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Good affordable guitar for a first timer.

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  • 01-11-2012 8:49pm
    #1
    aN.Droid
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,911 ✭✭✭


    Hey there,

    I am wondering if you guys can point me in the right direction on a good start guitar.

    I would like it to be good quality while still being affordable. Somewhere in the 200 euro region.

    I am looking for an electric guitar as I want to use rocksmith to help me learn how to play.

    I am right handed. If you need to know anything else please let me know!


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    #2
    JonathanAnon
    Closed Accounts Posts: 23,718 ✭✭✭✭JonathanAnon


    I know I always say this, but it's hard to look past the yamaha pacificas.. You'll get one for 150 on adverts...

    http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical-instruments/guitars-basses/el-guitars/pacifica/?mode=series#tab=audio_and_video


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    #3
    aN.Droid
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,911 ✭✭✭aN.Droid


    JonathanAnon wrote: »
    I know I always say this, but it's hard to look past the yamaha pacificas.. You'll get one for 150 on adverts...

    http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical-instruments/guitars-basses/el-guitars/pacifica/?mode=series#tab=audio_and_video

    Thanks for the suggestion.

    Couldnt find any on adverts near me though :(

    Got any recommendations on getting one online?

    How does this look for a starter?

    http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_sq_affinity_hss_15g_set_bsb.htm


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    #4
    RADIUS
    Closed Accounts Posts: 353 ✭✭RADIUS


    I've been playing for 14 years now and I highly recommend you avoid the Squires!

    They are awful, truly. Feedback city. Every Squire I have ever known has had the habit of picking up radio stations.

    I would recommend an Epiphone SG copy or if you want to up the price a bit, an LP copy. Much much higher quality than the squire.

    Steer clear of Fender altogether as there is no such thing as a cheap good Fender. Either it's an 800 euro + Fender or it's probably junk.

    A second hand Ibanez or Jackson can also be picked up for around the 200 mark as well, depending on the model you can get lucky with them.

    The Yamaha pacifica would be a better choice then the Fender IMO but there are better Yamaha's if you can find a second hand one.

    Anyway if I was to recommend one guitar that's cheap enough for beginners, yet good enough to play on stage it would have to be the Epiphone LP Standard for around 350. I know it's over budget but if possible it would be worth the stretch.


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    #5
    aN.Droid
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,911 ✭✭✭aN.Droid


    Thanks for that.

    I am looking at a Epiphone Sg-400 on adverts and thinking about going for it. What are peoples thoughts on it?

    If it's not that great I think I will do as RADIUS has said and save up a bit more and go for Epi LP standard,


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    #6
    Ravelleman
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 3,635 CMod ✭✭✭✭Ravelleman


    RADIUS wrote: »
    I've been playing for 14 years now and I highly recommend you avoid the Squires!

    ...

    So much of this post is rubbish, really

    Squier guitars are better than ever these days and really offer a lot of excellent guitars, especially in the Vintage Modified series, as a number of the lads here will attest.

    As Fenders go, you really can get an excellent guitar for less than €800, despite the above post. A lot of them would be beyond your budget at this stage but you can look at buying one in the future if you feel you need to make the step up. As I'm sure you know from your life outside guitar playing, the nay sayers will always have their day.

    As for solid recommendations, a Pacifica from thomann.de or musicstore.de would really be hard to beat. This is the advice that we tend to give to most beginners here and everyone seems to have been happy. :)


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    #7
    auti
    Registered Users Posts: 69 ✭✭auti


    I'm surprised nobody has said this yet...

    Go into a few guitar shops and play every instrument in your price range plus a few of the more expensive ones for comparison. This is worth doing even if you can't play a single chord yet. Better still, bring a friend who can play but make sure you handle every guitar yourself. At least one guitar will stand out to you as being better feeling, sounding & looking than the others - this is the guitar you should go for :D

    To narrow things down a bit you should consider what kind of music you want to play. You are never going to sound like Hendrix if you play a Les Paul, or Slash by playing a Strat so if you have a hero and you love how they sound you might consider looking for a guitar the same style as theirs.

    My experience of cheap Fenders... On a whim, I picked up a cheapest of the cheap Squire Tele for around €140 a few years ago and I find it superb. I have swapped out the pickups for something a bit more solid and gig worthy (SD Hot Rails) but apart from this small mod the guitar is a gem (and I couldn't care less if it gets scratched and dented!!!) Moral of the story - don't dismiss a guitar brand out of hand just because someone said it wont be good, only you can make up your own mind!! Go try them all.


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    #8
    rcaz
    Registered Users Posts: 4,034 ✭✭✭rcaz


    I've got one of those Squier Affinity strats that I got in a 'starter pack' as my first electric guitar. Absolute class, still play it today (it's on my bed right now actually, just recorded some parts for a new tune with it). No, it's not a fantastic guitar, but it's very very very ****ing serviceable.

    You're not going to get a great guitar as a 'first timer', but you don't want to either. All the fun of learning this stuff is starting out on **** gear, making it work, learning more and realising why it's ****, working around it until you can replace it with better gear, etc...

    Alright, maybe you do want a great guitar, but looking back on the ****-guitar-into-****ter-amp-with-feedback-everywhere days is a lot of fun once you've been playing a few years :pac:

    I've been playing guitar for 11 years, my main guitar is a Mexican Fender Telecaster Standard that I bought second hand on Adverts for €350. Bear in mind your guitar is only as good as your fingers, and right now, you need to work on your fingers. The perfect guitar can come later when you know exactly what you want to do with it :)


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    #9
    Ravelleman
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 3,635 CMod ✭✭✭✭Ravelleman


    auti wrote: »
    To narrow things down a bit you should consider what kind of music you want to play. You are never going to sound like Hendrix if you play a Les Paul, or Slash by playing a Strat so if you have a hero and you love how they sound you might consider looking for a guitar the same style as theirs.

