Any guitar gurus in here?

["Turbo-T"]

I've always wanted to learn to play electric 6 string. Yes I am a beginner and I am thinking about just getting one and learning myself how to play it.

With that said, I'm curious what brand 6 string electrics would be good for a beginner? I know there's some "cheap" electric 6 strings...should I steer clear of them? Also I'll need an amp to go with it...whats a good brand amp to go with for a beginner?

Thanks!

 

[longball]

it was a lot easier to recommend something when it was pretty much Fender and Gibson. Now there are literally 100's
companies/individuals making guitars. All making good and bad models. That being said........

Guitar Center sells 'Strat Packs' and 'Value Packs'. They are put out by Fender and Squier(I think Fender owns Squier)
Packs run between $100 - $400. Pack includes a Fender Stratocaster look-a-like, Amp and depending on Pack - tuners,
guitar strap, soft case, picks, etc. A friend of mine got a pretty decent 'Strat' out of his pack. Lower price models from Ibanez,
ESP, and Epiphone should be looked at. These do not come with Amps and cost a little more

A decent Strat Pack is good for a beginner. 9 of 10 people who start playing
guitar quit within a few months so don't spend too much. Good Luck!

 

[QwuickTurbo6]

I've heard good things about epiphone. they've got a nice les paul guitar

 

[longball]

I've heard good things about epiphone. they've got a nice les paul guitar

I've got 2 Epiphone Les Paul guitars. One cost twice the other. They are both great guitars. Gibson owns Epiphone.
If possible get a Epiphone made in Japan not Korea.

 

[QwuickTurbo6]

I've got 2 Epiphone Les Paul guitars. One cost twice the other. They are both great guitars. Gibson owns Epiphone.
If possible get a Epiphone made in Japan not Korea.

Yep. There are models from all over. Even some decent ones from Mexico I believe

 

[jlat]

hello; I'd listen to what longball says and there are alot of people that start and give up. My first one was a Peavey I found in a ad with an amp and it was a good start. Look in your local claified paper for musical instuments. I'd also go to a local music store and listen to what they have to say...
have fun
IBBY

 

[pdzz]

Any cheap one is good to learn on. Just make sure its set up decent, as far as action goes. Man, I wish I had my Warlock back.... Miss that guitar. Phil.

 

[turbofrank]

With the special effects today most cheap guitars sound good. Amps go used or pawnshop .

 

[INEEDAGN]

I got a squier strat (fender's chinese line) off craigslist for $90, lefty model too. I mess around with it but I'll never be the next hendrix or SRV. I then bought a half stack from a friend of a friend that does analog modeling and effects (sounds 80% of a high dollar tube amp for 10% of the price). I wish I'd bought a $50 practice amp it'd take up much less room LOL.

If you like the stratocaster style you can get a squier strat from a pawn shop for at or under $100. Do some research, get an "affinity" model and not a "bullet" model. Bullets are $100 brand new. Strats are comfortable to hold and play with their rounded double cutaway body. Look down the neck before you buy it, the fretboard should be straight or with a slight concave shape. if the center is bowed outwards towards the strings it will probably buzz on adjacent frets when played. The chinese electronics in them suck, but to sit and try to finger chords, it's fine. Mexican strats are around $300 and american strats start at $500 for one that's been through hell and go up from there. Everyone and their dog makes a strat style guitar and they would probably all work just fine to try to learn on. Epiphone les pauls are great, my brother loves them, but there are different levels of quality there too.

If I could change anything about my life, I'd probably go back to when I was 14-15 years old, take the car keys and car stereo stuff outta my hands, and place a guitar in them. Should have started much younger.

 

[coach]

PAWN SHOPS or Ebay. It's all about the action on the neck. If the action is too high it makes it too hard to get your fingers to press the strings. A good neck will help a beginner regardless of the cost of the guitar. There are some makers that use cheaper wood and components, but they construct it well enough that the neck action is very nice.

 

[longball]

go to a store where you can actually play the guitar. you can't tell how the action is from looking at an e-bay picture.
most stores will let you play as many guitars as you want, as long as you want - til you find something you like. Most
will have a guitar tech on site to answer your questions. He can help you tell if the neck is straight. He can adjust it for you
if it is not true. If the action is too high or too low (fret buzz) he can adjust that for you too.

If you haggle a bit they will lower the price. If you can, bring along a friend who plays guitar to help you out. E-bay and
Pawn shops will not have a guitar tech on site to help you out. A $100 Squier Strat will cost $100 on E-bay, $100 at a
pawn shop, $100 at a guitar store. The guitar store is the only one of the 3 whose main area of expertise is guitars.
When you have more knowledge about guitars then you can look at pawn shops or classifieds. This is the conclusion
I have come to after buying 7 guitars. Of course I learned most of this the hard(expensive) way!

