever had(sad yes i know, lol) and i see them on ebay going for 100-150 US.

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I think just about any axe you buy from a major manufacturer is going to be fine for most beginners. Just get one that doesn't look like it's going to fall apart. Get a good little amp to start out on, like a Roland Micro Cube or a Fender G-FEX. Both have good built-in effects that'll give you something to play around with while you're learning.

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my First Guitar was a Yamaha se 203 strat style, my brother is using it now as his first, but that was almost 20 years agoe, i dont know about the cheaper ibanez guitars but i have a Jackson JS1 now, i paid too much for it but i think its probably the nicest playin guitar ive ever had(sad yes i know, lol) and i see them on ebay going for 100-150 US.

Yeah I sold mine to my sister and like I said it was really solid. Also the stock pickups sounded great.

:D

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