Cheap-ish beginner guitar

[Laur]

I've been playing my mom's acoustic guitar (I don't know exactly what, sorry) that she bought from some college student, for about six months now. It's alright but I would really like to ask my parents to get me an electric guitar instead as a present because I've read that they're a little easier and also they match the styles and genres that I like better (punk/pop punk mostly). I don't want to get anything just because I think it 'looks super cool' and it turns out that it's not actually super great for me, and also I don't want anthing super expensive. Does anyone with more guitar buying experience know what sort of relatively cheap but still decent quality guitar might be good for what I want?

[Lord_Gigabyte]

The Yamaha Pacifica is a good electric beginners guitar. Justin recommends it here, among others.

https://www.justinguitar.com/guitar-lessons/what-s-the-best-guitar-for-a-beginner-bc-010

[close2u]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

It depends what you mean by cheap.
Also - which country are you in - that can make a difference in terms of what might be available at the budget end of the market.

Here are some general pointers.

Buying 2nd hand is the best way to get a bargain and many used guitars are in very good condition.

If buying new do not buy a 'bundle' / 'package' whatever the shops call it.
They represent poor value and usually contain cheap, inferior product.

As mentioned, Pacificas are popular and recommended - for good reason. They are decent all-rounders.

Check for Squier guitars ... A Telecaster or Stratocaster (look for an HSS Stratocaster if possible) ... model type Standard or the slightly lesser Affinity. The Bullet models are fairly cheap and nasty.

Epiphone could make a good choice too ... a G400 SG or a Les Paul.


In the UK Vintage brand guitars make reasonable quality guitars at a modest price and the 2nd prices are very affordable.

[Guitar_65riff]

What close2u said

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[KasperFauerby]

I’ll vote for a Mexico strat as a really sensible investment for any beginner. Maybe 2nd hand if budget is tight. Can’t go wrong with a MiM strat.

[joueur de guitare]

Yamaha Pacifica 112, or an 012 if money's really tight. Squier Affinity or Standard.

DO NOT BUY A 'starter pack'!!!

There, sorted. Feel free to ignore my opinion.

[Endureth]

Get a bass

[jono]

Don't forget that once you have an electric guitar there are endless amounts of tat that you suddenly can't do without that you end up buying to go with it.

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[RickC1970]

Yamaha Pacifica 112, or an 012 if money's really tight. Squier Affinity or Standard.

DO NOT BUY A 'starter pack'!!!

There, sorted. Feel free to ignore my opinion.

Well I made my first mistake as I bought the Yamaha Pacifica starter pack.

[plywood]

Well I made my first mistake as I bought the Yamaha Pacifica starter pack.

Don't worry, you could do a lot worse.

It's become a bit of a thing on guitar forums to criticize starter packs. They aren't necessarily the big rip off that people make them out to be. For the same amount spent you might have been able to really optimise what you get if you shop around and know exactly what you are looking for. On the other hand, since you don't know what you want or need when you're starting out, getting all the pieces together in one pack removes a lot of the uncertainty.

It's not even that you necessarily pay more for the convenience. The usual "problem" is that the stuff in the pack is not the greatest in terms of models and features.

For example the packs usually have the Pacifica 012 or 112J and only in black rather than the Pacifica 112V model in a range of colors - so you miss out on having coil splitting and a guitar in Seafoam Green or whatever, which in the grand scheme of things is no great loss. Maybe the amp doesn't have as many features, it'll be quite low wattage and possibly lack reverb or stuff like that. Maybe the pick that comes with the guitar is a bit thick. Packs usually come with a strap and gig bag, which you might not even use for a while. The strap probably won't look the greatest, or the bag might be just serviceable rather than having extra padding and pockets... As a beginner none of that stuff really matters.

I bet all the gear is usable and respectable for practicing on at home, which is perfect for getting started.

[close2u]

A guitar starter pack is a pre-cooked, processed microwave convenience meal.
Cheap and easy - but not at all tasty, nourishing or satisfying.

The guitar itself with be subject to a slightly lower quality control than one sold as a separate.
The amp will usually be poor quality with many better alternatives (look at the quality of even the micro and mini amps these days).
The cable will be cheap and liable to be noisy especially with single coils.
The accessories will also be inferior quality.

When these things carry the phrase 'ideal for beginners' in their advertising blurb what that translates to is 'when you give up trying to play this rubbish and put in a cupboard for ever more, you won't have wasted too much money'.