Andre S Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I've been trying to help out a friend but I don't know which starter brands are good. Any recommendations? Preferably Les Paul general shape. Price: $250 US for an electric and amp set or $200 for the guitar alone? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strat-o-steve Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Look at Epiphone's, particularly the Les Paul Special models. That would fit your criteria.....LP shape and $200 - $250. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 He had pointed out the Epiphone value pack....but at that price range and buying online....I dunno.....I don't want to recommend a brand and then there are issues....i mean if he could see it first then no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SG FAN Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Save up a few more bones and get a Gibson Melody Maker or an SG Special faded. More money, I know, but I started with a faded SG and am still playing. I am of the opinion that if you start with a decent quality starter guitar, you might just stay with it instead of being frustrated with a crappy guitar and quitting. By the way, I still am playing the faded SG I started out with:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I've had exceptional luck with Epis... Sure the guy wants an electric, though? It's a two-piece purchase, although some of the value packages ain't bad at all. I got one for the heck of it when MF had a giveaway price on a damaged one - the amp was doa, the little guitar was AOK. At full price it's still $200 US for a nice little parlor electric-acoustic and a practice amp that would take a mike too. I don't now what the price would be off shore. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Look at Epiphone's, particularly the Les Paul Special models. That would fit your criteria.....LP shape and $200 - $250. :) Yup, they're good guitars...mine played and sounded just fine along side my Gibby LPs and Fenders all the way until it was stolen...Well made..even cheap guitars these days are made well, usually.. He had pointed out the Epiphone value pack....but at that price range and buying online....I dunno.....I don't want to recommend a brand and then there are issues....i mean if he could see it first then no problem. I wouldn't worry about buying on-line...buy new, not e-bay where there's one fake per real model...In today's world, even inexpensive brand name guitars gotta be good, or the companies rep suffers... Of course, as SG says, a real Gibby MM is going for 480............US dollars..............Cheap Epis are good guitars...good modding platforms when someone upgrades.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryUK Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I've got some 'budget' guitars. Michael Kelly patriot decree. Exellent for the money. Aria ta 50(335shape). Great player. It's best that you look in the shops and try a few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I've got some 'budget' guitars. Michael Kelly patriot decree. Exellent for the money. Aria ta 50(335shape). Great player. It's best that you look in the shops and try a few. M.K. guitars are great...Got me three of them..Krock just got one....................... .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schnarz25 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 personally, I would save up for a gibson melody maker or something. alot of times when you start with a junky guitar you get frustrated and pretty much give up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 I will suggest the MM tomorrow in school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Okay, here's a problem: We've mentioned good options. Frankly for the dollar I still say "Epi," but that's me. A lotta pickers will favor the MM for double the price, but it ain't necessarily gonna be as pretty to the eyes of a beginner. Buy mail order/web order, you get a guitar probably nobody has played and it may have been sitting in a warehouse and climate conditions made it hard to play for one reason or another - regardless of brand. Depending where you are, it still may be best. Or... go into a store and even if the action on a guitar is horrid to the point it's almost unplayable, a somewhat unscrupulous sales person in a rush and on commission may sell you something that's inappropriately set up for a beginner. Most of the longtime folks on this forum probably could play a bad piece well enough to fool a beginner if we had little integrity. Then there's a gig bag, a strap, a tuner... maybe even an amp to sell and the budget is gone and there's a sinking heart instead of a proud new owner. The ideal would be to have a friend who is a competent guitarist, but not necessarily super and definitely not partisan to a given style of guitar, go with the beginner at least to determine if a piece appears to be playable at a needed price. I still think that for $2-300 bucks an acoustic electric is pretty much the better choice for most beginners. Without an amp, an electric ain't really going to sound much like a guitar. But that's just me. And you need a cord to the amp. I started at age 18 on a classical that wasn't very good, but it was good enough that I kept playing even though my fingers hurt. The guys in the store told me the truth that it was a very low quality guitar, but should be good enough for me to learn with. For what it's worth, over the next cupla years I helped them sell more than a few guitars to others and bought some more from them myself. So... I consider I was pretty lucky. The second guitar, btw, was a Stella 12-string. <grin> m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Could always go local and buy used, he would end up with a better guitar for the same price and be able to see it in person before purchasing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I have mixed emotions sometimes on "local." I know of several shops in my region where price tags are above recommended retail even on strings. Some may have decent setup ability, some may not. I could expand further but I won't, not now anyway. