My kid wants a new guitar....

dreib

Active member
Hey nerds its been awhile.

My 12 year son wants a new guitar for his birthday. He is still in the beginning stages of learning but improving. He currently has a squire bullet but has been circling those cheap epiphone les pauls in every music catalogue we get. Now I like the price but I also know they are shit and probably wont last, not to mention not always playable out of the box. Im willing to spend up to 400 tops with the reasoning that if he gets bored and goes back to drums I'll just swoop in and take it back.

He is set on Les Paul types.

What do you guys think?
 
Hey,
When I was a kid I had a Samick strat-style. It was OK but certainly a cheap starter guitar.
I graduated to an ebony Les Paul Studio which I still have, and use, today.
Admittedly I changed the pickups for Gibsons at some point for recording but, other than that, it's all original.

I'm not massive guitar buff but I'm fussy enough about action and intonation - I'm still pretty happy with this thing.

I think including a proper setup in your price is a good idea, unless you can do it yourself and, of course, if you can play the thing before buying that's always good.

All of that said, this guitar is probably 18 years old now. I don't know what way quality has gone since then.


If you fear the interest might not last, I'd recommend buying something plain or classic - No gimmicky colours or artwork.
I'm thinking of resale here - The standards always seems to re-sell better.
 
I had a real LP for several years. The Epiphones are nice guitars IMO. I actually have an Epi LP Special II that I found for $69 used at a GC that is my only HB guitar. I love the bolt-neck and flat top because it feels a little looser, Tele-like even, and it doesn't weigh a ton. Plus I can dismantle it and stuff it in my garment bag for traveling (which is why I got it). Not saying that's what you should get, since it's not really a step up from the Bullet, but if that's their bottom model, it's telling.

Like [MENTION=43272]Steenamaroo[/MENTION], I'd focus on the Standard or other traditional models, but it's your kid. Tell him to keep at it!
 
LOL! Dismantle for travel?? Are you sure you aren't a bass player??

He is specifically looking at those entry level epi's that start around $120 bucks....there's no way Im wasting money on one of those....or should I ? He is only 12 and breaks shit occasionally??
 
Hard to say. I can't speak to the quality of the guitars but, at that age, it's probably not the important factor.
As long as it's not literally going to break, I guess your kid wants something cooler or something he likes the look of more?

If that's going to be the difference between him losing interest or taking it up a gear then maybe it's $120 well spent.
Tough call!
 
the absolute most important thing is to get him a guitar that he's excited about and you should put your own guitar desires and knolwedge aside.
if it's a guitar he gets excited about picking up it's FAR more likely that he'll pick it up .... and play ...... and keep playing.

Now, if finances permit you to buy a better, but still not expensive Epi LP then do so ...... but IMO it's absolutely vital he gets a guitar that he gets excited about.

As for playability ...... I'm positive I could set up even one of those $120 jobbies and make it play decently.
I don't know what your set-up skills are.

But once again ..... if you can go a few hundred more then Epi does make some decent entry level LPs.

Also .... take him to Welcome to Guitarfetish ...... I'm a big fan and have a $140 tele thinline that's pretty bad ass ..... I gig with it even.
They have some LP type axes
 
If he's just starting out he wont be able to tell the difference between a cheap shit guitar and a nice guitar.

Besides, quality amongst the cheaper guitars is much better than when we grew up.
And yet, somehow we made it through the agony. :D
 
The Epi LPs can be good guitars (note they have many different models). Epi quality has improved over the last couple of years, but its always worth playing the actual guitar, rather than mail order and finger cross. Some models offer a push-pull to get both single coil and humbucker sounds.
It'll need a set up when you get it, but that's easy on an electric - check the neck, lower the action and put some decent strings on it. In the future, you might want to swap out the p-ups and the tuners.
 
I think these guys are on the money, action/playablity should be top of your list. Nothing worse than a guitar that plays like dung! These cheap guitars play pretty good. I think going used is best bang for your buck while he is deciding/learning.
 
I would search for a used gibson L.P. studio in good shape. If you have a little patience, you can find them for $500 to $600.

If he decides to go back to drums you can get your $500 or $600 back out of it pretty easily (Epi's are harder to sell because there are a zillion of them on the market). If he sticks with guitar he will have a nice one that he can get excited about. I would take a Gibson for $600 ANY DAY over an Epiphone for $400.
My 2 cents
 
Ive narrowed it down to these to options: ESP LTD EC-256 or a Gibson M2 both priced within 20 bucks of each other. Any opinions on these ?
 
I am a confirmed gear aholic and I like to have different sounds to fool with. Thus I have a couple of ESPs, a Bullit and a late 1990's Epi Les Paul in my collection. I don't have and opinion on the m2(having never played one) but the ESP's are considerably better than the Bullit(mine anyway) and I agree 1000% on the try it first opinions as even high dollar guitars from the same company of the same model at the same price actually sound different. That being said the two things I would consider is the style of music he likes to play(ESP's are popular with the "shredder" set) and something I learned when I first started playing back in the dark ages: all les pauls are heavy , especially coming from a Bullit. It may sound dumb but to a kid learning how to play it can be something that makes playing less enjoyable. I have the ditch in my left shoulder to prove it:guitar:Which is also one of the reasons I bought an 62 reissue SG around 1986.
 
I love heavy les Paul's. When I pick one up i expect it to be heavy. The light weight releaved ones feel cheap to me...specificly because they are not heavy....dont feel substantial.

I realize many like the light weight les pauls.
Not me though.
Heavy is beautiful!!
 
I went with the Gibson M2. Its pretty much a Melody maker. Its really light and the neck is pretty small. It needs a setup and Im going to put some smaller strings on it also. If the kid doesn't like it I can take it back and exchange it.

Thanks everyone!
 
I love heavy les Paul's. When I pick one up i expect it to be heavy. The light weight releaved ones feel cheap to me...specificly because they are not heavy....dont feel substantial.

I realize many like the light weight les pauls.
Not me though.
Heavy is beautiful!!

Totally agree. Just bought a new Gold Top and had my choice out of 6 guitars - I chose the heaviest. 10 lbs, 4 oz.

; - )

As far at the thread topic - sound like your going a different direction - but I agree that shopping around for a used Gibson LP Studio is the way to go. That's what I did for my son.

(whoops - just saw that you already puled the trigger)
 
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