What electric guitar should I get my boyfriend for his birthday?
September 25th, 2009My boyfriend wants an electric guitar. I’m hoping to find a beautiful blue one that has nice sound and is good to learn on, that will grow with him, in terms of him getting better. He is a beginner, but I don’t want to buy him a cheapo crappo guitar. I’d like to spend somewhere between $300 and $700. I’ve been looking at some more in the $700 range, but should probably not spend that much. Any suggestions?
I was looking at http://www.guitarcenter.com/Epiphone-Les-Paul-Standard-Plus-Top-Electric-guitar-518341-i1149990.gc that one because people seemed to really like it but that’s where i got the $700 from. The blue one is gourg and I’ve read it’s a great guitar for the price. What would be a step or two down from that?
i know everyone is telling you Squier. Ignore that, i have one and its not that great.
and amps ARE important, but a crappy guitar sounds crappy on any amp.
a good guitar for a decent price is an EPIPHONE Les Paul.
Now, Gibson is the main maker of the Les paul line, but their sister company, Epiphone makes a good cheaper version. They also both make an SG, Epiphones is cheaper. An SG or Les Paul by Epiphone, is around 3-500.
Epiphone strives to make great guitars at a lower cost. Gibson is better, but Epiphone is great, and it will be reliable for a long time.
September 25th, 2009 at 5:43 am
Les paul is the best but too expensive
maybe a used les paul guitar
try musiciansfriend.com
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September 25th, 2009 at 6:22 am
Jesus Christ I cannot believe you are prepared to spend up to $700 on a guitar for who is, to put it bluntly, a n00b. Squier (a Fender-licensed brand) make really good guitars based on Telecaster and Stratocaster designs for around $200-$250. Maybe an Epiphone. Epiphones vary in price, but the company is also owned by Gibson. They produce SGs and Les Pauls and other Gibson copies. Do not think, however, that this sacrifices on quality. I’ve got a friend who plays on a Epiphone SG and the thing not only looks beautiful, but sounds great.
Shop around, get yourself a good deal on a good guitar.
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September 25th, 2009 at 7:10 am
Check out the Agile AL3000 at Rondomusic. I feel it is actually a better guitar than the Epiphone at about half the price.
http://www.rondomusic.com/al3000hsb.html
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September 25th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Do you just hate it when you ask a simple question and people get upset at your choices in life? If you have a $700 budget for this sort of thing then go for it.
But let me say this about electric guitars. The sound comes out of the amp. The amp is the most important thing about playing guitar. So, you should buy a really nice amp, and a just-okay guitar. All you really need from a guitar is good playability. The really expensive guitars use exotic woods and other expensive components, but don’t necessarily sound or play better.
The best sounding amps (and the ones typically used by pros) are tube amps. All you need is 15 to 25 watts. Make sure it has a separate "gain" and eq controls. Here’s one:
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Laney-LC15-15W-1×10-Tube-Guitar-Combo-Amp?sku=481329
As far as guitars go, the Fender Squier "Statocaster" clone is very nice. The "Les Paul" and Les Paul clones (Epiphone) are very heavy, but also great guitars.
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September 25th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Epiphone Les Paul’s, or should I say Epiphony Les Paul’s sound…. not so good. I’d say get a nice Epiphone SG, Because they sound a lot better. A cheaper choice, but not worse, is a Fender Stratocaster. Not the Squier Stratocaster. It plays well and looks good. It’s also less expensive.
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September 25th, 2009 at 9:13 am
i know everyone is telling you Squier. Ignore that, i have one and its not that great.
and amps ARE important, but a crappy guitar sounds crappy on any amp.
a good guitar for a decent price is an EPIPHONE Les Paul.
Now, Gibson is the main maker of the Les paul line, but their sister company, Epiphone makes a good cheaper version. They also both make an SG, Epiphones is cheaper. An SG or Les Paul by Epiphone, is around 3-500.
Epiphone strives to make great guitars at a lower cost. Gibson is better, but Epiphone is great, and it will be reliable for a long time.
References :
12 years experience
September 25th, 2009 at 9:19 am
I’ve got several and I doubt you’ll like my advice but I’d take him to a guitar store or a pawn shop and let him pick out his own guitar. It should fit him right and be comfortable. If he picks it out, you can’t screw up and he’ll be happy, no doubt.
I’d also advise starting out with an acoustic/electric for now. You can get a really good one for well within your budget. Get one with light frets, solid hardwood neck and body with dual pickups. It can be played without an amp until he at least gets the hang of it. Unless he’s a progeny. (like my son)
Then spend your extra money on a good amp. Don’t waste it on a little cracker box. When he’s ready for a full electric shop around. Don’t buy a name..make sure it’s got at least three coils/pickups and a solid body and hardwood neck.
The one you picked out is nice and great for a beginner but if he really stays with the guitar he will need to upgrade soon. I bought my son one similar to that and it was cool for about a year. By year 3 he had to step it up.
The site you linked to is way over priced too. I know a guy off ebay that sells wholesale and I’m sure he can get you whatever you want. Drop him a line and check this out. He sells everything but I limited this search to your budget and Gibsons.
Good luck…wanna buy me one? ha ha
ps… Whatever you get. Make sure you get a hard case for it. A gig bag is for travel not for storage and not very good protection even then. I wouldn’t have one.
Lot’s of places online will sell you a guitar with a case and free shipping so if you buy online shop around. Because those two things can be expensive and make the difference.
References :
http://instruments.shop.ebay.com/items/Electric__W0QQLHQ5fPriceZ300Q2eQ2e700Q40cQQBrandZGibsonQQ_catrefZ1QQ_dmptZGuitarQQ_flnZ1QQ_mPrRngCbxZ1QQ_sacatZ33034QQ_scZ1QQ_sopZ3QQ_ssnZ35redluvrQQ_ssovZ1QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em282