Hey all,

My boyfriend wants to learn to play electric guitar, so I thought I'd buy him one as a surprise for his bday. OBVIOUSLY I could take him to choose one himself but I don't think he knows what to look for either!

I'm looking for as low-coast as possible without being crap (I know that's a difficult balance!).

He is into metal/heavy rock music, so can anyone recommend a good 'first guitar' (obviously if he's any good he can get a better one!!)

Cheers all!

Han

I'd say a non tremelo Ibanez lower case guitar. RG series. That was my first guitar.

Either that or an Epiphone. LOL

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Let him choose it. Trust me - its all whats comfortable.

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What he said. Just take him to the guitar shop without telling him beforehand.

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Surely if he can't actually play guitar, he won't know what sort of neck etc he likes...

As someone else mentioned, I would agree that Ibanez do some good value guitars.

One thing to make sure of is that it's not top heavy, you can do this yourself. Wear the guitar with a strap, let go of it, if the neck sinks down so that it is parallel to the floor then it's going to be a real pain in the arse to play standing up, and I would avoid it.

Can't go wrong with a entry level Ibanez or Jackson. Also consider a standard Fender strat. That was my first electric and I still shred that bitch to this day.

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Well, if he wants to play metal, make sure the guitar has at least one of these
instead of these.

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^ Yeah Good point, make sure it has a humbucker in the bridge position at least. Say that to someone who works in the guitar shop, they will know what you mean

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It really depends how much you're willing to spend. A good cheap guitar could cost between 150$-200$. Entry level peavy strats, or even better: Kramer Strikers/Focuses, check em out here: www.musicyo.com .

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try Ibanez if he is starting, mexican fender and jackson (the lower possible)....and let him choose the one who he is more comfortable...these guitar are very good for starting.....and tell him to start with metallica and 0.93 or 1mm picks...if he wants to play metal or hardrock

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coolest girlfriend ever

if he knows quite a lot about guitars then you might want to let him choose because even with a tight budget, he knows whats the best option that he can have.else get him any ibanex rg series is a good start.

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let him choose, if not atleast stay away from beheringer products

I would suggest a Mexican Fender Strat for a couple reasons. Firstly, if your boyfriend eventually decides that he does not want to stick with playing, you can resell the guitar and get a decent return on your initial investment. You can purchase a new Mexican Strat in a H/S/S(humbucker/single/single configuration for about $350-400 depending on where you buy it. You can get about $300 for one used.
The Mexican strats play very well across the board. Quality control on these are fairly top notch concidering it is a budget guitar. If he does eventually stick with it, you can upgrade the hardware on the guitar and it will be as good as a US standard strat which goes upwards of a grand.

My second suggestion would be an Agile. Agile's most popular shape is their Les Paul knock-off. These are very nicely build guitars for the money. $300 on an Agile will get you a guitar of the same quality of an Epiphone that will command twice that price. Though I can say that an Agile uses real tops on their transparent finishes instead of photo-flame or a veneer top. A top on a guitar is a term used to designate a fancy figured wood on the guitar's face.
Example: http://www.rondomusic.net/al2000amber.html
Agile's are sold exclusively through Rondo Music. Yes they will need a good setup from a local tech, but for the money they are worth a look.

NEVER BUY A LOVED ONE AN INSTRUMENT IF U DONT KNOW WHAT THEY LIKE!~

I hate when my last gf bought me an Ephiphone wanna be Les Paul and I said "Hey, WHAT THE FUCK?!"

no joke.

GIve him a gift certificate or 24hours of sex, I dunno.

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Just dont get one from Wal-Mart

when someone gives you a free instrument, your not one to be all choosy.

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Welcome to the sad reality.

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Look at used guitars too. www.chrisguitars.com is my favorite. Again, jackson, and ibanez are good for starters. I'd prefer Ibanez myself. Dean makes a decent Les Paul knockoff too. BC Rich is wonderful, and what I play, but I hear their lower-end stuff is garbage. Like the shapes though

whatever feels right. i suggest strat body styles, like the peavy.

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entry level ibanez duude... im not a personal fan of the strat bodies made by squire, marshall, crate, peavey, behringer... you name it... the neck joints arent good and they just sound poopy. A fender mexican strat would be decent, but thats a higher price. I personally recommend the ibanez rg370dx, or a fixed bridge version, i got mine (with whammy) for $300 new, and it fucking rocks.

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We already have a thread for this topic.

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