a very simple question.....after listening to heaps of sales people I am after an unbiased opinion.......for a starter electric guitar which would be better the Yamaha beginers electric or the Fender Strat beginer guitar both sell for around the same money and are their basic starting models that come with a practice amp.......any clues?
Maybe I am a little biased against the Squier line, but I'd say go with the Yamaha. My cousin has a Yamaha starter pack and I felt the guitar was very well set up and easily playable and it sounded good. The amp was a little dodgy, but the guitar itself was good. Squiers are hit or miss. You can either get a piece of crap or you can get a reallly good guitar. As we say with everyone looking for a new guitar, try them out first and pick the one you like best.
I won't say Squires are bad simply because a whole bunch of people say it's bad. But I've read and heard that in every few Squire made, there's a gem that's made perfectly.
As for Yamaha's:
Assuming the starter guitar is a Yamaha Pacifica, I'd recommend it. The S/S/H setting provides versatility. Also, Yamaha's are known for their high production quality even for their budget guitars, so you won't have to worry about stuff falling out with a Yamaha.
I hope this helps somewhat.
When I was looking last January I had heard lots of bad about the Squire and lots of good about the Yamaha Pacifica.
Bought the Pacifica, great entry guitar. Will take you a long way. Am I looking to upgrade to something closer to the top of the line? Sure aren't we always looking for the next one. I still look forward to playing it everyday. What more can you ask.
If I have anything negative to say about the Pacifica is that the plug is located on the end of the guitar where the Squire / Fender is on the face. Learned the hard way that a) you can't just put it down on its end when pluged in and the phone rings b) you need to buy a guitar stand c) you need to invest in good cables (like Monster).
I'd be interested in what you finally choose and how you like it.
Have fun,
Michael
Playing an instrument is good for your soul
Why not shop around at the local pawn shops or the local music stores around you for a used higher end guitar? Starter ussually means "not as well made, therefore lower price". After all when you are new you need ALL the help you can get, so you don't want to be coping with equipment limitations as well as learning.
I got a mexican made Fender Stratocaster, this is not the high end because I think the USA made ones are better and higher in price, but it is not really a starter guitar either. These can be found used for what starter guitars sell for new.
Something to consider...
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Life is a snowmobile racing across the frozen tundra that suddenly flips over pinning you underneath. At night the ice weasels come...
Yeah, a used Mexi Strat or Tele would be a good start. It'ed be a more sure fire bet on getting a good MIM Strat than a Squire. Any time you are looking at a a guitar try another one or two of the same model to compare and pick the best one. So, just go try out some guitars and remember to budget for an amp.
-Metaellihead
First, most pawnshops can't keep those 'good' used guitars. The ones around here have used versions of the same guitars that the local music shop sold (Squier and Yamaha).
Second, it is SQUIER - http://www.squierguitars.com/
Here's where the name comes from: http://www.fendereurope.com/fenderfiles/SquierTheStoryBehindTheName.asp
Third, Squier is made by Fender or at least to their specs. Many of the more mass produced and less expensive models of the major brands are made this way. So a "Mexican <insert any Fender Model here>" is probably the exact same guitar as a Squier.
Finally, some say to buy a reasonably well made guitar and learn to play. By all means play them first. Then when you learn enough to hear and feel the difference, buy one you like.
Others say buy as much as you can afford the first time. http://www.gibson.com/pure/exchange/buying/basics.html
Search through the websites of your favorite guitar makers for their 'how to pick a guitar' info. I found a great PDF on Gibson's site.
http://www.gibson.com/pure/exchange/buying/
This tells you how to tell between guitars.
Personally, I chose the Yamaha Pacifica. It is a double cutaway, looks much like a strat, except the plug for the cord is in the bottom, not out the face of the guitar.
But, I should mention that this is not my first guitar. The advice of a friend led me to buy an acoustic first.
1. No distortion to cover mistakes or sloppy fingering.
2. The action on the one I got is pretty tough. I really have to press the strings to get a decent sound. This really helps me to learn the chord changes and so forth. It also helps build the callouses.
3. For the same amount of money you get a guitar that is a step or two above the equivalent level. $400 - 600 for an entry level electric, amp and cord, etc. would get you an upper entry level acoustic. ($1500 for a Les Paul Standard would buy you an unbelievably nice Martin mahogany acoustic.)
As for the Yamaha, mine was on display for a long time, and I got it at a discounted price. I've seen them on the 'net for about $200 for a gig bag with guitars similar to mine. Only real problem I have with it is that it makes hiss at some tone settings and not at others. I suspect there's a bad bit of electronics inside. When it bothers me enough to do something, I'm going to learn how to fix it myself. I would not trade mine for a Squier, but that is mostly sentimental.
I highly recommend the 'how to buy a guitar' article on this site.
