Solid Guitar for Beginner

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PhiloBeddoe

New member
I am giving lessons to a neighbor kid whose parents are ready to buy him his first electric guitar. They'd like me to give a recommendation but I have absolutely no idea about anything in the low end of the market.

Any recommendations on a decent inexpensive beginner electric?

The only criteria I can think of is that it stays in tune. He doesn't know enough to care about humbucker vs. single coil and is not familiar with any brands. We're talking total beginner here.
 
What's the budget?

I'd say a mexi-Strat. Lock the tremelo down, it'll be fine.

Yamaha Pacifica maybe. They really are damn good. Great, in fact.

Plenty of people love their Squiers too.
 
My friend recently bought his son a squier tele. His guitar teacher recomended one. It makes sense. They're not too heavy, pretty rugged, and simple.
 
This is a tricky question to answer. A guitar for a beginner is a gamble because of the possibility of loss of interest and money, so a $3000.00 ES335 is obviously not a good choice. However, most cheapo 'beginner' guitars play like crap which increases the difficulty level for the student almost guaranteeing loss of interest due to frustration. Your best bet is to go to a music store with the kid and his family and help him pick out a playable guitar in the price range of the parents (make sure that they understand that a piece of crap will probably end up ignored by the student). Many guitars in the beginner range only require a decent setup to become very playable guitars.

The bottom line is that anything in the beginner range, should be played by an experienced player before purchase, because the range of quality and playability from one to the other is huge.
 
+1 for yamaha pacifica. very solid guitar for the price. h/s/s pickups would allow him to cover all styles.

another suggestion would be to start him off with a decent tube amp. save the kid a bunch of frustration right off the bat. even a cheapo tube amp with a pedal or two would be better than most solid state amps.
 
Thanks for all the responses so far. I will definitely look into the Yamaha. I don't know a thing about it.

I have a couple of old crappy amps and plan to just give him one. He's the only student I have. I don't have time for any more, his parents are friends of mine so I take care of him.

He does seem to hold a genuine interest in the guitar. He practices diligently and pays attention.
 
dean makes some great entry level guitars at very reasonable prices.
i also agree with one of the other replies, a mex strat is always good if for no other reason but resale value if he looses interest
 
ibanez GAX-30

Some dude in work was selling one one behalf of his son, the son had started with it, and wanted something else, I bought it and most of my playing/recording have been done with it since!.. :D

Costs about 150 bucks, nothing wrong with it that I could point out, easy neck for beginner is an Ibanez trait... Keeps in tune. Only had to lift up the pickups closer to strings. Weirdly, rings so loud I like to play it unplugged mostly. :eek:
..and 150 bucks... new.
 
TravisinFlorida said:
has the pacifica been discontinued in the us?
Click to expand...

Maybe...my friend bought a white Yamaha Pacifica about a month ago from a GC. The strange thing was that it wasn't in a box. It made me wonder if they had no more and that one was just sitting around. Was in perfect condition so my friend got it for $130.

It's a great guitar to start off with, so if they are still around, that's definitely one to look at. Stays in tune real nice, my friend says.
 
if you check out the pacifica, be aware that there's a really cheap one with an agathis body. the couple i've played had the alder body i believe. i'm not sure if they'll sound different but i'd bet that the alder body would be more durable.
 
Like Jouni said, Ibanez GAX 30 would be a great guitar to suggest. If there is another $50 in the budget an Ibanez GAX 70 might be even better. If being made in China isn't a problem a Washburn X 10 (or X 11) is proving to be a good beginner guitar (around $160 for a package, guitar,amp,gig bag and tuner.) Looks are important to most of my students so I tell them if they find a guitar they like i will gladly check it out for them. Also whenever one of my students gets a new (or used) guitar I have them watch while I do a set up and try to explain what I am doing and point out the features to look for when choosing a guitar. If you have time go with your student to the store and help choose a guitar. Let them choose the style they like, then you check the quality. Choosing the right guitar for a student makes a lot of difference in how much they will practice. Just help them choose a guitar that suits them, if it looks right, feels right and sounds right... it must be right.
 
Most entry level guitars will be pretty compairable to one another...... the setup and quality control will not. Sadly(but true) the most important thing to keep a beginner hooked, will be how the guitar looks... my recomendation, take him to Sam Ash or GC and start with the ones he thinks are the coolest in his price range, then check the playability and tone before ya buy.
 
Xaviere (guitarfetish.com) and Agile/SX from rondomusic.net offer killer deals if you don't need a brand name. The Rondo stuff generally wants a set-up, but The Xavieres are excelent as-is. GF has a clearance section with "Blems," but guys on HC are syaing they sometimes can't find the flaw, and those that have found something always report a seeped stain or other inconsequential flaw. Long story short: drop-top strat types for $225.

http://store.guitarfetish.com/clse.html

I have one of their 335-types, it goes to gigs a lot. Here's the link for the non-blems.

http://store.guitarfetish.com/xaviereguitars.html
 
I wouldn't worry too much about tone starting out, as if he ever gets serious enough he'll get a higher end guitar matched to the tone he wants.

Starting out I think the most important is looks, and physical build quality (do the frets overhang, does it stay in tune, are the knobs gonna break off... etc)
 
The G&L Tribute line is pretty nice. Maybe a full step above a beginner instrument, but very playable and solidly built.
 
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