Which Guitar is better for Beginners?

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The little Roland Micro Cube (I keep calling it a mini cube) actually puts out some good sound.
I like it a lot better than some of the larger cheap'o amps;I'm keeping mine!





I have the Line6 Pocket Pod and it's quite handy for just sitting around not making much noise.
I haven't actually used it a whole lot and so I don't have any settings of my own loaded into it.

My Epi Valve Jr is really great! I actually bought it off of eBay and it shipped just fine.
It has a mod already done to it, but down the road I may mod it some more.

Here's a couple of links to illustrate the popularity of the Epi Valve Jr and the Blackheart little amps...
http://www.diycustomamps.com/valvejunior.htm
http://forums.epiphone.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=7
http://www.blackhearteng.com/blog/2007/11/feature-mod-the-mojo-little-gi.html

Ok, Thanks for the info, it's just that I don't want to be buying everything seperatly, and the Fender Frontline Amp that comes with the Squier looks like a pile of flipping trash...

Oh, and I don't see why you'd get a Fender Amp with an Epiphone Guitar(Which is probably what I'm getting)

Do Epiphone do starter packages?

In a first guitar you just need to make sure it will be playable enough so as not to discourage you.

I would say the neck is the priority. Look for one that is fairly skinny in profile and maybe a little wider than average so there is space between strings (major cause of beginner fumble).
Next make sure the bridge and tuners are solid enough so that they do not need constant readjustment. Nothing will put a beginner off quicker than a guitar that will not stay in tune.
try to take someone who knows about guitars with you and get their opinion.

Things to watch out for in cheap guitars are- Huge unmanagable jumbo frets, trussrod not set correctly for strings causing warping and buzzing, cheap nasty bridges with obstructions to vibration and no sustain.

If I were buying a first guitar now, I would be tempted to look for a 2nd hand Jackson or something like that from the 90s, These should mostly have very nice necks and decent quality hardware whilst not being too expensive as the are not very sought after at the mo.

I'm not so hung up on any particular brand name.
For guitars, I have Epiphone, Fender, Ibanez, Washburn, Peavey and Godin.
I'm not worried about matching names between instruments and amps because they are not constructed to be matched pairs.. at least as far as I know.

I do not know who all has starter packages. If you are going to buy new, perhaps a local music shop will create a 'starter package' for you with what they have in stock.
I mean, basically you'd just be asking them for a good deal on a guitar and amp.
Don't worry if the two do not carry the same nameplate... it's possible they were made by the same factory overseas anyway






Although I understand what you are saying in the last part of your comment, I think neck width is really dictated by a person's hand size and finger length. I have a nephew who has been playing classical guitar since he was 10 (he's in his 20's now after having studied at Peabody under Manuel Berreuco ) and the fingers of his left hand are LOOONG! Longer than the same fingers of his right hand. I think it's a matter of the stretching he's done with that hand all those years.


Oh man! I couldn't agree with you more! Bad tuners can kill anyone's drive. Luckily there is an easy fix... not always cheap.. but easy none-the-less... buy new tuners.


Yeah, and some of these things just cannot be fixed well enough to justify keeping a guitar like that.



I think this right on... I find that there are some very decent beginner guitars for sale as second-hand shops/pawn shops.
You just have to know enough, or have someone along who does, to be able to figure out if there is still some decent life in a used guitar.
Same with the amps. Although an amp might turn on at the pawn shop and you might pull down one of their used guitars to try on it, that doesn't mean the amp won't crap out after a half-hour of playing or an hour... or that it doesn't hold up once you really play into it.. if you are a bit timid while playing it in the shop.

Still, I think second-hand is the best way for a beginner to get a really good guitar and amp for the best price, especially if that person is considering a brand new cheap combo outfit in the beginning.

gismo, here where I live the better pawn shop (of two we have), guarantees their stuff for a limited time.
I can bring home a guitar and/or amp and try it out at home for a week and if it's not working out, I can take it back for a refund.
Now, not all second-hand shops will do that, but you really should check around.

Also, I use Craigslist here quite often.
It's local internet ads that are easy to check out, and the person is local so it's easy for me to show up and try out the gear.
I have had good luck doing that also.
eBay is another story... while 98% of my purchases have gone great, I did have one recently with a guy two states North of me who sold me a battered and abused cymbal stand that he had listed as 'new'.

yeah, the actual Les Pauls I see in catalogs go from about US$ 800-2,500. Actual Les Paul models from the late 50's-early 60s can go from $10,000 to a quarter million (we used to have a specialty shop that sold them. Never had the courage to even go in...

I reiterate that you should start with something good enough to play, but cheap enough to trade up if you decide you like it. I built up quite a collection of gear that was turned in because some rich kid decided he wanted the 'look' of being a musician without the 'effort' of learning to play...
Used gear can be your friend...

Depending on how much money you have, I would suggest a quality guitar that may encourage you with its superior sound and which will allways be a quality guitar for you.

