Gift Guitar Advice?

I have a fifteen year old relative for whom I'd like to get an electric guitar. The supply of decent used guitars at reasonable prices has dried up locally, so I was thinking of getting him one of those Guitarfetish sub-$200 Teles. Anyone had experience with those guys or a similar outfit?

 

Check out the Slick brand, model SL-50 on their site. A little over $200, but I own one & it is really really a very well made guitar for the $$ & is a blast to play. The fake "relic" look is a little meh (I got the aged wood version which is the nicest looking , IMO) but the neck, pickups, tuners, bridge are all high quality parts. Sounds great thru an amp, has some spank & some growl thru the pickups, and can play clean too . Good deal for the $

If you don't want to spend that much, you can find Squier Teles & Strats or Yamaha Pacificas around that are sturdy instruments. Don't get him a "guitar set" that has a guitar & amp combo pak. The stuff is just junk for the most part. You want to give him something that is of good enough quality that he will enjoy playing it & stick with it.

 

No no, he already has the amp. His dad gave him the garage sale Westbury we gutted and made into a 5E3 clone with a Scott output transformer.

 

I'd recommend a Mexican made Fender Telecaster or Stratocaster. Quality guitars at a great price. It's good enough that he won't outgrow it / need to upgrade if he sticks with it, and good enough that it can easily be sold if he decides he doesn't want to play guitar.

Go to any Guitar Center or similar retailer. The odds are they'll have a used one, or new ones at great prices for Labor Day sales.

 

Fender Squire, Strat.

 

If you've gone that far for the kid, get him a Mexican Tele or Strat. The tone will be (fairly) amazing. It'll be worth the added dough over an off-brand Chinese Partscaster.

 

I agree 100%, but............ if the money is not there some of the Squires are really nice considering the low cost. And I'd opt for a hardtail strat over a tele or a strat with a bar on it.

 

+1

Mexican Fenders are great!

I picked up a Mexican telecaster used for a little over $200: I lucked out as it has stock Seymour Duncan pickups as well. those are great single coil pups

 

also find out what kind of music he likes...that may help determine the type of guitar. ie: if he's into heavy metal he may not want a telecaster

 

Yup, although I love my Tele's, they are not for everyone.

A hardtail Strat would be more versatile without the tuning issues of bar ones. Should consider a H/S/S one for more crunch power out of a bucker.

 

go on ebay and get a mexican fender strat for $200 if you can't find one locally on craigslist or used music store.

 

Tell that to John 5.

 

Have a guitar player go with you to see guitars and find one that can play nicely.

 

yep, I considered mentioning that model in my post, but his sig is a highly modified tele...dual humbuckers


however that would be a good one to consider! there is a squier version that is inexpensive, a friend of mine has one, it's an excellent gtr

 

the squier "classic vibe" series are good too

 

Actually, I would call them very good, although even used, they tend to go for a bit more than $200. The buzz on the Tele forums is that the actual electronics are junk, but I have had no problem with mine in the 3 years I have owned it (bought used).

 

I got a months-old pristine '50s BSB Tele on Craigslist for $250, though I did talk him down from $300.

For the longest time there was a now discontinued Duosonic for $200 not too far from me. I kept thinking about jumping on it but never did and then it was gone.

 

I'll also give a shoutout for a Paul Reed Smith (PRS) SE, though those are $400 or so used. Great guitars, and usually gorgeous.

 

The Fender Mexis are great guitars. Not quite up to the level of the American made ones but I've played some that are pretty damm nice. The big difference is fit/finish. The fretboard on the American ones are generally nicer in how they finish the frets, but... you can save some big $ by having a good guitar tech redress them and that makes a world of difference.

My Strat has been gathering some dust of late. Might have to crank some tunes out of it.

 

Guitar Center has used SE models for $299 at the moment. The drawback is that with a hardtail SE, the bridge saddles aren't adjustable.

 

Look around on Guitar Center's website, there is a used section on there. Or try this place: http://www.musicgoround.com/. Let him pick it out. If you get him something he doesn't lust after, it may just gather dust. Mexican Fenders and Squires are nice guitars now. Heck of a lot better than the Hondo SG I started with.

 

Mexican Strat or Tele.

Some here have also liked the Monoprice Strat and Les Paul copy guitars as a real bargain at $100 or so. I've never seen or heard one in person but there was a thread about them a little while back if you do a search.

 

Check out these guys. I have bought several guitars and a bass from them.

The $350 Agile Les Paul I have both sounds and plays better than a $3000 Gibson Heritage LP that I tried.

http://www.rondomusic.com/electricguitar.html

 

Also check out www.hardluckkings.com I recently bought their Strat version (they call it the "Bombshell") and I love it! Got it for $139.00 brand new with a coupon they posted on Facebook, but at the non-sale price of $199.95, it's still a heckuva bargain. They also have a Tele version, the Southern Belle (also $199.95), that I'd love to buy sometime.

 

I wound up getting him a Chinese made Fender Tele with a pine body and a humbucker in the bridge slot. It had fret sprout and needed truss rod adjustment and a nut, but I can fix that.

He likes Stones style rock, country rock and stuff like that. His dad is into stuff like that too, but he's left handed so the kid can't use his guitars. The amp was for dad but he has a couple of expensive ones now.