This probably isn't the best time to be starting this thread (since the boards are slow for the holidays), but damnit, I want a guitar now.

I've decided to go electric. I'm a beginner, and I don't want to spend a huge amount of money. But I want something pretty nice that I will have fun playing and, of course, will sound good when I play simplistic things like "Jingle Bells" and "Debaser" (:wink:). What do you recommend?

You sound like a Telecaster man to me.

Can't go worng with a Squier Telecaster or Stratocaster, if you are concerned about the money. Good starter electric guitars, those.

I don't play guitar so I can't tell what is the easiest to learn on or what sounds the best but I can tell what looks the coolest.

It's got to be either a Fender Jaguar or a Gibson SG.

If I could get a starter electric today, I would probably go for a telecaster.

I have always been an SG man. If you have small hands, this is the neck for you.

Get a Mexican Tele or Strat - they're half the price of Americans (roughly $370) and made from the same components. They also aren't Squires.

I play an SG, and really dig it. Far and away my favourite sounding guitar.

What are the prices like on these things?

Like-a dis:

A Squire Strat, because they are crappy, comes with everything you need including a crappy amp and cables, for $280. Guitar alone is $199.

A Mexican Strat or Tele start at about $350 and are a big step up in quality (crappy amp sold separately).

An American Strat or Tele run like $800-$1000. Some people swear by them over the Mexicans.

An Epiphone (Epiphone::Gibson as Squire::Fender, although Epiphone actually puts out some nice guitars, whereas pretty much all Squires are crap) SG kit (again, crappy amp included) runs about $229.

A real Gibson SG runs about the same as a Tele or Strat ($800-$1000).

Eep.

I got a guitar two christmases ago and never use it. $500 down the toilet. You want to buy a minimally used acoustic one from me? It comes with a hard case and I'll throw in a couple of learning books too.

I wanted a bass guitar, but it was a gift from the wife and she wouldn't let me have that because she thought it was stupid for me to learn to play bass.

I wish I could take some lessons. I saw some DVD lessons that would probably be cool. Can anyone recommend any good dvd lessons?

Tim - take actual lessons from a real person. They're not that expensive ($25/half hour), only take up a half-hour to an hour a week, and motivate you to play more. You can take a good teacher any song you want to learn and he'll/she'll teach it to you.

But you should also practice between lessons, which is the hard part. But you'll be able to ignore a dvd just as easily as you ignore your guitar.

timmy,

epa could give you either bass or guitar lessons, and if his lessons are as good as his recipes, i bet he would do a damn fine job of it.

i have been playing string bass and bass guitar for 15 years, and if I had my druthers, I would still take lessons. Training is a life-long endeavour.

There is quite a bit of difference regarding pickups, necks, woods etc; though the mexicans produced today (this reminds me of that seinfeld episode with the cuban cigar rollers, "Are we talking about people?") are of exceptional quality and fender offers so many different models (of domestic and import) that you really can't go wrong, especially considering that if you buy an inexpensive guitar that plays fairly well you can always upgrade the pickups (Texas Specials, Lace Sensors, throw a Hot Rail in the Bridge position etc.) and really improve the sound if you get serious without investing in a new guitar.

I know him, and he does.

My next guitar - if I ever have the extra disposable income - will definetly be a Gibson SG. Probably used.

ding ding ding.

Something tells me Haq was just recycling epa's advice in the first place.

Also if you want a guitar that's consistently better in tone, construction, fit and finish than anything american made by Gibson, Fender, etc.... but much much cheaper...

Get a Godin.

www.godinguitars.com

The Radiator is their cheapest, it's sweet, and you can find them on ebay alot. $200-300, or an LG-SP90, which out Les Pauls any Les Paul for $400-500 used... you get the idea.

Here's a radiator on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... otohosting
$143 right now with 3 days to go.

Here's an LG-SP90 in tobacco burst for $354 with four hours to go.

For a beginner amp, get a Fender Pro Jr. or Blues Jr.

That'll be plenty to start with till you join a band.

well, i'm anti squier, that's for sure. But I'm a gear snob, and it took aaron's buying the mexican for me to notice how much better they were than I gave them credit for. But then I've played some others, and they're shit. So it's a crap shoot, and aaron got a really sweet one. But you stand a way better chance with a mexi than a squier.

I would only disagree with you on this one Phil in that Godin's (or any other non-Fender/Gibson product) don't hold their resale value.

[img][310:500]http://hem.passagen.se/cheaptrick/BilderCT/rick5neckgi1.jpg[/img]

Cover your bases.

Awesome.