Electric guitar for a beginner... whats a good one?

[BAZ]

Nope I'm not planning on becoming a rock star but I know that a few of you on here play guitar and a friend of mine wants to learn how to play the electric guitar. Anyway, I was wondering what would be a good starter guitar for her that would be affordable but something that will last her a while.

Baz

[maiden_canada]

i dunno but make sure you get something used...way cheaper and youll get a better guitar

[Invictus]

I don't recommend used guitars at all. Most of them have warped necks, and can't carry a tune worth *****.

I recommend starting with Acoustic. Acoustic guitars are much harder on the fingers, don't hold notes as well, and thus are perfect for beginners. It's like learning to drive in the winter time - if you can learn on that, driving in the summer will be nothing. Same goes with guitars. If you learn on electric, you'll NEVER be able to play an acoustic. If you learn on acoustic, picking up an electric guitar will be easy as pie.

But, if your friend insists on starting out with an electric, I highly recommend a brand called Epiphone. It's basically a Fender Stratocaster clone for about half the price. They are very well made, generally run in the $300 - $400 range, have a tight, slightly curved neck for good neck action, and generally stay in tune longer than the flat-necked guitars. They are great for people with smaller hands as well.

If your friend has long fingers, or is quite tall, my personal favorite guitars are the Jackson Charvel series. Those are expensive as hell though - anywhere from $700 for a piece of crap up to $2500 for a dream guitar.

But, if she likes the feel of an Epiphone, and can afford the genuine Fender, go for the Fender.

If possible, tell your friend to shop around for a 24-fret guitar instead of the standard 22. I have a crappy Yamaha, but it's a 24 fret, so I refuse to get rid of it. :D

Hope this helps!

[Scales Zoo]

Actually, I think Epiphone is Gibson's cheap line, they make cheap versions of Gibson's line of guitars. Squire makes cheap Fenders in Asia if I am not mistaken.

I agree about learning to play on accoustic, but many people never want to play on accoustics - so an accoustic is a waste of money. Some kids will "stick with it longer" if it is an electric guitar, and won't end up with a $250 accoustic in the closet beside the tennis rackets and golf clubs.

Either Epiphone (Gibson) or Squire (Fender) are good cheap guitars. I'm sure there are others good ones, but I can recomend both of the above.

If money is not an option, I'd go with a Gibson. I've got a 67' Gibson SG reissue ('92), it is now worth 3 times what I paid for it (an investment) - and sounds better each time I bang it around a bit.

Also, if I ever decide to go as Angus Young for Halloween, I've got a really good costume prop!

Ryan

[lizardmom]

DO NOT BUY A USED ONE, unless from a reputable dealer -as my stupid EX husband , bought one off of ebay with my 16 year old son's money, when he got it home it lasted may be a week, the inputs on it are Screwed, I was not happy, so now it is up toME to get it fixed.
Be careful where you buy.
Lizardmom

[C.m.pyrrhus]

Epiphones are good starter guitars..as well as being the cheaper version of Gibsons. My guitar now is an SG replica Epiphone with original SG pick-ups, a bit used yet funtional guitar. BUT, not only will you need the guitar, but an amplifier is nessesary as well, and this is what needs a bit of importance laid upon. Your electric guitar will only sound as good as the amp it goes through.

An accoustic would be the best bet to learn on. Only need the guitar to hear whats played. How to play chords, building strong fingers to hold those chords and getting a better "ear" on what the guitar is producing sound wise are only a few things better picked up on an accoustic. After this, slapping on an electric is going to work out better results. You can always trade the accoustic in for an electric model down the road as well.

By the way, the Gibson SG freggin rocks, choice of Tony Iommi, Dave Murray and Andrian Smith, Angus Young....(and many others). It is hard to find a better guitar IMO. They sound great.

[Invictus]

I was totally thinking of Squire, not Epiphone. Squire (or is it Esquire???) is the Fender clone. I've been getting the two confused for decades. :)

Personally, I hate Gibson guitars with a passion. Never liked the way they handle, the way they sound, or the neck action. And yes, I have tried different guitars on the same amp, and every guitar does sound different. If you don't believe me, play a flying V. They sound like a guitar with a friggin sinus cold. :)

Anyone ever played a BC Rich Virgin? *droooooooooool* Now THAT is a guitar worth the money.

