Guitars - alms for the rhythm challenged

[targa911S]

my guitarist has one of those Seagulls and I have to say the tone, quality of workmanship, and price all come together nicely. Very nice. Actually ther are a bunch of guitar makers in the great white north that are pretty good.

[dhoward]

Guitars from Canada.
Stop it, eh?

[joeclarke]

Originally posted by dhoward
Guitars from Canada.
Stop it, eh?

hey, quit pickin' on Canada!

[911SC Pilot]

You can go down to your local Guitar Center, and pick up a beginers pack, that comes with a electric guitar, and amp, cord, strap, pic, and tuner for about $200 to $250. Fender, and BC Rick have packs like that.

[dhoward]

www.musiciansfriend.com

[scottmandue]

Buying a guitar is like buying a Porsche, if you don't take someone who knows what to look for you may end up with a piece of junk (no matter how much you spend or what make you pick) Some Fenders are made in Korea and are.. um... less than ideal.
Find someone who knows guitars and have them help you pick one out.
And yeah nothing will turn a person off to the guitar faster that trying to learn on a piece of crap.
I have played for fun for over ten year and never made a buck or got laid because of it although it CAN be a positive experience, If he gets into it he can learn:
Time management (planing rehearshal, gigs, parties),
Practiceing skills ( the music doesn't just fall out of the sky!), Interperonal skills (learning to get along with other band members who you need to make music but you may not like very much)
Money management (If you make any, dividing it amongst the band, subtracting expenses, etc.)

[Sonic dB]

* Buy him an electric. He can jam with his buddies and have some fun with it....

Later, after he gets some chops, he can save his $ and purchase a nice Acoustic.

My advice would be to look for the Mexican Made Fender Strats... they retail in the $300-500 range new, and you could probably pick up a used one for $250 or so. The Strat is easy to learn on, molds to the body and sound sweet... see link below for examples:

http://www.guitartrader.com/dir3.icl?secid=1021&subsecid=1136&catid=1138&orderidentifier=icat_orderID&e=o&k=fender_mexican_strat

[targa911S]

I would agree with Sonic. MIM strats and Teles are pretty nice starters. I have a MIM J bass that actually plays better than my USA. Epiphone is also a good choice, Gibsons budget line. They make knock off SG's, Les Paul's, Firebirds and such that are pretty good for the money. That is if you like Gibsons better than Fenders. :-)

[Shuie]

Agreed. Beginner or not, the Mex strats are a great value. I've been told by more than one guitar builder that the Mex bodies can sometimes have better resonance and tone qualities than an American Standard since they dont get the polyurethane coating when they are painted.

[targa911S]

kinda off topic ..topic, I saw a Gibson Thunderbird IV on ebay the other day for $6,800.00! If he gets that I will be floored, and then immediately list both of mine! Christ! Maybe I should just stop playing them and use my J and P 51 as work basses.

[FenderGuy]

Originally posted by Shuie
Agreed. Beginner or not, the Mex strats are a great value. I've been told by more than one guitar builder that the Mex bodies can sometimes have better resonance and tone qualities than an American Standard since they dont get the polyurethane coating when they are painted.

some of the best vintage stuff was made in mexico when Leo had his plant down in mexico ....I vote for Fender
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3735999450&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT
I am getting that tomorrow and I cant wait to play it through my marshall stack, that means the 65 mustang will finally get a rest for now