fender guitar as a christmas gift?

Question

i'm not an experienced guitar purchacer lol. so i need help in figuring out what would be good for a beginner. my bf really wants one, but i don't have a job and i've been saving whatever money i have. Are fender guitars REALLY expensive or can i find one somewhere that would be at a reasonable price and nice?

Answer 1

I seen some for $199 at Instrument Pro. They also have a 5% coupon for them at http://www.giantcodes.com/Movies---Music/InstrumentPro-com-Codes/

Answer 2

Fender guitars are a good value. The American made guitars cost about $700.00, maybe $300.00 used. I woudn't buy the Mexican made, or Squire strat. I have the Japanese made non-Squire strat, and it's actually pretty good. The problem with Strats is that if you use the whammy bar, you have to either modify the whammy bar, or buy an aftermarket whammy bar.
Also getting after market pickups is cool. Your best bet is to go on craigslist.org and look for a used Fender Strat, or Telecaster made in Japan but not a Squier (I don't like those), that has aftermarket pickups, and a Floyd Rose tremolo, but have it checked out in a guitar shop to make sure it doesn't need adjustments, and it works right, or get it adjusted before you give it to him. You can probably get a nice Strat or Tele for $200.00, people are desperate for money and Strats don't have good resale value.
It's fine for a beginner, because all electric guitars are relatively easy to play, and the Fender strat seems to be the more stable kind of guitar to play (I can't explain it, some other guitars don't feel right, I think it's the neck, or the frets.)

Answer 3

Fender makes a cheap, but good model called the Squire. These are usually pretty good for the beginner and don't cost as much. I went to a site a few years ago and purchased 2 guitars from MUSICYO.COM . The Kramers on there a really inexpensive and just like the Fender Squire Stratocaster, but even cheaper in price. Both of the guitars I purchased from there were really good for the money. Another way to find good cheap guitars is to go to your local pawn shop. I wouldn't pay much more than $150 for a PAWN though. Good Luck.

Answer 4

For a beginners guitar, dont really matter what brand you buy really because that player will so awful no matter what =D. It's just that fender seems to be the most popular because its prevalently used. What you need to buy is a beginners package like this
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Squier-SE100-Electric-Pack?sku=511681

Because if you just buy an electric guitar itself, then you would have to buy a combo amp(you will need an amp to amplify your guitar) which is going to be like 80-150 + a instrument cable which is like 20 bucks + picks + a guitar tuner. If you buy one of these beginning packages you get the whole deal for a good price. Only until the player is good enough then he should upgrade. It's much more effiecient that way. If you really want to save money they buy it online. They offer free shipping + no tax on the website that I listed above. You also save time because you won't have to look around much + drive your heavy guitar package back from the store. I learned all this from the hard way and just wished someone would of told me but hey im telling you so spread the help!


BTW no offense to the person below but ignore him, you dont need to know the history of fenders or whatnot or the whammy bar etc. Stay away from guitar structure as a beginner. Keep in mind that there are more brands then just fender. Like ibanez, esp, gibson, jackson. All very good brands but stick to the beginners package asa beginner. There's also a saying in music equipment "you get what you paid for". this is very true. The best guitars out there are usually over 1 thousand. But as a beginner any guitar would do really just to learn the basics.Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Like Mitch and Leafy have already stated, Seagulls are one of the best guitars for the price. Also take a look at an Alvarez RD-8 and Yamaha FG700s. Those two guitars and seagulls are highly praised on acoustic guitar forums. Although many users have $1000+ guitars, they still hold onto one of these models because they're just so great. Personally, in my opinion, I don't go with Fender on acoustics. On electric guitars, they'd be my first choice. But acoustically, I think they don't sound as great.

Answer 6

Fenders are nice, but way overpriced, you might want to consider looking for a used one as they are significantly cheaper than a new one. but bear in mind that being a used guitar, it will no doubt have some wear and tear, the main things you want to look for in a guitar is how it plays, how the hardware(ie the tuning pegs and keys, the volume and tone knobs, etc...) functions, check the input jack to make sure all the connections inside are solid, if you hear crackling when you plug the guitar in, that means something inside has a loose connection. If you are in doubt, or have questions, ask somebody that works there. and one more thing, i would buy from a reputable dealer, and stay away from pawn shops, or anybody that seems like they don't know what there talking about. good luck!!!

Answer 7

fender does have some cheaper guitars, there are fender stratocastors you can find for a reasonable price. probably between $200 or $300 but they wont be the same as the strats that sell for $2000. it all depends on what style of music your b.f. is interested in playing. strats are usually used in a lot of blues music, you can play any style of music on them but they are known for blues, if he plays heavier songs you might want to look into getting epiphone guitars its a poor mans gibson, schecter and esp have some guitars that are inexpensive. look at a couple of those. Oh Yeah!!! there are alot of ibanez guitars for about $300 or $400. the R.G. series are good for rock.but it all depends on what your looking for and how much $$ you have.

Answer 8

Fender Squier Strat is a really good starter guitar. It's $100, and for $280, u get an amp, a strap, picks, spare strings, a gig bag, and some more stuff.

Answer 9

Fenders are usually expensive but damn good guitars! Try ebay for finding one in your price range. Some off brands are pretty good too!

Answer 10

well, i kind of know where you are coming from. but fender guitars are very nice guitars, i own two of them. they aren't really that expensive. what i would suggest is a fender stratocaster. just go to your local guitar shop and ask them about fender stratocatsers. they will tell you everthing that you need to know. your boyfriend will love it. good luck

Answer 11

Try Epiphone...it is a Fender off brand cheeper by miles and you still get the Fender workmanship. They also offer newbie packages with everything you need.