Here is the full add wit pics on FB Marketplace.

https://www.facebook.com/marke...tem/591400545196502/

I do not play guitar but I've been watching alot of videos on youtube about guitars this last year because I find them interesting. I think you should go ahead and buy the Jackson for your son now, and after he has developed a little more you can consider upgrading to a more expensive guitar. If he takes care of the guitar, he should be able to sell it or use it as a trade in.

Here's a review of a Jackson guitar if you're interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vSdCWG5xdQ

This one has my interest as well.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/194409681935

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
Sounds like he's into the heavier rock music since he wants a guitar with humbuckers in it. They produce a crunchy, heavy sound.

Humbuckers were invented in 1955 and have been used by countless guitarists in every genre. They're not just for hard rock and metal.

They ARE almost universal in hard rock and metal because the lower electrical noise and higher output are both helpful for getting a distorted tone that sounds good, but many guitarists use them for much less distorted sounds, too.

Tons of the early electric blues guitarists used Gibson guitars with humbuckers, to give one example. The "three Kings" (BB King, Albert King, and Freddie King) all used Gibsons with humbuckers.

quote:

Originally posted by Paten:
I do not play guitar but I've been watching alot of videos on youtube about guitars this last year...

I've been playing 24 years, ten of which I worked in either the pickup production, custom inlay, or retail parts of the industry. I managed a music store and used to sell guitars and amps to parents just like TXJIM. It was most important to me to match a player with gear that would inspire them than make a sale. There's few things quite as rewarding as watching a kid TXJIM's boy's age start with their first stuff that you matched them with, and progress over years.

There's a fair difference between the guitar in the video and something that retails at $200. If he's in love with the Jackson, much better off trying to find a new used Dinky at similar prices, even if the intent is just to see if he'll stick with it. A better guitar means better potential for growth, and a lot of players unknowingly get held back by budget gear early on.

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
This one has my interest as well.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/194409681935

With that sort of budget, you're opening yourself up to a lot of great options. I'd say some further field research is in order. Get that boy to a Guitar Center and have him try absolutely everything, even Strats and Teles then see what you can find used. You just never know.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
Sounds like he's into the heavier rock music since he wants a guitar with humbuckers in it. They produce a crunchy, heavy sound.

Humbuckers were invented in 1955 and have been used by countless guitarists in every genre. They're not just for hard rock and metal.

Yes, but based on the other state gear interests, it's a safe bet the kid isn't into jazz and therefore Edmond's guess is probably correct and applicable to the topic at hand.

The Gibson I posted would be stretching more than I want to spend due to looking like a good deal on a quality USA made guitar. Basically, I will stretch the budget to get better quality if it’s a bargain for what we get.

As for his musical taste, he sent me a video of him learning to play Spoonman by Soundgarden yesterday, so no….definitely not jazz…

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
Sounds like he's into the heavier rock music since he wants a guitar with humbuckers in it. They produce a crunchy, heavy sound.

Humbuckers were invented in 1955 and have been used by countless guitarists in every genre. They're not just for hard rock and metal.

Yes, but based on the other state gear interests, it's a safe bet the kid isn't into jazz and therefore Edmond's guess is probably correct and applicable to the topic at hand.

Funny you should mention jazz. These days, newer solid state amp designs have gotten popular with some of the hard rock/metal crowd. Traditionally, a lot of cheap solid state amps were sold to people who didn't want to pay for tube amps, but pretty much the only guitarists that really WANTED solid state amps were the jazz musicians that demanded absolutely pristine clean tone.

a Roland Jazz Chorus (JC-120) is a classic and formidable solid state combo amp, clean tones for days, and that quasi-stereo but true analog chorus... They're awesome, for Jazz and much more. Good "pedal platforms".

Have you or the kid watched any of the many online shootouts by That Pedal Show or the JHS Pedals YouTube channel? Both channels are by utter and comprehensive gear nerds and they all do very good "best classic amp for cheap" and "solid state or tube", loads of good content trying almost everything out there, also Andy from Reverb.com has very good gear videos. Do watch a bunch on YouTube, every common question has been asked a ton already, which this with that, which whatever on a budget...

Josh from JHS is a nerd's nerd, well beyond hawking his own brand only, dude's a gear librarian/historian

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
Funny you should mention jazz. These days, newer solid state amp designs have gotten popular with some of the hard rock/metal crowd. Traditionally, a lot of cheap solid state amps were sold to people who didn't want to pay for tube amps, but pretty much the only guitarists that really WANTED solid state amps were the jazz musicians that demanded absolutely pristine clean tone.

Yeah, everything goes in cycles. Ceramic vs alnico magnets, active vs passive, rackmount vs combo, head and cabinet vs combo, tube vs solid state, wireless vs wired. I've seen all of those things go into and out of, then back into vogue.

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
that quasi-stereo but true analog chorus...

No quasi, true stereo chorus, and patented by Roland. You only get that immersive, swimming feeling with a Roland Jazz Chorus.