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaleb Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I don't think the Epi Specials are a good idea. Not that Epi sucks ( I think most of em are a great buy ), its just that the quality varies with the price range. DO NOT GET THEIR BOLT ON MODELS!!! I have owned both an Epi Sg Special ( a 2005 MIK special run w. black matte finish and black hardware ) and a LP Special II ( an 07 MIC model in Vintage Sunburst ) and had too many problems w. them. With the SG, I had: a headstock break, jack break, and the neck pocket was way to large. With the LP, I had: Solder breaks, a neck that rattled and moved IN THE POCKET, and other miscallaneous electrical problems. On the contrary, every Squier I had ( an 01 Indonesian Mini Strat and an 07 Affinity Series Strat ) never had any of those problems. If your friend is stuck in that budget, Id reccomend a Squier. If he has to have an LP shape, spend a little more and get the Epi LP Studio. Or get a Samick or Agile. Any of those I mentioned will last him until hes ready for a more advanced instrument. As for amps, he should get something along the lines of a Fender solid state ( Frontman, G-DEC, or the new Mustang series ), Line 6 Spider, Crate, or Peavey. Hope my advice helps. Happy shredding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I don't think the Epi Specials are a good idea. Not that Epi sucks ( I think most of em are a great buy ), its just that the quality varies with the price range. DO NOT GET THEIR BOLT ON MODELS!!! I have owned both an Epi Sg Special ( a 2005 MIK special run w. black matte finish and black hardware ) and a LP Special II ( an 07 MIC model in Vintage Sunburst ) and had too many problems w. them. With the SG, I had: a headstock break, jack break, and the neck pocket was way to large. With the LP, I had: Solder breaks, a neck that rattled and moved IN THE POCKET, and other miscallaneous electrical problems. On the contrary, every Squier I had ( an 01 Indonesian Mini Strat and an 07 Affinity Series Strat ) never had any of those problems. If your friend is stuck in that budget, Id reccomend a Squier. If he has to have an LP shape, spend a little more and get the Epi LP Studio. Or get a Samick or Agile. Any of those I mentioned will last him until hes ready for a more advanced instrument. As for amps, he should get something along the lines of a Fender solid state ( Frontman, G-DEC, or the new Mustang series ), Line 6 Spider, Crate, or Peavey. Hope my advice helps. Happy shredding. Wow....I never have had any probs with cheap Epis.....sorry to hear that..............I do gotta say; The Epi Studio LP at $399.00 is an amazing guitar.....Agiles aren't bad...An Agile neck through LP is on my list, but it's not in his budget.............good post Kaleb......Squires aren't bad either; I buy them to make my collection look bigger..(it's big).. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhead Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I Have to agree that a "decent" beginner guitar is the best idea. When I first got serious about learning to play (I was 15) I picked up some off the wall Tele copy. JUNK! Never learned much with it. But then I ran into a GREAT deal on a '65 Gibson SG Special, and with it I learned a LOT in the next year. I would attribute it to 1) liking the guitar, 2) the sound of it, 3) most important, the PLAYABILITY! As for Epi's or not, I have a Junior that I paid $60 for used, and I play it more than any of my other guitars, even my Gibson! Excellent axe for the money, not perfect, but with a little tweaking can be a fine instrument. BUT! IF AT ALL POSSIBLE PLAY THE GUITAR YOU WANT TO BUY! AND TAKE SOMEONE WITH YOU THAT IS KNOWLEDGEABLE OF GUITARS! AND DON'T BUY THE VERY FIRST ONE YOU SEE, TAKE YOUR TIME AND LOOK AT SEVERAL, EVEN IF ALL THE SAME MODEL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krock Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I know you'll all probably roll your eyes at what I'm about to say but the brand Harley Benton is actually the epiphone product but rebadged. They're made in the same factories. For example the epiphone valve junior amp is the same as the harley benton GA5 but with different tolex and an extra tone knob. Its also cheaper. And if you were to take the circuit board out, you can see they have attempted to remove the epiphone name from it. If you want a cheap lp I'd go with a harley benton but thats my opinion. But if it didnt need to look like a lp then I'd go with a pacifica. I started off with this horrid strat copy by elica. I realised how bad it was when I upgraded. I've still kept the strat though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Tari Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Go to Musicians Friends and check out the different starter sets with guitars and amps. Then check out your local music store and see if the'll get a couple of them of you choices and check them out. The music store can always sell the ones you don't want. It also gives the music store some new stuff to check out that they might not usually stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schnarz25 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I'm gonna have to go with milod on this one. if I were you I would go to your local music store and look for a good used acoustic/electric. or just acoustic if you dont plan to play live. I know electric seems way cooler but acoustic in my opinion is really the best way to start...then when you go to electric it will be easy. plus you can get an excellent used acoustic for about $300 and you dont need an amp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tartanbeastie Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 You know, i think if you saved a little extra cash you could aim for the epi nighthawk. beautiful and good quality for the price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I believe this fulfills the functional specs: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Les-Paul-Special-II-Electric-Guitar-and-All-Access-Amp-Pack?sku=513150 In four delicious colors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I have mixed emotions sometimes on "local." I know of several shops in my region where price tags are above recommended retail even on strings. Some may have decent setup ability, some may not. I could expand further but I won't, not now anyway. m I was thinking buying privately there M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstMeasure Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Here's a couple thoughts on the subject. Get a quality but inexpensive Les Paul from Epiphone, set the action low and put light strings on it. No beginner could hope for a better starter. What I'd do, though......Is get a cheap POS from a pawn shop, like a no name acoustic with action so high you can feel the muscles in your forearm every time you fret it. Learn your basic chords on that, once you've got them down and can change pretty easy from one to the other, get a nice electric with low action and light strings. It'll feel like you've been playing for a year longer than you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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