[tssf_skye]

So i've had my acoustic guitar since year 7 so about 4 nearly 5 years and can play it well.
I've always wanted an electric but they can be expensive, so yeah. I want to play mainly rock songs. Stuff like led zep, pink floyd, eric clapton you get the drift.
I can't afford something hugely expensive, i've seen starter deals which seem to be about £140 which are good for beginners but tbh i'd rather get something more expensive and not have to replace the starter guitar.
I've heard Gibson and Fender are good brands.

Any help? I need it to be affordable.

[Lazaroo]

Please don't get those cheaper packages like Encore. They are dire. They are very poor quality and will affect your playing. The Encores we had at school had grooves in the neck so when you did string bends the strings got stuck in the grooves. I started playing when I was 11 and I started with a Fender Squier Stratocaster. It was about £120 (although this was 14years ago so obv will have gone up) and it was brilliant. I still have it now and also play an original Fender Telecaster in pink paisley. Plays like a dream. Fair play for the Clapton too, the man's a legend


This was sent from TSR's iPhone app, as I couldn't be arsed to turn on the laptop.

[Tochai]

How much are you looking to spend?

Fender and Gibson might be a bit out of your price range. An entry level Fender would set you back £350-400 new, the cheapest Gibsons start at about £600, except for the recent melody-makers which are all in and around £350, but I haven't heard particularly good things.

You could look into some of the higher end Squier models, namely the Vintage Modified, Classic Vibe and Artist series, which are excellent value for money. Squier are owned by Fender, they make cheaper versions of their guitars. I'm thinking of getting a Vintage Modified Mustang to complement my Fender AmDlx Tele.

Another option would be a Yamaha Pacifica, which are excellent value for money. They also have a hss pickup configuration which gives you a little extra versatility.

Remember to factor in the cost of other things, keeping in mind you'll need an amp, a decent lead and a tuner wouldn't go amiss. With that in mind you might want to look into the second hand market-Gumtree, Ebay, Cash-Converters. If you buy new, I would recommend http://www.gak.co.uk/.

Good luck, and happy playing.

[HouseStark]

Second recommendation for Squier Classic Vibe series, excellent value for money.

[jerseymackem]

(Original post by tssf_skye)
So i've had my acoustic guitar since year 7 so about 4 nearly 5 years and can play it well.
I've always wanted an electric but they can be expensive, so yeah. I want to play mainly rock songs. Stuff like led zep, pink floyd, eric clapton you get the drift.
I can't afford something hugely expensive, i've seen starter deals which seem to be about £140 which are good for beginners but tbh i'd rather get something more expensive and not have to replace the starter guitar.
I've heard Gibson and Fender are good brands.

Any help? I need it to be affordable.

I would trawl second hand sites. Though it can be a bit risky, as long as it's a well-known brand, it's hard to go wrong. I bought my Epiphone Les Paul standard from a second hand site for £100 and it's perfect.

One thing you need to think about also is which style you prefer, stratocaster/telecaster or les paul. I play a lot of pink floyd on my LP even though Gilmour plays a strat, with a decent amp you can be very versatile.

Good luck!

[Ryan_94]

Sounds like you'd want a guitar with humbuckers. A great option would be the £300 Epiphone Dot - very good copy of what Clapton would play!


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[Tochai]

Clapton is mostly playing strats these days. A dot studio would be amazing value for money at under £200. Matthew Followill from Kings of Leon plays one, and he could definitely afford a lot more.

[Manitude]

For Clapton and Floyd you'll be looking at a strat. Squiers aren't awful if you get a mid-top end one (which are still cheap at ~£300).
I think Fender still do starter kits with everything you need to get going, including an amp. Fender amps are under-rated imo, they're not so good for thick heavy metal sounds, but great for rock or blues.
I have a fender strat and amp and it's fantastic. Admittedly combined they cost £1200 but so worth it!

I suggest going to a music shop and playing around on a few guitars and seeing what you like.

[FireGarden]

Ibanez make literally the best guitars in your price range. An RG350 would be a solid guitar that sounds and plays well, will last, and is basically always < £350. The appearance of the guitar may be a little less classic than you'd like, but in my opinion, it even beats a good strat on everything except tone - not that you'd ever notice that on whatever amp you'll be using first anyway. That said, Roland Cube amps make excellent first amplifiers. You'll never lose the need for it, as even if you end up with some monster stack, it's the perfect practice amp/thing you can take basically anywhere easily, and sounds awesome.

[tssf_skye]

(Original post by Lazaroo)
Please don't get those cheaper packages like Encore. They are dire. They are very poor quality and will affect your playing. The Encores we had at school had grooves in the neck so when you did string bends the strings got stuck in the grooves. I started playing when I was 11 and I started with a Fender Squier Stratocaster. It was about £120 (although this was 14years ago so obv will have gone up) and it was brilliant. I still have it now and also play an original Fender Telecaster in pink paisley. Plays like a dream. Fair play for the Clapton too, the man's a legend


This was sent from TSR's iPhone app, as I couldn't be arsed to turn on the laptop.

Thank you! I looked up some fender stuff and they do offer a started package, idk how much you know about it but do you reckon it will be alright quality? I have enough for a guitar up to £400 but don't particularly want to spend it all. If i wait until my birthday i think i could go up to 400 but yeah :-)

Hahah yep, Clapton is a legend glad you agree!

[tssf_skye]

(Original post by Tochai)
How much are you looking to spend?

Fender and Gibson might be a bit out of your price range. An entry level Fender would set you back £350-400 new, the cheapest Gibsons start at about £600, except for the recent melody-makers which are all in and around £350, but I haven't heard particularly good things.

