Seagull probably make the best guitar for the moneyAnswerThat depends on how serious you are about playing. If you truly are a starter and have no idea if you enjoy playing (learning the guitar is, at times, frustrating and can be discouraging), get a mid-priced guitar. Fender's foreign made stratocasters are good, Ephiphone guitars are good, PRS, Ibanez, Washburn, all make a medium priced guitar that's actually playable. Expect, for a mid-priced electric to spend between $300 and $500. DO NOT go buy a $200 guitar. They really are nothing more than toys, and will hinder your learning by being difficult to tune, bad playing action, and generally poor intonation and ergonomic setup. However, if you are truly SERIOUS about sticking with the guitar and eventually playing in a band, you will need a Gibson or an American made Stratocastor, or an upper end Ibanez, PRS, or anything that just catches your eye. But you will be spending a minimum of $800 for one of these guitars. My personal favorite? Gibsons. Good luck with your learning, and don't get discouraged--stick with it!

Also, a good starter guitar is one that needs no amplification. It is called an acoustic guitar. There are several good acoustic guitars that are in an affordable price range, such as: Yamaha, Washburn, and Fender. Be sure to play, or at least hold down the strings on the guitar before you buy it, to make sure it will be easy to chord. If it hurts your hand to play it, you will definitely get discouraged quickly.

Answerif you've had the thought of playing guitar all your life i say get a cheap acoustic and some lessons. wait a year or 2 an' see if you like it if you couldn't like it any more and arnt easily discouraged get a good guitar like a Gibson or a nice strat if not get any thing within the $0-$199.99 range AnswerA good starter guitar would be a fender strat. when you know what you are doing, you can then get a real guitar - real guitars have Gibson on the 'top bit' AnswerYou obviously have no knowledge about guitars at all! Gibson guitars have no tremolo hole, they arent durable at all. One drop, and theyre broken. And its not called the "top bit" its called a headstock. I would buy a squir strat because they are durable and under 200 dollars in a real guitar store. If you have been taking some lessonss and want your own guitar and have some money i would buy an ibanez or a Jackson or an ESP guitar because of their Floyd rose locking system and tremolo. If you've never touched a guitar in your life you should buy an acoustic guitar. If you think you would be a rockstar because you are great at guitar hero dream on bud! AnswerNot every guitar player needs a vibrato...and what good is a "tremolo hole"? It's the actual vibrato system that counts. Ibanez, Jackson and ESP make good guitars, but they are almost exclusively for shred or metal. And these days, fewer than 50 per cent of musicians play in that style, and even fewer use a Floyd Rose vibrato. "Metal"-oriented guitars are unversatile -- for example, they are usually equipped with high-output pickups like DiMarzios and EMGs, which tend to have bad clean tone (DiMarzios sound nasal and compressed, while EMGs usually have a very dark sound) and can't do classic rock, blues, pop, or jazz. Most of them are only good for high-gain metal. If that's your preferred genre, these guitars will do fine. But if you're trying to play any other style, they'll fall short.

Squier Stratocasters are probably some of the worst guitars available. Yes, they don't break easily, but they also don't stay in tune, have horrible action, and are often extremely poorly made -- loose hardware and wiring, bad pickups, wrong body or neck shape, the list goes on. I had owned a Squier Stratocaster years ago and it needed an output jack repair one year into the deal, and the vibrato bridge started ripping out of the body after two years, making the guitar impossible to tune.

For good general-purpose electric guitars, consider Epiphone, mid-range Fenders (I wouldn't buy a Fender for less than $300 -- higher now that Fender has raised its prices across the board). Ibanez does have some models (such as the Artcore archtops) which aren't metal-oriented. Paul Reed Smith's lower-priced brand SE makes excellent mid-priced guitars with well above average cosmetic touches and playability.

The UK brand Vintage gets glowing reviews for its affordably priced guitars -- such as the Icon series of Les Paul copies. I also have a personal preference for Italia guitars, which look fabulous in a retro style and are very playable for their moderate price. For the $300-$800 range, my personal favourite is Eastwood Guitars, whose Red Special (now discontinued) is hands-down the best $500 electric guitar I've ever owned, a model which I would consider to be worth twice its asking price.

And yes, the ultimate judge is personal. If you play a Squier Stratocaster and like it, and it inspires you to play, by all means get it. Even if it does have maintenance issues, the creative inspiration is worth the effort to maintain it. Always trust your own hands and ears, not hearsay. Stevie Ray Vaughan got his favourite Stratocaster without ever even playing it -- he saw it on a wall and decided it was for him.

Answerno a real guitar is one you like and is comfortable-------------------------------------------------------check out http://www.freewebs.com/darksundarkson/settingyourguitarsound.htmi have a first act guitar that works fine for me. you can get them at wal mart for about 110$ AnswerIve always believed that your first guitar should be an acoustic. The differences between electric guitars and electric guitar amps are hard for a newbie to discern. It is easy to spend a lot of money on an electric rig, only to find out later that it does not suit your style.

I have had good luck with Washburn's Oscar Schmidt line of acoustic guitars. They are inexpensive, sound decent, and generally well built.

