Good beginners guitar?

[Midwest Sick Boy]

Hello all, I was looking around for a good beginners guitar. I want a Gibson Les Paul or SG, but they are way out of my budget. Any thoughts on the Epiphone look alikes? Any other suggestions? Also, does anyone know what type of effects pedals Mike and Jonny use? any help is appreciated.

[kingishalfundressed]

Dude, just start playing acoustic first. That's the only real advice you need.

[gotXyourXcancer]

well...everybody I have ever known has always started out with either a Fender or Squier Stratocaster...but if i could go back in time, i would have started with a Telecaster...

so I suggest you buying a cheap Tele...

[B-TownBadBoy]

my sugestion as probably being one of a few guys on here that are long time players my suggestion is either go acoustic or get a low end les paul like the epiphone special II or the sg special II honestly its what you want as far as feel the hell with looks i love my les pauls honestly the fender is the worst way to go they look sound and feel like crap i own a tele and a strat and would gladly dump em for an sg or a les paul but honestly get good before dumping your money into a full gibson cuz come on man if youre to drive you dont want a vette get more like the the Pinto easy too dump if you hate it and if you dont like it and you break it you can afford a new one

[77]

i made the mistake of buying a les paul to learn on... BAD IDEA!!

the neck is smaller width wise... so theres not alot of room for your fingers, you gotta be pretty accurate... fenders are nice, or the acoustic to start on

[wolfpits]

do me a favor and blow 2 grand into a nice les paul and become discouraged after 6 months and end up selling it on ebay and taking a loss. buyers like me look for that because they are rarely ever beaten up guitars. Seriously, I learned on an acoustic. as for electrics, gibsons are the way to go but its not practical for you now. you are just beginning so spend your money wisely. I would save and pick up an inexpensive epiphone off of ebay and the extra cash you save from that put into getting lessons from a reputable teacher. If you teach yourself you will only learn what you want to learn and not what you need to learn.

[mind Infection]

I agree with spending wisely on your first guitar. I've been playing for 7 years and just finally bought my Gibson Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty" about 6 months ago. I love it but i'm glad i waited to get good before i bought it because it made the purchase that much better. I would recommend epiphones they can be hit or miss with quality but they are good for the money.

[rob562]

Buy an acoustic. You can get one for $100 or less. Then when your ready for a real guitar, you can buy a nicer one becuase you know you'll keep at it.

I also made the mistake of purchasing a fender strat to learn on. I wish I would have saved the cash, then bought a nicer guitar.

[Wedge0chez]

An acoustic is definitely a good suggestion for a beginner. Classical guitars have larger fret boards which makes forming chords easier. Also the body is smaller than a regular dreadnaught. Whatever you decide on make sure that the fretboard action is low. Otherwise, your fingers will hurt more so than usual, playing will be more difficult, and you'll be discouraged to practice.

I have both a Epiphone Les Paul and a Gibson Les Paul. The Epiphone is from the 1st production line after Gibson acquired Epiphone and they began producing "official" copies. It sounds closer to a Tele than a real Les Paul. And in my opinion/experience the Epiphones are not really comparable to a Gibson Les Paul in any way.

Gibson Les Pauls tend to be chunkier than most guitars and not as bright as say a Strat or Tele. It's a good idea to buy a guitar based on the style of music you are looking to play and not who you want to look like. I found out the hard way early on that just because it looks cool doesn't mean it's gonna sound good or be the right guitar for the style/sound your trying to get. Also many people swap out the stock pickups on Les Pauls for aftermarket "hotter" pickups - something to keep in mind when pricing.

Gibson used to make Les Paul Juniors. They weren't pretty but sounded real good and were usually cheap. Billy Joe Armstrong from Greenday uses one with P-90 pickups to give you an idea of the sound. Gibson and Fender both produce budget line guitars for beginners usually offered with some kind of mini amp and accesories.

Best thing to do is decide on the style your looking to play. Most people think a guitar is a guitar and you can play anything on it but once you develop your each you notice all the different sounds that different guitars produce. And if the one you got ain't sounding like you want it to your gonna end up buying another one. Email me if you have any questions, I'd be glad to help.

[das187]

I got me this one