Guitar Advice Please

[roboxm3]

Please help me fellow phers, it's the old man's Birthday this weekend and we (mum, bro and me) have decided to get him a guitar as he's been toying with the idea for a while.
The only problem is our combined knowledge of guitars could be written on the back if a stamp.....better make that a pin head!
What we do know is he's fancying an electric guitar as opposed an acoustic or electro-acoustic.
I've been having a look on the only place I know will have new and used guitars (ebay ) but to be honest i might as well be looking at, well anything I know nothing about!
I'd say we're looking at a £150-£200 budget, not a lot I know but he might give it up after a week and I realise he'll need more than just the guitar its self, especially being of the electric variety but we'll cross that bridge later on.
Any help / suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[gbbird]

Might i be the first to suggest a brand new Squier Stratocaster for around that budget. Or a Yamaha strat are equally OK

If you have time to buy on the net, try http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/p.php?n=135 and look at the Squire range

g

[roboxm3]

Excellent website, thanks for that!
Is there anything I should know when buying a first guitar for someone, key tips, do's and don'ts??

[wmg100]

My dad's got a number of real US strats, but he swears that these are every bit as good:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JIM-REED-STRATOCASTER-ELECTR...

[gbbird]

roboxm3 said:

Excellent website, thanks for that!
Is there anything I should know when buying a first guitar for someone, key tips, do's and don'ts??

Cannot really think of anything specific. If you go for something like a Squire, Yamaha etc, you can be rest assured that it is a decent quality production line model, so it will not have any idiosyncrasies or build issues you might look for with hand built guitars.

You already know your budget, which is a good start, so other than asking your dad to try a few different guitars, there is not really much to worry about except perhaps colour/style. If buying from a shop, do ask that it be set up properly, and if poss, with some medium gauge strings as these are slightly easier for learning. Also, you may as well try to blag a strap or a case or something while you are at it. Also, may be worth buying a guitar tuner if you or your dad are not too clued up on guitars. Also, although it would stretch your budget somewhat, does he want an Amp to plug the axe into? You can get decent small ones for learners, but unlikely you will get one thrown in for free. But, if you do decide on a Squire and not too fussed about colour, then check out Argos, as they often do them as a package with a few bits and pieces thrown in.

If you do buy off the net (considerably cheaper than the highstreet in the majority of cases) then you should be OK too - i have purchased a few guitars on line from GAK and they have always been delivered in perfect condition and reasonably well set up.

g

[Chris71]

Don't know what you'd feel about it as a present, but as with most things, buying secondhand gets you a lot more for your money. Maybe have a chat to a local guitar shop?

[Stamp]

I would advise talking to your local shop and asking about a used PRS SE. These are good guitars with a great name behind them. You get a great lookin, easy to play guitar which IMO is nicer than a "strat". I bought mine on Ebay for around £160 IIR so you should find one in your budget.

[nevpugh308]

Yamaha Pacifica all the way ...

[smiller]

nevpugh308 said:

Yamaha Pacifica all the way ...

Good quality, nice "middle of the road" choice. Ticks all the boxes for a beginner.

I suspect that lots of people starting out on geetar want Strat / LP / Ibanez replicas, and end up disappointed. The thing is - IMO - they're all marmite axes. I've never been comfortable playing a Strat, I was bloody-minded when I had a Les Paul (the tone was gorgeous), and I only ventured into Ibanez territory when I knew I could play a guitar with a neck profile like a length of 4 x 2 planed timber i.e. flat.

[minimoog]

You're really going to need some sort of amp, even if for now it's just a little plastic practice amp like the little Marshalls. Then get a Vox Valvetronix AD30

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marshall-Amplification-MS2...

[nevpugh308]

minimoog said:

You're really going to need some sort of amp, even if for now it's just a little plastic practice amp like the little Marshalls. Then get a Vox Valvetronix AD30

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marshall-Amplification-MS2...

Ive got a nice Peavey 100w Valveking 212 for sale .... might be a bit BIG for a newbie though, lol !!

[immigrant]

gbbird said:

You already know your budget, which is a good start, so other than asking your dad to try a few different guitars

I think this is the most important bit. Although the Strat type guitars tend to suit most people, I think the neck feel of a guitar is very important. Different brands and models in the same price range can feel completely different to play.

I had my heart set on a particular Ibanez signature model, but ended up with a top end regular model as the signature neck just didn't suit my hand/style.

[roboxm3]

Thanks for the advice guys.
It's his b'day this Sunday so a bit late to do anything now but by the sounds of it the best option is going to be let him have a feel of a few and find one he's comfortable with.

Much appreciated

[tobster]

Rob,
I see your in Essex , try Peach guitars near Braintree. Really good shop and it's open Saturday and Sunday.

[andy_quantum]

immigrant said:

I had my heart set on a particular Ibanez signature model, but ended up with a top end regular model as the signature neck just didn't suit my hand/style.

The Satriani one by any chance?!

[bigbadbikercats]

tobster said:

Rob,
I see your in Essex , try Peach guitars near Braintree. Really good shop and it's open Saturday and Sunday.

Aieeee!

Dangerous place that...

I went in there a little while ago (I live in Braintree) and somehow came out with 2 PRS SE Singlecuts, a grey-black "standard" (twin humbucker) for my youngest son and a soap bar for me. Now every time I go in I end up at the back wall looking speculatively at Custom Shop Strats and PRS Custom 22s and I fear it could end messily...

Getting back to the original subject, if you don't know much about guitars and don't have anyone more knowledgeable to take shopping with you I'd second the recommendation for the Yamaha Pacifica reange, purely because they seem to be a lot more consistent and have a better "out of the box" setup than most other things I've seen in that price range - they're not necessarily the very best buy, but I think they've got to be about the safest buy.

--
JG

[andy_quantum]

I've tried the JS and found it a little odd in shape to be honest.

I've got a G10 already, and found that kind of similar with the neck being slightly too flat for my wrist shape. It's probably something I could get used to, but I found a Jem fell into my hand much easier

I'd say Pacifica as well to answer the original question. Safe enough bet

Edited by andy_quantum on Wednesday 13th February 09:20

[immigrant]

You were right Andy, it was a JS I wanted. I exchanged it for a very nice Prestige.