Cheap pretty good Guitar

[QTPie]

hmm.... electric. you should say it in the message title. Other than that, that's a great price with free shipping, too

 

[pigseye2]

Hi Sbpd,
$15 guitar? oh man.

When I was a kid I told my folks I wanted to learn how to play the guitar. They bought me one from Sears and it was the hardest thing to play. The strings were so far away from the fret board and as a 10 year old I wasn't strong enough to hold chords. It was very frustrating and painful which made practicing very tough. When I tried a "real" guitar I couldn't believe the difference. Told myself I would never buy a cheap guitar for myself or my kids.

So a few questions:
How hard is this guitar to play?
Can you describe the difference between a higher end acoustic guitar?
Who makes this $15 guitar?

Thanks,
Pigseye

 

[sbpd]

I have been very happy with this guitar. I had never played until I bought this one. I am still learning, so I haven't yet purchased a better one, so I can't tell you the difference.
What I can say is that 2 experienced guitar players I know tried mine and both were VERY impressed with the quality for the price. You should have heard how they made it sing!
By the time you are said and done with shipping costs, you are looking at under $30. You really can't beat it for the price.
Mine is made by Best Harmony, model 338, made in China.
The way I feel about it is, even if I didn't like it, I wasn't out a lot of money. I could always put it in a yard sale and make most of my money back, or give it to the kids to play with.

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: sbpd
I bought my first guitar here. I holds a tune really well. Great to learn on, before you spend the big bucks on a really GOOD one.

I strongly disagree. A cheap guitar, especially one you do not personally select, is not worth the shipping cost, let alone the price of the ... < gag >... guitar.

If you have a friend who knows guitars, have him/her help you pick out a good used one. The most important things are good tone (of course) and that it plays well up and down the neck. That means it should have a good action and intonation (playing in tune on all strings on all frets). Once you put in the work to learn how to play, the instrument has to be able to give you the reward of the music, or you'll lose interest (or at least be very pissed). This applies to acoustic and electric guitars.

With electric guitars, aside from the way they look and feel, the biggest difference between various guitars is the pickups. For example, most Fenders have single coil pickups while the most popular (but not all) Gibsons have humbuckers. Single coil pickups are a little brighter, but they pick up hum from amps, light fixtures, etc., much easier than humbucking designs. OTOH, humbuckers have a somewhat fatter and smoother sound. Each is better for some styles than the other.

If you don't destroy it, a good used instrument will hold its value forever, so you can consider it a good investment. A cheap, bad guitar will always be a piece of junk that is as overpriced as it is useless for good playing, no matter how cheap it is.

Music is a gas. If you're looking, I hope you find the right one.

 

[mrCide]

here's a tip, folks, if you get a guitar, stick to it.. it's one of the most enjoyable things i've ever done as a hobby (gym is nice too )

I started with a Squire bullet and i'm still barely intermediate. don't believe what anyone tells you, it's good enough for a beginner. learn with it, you won't be able to tell the difference in sound and tone anyway, you have to learn about the guitar, and once you play for awhile and learn what's different, learn everything you can..

when you're ready pick up something sweet.. and goto a guitar store if you can, everyone has different preferences.

I just picked up a Schecter C-1+ can't wait to play that baby.

 

[TekDemon]

Originally posted by: mrCide
here's a tip, folks, if you get a guitar, stick to it.. it's one of the most enjoyable things i've ever done as a hobby (gym is nice too )

I started with a Squire bullet and i'm still barely intermediate. don't believe what anyone tells you, it's good enough for a beginner. learn with it, you won't be able to tell the difference in sound and tone anyway, you have to learn about the guitar, and once you play for awhile and learn what's different, learn everything you can..

when you're ready pick up something sweet.. and goto a guitar store if you can, everyone has different preferences.

I just picked up a Schecter C-1+ can't wait to play that baby.

Well the reason I was thinking of the Squier Bullet Special Edition is because I heard it has the same internals as the Squier Tom Delonge(yeah the blink 182 guy lol) edition guitar. I guess that means it's good for blink 182 songs haha

 

[dkvamme]

Just went ahead and ordered one ( the Les Paul Jr.) for my 15 year old son that whats to learn how to play.


Thanks for lead

 

[Askani]

Did anyone else noticed that there was a name for a logged in person: Chih-Kuan Wang. Whoever posted the link might want to edit the link so that it doesn't post his personal info. Also has anyone been able to determine whether this is a fulled size guitar?

 

[dkvamme]

This is a full size guitar. It is a jr model in the sense that it does not have all the features of the standard Les Paul.

Now does anyone have a lead on a good cheap amp to go along with the guitar?

 

[Scarpozzi]

Originally posted by: p3numbra

Originally posted by: Ghamu
damn I was hoping for an acoustic guitar... anyone know where to look for deals?

pawn shops and swap meets have great deals, but you should go with someone that knows about guitars. yard sales are also good sources. if you're in socali cruise through toluca lake, for some reason there are always great deals on musical instruments there. i've seen at least two separate yard sales with nothing but instruments. i think the guys buy their gear from the people who rent to junior/high school students and then resell. they had really nice acoustics from $30-300. also had various other instruments. they have these sales fairly often.

music123.com is a good place. I picked up great little accoustic there for about $130 because it was a 'seconds' guitar....or one with a blemish on the finish. Of course we all know that guitars are going to get those anyway. It sounds awesome and even has an electric pickup for that price.

Does anyone know how many frets this LP Junior has? I hate guitar pics on the net cause there is no scale reference.... Nevermind..found the zoom button.... 22 frets. This looks like a good buy.

 

[TekDemon]

Question:
Why do all the reviews linked say it uses a P90 NONHUMBUCKING pickup but the listing lists it as humbucking?!!?

and also, will someone please please please tell me if the bullet special is better?

 

[mrCide]

Originally posted by: TekDemon
Question:
Why do all the reviews linked say it uses a P90 NONHUMBUCKING pickup but the listing lists it as humbucking?!!?

and also, will someone please please please tell me if the bullet special is better?

for $99 guitars, they're all pretty much going to be the same as far as quality/tone. goto a guitar shop and play them, which one is more comfortable is what should determine which you get..

my 2c

 

[paulieside]

not a bad price... the 15 dollar one is ridiculously cheap.. what the heck!?

 

[pigseye2]

Thanks sbpd,
I appreciate your feedback. I might just have to get one.

Pigseye