Its so hard to address questions like this. Its like saying I don't know anything about firearms, recommend something to me.
The good thing is that its a golden age for cheap guitars. Its not like it used to be, $200 can get you a decent sounding, pretty good quality guitar.
Unfortunately, A made in the USA guitar is significantly more expensive and definitely not always better.
The Epiphone SG is always a safe bet. In fact, Epiphones in general have always been high quality budget instruments.
If you're son stays with it and learns more about guitars, he may likely want something different in the future.
I've been playing for over 25yrs and my teen son started playing two years ago, so I'm familiar with alk of this.

Here is where you'll likely run into an issue. As some have mentioned the best way to get someone to abandon playing guitar is to hand them one that is difficult to play. The issue becomes people, especially kids, want a 'cool' guitar as opposed to an easy to play guitar. Just because it is cheap, or made in Asia doesn't mean it is garbage.

Maybe 20 years ago I picked up a Kaman GTX 200, basically a Korean made Ibanez knock off. I think I paid less than $200 for it used. It has 2 single coils, a humbucker and a tremolo system. Nothing on it is expensive. The neck however is beautiful, it holds tune, keeps its set up, and plays very easily. I've had it this long and no guitar tech has ever touched it. Pick it up, maybe tune 1/4 step if it hasn't been played in a while and you're jamming. I've handed to very seasoned guitar players who were shocked at how easily it plays and how nice and natural it feels.

Compare that to my '87 Charvel Model 6. From a quality stand point, the aren't even in the same sport. Granted the Charvel is heavier, has better sustain, and more versatile, but close in a how they feel to play. There is a $1,300 price difference.

Second example. I was getting decent at guitar and wanted to play acoustic so I bought a really cheap Gibson. Huge mistake that fortunately didn't cost a lot. Hated playing it. Neck was too thick, action too high, just feels like holding a big wooden club. A year later I spent less than $100 more than the mistake ($189) and got a nice Ibanez Tonewood after spending a lot of time trying different guitars out. The Gibson is just occupying space now.

My personal advice is take him to a guitar shop and let him try a lot of guitars. Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, etc and see what he likes. Then in that style (brand or off brand) see what you can afford and what feels good. You can find an inexpensive new or used guitar that will play well, but you have to look.

quote:

a Roland Jazz Chorus (JC-120) is a classic and formidable solid state combo amp, clean tones for days, and that quasi-stereo but true analog chorus... They're awesome, for Jazz and much more. Good "pedal platforms".

Except that they are still very heavy. I have a JC-40 that sounds great and it does it all. A far better choice than the JC-120 in my opinion. Look them up at Sweetwater.

quote:

Originally posted by Ogie:

quote:

a Roland Jazz Chorus (JC-120) is a classic and formidable solid state combo amp, clean tones for days, and that quasi-stereo but true analog chorus... They're awesome, for Jazz and much more. Good "pedal platforms".

Except that they are still very heavy. I have a JC-40 that sounds great and it does it all. A far better choice than the JC-120 in my opinion. Look them up at Sweetwater.

For sure, I was talking about the classic version. There are a few sizes now, all cool. The 40 is nice.

If he wants to build a Partscaster one day:

https://stratosphereparts.com/

This is like eBay but for musical stuff:

https://reverb.com/

Lots of gear on there and it protects the buyers from what I've been told. I have bought and sold on there.

Being in Austin, you do have good options for guitar shops. If you are buying used locally, I don't see why a seller would object to a pre-purchase inspection. Shouldn't cost you much and if you're looking at spending good money on a used Gibson, definitely worth it.

Gibsons, due to the headstock angle, are quite vulnerable to headstock breaks and cracks.

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
Gibsons, due to the headstock angle, are quite vulnerable to headstock breaks and cracks.

… and tuning stability issues.

If you want the best bang for your buck check out the Squire Classic Vibe series of guitars.

You can believe me when I say they are WAY ABOVE their price point.

Thank me later,
Bob

I'll second that Squire recomendation. They are an excellent buy for the money. Even the more budget oriented Squire Affinity series is a great beginner guitar. I played one at a pawnshop a few weeks ago that was $130 and I was amazed at how well it played.

I believe both ESP and PRS's budget lines are made in Korea and are of better quality than the epiphonies.
And while the Squire classic vibes are nice they wont be able to produce the hard rock tone your son seems to be after. Humbuckers are a must.

This is Darrell Braun, a Canadian who posts regularly. I think he’s good. You might consider one of his recommendations.



I’ll add, he posted a Best Guitars Under $1,000 video as well. The range is actually $700 to $1,000, so there’s a couple in there that are pretty special for a couple hundred more than the $500 limit.

As of now I have narrowed the search down to two Epiphone SG’s. One is the 2004 model Korean manufactured sunburst I posted earlier. I have a message and an offer into the seller. The backup is a 2000 model Japanese manufactured sunburst on EBay. This one would be shipped from Japan and makes me a little nervous but it’s not a ton of money so I’ll consider it if the first one falls through.

For an amp, I am thinking the Boss Katana MkII 50. Several places have it rated #1 for beginners and it has a headphone output for our sanity….