1st electric guitar advice

[niva441]

Hi all

I need some PH collective advice on starter electric guitars. My niece has been learning the acoustic guitar and has progressed a lot more than I ever did. She has now expressed an interest in progressing to an electric. Apart from the shape and number of strings I have no idea what to look for in buying a guitar. I'd appreciate any advice you can give me on what to look for or ideally what would be a good starter model.

Is there anything else I need to think about in term of getting a personal fit?

I'm looking for something that isn't expensive, but is still good enough that it won't hold her back or she'll get fed up with after a couple of months.

Also what else does she need to go with it? A mini amp is all I can think of.

Thanks for your time

Todd

[C2james]

There are lots of guitars you can get for a learner, I'd go with a squier guitar as they are very cheap and sometimes do special packs that include an amp, picks, strap and guitar lead, that type of thing would be less than £200 I'd say.

If she is serious, and you don't want her to lose interest and don't mind spending a little but extra than is recommend something like an epiphone les Paul which you could get for about £300 second hand, the main difference would be she would be able to advance more and hold onto the epiphone for longer, but if you are pushed with finance than a squire would be absolutely fine for a beginner.

[ShadownINja]

I think the "action" is important to look at. The cheaper ones have such a big action that it puts you off learning. The likes of Epiphone and Vintage are apparently pretty good for the money. I have a Vintage Les Paul and enjoy playing with it every now and then.

[Asterix]

Guitars are personal things - unless she is comfortable on it, she won't pick it up.

Do you have the option of taking her to a large shop with lots of stock, styles, shapes etc..?

It's best to let her choose.

[Ghisallo]

Have a look on Google for Wesley guitars. They are inexpensive but terrific quality and value. The les Paul style guitar they do is £90 and wouldbbe ideal for a beginner. With an alp like a Roland cube 20 she'd be sorted for around£200 all in.


http://www.wesleyguitars.co.uk/storefrontprofiles/...

They also do strat, sg, hollowbody, and various other styles which would be lighter weight, plus some rather nifty looking lucite/transparent items.

Edited by Ghisallo on Sunday 14th November 12:14

[gingerpaul]

Lots of Les Paul recommendations. Excellent.

One thing worth bearing in mind though is that Les Pauls are just about as heavy as you can get in electric guitars. If your niece is quite young she might struggle with it a bit. My old Epiphone Les Paul was over 5kg!

Asterix has made the same suggestion I would. If you can take her to a guitar shop and see what she likes then do it because it's only by trying them that she'll know what she's comfortable with. If you're anywhere near Farnham then I'd recommend Guitar Village as a great place to spend an hour or two.

[ShadownINja]

Isn't there a reason why they are heavy?

Oh, I'm suddenly reminded, my friend's son had a go of my electric guitar. He is studying classical guitar at the mo... played some classical guitar pieces... with the overdrive on, it sounded like '70s prog rock.

[gingerpaul]

They're heavy because they're awesome. As are overdrive pedals.

Edited - overdrive pedals are awesome, not heavy.

Edited by gingerpaul on Sunday 14th November 11:38

[ShadownINja]

gingerpaul said:

They're heavy because they're awesome. As are overdrive pedals.

Edited - overdrive pedals are awesome, not heavy.

Edited by gingerpaul on Sunday 14th November 11:38

Wouldn't matter if overdrive pedals were heavy, surely?

[gingerpaul]

The heavier the better I reckon.

[Heathwood]

She should really chose for herself as its important she likes the look and feel of it. If it's not what she wants she won't be as likely to play it.

For what it's worth, I bought my first guitar a few months ago and, despite lots of people recommending the Yamaha Pacifica, I was drawn to a Tele and ended up with a Squier Vintage Modified Custom II Telecaster.

[Nimbus]

Heathwood said:

She should really chose for herself as its important she likes the look and feel of it. If it's not what she wants she won't be as likely to play it.