[maiden_canada]

i like gibsons my friend has an epiphone its sweet, epiphone isn't as cheap as squires either....he got his epiphone used and has on problems and its great too, just make sure you get it from a reputable dealer

[maiden_canada]

also i would recommend an accoustic first, more difficult but if your friend switches to a electric after he will be able to play things way harder then he could on his accoustic

[crucified]

i'd go with Epiphone SG's.. sound great.. affordable.. good quality.. . :D

[Shane Tesser]

Believe it or not....Epiphone actually owns Gibson and not the other way around. Epiphone is one of the oldest guitar mfgs around...if memory serves me correct...buying Gibson many many moons ago. Alot of the guitars are produced on the same lines, but use different woods and obviously different pick ups etc.

If i was going to start all over again, i would have shopped around more. Go to different stores and see what guitar sits and feels well in your hand. If your not comfortable, you will probably be discouraged. I started on electric then switched to acoustic and never really found much difficulty in doing so, but the majority rules and yes acoustic will strenghten your hands. Another thing as invictus said was that different guitars have different sounds....that couldn't be more dead on....decide what sort of music you like and match your guitar by not only feel...but by the way it sounds with your amp as well. I do admit it takes a bit of experience to notice the suttle differences in each instrument but with time your ears will be the judge. Ive bought guitars from pawn shops etc used lots of times and never had a problem. As long as there is someone who knows how to play checking it out for you...making sure the intonation isnt messed up, the neck isnt out of whack, and the tones and keys all work, i would say save a couple bucks....who knows..you may hate it and never end up playing. Another good route is the package deals for starters. Often they come with guitar, amp, picks, tuner, learning books, case etc etc...kind of a nice package...for the money, Yamaha makes a great package deal with Pevey amps...i believe for under $400-500. :)

[lordkovacs]

i agree with invicutus in getting new, and an Epiphone made by Gibson is a great starter. That actually was my starter!

However, I much prefer acoustic. I love my 12 string acoustic, but Definetely NOT as a starter!
cheers, and good luck
mike

[Scales Zoo]

Invictus, you may not like Gibson because they aren't quite as forgiving as the other wussy brands you mentioned. You mess up on a gibson, you hear it.

I've heard you sing, you must have an ear - so I am thinking you must be joking about the sound from a gibson.

But the person who made the point about learning on an accoustic to get a better ear for what is going on made the best point. I would suggest starting on an accoustic, you have to be a better player to be good.

When I got my first electric - I was like "wow, I sound just as good as.........".

One other thing about second hand guitars, pawn shops, truss bars and intonation - Truss bars and bridges can always be fixed - if you find a sweet classic gibson for a good price, you can pretty much get anything fixed on it for $500, and it very might well be worth more than 10 times that amount.

Ryan

[Invictus]

Ryan, almost every Gibson I've ever played has been a Les Paul, and yes, I do have a good ear, and yes, I hated the sound of the Les Paul. And if you think a Jackson Charvel is forgiving, you've never played one of those. You mess up even slightly on one of those, you hear it.

As for not liking the sound, it's like Shane said... different guitars for different types of music. The classic rock and hard rock guitarists tend to like Gibson, Ibanez, and the like. But the super heavy bands almost invariably play Jackson, ESP, and BC Rich. There must be a reason for that. :) I think Jackson and ESP have a much cleaner resonance that lends itself well to high distortion. The Gibbys that I've played all sounded hollow... a bit too much treble, even with the treble switch off. But, like I said, I've mostly only played the Les Paul.

What about Ibanez? Anyone ever played one of those? I hate their 6 strings, but their bass guitars are the best on earth.

Shane - You're right about the Yamaha/Peavey combo. That can be pretty deadly, and Peavey makes great amps. They are no Mesa Boogie or Marshall, but for the price, they're fabulous. :)

[Shane Tesser]

My bass player has an ibanez bass..and i second your thought on them! Im not a big ibanez guitar fan..but for the seven string players..i think they are top notch...but then again..who really needs a low b? LOL!

[skillz]

I have an Epiphone and it owns everything. I got it used and its totally fine. I would recomend getting a Electric for a starter guitar not accoustic...It really is personal preference but I think People have more fun with electrics..my 2 cents

[Fritz]

I've played a few ibanez guitars, a friend of mine has an early 80's destroyer and an early 90s rg. The destroyer has 3 humbuckers and it's black. Looks mean, but its heavy as hell, and the neck gets super sticky (maybe I sweat too much?? lol)

The rg is a wicked guitar though. I think its a 550, I've also tried the cheaper entry level rg's they started cranking out the last couple of years and wasn't really impressed. I've busted my thumb across a couple of soundgear basses as well, nothing but praise for these guitars.

