£300 guitar for beginner.

[conkerman]

Hi guitarists of PH.

I'm in the mood to have a go at guitar, for general messing about and a bit of rocksmith. We currently have a ratty old Encore thing, but its a bit rubbish.

Looking to spend up to £300 for something half decent, I like the look of the epiphone Nighthawk (the purple one look awesome!)

Any advice, guidance accusations of idiocy welcome

[singlecoil]

If that's the one you like the look of, then buy it. It's a decent make, you can change the sound if you ever want to by changing the pickups, effects and amps, but you can't do much about the shape and general style.

[Gaspode]

This topic comes up so frequently it really ought to have a sticky. There is only one answer to "what sort of beginner guitar should I buy?"

Get a Yamaha. A Pacifica if you want an electric, or something like an APX500 if you fancy an acoustic.

[conkerman]

I suppose the question I am really asking is do I actually need to spend more than £300??

Just don't fancy a Pacifica, not sure why, I usually am a big fan of Yamaha gear. I like the nighthawk because it looks nice (I am a ponce) and has a nice array of pickups for a tonne of tones.

Is it worth long term going a bit extra for a cheaper Gibson/Fender/etc especially if I consider resale value.

I don't mind spending out a bit for something nice (within sensible limits).

Buying 2nd hand is probably the most sensible option, but I am not sure i know enough about Guitars to not buy something crap.

[singlecoil]

I'll repeat my earlier advice. If you fancy the Epiphone there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't buy it, and at least one damn good reason why you should (the fact that you like it).

[ehonda]

I've got 2 epiphones; a 355 and a black beauty. I'm really impressed with both of them. Quality and tone are excellent.
I've got my eye on another, the Les Paul Tribute Plus. Just need to sell my black beauty first, if you fancy a black beauty give me a shout.

[Gaspode]

conkerman said:

I suppose the question I am really asking is do I actually need to spend more than £300??

Just don't fancy a Pacifica, not sure why, I usually am a big fan of Yamaha gear. I like the nighthawk because it looks nice (I am a ponce) and has a nice array of pickups for a tonne of tones.

Is it worth long term going a bit extra for a cheaper Gibson/Fender/etc especially if I consider resale value.

I don't mind spending out a bit for something nice (within sensible limits).

Buying 2nd hand is probably the most sensible option, but I am not sure i know enough about Guitars to not buy something crap.

Do I maybe detect that the original question should have been phrased "I really fancy a Nighthawk, Should I get one?", in which case yes, of course, if that's what floats your boat. I don't have a clue about resale values of guitars, I can't bring myself to sell any of mine, but having the guitar you want rather than putting up with something cheap is a definite plus point when setting out on the very long and very hard road that is learning to be a guitarist.

The only other thing I would add is not to worry about buying a guitar that will in theory give you a lot of different tones. Much better in my view to buy something which fits your image of what you want to sound like - which really means do you see yourself as another Rory Gallagher (buy a Strat), another Jimmy Page (buy a Les Paul) or another Heavy Metal Hero (buy something Pointy)? You're going to spend months if not years sounding like you're torturing a cat, so the exact tone doesn't matter at this stage. Once you've figured out how to use the gain on your amp and the volume pot on your axe to get the sound you like, you'll probably be ready for another guitar and you'll be able to make a better-educated choice.

[Tom_C76]

Gaspode said:

conkerman said:

I suppose the question I am really asking is do I actually need to spend more than £300??

Just don't fancy a Pacifica, not sure why, I usually am a big fan of Yamaha gear. I like the nighthawk because it looks nice (I am a ponce) and has a nice array of pickups for a tonne of tones.

Is it worth long term going a bit extra for a cheaper Gibson/Fender/etc especially if I consider resale value.

I don't mind spending out a bit for something nice (within sensible limits).

Buying 2nd hand is probably the most sensible option, but I am not sure i know enough about Guitars to not buy something crap.

Do I maybe detect that the original question should have been phrased "I really fancy a Nighthawk, Should I get one?", in which case yes, of course, if that's what floats your boat. I don't have a clue about resale values of guitars, I can't bring myself to sell any of mine, but having the guitar you want rather than putting up with something cheap is a definite plus point when setting out on the very long and very hard road that is learning to be a guitarist.

The only other thing I would add is not to worry about buying a guitar that will in theory give you a lot of different tones. Much better in my view to buy something which fits your image of what you want to sound like - which really means do you see yourself as another Rory Gallagher (buy a Strat), another Jimmy Page (buy a Les Paul) or another Heavy Metal Hero (buy something Pointy)? You're going to spend months if not years sounding like you're torturing a cat, so the exact tone doesn't matter at this stage. Once you've figured out how to use the gain on your amp and the volume pot on your axe to get the sound you like, you'll probably be ready for another guitar and you'll be able to make a better-educated choice.

Epiphone gear is fine, I used to have a Casino (335 type) and it was perfectly well made. Didn't suit what I wanted to play so I sold it on. You'll always lose money selling guitars on, but in my experience USA made stuff holds slightly more of its value in percentage terms but costs so much more to start with you lose more in total.

