maroon barchetta said:
Thanks for the tips. I had not heard that the Les Paul is not as comfortable as a Strat.
What about 22 fret vs. 24 fret? Are the extra two frets too small to be comfortable? Are they that helpful if they are comfortable?
Okay... all of this is obviously my opinion and subject to my personal biases.
22 frets is all you need. 24 frets is needless for most people, much like a 5-string bass for a beginner at bass. It also feels very weird, to me. As a beginner, start with 22 frets.
As for what you should spend, that is completely subjective and based on your means. I personally believe you should buy a used guitar and get something good.
You should look at EVERYTHING when purchasing a guitar, no matter the level player you are. A guitar should sound good, play well, and look good (and these are all subjective traits). If you have a guitar that accomplishes all 3, then you are more likely to play it and enjoy it. I don't care if you're a beginner or an expert.
When considering tone, you aren't going to have the experience to know all the little things you want. No need to understand wiring types, differences in pickup output, differences in tonewoods, etc. That's why you should start with: Who are you trying to emulate? Who do you like listening to? From there, we could provide some great recommendations on guitars to look at.
On build quality, you need to get something that is easy to play. The most important piece of this is the neck. This is where price generally reflects build quality (yes, not 100% of the time, but that is the norm). PRS does have great necks. You also want a guitar with leveled frets, not protruding frets, properly cut nut, etc. When you purchase in the $100-$600 range, you will definitely find a lot of guitars that don't do all of this properly, because it takes time to do so. If you spend over $1,000 for a guitar, then you should expect all of this to be proper.
Even after finding this, a proper setup by a guitar tech is an absolute must. He will adjust everything for proper string height, intonation, and neck contour, as well as polish the fretboard and frets.
Lastly, you've got to like the way your guitar looks. If you love the look of your guitar, you are just more likely to want to pick it up and play it.
As mentioned earlier, your amp is one of the most important pieces to your tone. I crappy amp will make a great guitar sound like trash, imo. When it comes to entry level amps, I am not the best person to give advice. I am a tone snob and think solid state amps and modeling amps are crap. For me, it's all valve or nothing. I don't want an amp I can sit down and set to mimic (poorly) every sound on earth. I need an amp that sounds good and provides great dynamics in its response. My goal is to learn to play electric guitar, not play a simple lick a thousand times, trying out different amp styles, tremolos, and choruses.
Again, I completely admit this is my personal snobby opinion.
If I had a kid, and he/she wanted to learn how to play the guitar, I would buy them a used American Standard/Professional Fender Strat. I would probably buy an HSS strat, which has a humbucker in the bridge position. For an amp, I would buy a used Fender Blues Jr. or Fender Bassbreaker
Either of these instruments could be resold to someone else if they decided they didn't want to continue to learn
I would buy something like the following, for $1,250 + tax and shipping. That is a fantastic beginner setup.
Fender American Standard:
https://reverb.com/item/48281116-fender-american-standard-stratocaster-2008-2016?bk=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJqdGkiOiIzNjllNDlmYi00OTA1LTRlOWQtYjU0ZS1kNTYxODQ3NWNiMTEiLCJpYXQiOjE2NDIyMDM0NzQsInVzZXJfaWQiOiIzODY0NDU5Iiwic2Vzc2lvbl9pZCI6IjI4MTEwNWJkLTRmNmItNDY1OS1hZDQyLTQzNDVhOTg2NGM1ZSIsImNvb2tpZV9pZCI6IjVmYzZlM2NkLTNkYzUtNGM0MC04ZDljLTQ1Mzc5MDg0N2I3NyIsInByb2R1Y3RfaWQiOiI0ODI4MTExNiIsInNvdXJjZSI6Ik5PTkUifQ.pPWqN_shaf4q7JrNULa1nKgynIGcYID0t7KdHmzoC18Fender Bassbreaker 15:
https://reverb.com/item/48867983-fender-bassbreaker-15-15-watt-1x12-guitar-combo?bk=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJqdGkiOiI0OWY5MjkzMS00NDM2LTQwZDUtODc4MS03NDA5MGMzZTFmNjkiLCJpYXQiOjE2NDIyMDM1NTAsInVzZXJfaWQiOiIzODY0NDU5Iiwic2Vzc2lvbl9pZCI6IjAxMzUzODE5LWQ3NWEtNGI4NS1iZTVjLTY4NGJmNzAwYTNiYSIsImNvb2tpZV9pZCI6IjVmYzZlM2NkLTNkYzUtNGM0MC04ZDljLTQ1Mzc5MDg0N2I3NyIsInByb2R1Y3RfaWQiOiI0ODg2Nzk4MyIsInNvdXJjZSI6Ik5PTkUifQ.x0c6I1OZeLKc36aqiIT0dCDG2xATRXH0FrcJ6yrt6Y8EDIT: I did want to re-iterate. It depends on means. If you cannot afford $1,250, then obviously don't pay that. You need to start with the sound you want and the budget you have. Then everyone here can give some great advice on where to go.