I actually picked out an old ibanez electric/acoustic for my girlfriends xmas present today. Buying used isn't so bad, I've had a few guitars over the years and most of them used. Just make sure you take someone with you that knows their stuff and you'll get a decent guitar at a good price. For the price of a new Japanese Squire strat, you could pick up a decent mexican fender strat and actually have something worth selling if you decide you don't want it.

my $0.02

[BAZ]

Thanks guys! :)

[burmer]

A Fender strat was my first electric guitar. I think it's a great choice for a first.

[Tim_Cranwill]

I spent a pile a few years back on a custom US Strat and I don't often regret it. The only times I DO regret it is when it needs a set up. :) No one has mentioned a Telecaster yet. My dad has a sweeeeet Tele. Nice guitars.....

Anyway, the best advice you've gotten so far is to shop around and find something that you enjoy and find easy to play. Electric or acoustic, doesn't matter. Both have ups and downs. Sometimes I like to sit on the couch and watch tv while I play guitar and my strat is so nice and quiet compared to my acoustics... my kids don't even tell me to stop playing! :D

The people who say to get an acoustic because they are harder to play have a point but if it's too hard to play, your fingers will get really sore and you might not want to even go through the trouble of playing after a while. It should feel good to play, not hurt. :D A guitar that is really hard to play probably isn't a very nice guitar anyway...

Just take someone with experience when you shop to check out the intonation and stuff. No matter how good you are, a guitar with terrible intonation will make you sound a lot worse! :P

[munchy]

ive played ibanez before and i actually prefer it over my step dads gibson. my buddy plays a 5 string ibanez bass and it sounds great. i dont usually play bass bu this one is fun to play. jackson guitars are sweet too but ive never played one. im getting an esp this month. :D esp rocks:) it also depends on what style of music you are interrested in playing.

[PaulBar]

I swear by either Gibson SG's or Fender USA made Stratocasters.
I have owned 1964 1973 and now 2001 Strats and the 2001 is almost as nice as the 64 I once owned. Fender is really making kick *** instruments again. The worst period was the late seventies and eighties. I find Les Pauls too heavy in weight, and not as nice to play as Fender Strats. I like SG's cause they have nice tight fretboards and play nice and are much lighter and easier to handle than Les Pauls. But you have to play the guitar to really judge, each guitar is like a women, there all different.

Paul

[hip]

I have yet to see anyone here mention the chance of hand injury by starting off on an acoustic Guitar first. New players do need some time to gain hand strength and flexability in thier fret hand an acoustic with a high action can be hell on the hands and lead to handstress. Baz you said your friend was a female and that means small hands for the most part so a thinner neck should be the best choice to start out with. Acoustics have thicker necks for good reason ( more mass = more sustain) Strat style necks (curved fret board) are much eaiser to play and are less stressfull on the fret hand. Flat wide necks (Charvel Kramer and newer Ibanez ) are made for players with a very light touch so gorilla grip is not nessary. 21 or 22 frets is more than enough frets and encourages students to learn how to bend to acheive the higher tones (Ie 24 frets or more) I too like cranwill have a custom shop strat ( bought in 86 best 2 grand I ever spent) I have found that nothing is more versitile than a strat ( you see them played from country music all the way up to metal) Yup tim telie's are sweet and that will be my next one I figure. I have owned most of the big name guitars over the years and not one of them remains (except for the strats) and a tacoma acustic. The choice baz is up to your friend (and her wallet) I wish her luck.


Hip

[Fritz]

ahh teles are very nice :)
a buddy of mine bought a mexican custom tele in summer '02. Paid around 900 for it I believe, shipped to his door. It plays like a dream, but you can't really bash out cannibal corpse on it :)
it's great though if you're into the non death metal scene.

Another brand I haven't seen mentioned is Yamaha, yeah I know they're entry level guitars for the most part, but they can take an amazing beating. I picked up a Pacifica 5 or 6 years ago with jackson electronics in it, and I haven't had a single problem with it. It plays pretty good for a $250 guitar and it has seen its share of punishment, dropped a few times, falling over etc.