For what it's worth, I bought my first guitar a few months ago and, despite lots of people recommending the Yamaha Pacifica, I was drawn to a Tele and ended up with a Squier Vintage Modified Custom II Telecaster.

pictures... we need pictures

of the telecaster obviously, not the chaps niece.

I'd vote for the pacifica myself, but really she needs to go to a shop and see what she settles on. If she's been playing acoustic for a bit, then she probably already has an idea herself anyway

[Heathwood]

Here you go. Around £200.

Edited as I think I initially posted a picture of the slightly older model

Edited by Heathwood on Sunday 14th November 16:35

[niva441]

Thanks for all the advice, based on what you're saying I'd be best to find a local specialist and take her there. The Squier sounds like the sort of price I'm looking for, especially as she'll need all the accesories and ultimately may loose interst in it. Yamaha has an appeal for me that it's a name I've heard of (for pianos), but with out the premium cache I'd associate with Fender and Les Paul, but then apart from the latter 2, I'm not familiar with guitar brands.

I need to find what sort of music she wants to play, at least I think she's starting to look beyond the standard pop that's churned out. I need to find out which direction she's heading towards.

I'd appreciate a recommendation for a specialist shop hear St Ives (Cambridgeshire). Looking in Yellow Pages I see shops listed in Huntingdon and Abbotsley, otherwise it's Cambridge or Peterborough.

The guitar weight is a big issue as she's 14 and ideally I'd like to get her something that would see her at least through whatever further education she ends up doing.

[cartel]

niva441 said:

Thanks for all the advice, based on what you're saying I'd be best to find a local specialist and take her there. The Squier sounds like the sort of price I'm looking for, especially as she'll need all the accesories and ultimately may loose interst in it. Yamaha has an appeal for me that it's a name I've heard of (for pianos), but with out the premium cache I'd associate with Fender and Les Paul, but then apart from the latter 2, I'm not familiar with guitar brands.

I need to find what sort of music she wants to play, at least I think she's starting to look beyond the standard pop that's churned out. I need to find out which direction she's heading towards.

I'd appreciate a recommendation for a specialist shop hear St Ives (Cambridgeshire). Looking in Yellow Pages I see shops listed in Huntingdon and Abbotsley, otherwise it's Cambridge or Peterborough.

The guitar weight is a big issue as she's 14 and ideally I'd like to get her something that would see her at least through whatever further education she ends up doing.

I had a squire strat when I was 12 and it lasted me a good 4 years

They are great guitars, perfect for beginners. I strongly recommend going for a fender over makes which specialise in cheap guitars

[audidoody]

For what it's worth you could trawl e-Bay for a used Fender Telecaster/Stratocaster. You're likely to get much of your money back on resale.

[dazp]

When I started to learn the guitar I got one of these

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/73153?s=2734x$...

Have to say my guitar tutor told me about these and said they are a very good guitar to start with.

[garycat]

I'd just say avoid any guitar with a tremelo arm for a beginner. They make tuning more difficult IMHO. I bought a PRS SE Soapbar (~£300) to learn electric and absolutely love it.

[gingerpaul]

garycat said:

I'd just say avoid any guitar with a tremelo arm for a beginner. They make tuning more difficult IMHO. I bought a PRS SE Soapbar (~£300) to learn electric and absolutely love it.

Good point about the tremelo. Aside from that the Pacifica is a good call though.

As for the Soapbar, these are great. I happen to know of one for sale cheap too (nothing to do with me though).

http://www.musicradar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7...

[niva441]

Thanks for all the information. I got some more details on what my niece would like and it seems she's got a pretty fixed idea what she's looking for - it's got to be black.

Somehow I don't think looking for a car for her in a few years time will be quite so easy.

Although I still want to get her something she'll use and continue to use and enjoy so all comments and guidance are still going to be useful. I suppose in some ways I should be reassured that she hasn't come back with a highly details and comprehensive (expensive) specification.