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A mate has stored a pile of stuff at ours while he is travelling, including his guitar. As soon as it arrived my son, who has been learning on a nice-ish acoustic guitar for a year, picked it up, plugged it in and turned into Mini-Slash. Which is good.
His birthday is in August and Im thinking a guitar and amp of his own. With birthday money from his grandparents, budget would be around £350-400. I have no experience of these things, so what should I be looking for in terms of features and, if we buy second hand, what the issues to watch our for?
Advice appreciated.
What does he want to play on it?
Pretty much anything but seems to be leaning to proper rock. He's just practicing a couple of Black Hearts and ACDC numbers.
Wellllllll... There's a lot out there for that money. However..
Guitar and amp or just guitar ?
Guitar, well Squire Srats or Epiphone Les Pauls.
Amp, dunno but loads of small decent things for £100
Yamaha and Ibanez do some excellent guitars, but really you kinda have to know what sound he wants and neck shape and weight.
Have fun choosing.
So he is going to want something like an SG or a lespaul with humbuckers and a fixed bridge.
Its been a long time since i've had an electric but my last was an prs santana SE which was a lot nicer than the lespaultype guitars at the same price in the shoos i tried.
Amp wise get a very very small one with not many features but a nice sound. I sold everything in the end but the prs and a tiny pignose amp were the last to go they were simple and portable and you could jyst turn them on and play.
Thats all I've got for you.
I meant to add he'll want more than onr soon enough!
Yamaha Pacifica series are good value and very playable. I think there's a twin humbucker one for rawk credentials.
BTW The story of the Marshall Amp is on BBC4 from 11:50pmm tonight.
My first 'leccy was given to my by Jim Marshall 😉
But that aside - how big/old is he? Les Pauls are my poison, BUT they aren't light so if he is a wee nipper I would be more inclined towards an SG, although they can be a bit neck heavy... or something like a Les Paul Junior.
The Epiphone stuff is damn good - but you may score a second hand SG/Paul Junior for that kinda money with enough left over for a wee practice amp... I would be suggesting the [url= http://www.gak.co.uk/en/yamaha-thr5/53187?gclid=CjwKEAjwnpSsBRDH3pT2-7q55R4SJABRiNyTwsNuKpzVdjLc3pHWZvxAuN_ZGdNQaeNyd3C4HBgQZxoCSiTw_wcB ]Yamaha THR[/url] as a good starting point on that front. Again, look for a used one to maximise bang for the buck!
Big fan of Pacificas myself. Got one after an Epic Les Paul and it is way better handling.
Jackson make some crackers too at that price area.
Oh aye - there are way better handling guitars than Les Pauls... but that is kinda missing the point 😉 The right guitar for the lad will be the one that at least *looks* like the one his guitar hero is playing.
If it has the right name on the headstock you will probably get "Best Dad In The World Ever" rights too!
Having just read this thread I have been perusing vintage SGs and Les Pauls on t'web and wishing I had more than £7 left in my overdraft with a week until payday!
What sort of leccy guitar is he using?
I guess it comes down to a Strat style guitar or a Les Paul style (yes, I know there are others...)
From what you say he's playing, a Les Paul copy might be appropriate: Something like a Vintage V100 (or an Epiphone LP of some sort) and a Fender Mustang II amp would be in budget.
If it's a Strat style guitar, the Squier Classic Vibe models are great (not the bullet or maybe affinity). I also like the Yamaha Pacificas - they have very consistent quality, but the 112 models have a very narrow neck (may help, may hinder).
If you don't like the Mustang II amp, the Yamaha THR seems to be well thought of, but I've never used one.
How good is he on it, and does he know what kind of style he wants to play yet? If still beginning nothing will touch a Yamaha Pacifica for a first guitar imo. When it comes to the point where he wants to upgrade, he'll know what he wants and be able to demo and pick, a lot like bikes.
I've got a fender mustang and its a cracking practice amp for the money. I'd also look at a decent set of wireless headphones, will enable him to practice without driving mum and dad nuts. Purists will say it's not the same as playing just with an amp but if it means he can play more at different times that's only a good thing. Also if he has a computer in his room, guitar port and a set of headphones gives a lot of control, but means he can't jam with mates without an amp as well which may or may not be an issue.
Second hand checks:
Fret wear and height (low action without fret buzz)
Neck not twisted
Neck a nice regular curve (take a steel ruler to check) and a shape to suit your hands - I like C or soft V but can't get round a U.
Truss rod working
Nut filed OK (take feeler gauges to check)
Pickups and electrics all working OK
Features I like:
Bolt-on neck
Medium jumbo frets
Single coil pickups (you can make single coils drone like a humbucker with the amp/pedals but you can't make humbuckers sound as bright and clear as single coils)
Reference points for my fingers to find when going from strumming to picking.
Nothing moves if you let go - heavy body
So I play a telecaster with a vintage ash-tray bridge and bought junior a butterscotch blonde classic vibe tele as his first electric. We disagree about most things but he's now also very much a tele fan so we're working on a custom ash tele with a Warmouth custom maple neck, Crel pickups and vintage bridge.
Fender Mustang amp.
The Roland Cube amps get good press as a cheap amp for getting started. The 20 watt model is about £130 if you go new, leaving £270 for a guitar if you can reach the upper end of the budget. That'll get you an Epiphone Les Paul, which are far better instruments now than they were in the past. I've had mine for about 6 years and it's been great.
Folks thanks for all the ideas and advice - deeply appreciated. Ive been checking out a few of the recommendations (wireless headphones a big yes) so no have a way better idea of what might do the job properly.