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best electric guitar under $500 ?

N

nizz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 10, 2004
160
0
north philly
Hey all, Christmas time is coming up and I wanted to get my little brother his first guitar. Normally I'd spend a LOT less on his gift, but since he's been wasting 95% of his time on world of warcraft (my fault for bringing him in), I'm hoping a guitar will bring him back to reality.

As far as I know, all I have to buy is the guitar, amp, and cable ? I'm hoping to spend less than $500 for all , and prefer new. Where should I go to get it? -online, -instore ??

Anyway, What do you guys recommend? I've been asking around and mostly everyone has been telling me to get Ibanez or Gibson. Please if you guys can help me with any info, that would be nice. thanks!
 
nizz said:
Hey all, Christmas time is coming up and I wanted to get my little brother his first guitar. Normally I'd spend a LOT less on his gift, but since he's been wasting 95% of his time on world of warcraft (my fault for bringing him in), I'm hoping a guitar will bring him back to reality.

As far as I know, all I have to buy is the guitar, amp, and cable ? I'm hoping to spend less than $500 for all , and prefer new. Where should I go to get it? -online, -instore ??

Anyway, What do you guys recommend? I've been asking around and mostly everyone has been telling me to get Ibanez or Gibson. Please if you guys can help me with any info, that would be nice. thanks!
Click to expand...

Gibson probably isn't the best way to go for his first guitar. You could get an Epiphone SG (a cheaper version of the Gibson SG)

Most guitarists I know got a Squier Stratocaster as their first guitar though. (they go pretty cheap)
 
Squier strats are well made, excellent first guitars. I have had one for ten years, and I still play it occasionally alongside my Gibson.

If you are in the 500 dollar range, you could get a Mexico-manufactured Standard Stratocaster, which is slightly better built than the Squier.

Frankly, a first-timer won't notice the difference between a Mexico Standard and a Squier Standard. Slap some 10 guage strings on that baby to train the fingers, and everything'll be golden!

Get a little Peavey 15 watt amp. Such an amp plus cable should be less than 150.
 
I have a Blade Durango standard, i think you'll find that for a little more than 500 or, as i did, i bought it 2ndhand.. for €350, it's really a nice guitar!
 
The Squire Strat is a nice guitar but the thing with guitars as far as I'm concerned is that the person playing really needs to give it a little test drive. I have smaller hands so a fast neck to me would mean it's slightly under sized. The issue with that is the strings may seem closer together which means I can't play with long nails. In my experience though buying a guitar for someone without having them test a few out is like buying clothes for a co-worker and never asking their size. You can guess and perhaps luck will be on your side but in the end it may not fit right.

As far as build, when you're looking at < $500 guitars you really want to be concerned with the wood type and whether the back is solid or not (on an acoustic/electric). On an electric you want to be more concerned with the pickups. Asking which is better, Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, etc is really just a matter of opinion I think. Nikon or Canon right?

I have found Gibson makes some nice < $500 guitars with fast necks an they feel great in my hands. Fender strat as said is a nice guitar with a rosewood neck and it is also quite fast and easy to handle. It's hard to say. Take him to a shop and see what happens. Maybe he'll even want a bass instead.
 
My first guitar was £67 (new) from eBay...Wesley guitars if you're interested, and it's surprisingly good for the money :)

Squiers are definitely a good choice, or a bass guitar (it'll be easier to get in a band, proper bassists can be a rare breed i.e. not just guitarists who think they can instantly play both)
 
My first guitar and amp cost under £150 together. It was an LP knock off. But like others have said, he might prefer bass. Ask him, take him to a shop.
 
Ok, in case he does like bass better, can I still get a decent one with all the other stuff for under $500?

keep in mind I'd like one that would last him 2 years+ before asking me for money to get an upgrade.
 
You'd definitely be able to manage that. Ibanez seem to do quite a few bass starter packs for ~$300. My first proper bass was a Washburn RB2500, it cost <£300 (about $500 at the time) and I still play it, over 6 years on. They make some decent guitars.

The best way to decide is to go to a shop, because everything you'll hear is opinion.
 
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