My 12y is keen-ish on a electric guitar. So am I.
She’s is grade one classical and knows 5 cords. I know 6.

So – for around £70 I can get a house brand strat style. For £110 a branded epiphone Les Paul.

Or 2nd hand.

Tbh I don’t have a clue.

Help?

Or a Squire Strat and 5w amp for £110 from Andertons ..

Is the budget to be as low as possible or can you go higher?

Problem with cheap guitars, is poor tuners and setup(and on a strat poor trem block), these things be upgraded but will only get you so far, and fixed, but it’s not really worth investing in on a cheaper guitar…

Personally for me in new guitars, 400 quid plus is where I start to feel comfortable quality wise. If you buy second hand you’ll probably pick up something like a mexican strat for 250/300 quid. Which would have the benefit of being able to resell for roughly the same price.

Watch out for floating trem guitars, for a novice they can be a bugger to tune(There are easy when you know how), but still, probably better of with a hardtail variant I’d think.

Buy this so I don’t:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=999682426904172&id=184524161753340

I think the problem is that very cheap guitars can be a real pain to play. They often need setting up correctly and components like the tuners aren’t very good from the off.

If you think she’ll stick with it, I’d be tempted to buy a decent one from the start as she’ll probably want a better one when she starts to progress anyway.

Yamaha Pacifica PAC112V are often regarded as being a decent beginners guitar, they’re far better than the cheaper Fender Squire range IME.

I recently dusted off my ambition to learn the guitar and got a Squire Strat off eBay for about £100. It’s nearly new condition. So many people out there buy stuff and never use it and sell it on, so lost of hardly used gear out there so worth a look on eBay. I got a new Blackstar ‘beginner’ amp from a local shop for about £120 that has BT streaming to it so you can play along with whatever track you want, so sounds like a handy and fun feature to have. Just need to sort myself out with some lessons now!

The Andertons squire/amp package isn’t bad value,

have a serious look on Thomann, specifically at the Harley Benton range, they fo packages like Andertons.

ive just bought a Harley Benton CST 24HB. It’s a beautiful looking guitar, the build quality is amazing for the money and it sounds fab. I made a small mistake buying a b stock guitar and I have to admit the fret ends were terrible. That would put off a beginner, but seemingly the full price ones are very well set up.

Im only a couple of beers from ordering a CST24 I n either dark cherry or paradise flame….!!!

@wobbliscott, I’ve just signed up to Justin guitar for lessons.

I was struggling to find a teacher that could work around my shifts. Everyone I spoke to was “you can have Wednesday at 7.30” or something similar. I just can’t commit to that so online lessons in my own time seemed the way forward.

Whereabouts are you? I have a rather nice Squier (a 90s Korean, from when korean squiers were ace) just sat here, which you could have on an indefinite loan- i never play it and even if i wanted to play, I have another nice guitar which I also never play.

It’s older than she is and has enough dust and dents on it that she wouldn’t have to be super precious, and it’d give you both a chance to figure out what works and what doesn’t and maybe build up a budget (getting one step above the entry level brings great things for guitars)

I am attached to it and I’d definitely need it back 🙂 But it’d be fine if that were in a year or so

, I have another nice guitar which I also never play.

can I get that yin? 😆

If I knew she would stick with it then I would consider spending more but alas there is a good chance that she won’t. But if I don’t buy something then she definitely won’t be playing.

I did buy a cheap classical guitar at first then after 5 months she wanted to keep going so I bought a better one. 18 months on it gets played 10 min a week but not really….

Amp wise I think I will get the blackstar fly3 as I can also use it as a portable speaker.

2ñd hand guitars. Are they easy to fix when things go wrong?

Northwood, that’s a very nice offer which I would love to take you up on. I’m in Bristol

Thread Hijack Alert – any recommendations for a first electric-acoustic guitar for my daughters upcoming birthday?
I was looking at the Fender/Squier SA105CE for around £100 but open to suggestions – budget can move a little for the right thing…

2ñd hand guitars. Are they easy to fix when things go wrong?

if they are working when you buy it, not really much that should go wrong, just make sure all is solid.

Check things like fret wear as with a refret you are just as well buying a new neck.

The fixtures and fittings shouldn’t really break(although cheap trem blacks can crumble over time, another reason to go hardtail on a cheap guitar), only other weak point is really the electronics, which a bit of knowledge and a soldering iron and you should be able to sort yourself if things when wrong, they aren’t massively complex if you can read a wiring diagram. But plug any second hand guitar in and listen to it, for crackles, being overly noisy etc (strats will have a certain hum in the 1,3,5 positions, shouldn’t be any in 2 and 4.)

Also tuners, tune up and play the guitar real hard, check the tuning, it should still be in tune. If it’s not, new tuners are recommended.

