Munku

Im looking to learn how to play the electric and I'm curious as to what you music buffs would recommend for a beginner. Something not too expensive but no toys r us cheapos. Something that sounds decent as well. Thanks

ratbastid

The Fender Squire series is where I'd suggest you look. The Squire brand is a really good entry-level axe, with design cues from Fender's more famous lines, the Stratocaster and Telecaster. Really solid stuff, and perfectly adequate for a beginner.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...se_pid/515115/

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...se_pid/518334/

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...se_pid/510422/

Or go to Musicians Friend's solid-body electric guitar page (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/.../search?c=6241) and search by price. The ones above are all $100 to $200.

You can get a decent but cheapish practice amp for under $200. You can get a sub-par but cheap amp for under $100.

Actually, I played with the new Roland Micro-Cube amp (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...se_pid/480196/) the other day and I was pretty damn impressed. It can be battery operated, or take AC power. Lots of effects, and it sounds way bigger than it has any right to. MF has it for $125.

Leto

My son bought himself a Squier from the Affinity line. I think that it was a good purchase, as it is a level or so above the Bullit series, and the quality of the machine heads for one, seems to be better, it holds its tuning better, and has fairly good intonation.

It was around the $200 mark brand new (from Long & Mcquade). It also had the option to have a humbucker pickup in addition to the single coils (a so called fat strat), so there also seems to be less feedback noise as well.

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alpha phi

It would depend on your budget and style of music.
I started with a $15. pawn shop special
complete with fret buzz and spray paint finish!
Hey..... :shrug: when the only thing you can play is smoke on the water......
look around at pawn shops, music shops, and such.
The right guitar will find you.

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Nooze2k

I would recommend a Squier as well for a beginner guitar. Besides the fact that they are very affordable for a starter guitar, many look over the fact that they are an easier guitar to learn on as well. From my experience, the action on them typically high (not too high though), forcing you to learn how to play properly without getting too frustrated, and also helping to build some much needed callouses and proper finger position. However, there are some Squiers with Floating/Floyd Rose style bridges. Stay away from those. While you can do some amazing stuff with them ( I swear by them myself ), they are very difficult to get used to.... with a floating bridge, when you stretch one string, all the others bend too a bit. As well, when a string breaks on a floating bridge, the rest will all go out of tune. Changing strings is a bitch as well. So in terms of bridges, for a beginner, stick to a traditional trem if you absolutely need one, or forgoe it altogether and get a guitar with a non-trem bridge.

As for Les Pauls, I would try one out a bit before making a purchase on them, even the Epiphone version. Ask any guitar player and they will say the same thing: its one beast of guitar. Not many axes rival the Les Paul in terms of sheer size/weight, and is something to take into consideration. A lightweight alternative could be an Epiphone SG, which is the lighter little brother to the Les Paul. In terms of action/sound and overall feel, it is very similar to a Les Paul. No, it doesn't have the same sustain as a Les Paul (one of the added benefits of the massive weight), but at a beginner level this doesn't matter.

In terms of an amp, you don't need much to get started. More power is NOT better. Power is more of concern when you are in a band situation where you need to keep up with the bass guitar. In this situation, I've always been told that the basic ratio is 1:4 (for every Watt in the guitar, about 4 times is needed on the bass, ie 25W guitar, 100W bass) Many overlook the fact that more power won't give you a better sound, it will just be VERY loud. A good, clean sound is the most important, and some of the smaller amps will also provide a nifty crunch sound as an added benefit. The forementioned CUBE amps by Roland are surprisingly robust for such small amps, and I would definitely recommend them as starter amps (or even as a second travel amp for those more experienced...they really are tiny marvels). Even the great Jimmy Page was known to use 5W and 10W amps for many of his recordings.

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Locobot

I started with a $5 garage sale find. It was a headless mini-v, with the tuning knobs at the bottom. It required pliers to tune, I left a fair amount of blood on it. Then I got my tele which was like night and day.