Question about buying first electric guitar?

Question

I have played acoustic guitar for about two years. I'm only an average player but I can play a good number of songs perfectly such as Stairway to Heaven, Sunshine of Your Love, etc.

But I am very interested in buying an electric guitar. The only thing though is that I have no knowledge about electric guitars, I don't know what to look for in a guitar and tell which one is a good buy.

But this Christmas my parents bought me a Squire Fender Strat Pack with an amp and everything.

I was excited and all until I started playing, it sounded weird, the whammy bar was almost impossible to use; you have use a lot of force to move it. The input jack jiggles as if it was going to fall off.

But my biggest concern was that it was probably a beginners guitar.

I'm not sure if I should be using a beginners guitar or I should be using one that is meant for intermediate players? Plus what are things should I look for in a guitar if I buy another one? Are there any brands you would recommend?

Thank you everyone for your input, all of you been a big help for me.

Answer 1

I know alot of people that bought those strat packs for their loved ones for christmas. For the money that is about the best you can get. The reason you're whammy is a little harder to use is because it is the older style whammy bar(not like the newer 3 spring whammy's.) You need to tighten up you're input jack, it's probably just a little loose and it slipped past the manufacturers. It happens. But all in all, you have a pretty good setup. I would hang in there and keep digging at it, you will start to sound better with time. Electric is a whole different world from acoustic. Good luck man.

Answer 2

A guitar is a guitar is a guitar.

There is no such thing as a "beginners guitar" or "one that is meant for intermediate players". If you're a rich beginner with money to burn, you can spend $2,000 to strum 3 chords on a top-of-the-line guitar; if you're a talented musician who's been playing for years but who has no money, you can make great music on a $200 instrument. The only difference between instruments is in the quality of the materials and workmanship used to build it....and the price, of course.

Having said that, a Fender Squier **is** a less expensive guitar, but it sounds like your new electric guitar might need some work. If your parents bought it at a local music store, it should have been set up and adjusted to play its best before they took it home, but it might not have been. If they bought it online, it probably wasn't set up before it was shipped to them. Either way, I would first take it to a guitar repair person and have it looked at to find out why it sounds unpleasant ("weird"), why the whammy bar is so stiff and hard to move -- and it also sounds like the input jack is loose and needs to be repaired.

If you get it set up and still don't like the way it sounds or plays, then you can think about shopping for a better instrument. But give this one a fair try first.

Answer 3

Your parents probably went to someplace like Guitar Center or ordered off of Musicians friend or some other boc tyoe store, and that was a huge mistake!!! A nicole Mom and Pop shop gets better boxed sets than the box stores do and not only that they typically set them up for you!! A beginner electrc is a great place to start even though you have experience! Go to a local shop and have a set up done on it. Around here they cost only 25.00 and you get a full neck adjustment, intonation, and string hight adjustments!! As for the wammy bar take it out it only makes the guitar go out of tune unless you had a floyd rose but the Squire strats do not ever come with that!! Back to the bennifit of a beginner guitar... You get a chance to learn about the pick up selectors as well as finding out about wammy bars (LOL), and the amp that usually comes with that gives you the options to play clean and distorted to see what sounds better for what ever songs you want to play!! Not only that you learn this at a fraction of the cost. Most Mom and Pop shops will also take that in on trade when you are ready to trade up!! When that time comes you should jump into a Mexican Fender Strat or Tele. Most bang for the buck, using the same parts as an American Fender made in a State of the Art Factory for a fraction of the labor cost! By then you will know what you like and don't like about the amp as well and may be ready depending on the music you like to jump into a sweet tube amp!!! Another brand you may want to look into is Schecter they have a lot of variety in guitar style very versital line of Guitars!! Go to your local Mom and Pop Music shop and try a few out and ask questions. Lessons would also be a plus to learn all of the features an electric guitar brings you!

Answer 4

ok i have the same guitar and everything its not that good. i got a new amp. ok well anyway if u have a lot of money gibson is the brand to get for an electric its 500 and up dollars for nice ones. if you want a nice guitar for a good price go for epiphone there guitars are 300 and up. gibsons are handmade and gibson makes epiphones. then theres fenders they are 100and up. fender make squires and there the cheap guitars. i recomend a nice epiphone because its an average guitar well its good for all types of guitarists. when u become really good get a gibson. and an amplifier never get a 200dollar line 6 not good it sounds muffled. just try to stick with what u got for now and wait a while to get somehing else unless u have the money now. go to guitarcenter and try out the guitars before u buy one make sure they sound good. to look at nice guitars go to guitarcenter.com it will show u everything. look up epiphones they are good. im doing the same thing i bought what u had then i got a line 6 amp and it sounded bad so now im saving up 4 an epiphone sg in red and black. good luck with everything

Answer 5

Look for a schecter...they are Very well built guitars. Excellent value for the money. You will not be dissapointed. I own several as well as some expensive Over $1000 guitars (Gibson Les Paul,Fender American Strat). I like the Schecter, better. You can get them in the US in the $300 and up range. You should be able to find them in the UK. Go to their website and look up UK dealers.

Answer 6

Spend time over at a guitar center for ideas too.