Have a look at the Squier bullet Mustang too. I got one instead of a cheap Epi Les Paul for chucking in when I go away. Plays and sounds really well for the price and might be a bit easier for smaller hands being short scale.

Have a look at the Squier bullet Mustang too.

Agree, I had a hard tail version and it was great. Don’t really need to spend more. The good thing about a £100 guitar is you can actually mess with it. I rolled the fret board edges with a sanding sponge thing and it was the best playing neck I have had.

Thread Hijack Alert – any recommendations for a first electric-acoustic guitar for my daughters upcoming birthday?
I was looking at the Fender/Squier SA105CE for around £100 but open to suggestions – budget can move a little for the right thing…

I’ve got a nice Yam APX500 II that’s got a nice slim neck and is strung with electric 10s if that’s of any interest?

For a beginner electric I’d plump for something without a floating bridge, but that’s just my preference.

Another shout for a Squier Bullet Mustang. My son has one and loves it. It’s short scale so string tension is low. Check my Son’s video out on YouTube. All the guitar parts were recorded on the Squier. He used Garageband. He was 15 when he did this.

Local guitar teachers for kids recommend a yamaha pacifica. Good enough to keep for a while and versatile enough for lots of styles of music. More money up front than a bullet strat but better resale value (probably).

Resurrected only to point out David Gilmour had his auction yesterday whereby he sold a load of his guitars for charity..

This sold for £3.1m. Considering the tone that came out of it, and the songs that flowed from his fingers I’d say that’s a bargain (kinda)

£110 for an Epiphone Les Paul seems quite cheap, I’d get that and keep an eye out for a second hand modeller amp (little Vox ones, Roland, Line6 are decent).
If thats new post a link, but all the Epiphones I’ve played (dot, sg, les paul) could be wrangled into decent guitars with fresh strings and a setup.

I’d also steer clear of any kind of trem till you know you want one, much easier to keep a fixed bridge guitar in tune at the cheaper end.

I also have a Yamaha RGX112 (pre being branded Pacificas) and it is a really decent guitar – used to gig it in less salubrious establishments…..

I was watching some of the feed from the auction yesterday.
Absolutely bonkers prices, but a nice way to donate to charity. 🙂

Whatever you buy, budget £50.00 for a proper setup from a decent music shop. It’ll transform the guitar.

If anyone has a Yam 112V or Squier Standard (not Bullet or Affinity) Strat they want to get rid of, drop me a line.
I have a project in mind.

Ta!

Whatever you buy, budget £50.00 for a proper setup from a decent music shop. It’ll transform the guitar.

Or if you are that way inclined just read up on it and do it yourself (it really isn’t difficult to setup a guitar well)

Squier Affinity strat is a really nice instrument to play straight off the shelf regardless of price and sounds like a Strat. It’s the cheapest guitar I’ve played that was just right, so right I teased the saleman about it being better set up than the American Special (it was).

The Harley Benton T-type is fine after setting up but setting up required a new nut on mine.

It’s short scale so string tension is low.

String tension depends on string gauge and tuning more than scale length. I use 8-10-14-22-32-42 on standard E tuning – a kid would find that fine on a Strat.

If you like the Fender bit but would prefer to follow the advice about avoiding tremolos, I’ve been happy enough with a Squire Telecaster. Also a Vox Amplugs are headphone amps about £30. About £70 (Gumtree) got me a Vox Valvetronic which has a valve and power control to turn down the amp power so it can be be overdriven without pissing off the neighbours

Those cheap Epis are cheap for a reason, a used Yam for the same price as a new (cheap) Epi would be loads nicer to learn on.

+1 on setting it up/paying someone to set it up though.

kerley

Member
Whatever you buy, budget £50.00 for a proper setup from a decent music shop. It’ll transform the guitar.

Or if you are that way inclined just read up on it and do it yourself (it really isn’t difficult to setup a guitar well)

Not really recommended for beginners tbh. Easy to make the guitar play worse.

Defo something worth learning as time goes though.

Easy to make the guitar play worse.

ahem, yep, I can vouch for that

Everyone has to start somewhere. I agree with Kerley, especially on electric guitars on which adjusting the truss rod, intonation (saddle positon) and action (string height by adjusting saddle height) is a piece of cake on a Telecaster. It’s a little harder on a Strat as the trem balance also changes the action. Just read the specs on the Fender site nad watch a few Youtubes.

If the nut needs filing (very rare on a Squier) then a good set of nut files costs more than a professional set up but even then you need to find a good professional to do better than you can do – beware the Youtubes, there are some butchers hacking at their guitar nuts with poor advice.