If you fancy a Nighthawk go for it, if later you get into playing seriously you'll end up with a collection of interesting bits of wood all round the house anyway. I've still got my first guitar on the wall (pointy headstock Aria with a fake FR trem) which I never play but would never part with either. It has several friends now though...

[BorkFactor]

You should be able to get a decent used MIM (Made in Mexico) Fender for that, or if you want to buy new then the Squier Classic Vibe series get excellent reviews.

[conkerman]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I really appreciate it.

I bought a Bass earlier this year for a laugh and love the idea of having musical stuff to hand even though I am a tone deaf, talentless buffoon.

Lets go Shopping!

[ehonda]

doogz said:

I have an epiphone black beauty.

Had it for years now, and never really gelled with it. Keep threatening to get rid of it and get something else, but never quite got around to it.

OP, I'll sell you it

Oi, If the OP is not going to buy a black beauty from anyone, it's me!!

[Fantuzzi]

conkerman said:

I suppose the question I am really asking is do I actually need to spend more than £300??

Just don't fancy a Pacifica, not sure why, I usually am a big fan of Yamaha gear. I like the nighthawk because it looks nice (I am a ponce) and has a nice array of pickups for a tonne of tones.

Is it worth long term going a bit extra for a cheaper Gibson/Fender/etc especially if I consider resale value.

I don't mind spending out a bit for something nice (within sensible limits).

Buying 2nd hand is probably the most sensible option, but I am not sure i know enough about Guitars to not buy something crap.

There are many great guitars out there for under £300, my first guitar was a Cort x2 £180, many people thought it was double the price from how it played. I'd recommend cort highly, they do various body shapes and styles, every guitar I have tried of theirs felt about double the price it was, and its not just me, a couple of people on here were saying how impressed they were with them a week or two ago.

http://www.cortguitars.com/uk/instruments/electric...

Its hard by yourself, but if you have a teacher then they can give you advice and tips. Music radar is quite good for reviews, obviously you need to try them out yourself, but it can give you a good place look at what's out there.

What sort of music do you like? If you throw a couple of your favourite bands/styles, people might be able to give some suggest of what you might like.

[Gaspode]

Fantuzzi said:

There are many great guitars out there for under £300, my first guitar was a Cort x2 £180,

Indeed, there's nothing wrong with Cort guitars, check out this for an example of what can be done with them, my mate Ben Travers giving Andy Timmons' Groove or Die a good spanking...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEtXQxVAkZY

[conkerman]

Black Beauty - Talk to me

[ehonda]

conkerman said:

Black Beauty - Talk to me

Mines as new, a couple of years old, with a hard case.
300 quids to you, have a look at the ones on gumtree, I thinks that's reasonable.

I'm on the hants/surrey border if you're interested.

[framerateuk]

Gaspode said:

This topic comes up so frequently it really ought to have a sticky. There is only one answer to "what sort of beginner guitar should I buy?"

Get a Yamaha. A Pacifica if you want an electric, or something like an APX500 if you fancy an acoustic.

Agreed. The Pacifica is a great quality guitar for the price.

If you want the Epiphone though, go for it. My 2nd guitar was an Epiphone Explorer (or Xplorer/Beast as my model was known) and it was excellent. Great pickups and good quality hardware. My only compaint was it was a little neck-heavy and the nut snapped thanks to the strings being on quite an angle from it (it was fixed with superglue about 9 years ago and it's still fine now!).

At that price though, definitely go fixed bridge or a traditional (Strat style) trem. Floating and locking trems at that price bracket tend to have lots of tuning issues.

[ehonda]

Conkerman - You have email (hopefully)

[Fantuzzi]

Gaspode said:

Fantuzzi said:

There are many great guitars out there for under £300, my first guitar was a Cort x2 £180,

Indeed, there's nothing wrong with Cort guitars, check out this for an example of what can be done with them, my mate Ben Travers giving Andy Timmons' Groove or Die a good spanking...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEtXQxVAkZY

That was an ace cover your friend did! All in the Cort mind...

Plus I think they look rather nice, their bodies aren't as pointy as Ibanez, yet they look distinct and sculpted rather than flatter like a Dinky shape, and the inlays at the top of the fret board rather than the centre just look so much better to my eyes.

O.P Chapman guitars might be worth a look they do a guitar in the shape you are after for your budget and have had some great magazine reviews.

[SWoll]

OP, get yourself down to a local decent music shop and handle/demo a few guitars.

Most guitars in the £300 range are going to be decent kit nowadays, but the one that looks, feels and sounds right to you is the most important thing.

I'd advise making sure you factor into your budget getting it setup properly by someone who knows what they are doing also. Makes a huge amount of difference to how much you'll enjoy playing it.

[davepoth]

If you can play at all (and it sounds like you can), as the other guys say - get to a shop and play everything.

You might end up with something a bit left field but it's playability that's the key.