If you’re looking for a good beginner’s guitar to put under the Christmas tree this year, or perhaps for a birthday present, I would highly recommend taking a look at Squier’s SE Special Strat Pack.
For the price ($199.79 at time of writing) you can’t really beat this package – it includes the Squier SE Special Strat, Squier SP-10 amplifier (with built-in switchable distortion,) an electronic tuner, strap, cable, guitar picks, instruction book from Fender, and a gig bag. You pretty much get everything you need in the package to start playing right out of the box.
While admittedly far from a professional-level instrument, Squier’s electric guitars (which are built by Fender) are well made for this kind of pricing, and they sound quite nice for the true beginner.
I don’t personally suggest buying anything cheaper for a budding guitarist, because I can tell you from personal experience that it is very difficult to stay motivated while learning a new instrument if the quality is so low that the guitar won’t stay in tune, and the action is so high that it’s difficult to play.
That said, if you’re pretty sure you’re little guitarist is going to keep at it, or if you want to purchase a guitar for someone who has already been playing for a few years, you might take a look at something a little more expensive. In that case I’d suggest the Fender Standard Stratocaster; it’s a jump up in price (just under $450 for the guitar,) and it doesn’t come with an amplifier, but you’ll get an instrument that won’t be grown out of in a few years.
Either way you go on this you’re going to get very good quality for what you’re spending…Fender dominates the guitar market for a reason – they just make really great instruments.
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February 24th, 2006 at 8:55 pm
I know squiers have the rap of only being a cheap beginners instrument. From what I have been able to glean..they deserve that rap. However.. and this may just apply to my personal experience.. i have a great Squier. I just bought a squier Affinity series tele. that is Squiers bottom of the barrel line. As such it does not have the string through body. It has an alder body, maple neck and fretboard and the standard two single coil pups. This guitar , is tonally beautiful. It has grunt, growl, twang and quack. All the fender hallmarks. It was also under $300 with a gig bag.
February 24th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
I know squiers have the rap of only being a cheap beginners instrument. From what I have been able to glean..they deserve that rap. However.. and this may just apply to my personal experience.. i have a great Squier. I just bought a squier Affinity series tele. that is Squiers bottom of the barrel line. As such it does not have the string through body. It has an alder body, maple neck and fretboard and the standard two single coil pups. This guitar , is tonally beautiful. It has grunt, growl, twang and quack. All the fender hallmarks. I flat out love this guitar.
February 24th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
Hey, thanks for the input on your new Squier, Mike :D
They may be cheep, but from my experience they really are decent guitars.
I think the Squiers get a bad rap because so many of us get them from our parents when we’re first starting out, and we just know that real Fender would be so much cooler…but hey, for the price I don’t think the Squier can be beat.
Like you, I absolutely love Teles, too…I had a thinline for years, and it was one rockin’ stage guitar.
Serious growl!
Enjoy your new guitar!
March 20th, 2006 at 10:23 pm
My best friend’s first guitar was a Squier. I had a bottom of the line Epiphone strat copy for about the same price and his Squier was significantly better.
For someone starting out on electric it is more than enough. By the time you are playing good enough to notice the quality of sound you are probably more willing to put down the $500+ it takes to get a quality sounding guitar.
I would recommend it to anyone who wants a starter guitar. Don’t bother with the tremolo bar though, it’ll just through your guitar out of tune since there is no locking nut on it.
May 11th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Cary – I was referred to your site by Ryan Travis, and I have to say that you own ONE OF THE BEST guitar sites on the internet, PERIOD.
I love your reviews, and my interest in guitars has recently been rekindled and am on the lookout for decently-priced equipment with decent sound and performance.
What better way to get re-acquainted with guitars than to spend a lot of time at your blog.
This post really speaks to me – thanks for recommending the Squier!
December 12th, 2007 at 10:23 am
Everyone Is recommending Strats!! Well thats fine if you’re gonna play rock or metal! But what about someone like me who wants to play smooth jazz!!?? Which guitar do I get?? I tried the strat & it was not the sound I was looking for.
And thank you SO So much for having a mobile version of this site! :)
December 19th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Hi Sheri…I guess the deciding factor is your budget
For $399-$599 you can get an Epiphone Dot Archtop guitar or a Sheraton…basically like a Gibson 335 for a fraction of the price. This would probably be my recommendation for the sound that you are looking for at the best possible price…
I used to work for a Fender dealer, and to this day for my new guitar students I recommend the various Strat packages that Fender offers. My only suggestion is to agree with Cary about price…any cheaper and you are getting something that will stand in the way of a budding guitarists progress .
January 30th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Sheri – I know this is kinda a long time since you posted but I highly recommend the Ibanez AFS75t. My husband loves it – we just bought our son one. Even I loved it (and I’m picky) It has a bluesy, jazzy feel to it. It’s a hollowbody. Excellent and it feels SOOO good to your hands. Maybe a crazy thing to say, but it just feels great. The sound is exceptional. We don’t even have the best amp yet and it already is proving itself worth the VERY reasonable price (400). I can’t say enough good about it. We did a lot of research both on the internet and in stores and with our friends who play and they all recommended it especially for blues/jazz/rockabilly — it’s very versatile.
April 6th, 2008 at 7:12 am
I am one of those parents who wants to buy the up and coming rock star son of mine a guitar. I like the idea of having the package deals so you get everything that you need in one go.. However, I have found a Ibanez “jump start” package reasonably priced. Is this something that I need to steer clear of or move forward???
May 11th, 2008 at 2:40 am
Hey Jennifer,
lol im posting this abit too late but oh well :P
Yeh Ibanez is a great brand to choose a guitar from…as long as you dont go for an ashton electric lol like i did when i first started playing haha.
Best thing to do when buying a guitar and amp is to actually test it out yourself by strumming the strings and going fret to fret noticing any imperfections..usually beginner guitars dont have the best tone but as long as it sounds at least good then yeh its not bad.
But this goes for every beginner, you dont need the BEST guitar when you first start playing, just go with something till you build up your technique and you become confident enough to continue playing..once you reach that stage then its probably time for you to upgrade to a more expensive guitar which comes with more better qualities (same goes for an amp).
=)
August 7th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
All lot of reviews says that the Fender Squier starting kit is the best for a beginner but I have an handicap like some bass playin sales personne told me ” Your a lefty”… The price just went up right there and it don’t look like Fender makes Lefty for beginner’s?
What are my option’s?