My 20 y/o son is very musically inclined and plays piano and acoustic guitar, and just told me he would an electric and amp for Christmas and I have no clue.
What do the forum guitar guys recommend for a beginner that won’t break poachers bank?

What does he like to listen to? What does he intend to play on the guitar?

Budget?

For an amp, the Boss Katana 50 is hard to beat for $270.

For a guitar, I’d go used. Which one really depends on your budget.

If he already plays, he’s not really a beginner.

I'd love to help, but it would help to know what break the bank means. Is pre-owned unpalatable since it is for Christmas?

I got my son THIS for his first electric amp last Christmas.

I got him a PRS SE guitar like THIS for his first electric guitar.

With more budget for the amp, I'd probably buy a Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb or Princeton on the pre-owned market. They can be had at great deals. I got a Tone Master Deluxe Reverb for $600 last weekend off the local Facebook Marketplace. There were many to choose from at close to the same price.

With more budget for the guitar, I'd get him a PRS Silver Sky like THIS.

I have an American made Fender Strat and two Amps. One is an Orange and the other is a Fender Blues junior.

The amp choices may be worth the additional investment since he already plays acoustic.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nhtagmember,

Overkill, but if $600 works for you and you can get them to bite, this is local to you.

https://atlanta.craigslist.org...onde/7810928150.html

Also maybe check this guy out --

https://atlanta.craigslist.org...itar/7804803499.html

Rogue's suggestions are perfectly good first choice. The thing is, though, if that isn't what he wants, he will be disappointed. Get more input from him if possible.

If he doesn't know, then the field is more open, but you might also expect that as he learns, what he started with will likely not be the stopping place.

I’m out of my depth here, so I don’t know and obviously need to talk to him more.
I do like Rogues recommendation though.

Used all day long. More bang for the buck and you should't get beat up too bad if he decides it's not for him.

I’d take a trip to Guitar Center and/or Sam Ash and see what feels good to him and has the sound he is looking for (and the amp makes a big difference here too). But if the neck doesn’t feel right it will never be a pleasure to play. And I concur with buying usd.

quote:

Originally posted by Krazeehorse:
I’d take a trip to Guitar Center and/or Sam Ash and see what feels good to him and has the sound he is looking for (and the amp makes a big difference here too). But if the neck doesn’t feel right it will never be a pleasure to play. And I concur with buying usd.

I don’t know if I have that kind of time, and he’s about as easy to catch as an eel!
I’ll talk with him and see where I get.
Thank you guys
,

These days there are tons of excellent used guitars on the market. Find a local player to help you out if possible.

Though I dislike Guitar Center, they have a decent return policy on used instruments. I would avoid individuals selling on FaceBook etc. If you do buy online (not something I generally recommend in your situation), be sure to purchase through an established site such as Reverb, eBay, or guitarcenter because you will have some scam protection.

The exact model of guitar to look for depends entirely on your son's preferences. You might consider giving him a gift certificate or budget to work within, and let him choose. You could do some pre-shopping to get an idea of the budget.

An electric guitar will need a cord to plug it into the amp, a case, and an extra set of new strings.

As far as amp, lots of choices and used is just fine. The more recent digital effects and emulations are truly impressive. The main issue is a crappy speaker and/or cabinet which will kill the good tone. One option is a good digital pedal which has a headphone output, and if he already has good headphones he can plug in and get a great sound.

A good strategy is for you to shop at the dreaded Guitar Center and listen to several different amplifiers in your budget range. Wattage is essentially irrelevant these days, and loudness is not at all linear. A 15 watt amp is very loud, almost as loud as a 100 watt amp! A little 2 watt amp is plenty loud for home use. The limitation will probably be the speaker - in cheap amps the speaker starts distorting before the electronics do, so you can't really use the claimed wattage anyway.

So have the person demonstrate the amp turned up pretty high to see where the sound starts distorting.

For home goofing off, I would recommend putting most of your budget into the guitar.

I’m going to buck the trend. Modelers are the future. I plug my guitar into my Line 6 HX Stomp which is connected to my computer. I play along with YouTube videos and the video and the guitar comes out of my computer speakers.

I also have a Tonex One that works similarly.

The Katana amp is a good idea. I have the 100 watt version.

The Epiphone SG Special looks like a nice entry level guitar. The Fender Squire would also be a decent pick for an entry level guitar.

I have a 100w Boss Katana head. I think I paid $275 used and had it for a few months before I realized it had internal speakers and could be used as a practice amp. No better bang for the buck out there.

For guitars, man, what you get for your money now is 100x the guitar I got when I started out. It all depends on what type of music he wants to play. I wanted to play Van Halen and the entry level Kramers back then were $400-600, which was real money in the mid-80s. Now you can get similar guitars for $450 used in 2024 dollars.

The used market is plentiful these days and the way to go IMO, Facebook, Craigs list, If you have a Music Go Round near you also a good place to look and try, everything is negotible off asking price.
Get some nice midrange options less than new.

quote:

Originally posted by Steyn:
What does he like to listen to? What does he intend to play on the guitar?

We can throw recommendations at you all day long based on what we have and what we like, but this question is the most important one to answer, period.

I also like buying used, but it's usually a safer bet if you know what to look for. Like guns, you could either be getting a stellar deal, or someone's problem child and not know unless you know what you're looking at. Amps are one thing, but this may actually be a scenario where you're better off going to a music store and getting some help.

Maybe a gift certificate to a local music store.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

quote:

Originally posted by Steyn:
What does he like to listen to? What does he intend to play on the guitar?

it's usually a safer bet if you know what to look for. Like guns, you could either be getting a stellar deal, or someone's problem child and not know unless you know what you're looking at.
o

I guess I should have said that, if he has someone that knows a good guitar from crap would help.

A professional setup of course would help until he learns how to deal with seasonal adjustments.

How long has he been playing the acoustic? Did he just start or has he been at it awhile? If he's been playing for a year or more, I'm sure he'd like to be in on what you get. We could throw out suggestions all day, but he needs to make the choice. You're in luck though, we're living in a golden age of beginner guitars. There's never been so many good to even great guitars for under $500.