You could look into some of the higher end Squier models, namely the Vintage Modified, Classic Vibe and Artist series, which are excellent value for money. Squier are owned by Fender, they make cheaper versions of their guitars. I'm thinking of getting a Vintage Modified Mustang to complement my Fender AmDlx Tele.

Another option would be a Yamaha Pacifica, which are excellent value for money. They also have a hss pickup configuration which gives you a little extra versatility.

Remember to factor in the cost of other things, keeping in mind you'll need an amp, a decent lead and a tuner wouldn't go amiss. With that in mind you might want to look into the second hand market-Gumtree, Ebay, Cash-Converters. If you buy new, I would recommend http://www.gak.co.uk/.

Good luck, and happy playing.

£400 would probably be my limit. Thank you for your advice, might look at some fender stuff, she what i can get.

[Tochai]

(Original post by tssf_skye)
£400 would probably be my limit. Thank you for your advice, might look at some fender stuff, she what i can get.

In that case you could probably do a little better than a starter pack. If you budget around £150 for an amp and £250 for a guitar you'd want to be looking at stuff like this;

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-mustang-ii-amp/40979

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/roland-cube-...mp-combo/41348

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/squier-vinta...ge-white/56124

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/squier-vinta...esta-red/68639

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/yamaha-pacif...sunburst/36286

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/epiphone-wor...d-cherry/26990

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/epiphone-dot...sunburst/16565

The squier mustang would be especially good if you have small hands, because it has a slightly shorter scale length.

[Blob2491]

I'd go for a PRS SE. Great value for money and can cover nearly all genre's!

[tssf_skye]

(Original post by Tochai)
In that case you could probably do a little better than a starter pack. If you budget around £150 for an amp and £250 for a guitar you'd want to be looking at stuff like this;

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-mustang-ii-amp/40979

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/roland-cube-...mp-combo/41348

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/squier-vinta...ge-white/56124

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/squier-vinta...esta-red/68639

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/yamaha-pacif...sunburst/36286

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/epiphone-wor...d-cherry/26990

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/epiphone-dot...sunburst/16565

The squier mustang would be especially good if you have small hands, because it has a slightly shorter scale length.

thanks, this had been really helfpful. The first amp looks pretty good i'll probably go for that one. Guitar wise thanks for the squier mustang recommendation because yeah, i have really small hands and i got to train my hands to sit stretch even on my acoustic haha.
Atm i'm leaning towards a Fender squier strat. What do you think? I've seen a lot of good reviews on them. Only thing that confuses me is the price, i've seen some on amazon for like 89 quid, others more 250+ ...confused?

[mrshinyshoes]

(Original post by tssf_skye)
So i've had my acoustic guitar since year 7 so about 4 nearly 5 years and can play it well.
I've always wanted an electric but they can be expensive, so yeah. I want to play mainly rock songs. Stuff like led zep, pink floyd, eric clapton you get the drift.
I can't afford something hugely expensive, i've seen starter deals which seem to be about £140 which are good for beginners but tbh i'd rather get something more expensive and not have to replace the starter guitar.
I've heard Gibson and Fender are good brands.

Any help? I need it to be affordable.

Have a look at the PRS SE Singlecut, it sounds kinda like a gibson but everyone has those so it's good to stand out a bit, they have got more expensive since I bought mine, around £550 now when they used to be £500, but i'm sure if you hunt around for the older models (don't have bird fret board inlays they have half moon dots) then I don't see why not £300 would be a good estimate.

PRS also have great build quality, not a single flaw on my guitar

[mrshinyshoes]

(Original post by Blob2491)
I'd go for a PRS SE. Great value for money and can cover nearly all genre's!

Yes just saw this! I've got the singlecut! They look almost as good as the real ones worth 3 times as much!

[ThatGuyPsy]

For the amp you could always go down the route of amp modelling via a USB interface like the Line 6 UX1. That way you can hook your guitar up to your PC and use the amp modellers provided with the hardware that allow you to create any sound you want without being limited to a single physical amp.

You get loads of different amps and effects for dirt cheap, not to mention that you can also record your playing.

Might be worth looking into if you're looking for a bit of diversity without breaking the bank.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

If you can't afford something decent and you are just starting to learn to play then IMO what I would do is learn to play the guitar on your acoustic and save up for a while and when you have enough money you can buy a half decent electric. That way when you get an electric not only will it sound awsome because of it's quality but you'll be able to play something on it.

Either that or go second hand that way you'll get a good guitar cheap. I bought my electric guitar second hand.

I've got a second hand epiphone SG that I bought for £450 and it sounds awsome. The guy that had it before me had it for near enough 10 years and kept it imaculate apart from a small scratch on the bottom.

[Tochai]

(Original post by tssf_skye)
Atm i'm leaning towards a Fender squier strat. What do you think? I've seen a lot of good reviews on them. Only thing that confuses me is the price, i've seen some on amazon for like 89 quid, others more 250+ ...confused?

Squier is a separate brand owned by fender, so there is a range of models at different price points.

[tssf_skye]

(Original post by Foghorn Leghorn)
If you can't afford something decent and you are just starting to learn to play then IMO what I would do is learn to play the guitar on your acoustic and save up for a while and when you have enough money you can buy a half decent electric. That way when you get an electric not only will it sound awsome because of it's quality but you'll be able to play something on it.

Either that or go second hand that way you'll get a good guitar cheap. I bought my electric guitar second hand.

I've got a second hand epiphone SG that I bought for £450 and it sounds awsome. The guy that had it before me had it for near enough 10 years and kept it imaculate apart from a small scratch on the bottom.

okay cool thanks, if you read the OP i say that i already can play a lot of stuff on my acoustic as i've had it for about 4 years. I'm not going for a cheap cheap electric because that would be a waste of money, i'll probably go for second hand or look at some of the stuff people here have advised me. Thank you though!