Edit: 9 guitars, forgot about the 2 at GF's house.

 

[2QUIK6]

What Coach and long ball said..... A hard to play guitar will make learning difficult and you may give up quick. One that plays easy will make learning way easier if you have the hand coordination....face it, some people just can't get the coordination of both hands doing something completely different...strumming correctly and the correct strings and fretting.
Try to borrow a guitar, or have someone you know that knows how to play at least a few things to teach you, then you can go to pawn shops or the guitar center and play those riffs and see for yourself which one plays the best for you and the easiest.
As a rule of thumb, those that play much easier have much better craftsmanship and are a little more costly usually.
Don't need a whammy bar for a beginner although they are cool Or get a nice guitar that can always become a nice wall hanger if you don't pick it up

 

[WH1_T-Type]

My Dad taught me finger picking to start with...made the rest pretty easy to pick up! lol

 

[longball]

$1,500.00 Lesson the hard way.

Another thing I learned, and why you need to play a guitar before you buy it is "Fingerboard Radius". It will be listed on the stat sheet for the guitar.
All guitar fingerboards are curved to fit the hand easier. A curve is a section of a circle. Guitar companies complete the curve of a fingerboard
to make a circle. The size of the circle is the Fingerboard Radius. If the curve of the fingerboard equals a circle(or ball) that is 9.5" that will be a
very curved fingerboard. That is GREAT for playing chords, it is terrible for playing lead guitar. It you bend a string a couple steps playing
lead the curve will force the string you are bending to go under the other strings. If you play lead guitar you are better off with at least a 12" radius.
I prefer a 22" radius. Example of part of a guitar stat sheet:

Binding -Body Top (5-ply white/black)
-Body Back (5-ply white/black)
-Fingerboard (1-ply white)
-Headstock (5-ply white/black)
-Body(1-ply cream)
Fingerboard Radius "12"
Frets 22 medium jumbo
Bridge LockTone™
Tailpiece Stopbar
Nut Width 1.68"
Hardware gold
Machine Heads Grover® 14:1
Colors Ebony (EB), Alpine White (AW)
Guitar Weight 6.5-7lbs

 

[coach]

go to a store where you can actually play the guitar. you can't tell how the action is from looking at an e-bay picture.
most stores will let you play as many guitars as you want, as long as you want - til you find something you like. Most
will have a guitar tech on site to answer your questions. He can help you tell if the neck is straight. He can adjust it for you
if it is not true. If the action is too high or too low (fret buzz) he can adjust that for you too.

If you haggle a bit they will lower the price. If you can, bring along a friend who plays guitar to help you out. E-bay and
Pawn shops will not have a guitar tech on site to help you out. A $100 Squier Strat will cost $100 on E-bay, $100 at a
pawn shop, $100 at a guitar store. The guitar store is the only one of the 3 whose main area of expertise is guitars.
When you have more knowledge about guitars then you can look at pawn shops or classifieds. This is the conclusion
I have come to after buying 7 guitars. Of course I learned most of this the hard(expensive) way!

Edit: 9 guitars, forgot about the 2 at GF's house.

Most Pawn shops have a pretty damn good dude selling instruments. I have got some killer deals in Pawn shops. They will haggle and only want a profit off what they paid. If someone was hard up and they bought a $1000 dollar guitar for $250...you can get it for $300-350 pretty easy. They only want to show a profit on each item. They dont have to get what the "going market' is for it. Look for a nice mid 80's guitar maker like Jap made Kramers or Cort. They will be way better then some of todays guitars. I have an American Kramer, a custom Jackson, a Steinberger strat, an a totally wicked Peavey Vortex 1 that I am replacing all the electronics with EMG active pickups. I also have a handmade Seagull spruce top acoustic.

 

[RatFink]

Try to borrow a guitar,

+1,

If you can learn Smoke on the Water and Iron Man, then I'd actually buy a guitar.

 

["Turbo-T"]

Thanks. I gotta ask, how often do the frets wear out, if at all?

 

[RatFink]

Thanks. I gotta ask, how often do the frets wear out, if at all?

You'll wear your Buick out before you need a re-fret on any guitar you get. They last a real long time. I have a 14 yr old guitar that I beat on all the time and it's still good to go.

 

[highboostgn]

Find yourself an epiphone les Paul standard

 

[longball]

[quote="Most Pawn shops have a pretty damn good dude selling instruments. .[/quote]

Not a single Pawn shop in my area has anyone resembling a pretty damn good dude or dudette selling instruments. You are on your own.
However, all the music stores in the area have a "Used Instruments" section. And knowledgeable folks to help you out.

To the OP: Your results may differ.