    I don't know. Hendrix sounded like Hendrix on a Les Paul:

    tumblr_ma5jix4kgh1ra5aowo1_400.gif

    We might also speculate that Slash sounded like Slash on a Strat:

    29960d1321505679-artist-not-normally-associated-strats-slash-strat.jpg


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    #10
    aN.Droid
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,911 ✭✭✭aN.Droid


    Thanks for all the advice!

    I am probably gonna go for the epiphone sg-400. It's a right in my price range and sounds good looking at some vids and reviews online.

    Now can anyone recommend a good practice amp :)


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    #11
    RADIUS
    Closed Accounts Posts: 353 ✭✭RADIUS


    Well I am sorry that some people are rubbishing my advice. I have been playing in paid professional bands for 6 years every weekend and teaching guitar for 4 years. Sure what do I know.

    All the squires (About 12 of them) that ended up on stage with us at one stage or another have been rubbish. The electronics inside them are really badly done. They all sound grand at low volume but play a solo at a gig on a Squire beside an Epiphone LP and you will hear the difference.

    I have never known a squire not to crackle and hiss when any kind of gain is applied.


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    #12
    rcaz
    Registered Users Posts: 4,034 ✭✭✭rcaz


    RADIUS wrote: »
    Well I am sorry that some people are rubbishing my advice. I have been playing in paid professional bands for 6 years every weekend and teaching guitar for 4 years. Sure what do I know.

    So you can play guitar, therefore everything you say must be right? For what it's worth, I've had guitar teachers who knew **** all about how the instrument works, and we all know getting paid for playing music has very little to do with your ability, artistry or technical proficiency as a musician.
    RADIUS wrote: »
    All the squires (About 12 of them) that ended up on stage with us at one stage or another have been rubbish. The electronics inside them are really badly done. They all sound grand at low volume but play a solo at a gig on a Squire beside an Epiphone LP and you will hear the difference.

    None of this applies to my trusty old strat, and of course you'll hear the difference, they're different guitars.
    RADIUS wrote: »
    I have never known a squire not to crackle and hiss when any kind of gain is applied.

    I have.


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    #13
    RADIUS
    Closed Accounts Posts: 353 ✭✭RADIUS


    OP asked for advice and I gave it, I didn't intend to get on anyone's nerves I was just telling him/her of my experiences with Squires. I'm not a 3 chord guy and anyone who knows me knows I can make a guitar sing and hold my own with the best of them.

    So me thinking this was a friendly forum and seeing someone about to spend their money on a guitar I thought I would be friendly and share my experience . At the very least it will give him/her something to think about in order to be sure they are making the right choice. There may be great Squires out there and maybe I have just been unlucky with them but as far as I am concerned (and many of my guitarist friends would agree) Squires don't hold a candle to some other budget brands.

    I feel that I can come on a forum and say that. If people don't agree then that's cool.


    I won't post in the instruments forum again, I don't like hostile attitude.

    OP best of luck with your guitar whatever you buy.


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    #14
    wild turkey
    Registered Users Posts: 625 ✭✭✭wild turkey


    RADIUS wrote: »
    I've been playing for 14 years now and I highly recommend you avoid the Squires!

    They are awful, truly. Feedback city. Every Squire I have ever known has had the habit of picking up radio stations.

    I would recommend an Epiphone SG copy or if you want to up the price a bit, an LP copy. Much much higher quality than the squire.

    Steer clear of Fender altogether as there is no such thing as a cheap good Fender. Either it's an 800 euro + Fender or it's probably junk.

    A second hand Ibanez or Jackson can also be picked up for around the 200 mark as well, depending on the model you can get lucky with them.

    The Yamaha pacifica would be a better choice then the Fender IMO but there are better Yamaha's if you can find a second hand one.

    Anyway if I was to recommend one guitar that's cheap enough for beginners, yet good enough to play on stage it would have to be the Epiphone LP Standard for around 350. I know it's over budget but if possible it would be worth the stretch.

    You haven't played the classic vibe or vintage modified series then :p


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    #15
    Celly Smunt
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,464 ✭✭✭Celly Smunt


    RADIUS wrote: »
    .

    Steer clear of Fender altogether as there is no such thing as a cheap good Fender. Either it's an 800 euro + Fender or it's probably junk.

    .

    i call bull**** on this.


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    #16
    auti
    Registered Users Posts: 69 ✭✭auti


    Ravelleman wrote: »
    I don't know. Hendrix sounded like Hendrix on a Les Paul:

    tumblr_ma5jix4kgh1ra5aowo1_400.gif

    We might also speculate that Slash sounded like Slash on a Strat:

    29960d1321505679-artist-not-normally-associated-strats-slash-strat.jpg

    lol, I stand corrected! I'm sure OP knew what I meant though


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    #17
    Ravelleman
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 3,635 CMod ✭✭✭✭Ravelleman


    RADIUS wrote: »

    I won't post in the instruments forum again, I don't like hostile attitude.

    OP best of luck with your guitar whatever you buy.

    This is an unfortunate response but ultimately in life, if one wants to make assertions, which should be encouraged, one must also be prepared for people to disagree and to make their own. That's how discourse works. Feel welcome to post here in the future. It's not that bad.


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    #18
    aN.Droid
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,911 ✭✭✭aN.Droid


    Got sorted today.

    My first guitar a Epiphone SG400.

    The serial number is 10072xxxxxx

    Can anyone help me with dating the guitar? I think you can do it using the second and third digit?


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    #19
    damodai
    Registered Users Posts: 40 ✭damodai


    http://www.guitardaterproject.org/epiphone.aspx

    I've used this before ?


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