A Gibson SG Special for instance, not to expensive for a real guitar.

I started with an Epiphone Les Paul, quite a good guitar except for the rubbish electrics.
It actually sounds quite good now but by the time I swapped those rubbish pick-ups for a pair of Phat Cats and put some quailty pots in it, it probably works out more expensive than the SG.

And if playing the guitar is not for you, you will allways get some money back on a second hand Gibson, not so with an Ephi

Ive had an Epiphone Les Paul, and honestly I was extremely disappointed by it. my dads Gibson Les Paul totaly dominated in every category. Out of all the first guitars I owned, my favorite was my BC Rich Mockingbird Bronze Series. Very basic, fairly cheap price, but awesome sound for what it was. Not to mention that it looks totaly badass.

i can recommend a good practise amp it maybe be a bit pricey for you but its really wonderful the fender fm212r it has an amazing clear Chanel and can handle a lot of Bass distortion the overdrive Chanel is great for rock to hard rock but you'll need an external pedal for metal also its extremely loud its more of an intermediate level amp it costs around 349 American dollars

Awesome!

I picked this same amp up used for $200 and got a Shure SM57 thrown in to boot!
It's been a decent amp for me... plenty loud for home, and the sound is fine on either channel.
I did get the footswitch with mine also.

I recently scored an Ibanez Artcore AS73 (Chinese made), for about $160 used.
I wanted a semi-hollow guitar and looked at and played a couple, one of which was an Epiphone that didn't sound as good as this Ibanez out of the same amp.

All-in-all, I think I got a really nice deal.
I just put some flat-wounds on it Saturday and I'm really enjoying playing it.
Mostly I've been playing it through my Epiphone Valve Jr. with a separate cab.

While it may not be a Gibson, or other high-end guitar, it's plenty nice for me.
This is actually the first one I have played around with the set-up on.


Someday I really do want to try out a higher-end guitar just to see if they do sound and play better for me.
For now... I keep my eye on Craigslist, visit the local pawn shops, and hope I have enough money left over to pay the bills!

I got my Gibson SG for $300 from a friend. He had added a 1957 PAF humbucker pickup to it. I say that's a good deal. I've had it for years now and it's never let me down. I think SG's are great if you want a basic versatile guitar.

If you have the patience to check local ads and ask around about people you know who might be selling gear, you can get a better deal than you might expect.



If you're considering a Strat or a Strat copy (Squier, Peavey Predator, etc.), it's good to know that every time you need to change the strings, you'll have to unscrew a plate that's attached to the back of the body. Some Telecasters are built like this too. I find Strats to be easy to play, but it sucks that the design makes changing strings so time-consuming (wait til you break a string at a gig . . . ).

As far as Fenders go, I like Mustangs, Jaguars, and Jazzmasters. The Mustang is the cheapest and most basic of those 3. I don't think it has that annoying back plate design - I think it's pretty easy to change the strings on them, and they're not too expensive. I had fun playing one once. Not sure what year it was.



If you're thinking about resale value, look at guitars that are old enough to be considered "vintage" but are in good condition. Many of those are becoming increasingly popular and increasing in value. But if you go that route, do enough research to know you're getting what you want and not getting ripped off.

There's a lot to consider when buying an older guitar, but you can still find good deals (people who don't know what they're worth or are looking to turn the instrument into cash asap). If you know what you're doing, vintage gear can be a great investment, and can far exceed the quality of what is being produced today.

Properly stretching the strings until they stay in tune each time you change them also makes a big difference. It's something a beginner wouldn't necessarily know to do. Each time you break a string or switch to a different tuning (say, an open tuning so you can easily play slide), change all the strings. And when you change the strings, make sure you turn the knobs in the correct direction because this will have an affect on the head and the neck over time.

Once I started obsessively and methodically stretching my strings each time I changed them, changing all strings each time one breaks, and changing all strings whenever I want to play in a different tuning, I have not had a string go out of tune (with the exception of excessive tremolo use and my '47 acoustic that has plenty of "issues").

All of this is explained in the better "intro to guitar" books. A good book like this will cover everything from the basics to aspects of music theory that the average guitar player will never need to know about, and will include a very thorough chord chart. IMO, a book like this should be part of your "starter package", along with your guitar, amp, cord, strings, picks, etc.

I'm currently rebuilding a couple of guitars and in the process I'm learning more about them than I had planned on learning.
Here's a picture of the one I'm putting back together...

It's the Lyle in front, a hollow-body guitar from the 70's, made in Japan.
The other two are my Ibanez GAX70 (which is an SG knockoff), and my Ibanez Artcore semi-hollow in the very back.
I've paid less than $200 each for those guitars (although the Lyle cost me exactly $200) and they sound really good and play real well for me.

Used guitars for beginners are great as long as you don't wind up with one that needs work which you can't do yourself or can't afford to pay someone else to do.