Given there seems to be a plethora of experts on here, I thought I'd ask the guitar strumming massive for thoughts/opinions. My youngest is looking at getting an electric guitar after learning to play on an acoustic for the past year. He's a lefty, so often narrows the choices down a bit in terms of what is physically available. Anyway, after reading some of you on here commenting on the virtues of Epiphone over Gibson, he has had a go at an Epiphone Les Paul Standard(circa £350), and liked it. I have just noticed that the "local" music shop has an ex-display IBANEZ GRG170DXL-BKN LEFT HANDED ELECTRIC GUITAR - BLACK NIGHT for £255. Reading the write ups, the Ibanez seems to have more range to it, in terms of have 2x humbucker and 1x single coil pickups and a tremelo arm (vs Les Paul 2x humbucker), but may differ in its body and neck (basswood body and maple neck vs Les Paul having mahogany & mahogany). cost wise, he has a limit of £350 (from various family members and his savings), so the Les Paul sneaks in, but there may be other options out there he hasn't considered, so other ideas welcomed. So, you musically inclined folks (possible deaf from riding overly loud v-twin motorbikes for too long, but we'll skip past that potential musical disability), waddyatink?? Pete
The Ibanez is being advertised in the UK for £20 to £30 less than the price you have seen, might be able to negotiate a better price from your local shop. Squier do a good range of left handed guitars in your price bracket. At his relatively inexperienced stage, I’d be looking at previously owned in the hope of picking up something of better quality that didn’t neccessarily have the pristine looks. Good luck with your search. Andy
thanks Andy. avoided the Squier and Fender due to the single coil pickup thing - he seems to prefer either humbucker or combined. I have been trying to persuade him to have a mooch about at 2nd hand, and then he can look to get something a bit tastier when he gets to one of the "big" birthdays (e.g. 18th, 21st, etc).
a cheap used japanese hybrid but lots of muso's prefer that type of look ??? https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-in...electric-guitar-made-in-japan-rare/1302402738
The Squier Contemporary range use 2 ceramic Humbucker pickups https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-a...ster-Left-Handed-HH-MN-Dark-Metallic-Red/29JX. https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-a...ocaster-HH-Left-Handed-MN-Black-Metallic/29JE. Andy
How about an electric/ acoustic? I've had a tanglewood that's been very good for years. The guitar that is... not the playing!
Telecaster is the only electric to have! (Imo) get a fender made in Japan or maybe even a made in Mexico for that kinda money
The Ibanez guitars are fantastic, but imo only the higher priced stuff. I have a JS2450 in black and its awesome, but for my tuppence worth, their lower end gear build quality and sound ain't all that. Also, consider resale value, the USA stuff from both Fender and Gibson will return all your cash come sale time, whereas the low end Ibanez gear won't. For whats its worth, as every single guitarist on here will have a different opinion, I don't think your nipper should be buying on what he reads or what he's told here. He should buy on feel and the way it plays for him, nobody else can advise that. I personally think a Tele is the way to go, and change out the neck pickup for something a little "fatter" sounding. But its down to your boy imho, and he should go to some stores and play some, then choose the one that feels best for him, regardless of what written on the headstock. Edit. Whatever you buy, definitely 100% don't buy without playing, I know folk who have bought some right proper shit off ebay.
PS. If he definitely wants that fat humbucker sound, consider a guitar with coil tapping (some Les Paul models have it) , then you have true versatility.
Have a look at Yamaha's. Beautifully made, very playable and available in HHS combinations. They use good standard.plain tone woods ,always set up nicely and at a price that is affordable. If he likes the full on burn sound, maybe a second hand PRS SE but the shorter scale compromises the clean spank sound somewhat.
A Tele (typically but not universally) has a very flat fingerboard though (a deluxe, for example has a Strat neck), if you went for a Mexican Strat then the build quality is very good but you have the benefit of a nice subtly convex fingerboard that does make for easier chordfinding. I entirely concur with the Tele from an aesthetic perspective though. If the lad wants to play a particular style of music then there might be a guitar that fits with that style... e.g. GnR style bluesy rock suits a Les Paul with nice fat hum buckers, a clearer bluesy tone from a Strat or Tele... a rich full jangle from a semi acoustic Gretsch or Epiphone Casino / Sheraton / ES335... and so on. The Ibanez is likely to be a bit more pointy looking and if he's into harder rock or metal then it'll be a decent axe to wield but if bluegrass is his bag it may be a little incongruous. If he doesn't have an amp then the little Yamaha THR range is mega... great value too (THR5 includes a built-in tuner, a wide range of amplifier / tone modelling settings and a few basic effects like reverb / echo / tremolo etc). Get him some nice leads and a decent strap too, the bundled jobs are frequently very poor and it's all part of the experience. Don't fear a second hand guitar, something with a nice low action (the gap between the strings and the fingerboard) will be easier to play too, so check that out and get your guitar shop to set the instrument up properly as it does make a massive difference. A cheaper Indonesian or Mexican Fender can feel as good as a US built one if it's set up well with decent strings. And lastly get him a stand or a wall-hanger, if the thing is in a case then it's a faff to get it out and he'll play it less. If it's always to hand then he's more likely to noodle on it to give his hands something to do. Have fun! Encourage him not to get half-decent and then cut a finger off... doesn't half knacker the job! I'm a left-hander but play right-handed guitar... so if he's right at the beginning then let him settle himself on a LH or RH guitar, even as a noob one will feel more intuitively right than the other. It sounds like maybe he's already playing though, so perhaps has already sussed that out.
Always buy the best you can afford. May I suggest for his money,something like a late 90's Epiphone Les Paul, (korean). And when it comes time to pass it on,it should keep it's value.
Pretty much this ^ I agree, and the various brand ranges can be bogglingly complex to pick through too. The USA, Mexican and Indonesian Fenders are all pretty decent whereas the Squier models of today can feel very cheap. Perversely though, a made in Japan Squier Stratocaster from the 80's / 90's will in all likelihood be a cracking guitar... I handed my MIJ Telecaster to my daughter when she wanted to learn to play, and it's a very nice little thing. A pricey USA standard (or whatever they're calling the range now) is probably indistinguishable from a Mexican model until you crank the thing up through a good amp. The playing experience will be comparable.
He should pick whatever works best for him, if he likes the Humbucker LP tone and feel then go with it!. Personally I love the sound of single coils even with distortion and generally love the way they play and feel so stick with Strats!. I do really like Teles too but I’ve never really been able to gel with the one I’ve got that well, so need to sell up and find a Tele right for me. Really been wanting a Tele Plus V1 with the lace sensor pickups recently.
Thanks - He's had a year starting out with a tanglewood acoustic, and is definitely enjoying it, but now has his heart set on a full electric. He definitely has a budget, as it is his first electric, but also doesn't want to fall into the trap of getting a proper budget low end job that he'll get bored with too soon.
Thanks Stuart, he has got an amp (I think it is a VOX, too) off a relative who had it in their loft for a few years.
visit one of the bigger guitar shops and check out the used guitars. New, Ephiphone (Gibson copies) are great value and frequently there are deals. I have a Gibson flying V and a Gibson SG. Much prefer the neck on the flying V and find it much easier to play, despite the weird guitar shape! Pickups vary a huge amount but don't discount the importance of the amp in finding the right sound. Defo play before parting with cash though.