If the neck on a Fender/Squier needs setting to get it to line up with the bridge it’s really easy as they have a bolt-on neck. If the deck height (height of strings above the body) is wrong then wedge-shaped packing made of paper or old orange boxes sanded to shape will sort it. The Youtubes are fine.

This is a good starting point and “Stewmac” Youtubes cover nearly everything you will ever want to do.

https://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Online_Resources/Learn_About_String_Action_and_Setup/Basic_Set-up_Instructions.html

Edit having reread that I don’t agree with the straight neck advice, I like to see a tiny gap (say a mm) in the middle of the neck when pressing down the string on 1st and 22nd frets

Edit having reread that I don’t agree with the straight neck advice, I like to see a tiny gap (say a mm) in the middle of the neck when pressing down the string on 1st and 22nd frets

People that waffle on about straight necks are off their nut, it’s the worst advice on the interwebs. You need relief in a neck, and as you say, capo 1st, string down at 21/22nd fret should see atleast a 0.5mm gap at the 12th, I about like 1mm myself.

Just yesterday it was that I was eyeing up a Tokai Love Rock goldtop (only £1.8k)… Looked lovely​ though. 😁

I’m a big fan of the Roland Microcube amps. Only 2w, headphone jack out, mp3 jack in, four basic effects and 6 odd amp ‘models’. Think about the £100 mark (mine was £65 >10 years ago). A brilliant little bedroom amp.

Supersession9-2. That Aria Pro II is identical to the one I’ve had since new, bought in the early ’80s, same colour as well. A great guitar with loads of different tones available through the coil taps.

BUY IT 🙂

Have a look at the Squier bullet Mustang too. I got one instead of a cheap Epi Les Paul for chucking in when I go away. Plays and sounds really well for the price and might be a bit easier for smaller hands being short scale.

+3
Loads of great reviews too

Looking for a quick update on this. I have an acoustic guitar already which is improving, but is too noisy for late night practice ..
I am LEFT HANDED, the pariah of guitar shops, the HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED or acknowledged by guitar manufacturers.
Got big fingers so don’t want a Squier Affinity as the nut width is a tad small (My son has one).

Prefer single coils (I think) but cant try anything out as guitar shops never have stock of left-handeds.

What would you guys recommend? I currently have a shortlist of:
Yamaha Pacifica 112JL off the interweb
Some old fender telecaster off Ebay if the ever show up.

Any other recommendations?

Vintage (JHS) guitars tend to be silly value – I’ve had a few and all have played well

Matsumoko Arias are seriously underated 🙂

Thanks jd13m, i will take a look

I can’t recommend Harley Benton from Thommen highly enough.

I bought one of their PRS copies in May for £195 delivered (I think they’ve gone up a bit since). It’s a beaut with the 2 main characteristics for me: a lovely playable neck and so good looking that you can’t walk past it without picking it up. Mine arrived within 4 days of order, which isn’t bad considering it comes from Germany.

They’ve got some left handed PRS copies with coil splitting (so it sounds like a single coil as well as a humbucker) from £209 delivered. And if you don’t like it, a no-quibble no cost return within 14 days.

I got a black one with P90s. Not only does it look magnificent, it needed no set-up at all to play perfectly. I stuck a block of wood to wedge the trem while I get used to it and the tall frets made me play out of tune a bit until I learned not to squeeze it to death. But I’m spending a lot of time playing it.

Not everybody likes hearing me practice so I also got a little Vox headphone amp from Andertons for about £40. Choose which flavour you want. I got the Classic Rock (i.e. Marshall copy) and it sounds great, except it has a chorus option which I hate. It sounds much better than a cheap practice amp when I play it through my Minirig speaker.

+1 for vintage/jhs- They are great instruments with quality Wilkinson hardware.
Far better than than a similarly priced squier/epiphone. I have a Sunburst s-type and greeny les Paul ripoff.
The resale is crap so there are second hand bargains to be had.

I feel your pain TallPaul. I’m a lefty too, and when shopping for used Fender Teles / Strats you’re looking at £400-500 for something decent. Right handers can be found for £250 – £350 🙁

Bought a 3/4 Squire Strat Hardtail for my kids (4 and 9) so they could get into guitars and make rocket noises etc.
They have acoustics but not that interested.
I paid £110 for just the guitar as I have every thing else. More bang for buck if only buying guitar rather than straps/ shit amps etc.
It was shipped in and the nut was so high I sent it back.
Now it’s honestly a nice little guitar.
I play it quite often. I’m not a Fender guy yet I find it very playable and nice sounds.
Very impressed.

+loads for anyone suggesting a Pacifica. I had one that had the best feeling neck I’d tried out of a bunch of guitars including a couple at 3 times the price. And as said above it’s cheap enough you can play around with it if you want to.