Re: guitar for beginners

As a teacher of beginning students, I have a tough time with this. The thing is, I don't have a lot of clarity as to how good those Squier Strats actually are, because by the time they get to me they've been pretty banged up (nature of the structure of my job means all the instruments get a lot of use). Some of them seem awfully shitty even at baseline, though. Some of them seem fine even after all of the abuse. I handle a lot of them, I just never see them out of the box.

Thing is, the amp is really, really important. The best guitar in the world is going to sound awful through a rubbish practice amp, and that can be discouraging. That's a point I always make to parents asking for recommendations. But the easy answers elude me.

On Mon, Aug 22, 2016 at 9:30 PM, Andy Fekete <andy.fekete@gmail.com> wrote:

I have to say, $400 seems like an awful lot to spend for a starter guitar.

Nowadays quality is such that anyone can get a decent Strat copy, from Fender, for $199 (look for the Squire brand) -- and that includes a gig bag and a little practice amp.

While the amp is a tosser, it's enough to get you through lessons. And the action, sound and overall play-ability of a bottom-of-the-line Fender Squire Strat is shockingly close to guitars costing hundreds more.

The money you save you can put into a decent amp, like a DRRI.

On Thu, Aug 18, 2016 at 4:28 PM, Fred Scholl <fscholl@gmail.com> wrote:
I agree completely.

Nowadays, a beginner should not need to spend more than $400 on an entry-level guitar.

On Thu, Aug 18, 2016 at 4:05 PM, Joe Hartley <jh@brainiac.com> wrote:
On Thu, 18 Aug 2016 15:39:05 -0400
Jay Pontrelli <jpontrelli44@gmail.com> wrote:

> anyone have thoughts on this article
>
> http://www.guitarfella.com/best-electric-guitar/beginners/

A Flying V is one of the most uncomfortable guitars to try to learn on;
you can't play it comfortably while sitting.

A lot of these guitars are over $400, not what I call beginner!
There are a lot of good choices in both the Squire and Epiphone lines.
Thanks to comnputers, the manufacturing of lower-end necks has gotten a lot
better than when I learned how to play!

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