Some things to look for when shopping for that first guitar.

A. Strum the strings together & one by one. Do any of them buzz against a fret? If so, keep looking, you might be able to adjust it out, but its a sign of bigger problems.

B. Slide your hand up and down the edge of the fretboard, is there a saw-tooth feel from the tips of the frets protruding? This is a sign of a very poorly made guitar, it will be uncomfortable to play & will require expensive repair to fix.

C. If the guitar has a plug-in, plug it in, does it crackle when you turn the knobs? Does it crackle when you jiggle the plug? These could be signs of poor electronics. If you don't plan on plugging it in, use this to get $50 or so knocked off the price.

D. With your eye up by the head of the guitar, look down the neck. The strings should get gradually farther from the frets farther down towards the body. This should be uniform & not appear bowed. Also look for any twisting of the neck.

E. Turn the tuning pegs (to loosen the strings, otherwise you might break a string) and back up again. Do the machines turn easily? (but not too easily) Does the friction in them come & go? (a sign of cheap tuning machines that will soon break)

F. Do you plan on using a strap (almost everybody does) All acoustic guitars have a button for a strap on the bottom, but some don't have the one at the base of the neck. If it doesnt & you want one, please have someone who knows what theyre doing install one. Otherwise you can tie the strap up at the headstock, but this isn't nearly as comfortable.

In conclusion id recomend you stay away from first act, samick, and rogue.

AnswerA Beginner should have a guitar that sounds the way a guitar is supposed to sound, and a steel-string acoustic fits that requirement. You can buy a quite nice one for 250 to 300 dollars.

The Dreadnought is the most common acoustic guitar body style, the thick soundbox and wide lower bout providing plenty of volume and pronouced bass fundamentals, but it is a big, loud guitar and can feel a bit overwhelming to beginners, and thus somewhat more difficult to play.

The Grand Concert or "00" body style (some people call it a "folk guitar") is particularly well suited to beginners, as is the slightly larger Grand Auditorium or "000/OM" body. They are easily held and very comfortable to play, and while not as loud as the Dreadnought or a Jumbo body style, their balanced tone makes these guitars popular for recording.

Suggestions:

1) Ibanez AC30NT ARTWOOD SERIES Acoustic Guitar

Ibanez guitars are known for their well-made, easy-playing necks. Bang for the buck is very good.

2) Hohner HW645 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar

Hohner makes some cheap guitars and some expensive guitars. This one is right in-between, with a solid Sitka spruce top and maple back and sides. Note that this guitar is not really a Dreadnought. It's more of an Auditorium or Mini-Jumbo body style, but whatever, it's nice.

3) Epiphone EL-00 Acoustic Guitar

Owned by Gibson and (mostly) made overseas, Epiphone has the knack of nailing the look of the orignal Gibsons they attempt to copy. A real 1936 Gibson EL-00 will run you about $3000, but you may want to try this Epiphone first to see if you even enjoy playing guitar. While the headstock may not say "Gibson", it's got the same cool old bluesman vibe, plus a lifetime warranty.

4) Yamaha FS720S

This has the smaller "folk" style body, with a solid Sitka Spruce top. This is a great player with a full, rich sound. Not to be confused with its big brother, the FG720S, a dreadnought.

5) Washburn D-10S

If ya gotta have a Dreadnought, this is it. Although they have their detractors (so does Gibson), Washburn guitars are very well-crafted. Visually, the D-10S is superior to any other guitar you will see in this price range, and the playability is on a par with Ibanez, the fretboard fast and comfortable. You will not be disappointed.

6) Takamine G Series G340 Acoustic Guitar

Takamine makes terrific acoustics, and the G Series are tough to beat for the price, but Takamine doesn't make a smaller-bodied guitar in this price range. You can wrap your arms around the big old Dreadnought above, or kick in another 100 bucks for a G406S New Yorker or a G5403S-VFT (beautiful!). Of course, later on you'll want to check out the Kenny Chesney model...

Better yet, prowl eBay for a 30 year-old Tak. Takamine built unbelievable Martin and Guild replicas in Japan during the 70's and early eighties. The Takamine copies were arguably superior to the actual Martin guitars of the time, much as the Japanese Squier Strats are said to be better than the US Fender Strats... but that's another story.

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it depends if you want an accoustic or an electric. but for electric i would a squire fender.

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Please try and remember the question and who is writing it. I see a lot of strong and specific opinions for very specific manufacturers. There was a great reference to Chinese guitars and Gibson does offer a trem. Most experience player\teachers know that an electric is better for a beginner. Please be carefull with endorsment of only one product. If the writer takes it to heart he will be buying a $1,000 guitar.

why are you asking these idiots there properly saying what someone else would say to you, you don't have to go on these websites to ask about stupid guitars

ANSWER

I would highly recommend the Squier Stratocaster made by Fender or the Epiphone Les Paul Special II by Gibson. Stay away from brands that are specifically made for kids like First Act because they're likely to be much lower quality than buying from a real guitar company. Play around and find one that really "feels" right to you.

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