Speaking from my perspective of 40 years of guitar playing/owning, most of them cheap ones, I can say definitively that cheap guitars have *never* been better than they are right now in terms of fit, finish, sound and playability. The difference between a $200 MexiStrat and a $1,000 American Strat is really pretty damn negligible these days. Mostly, I find that difference to rest with the electronics, rather than the actual body/neck/hardware on the instrument itself.

If you want to go a step up from a Squier, and still be economical (if indeed he is insisting on electric over acoustic), a Mexican Made Stratocaster will be playable for a long, long time, he won't feel like he's playing crap and when he gets older and has money of his own, he can step up to the "real thing".

Acoustic guitars are also at their highest quality vs price mark in my lifetime, and Dean makes some very attractive models, both in terms of price and appearance...and they sound nice. Washburn is another manufacturer whose low end products are outstanding.

Again, thank you all! lj, as usual, you're right and funny at the same time (have you been spying on me?!) SWMBO is pressing for $20 guitar shaped pinata from t-r-u..:(. Hell, it will probably make a *damn fine* pinata, come to think about it... Maybe he's been sneaking into my Who collection and wants to be Pete Townshend...

Will try to troll some p-shops today, report tomorrow. Youse guys rock.

I'm serious, dude, get a bullet strat, or maybe a non-bullet squier.

You can find good deals on starter guitars at Musicians friend or Music 123.

Washburn ( as Elspode says) for a good 'cheap' one and of course the Dean and Epiphone.

Report:

First, the bad news. SWMBO informed me that she's already purchased the $20 student guitar from Toys-R-Us. A moment of silence.

Now, last night's commute the normal 25 minutes, PLUS another 2 1/2 hours for fun. Well, it wasn't fun for the participants in the head on crash on the bridge *locking* traffic solid more than five miles away. Which limited my time in the pawnshop to about 5 minutes. I used the time well.

I found a dozen likely candidates, including two Squires, one black one blue each with white pickguards. No way to intelligently evaluate any other aspect. I also saw some recognizable names (I forget the actual name, bear with me) like "Pacifica" by *Yamaha*. I had to lookup the pacifica part and I might be wrong, but I recognize and respect the name Yamaha. There was another one like that, a Oobee Doobee by *Honer*. Ok, oobeedoobee was made up, but I recognize and respect the name Honer too. And an Ibanez. I did see some units that were obvious crap. Let's just skip those, m'kay?

Checked out the amps. A good sized Fender in my price comfort range. A couple of baby Marshalls likewise. Numerous units with names I didn't recognize much less respect.

Several pedals and effects boxes. One of the guitars said on the tag "... w/ gig bag". That sounds helpful.

Since the proprietor had locked me inside at this point, he asked if I was looking for something in particular. He allowed that he had several items in the back still. His shelves were fully stocked. I told him this was a (short) reconnaissance mission, but thanks.

Back home, SonofV and I had some quality time alone together and we watch an hour of guitar tv on the computer. One of the things I noticed was that during an image search of electric guitars, he IMMEDIATELY indicated he wanted "That one." pointing to the black and white Squire stratbody. Sweet. I think that's my number one choice. Then on to some music. Miss Murder we watched. "Dad, you hear that guitar there, right there? That's it." Then on to several other AFI videos, singing along, and showing me the guitar parts. He apologized for the lack of guitar example in Girls not Grey. hehehe. He pointed out a couple of Alice Cooper tunes too, Poison and Feed My Frankenstein. There's hope after all.

I was able to impress him with my knowledge of some guitar capable artists he'd not heard of before, although Google Video does distract from the guitar evaluation some, what with the video and all. He enjoyed The Ramones, The Clash, less so The Who, but I never did find a good video to showcase the guitar work. The Rolling Stones and The Sex Pistols were ok. He thought Dick Dale was pretty good, but "No words, Dad?" He was struck dumb by Steven Vai's Bad Horsie. Literally. He talked through all my choices but that one. Vai slayed him. Freaky video too.

So that's the sound he's seeking. We'll negotiate volume later.

The multi effects pedal will become necessary very quickly. He will want distortion and chorus and such.

I have a Boss ME-30 collecting dust, in near perfect condition, that I would sell you for like $50 because I don't have the power cable or original box or docs. It takes 6 AA batteries or you could get a universal AC adaptor. The docs are probably available from Boss.

...googling...


edit:
... I dunno... we do have these two cats... :crazy:

heh.. maybe I ought to read before I write huh?

Ok. Burned my remaining political capital and the $20 Toys-R-Us acoustic will be returned and I'm on the hook for the electric rig.

I've heard no feedback from y'all on the yamaha or honer units. Still interested in your input on that, but absent any more information, the b/w Squire is the current choice.

What else will I need? Is is unbelievably tacky to take my pawnshop guitar and amp to the local music store to have them outfit me with strings, etc?

Ok, I want a list of what he'll need to rock Christmas morning.

Guitar.
current choice is Squire.

Amp.
current choice is Marshall MB-30 (I think). I welcome more input here.

Tuner.
saw little vu meter unit for $10 in glass case at pshop. input please.

Cable (s).
no idea. input please.

New strings.
no idea. input please.


Picks.
I know what one looks like, input please.


XF box.
pending Boss unit.

What am I missing?

lesson books? or videos...

Earplugs!

The ME-30 has a tuner in it, but being in tune is one of the trickier things for new players to learn, and having a tuner gets you to the fun part faster. Your call.

Cable: cheapest the store has, to start. They can get quite pricey but a lot of the price is adding durability.

Strings: one set of light nickel to replace what breaks on the set that's on the guitar, then let the lad spend his allowance on new sets. If he enjoys the guitar he'll enjoy trying different brands himself.

Picks: infinite choice, completely personal preference for the player. Get a variable cheap set of three to start, and let the lad spend his allowance on new ones.

Stick with it. A fine starter electric without doubt. He'll be very happy.

Google says that that Marshall is a bass amp...probably better off with one of the 15-25 watt Fender combo solid states if you have time to get one.

He'll need one. If you buy UT's ME30, a tuner is built in. I have one of those boxes as well. Decent features. Not as easy to use as a stomp box array, but infinitely easier if you ever perform, once you've got it programmed.

Don't go cheap on cables. Get decent quality. I wouldn't go insane, like with Monster Cable, but don't buy the bottom of the barrel, either.

Ernie Ball Super Slinkies if he likes 'em light, but for a beginner, I'd get him a set with the high "E" no thinner than .09, and probably a .10 is better, lest he rip them off the fretboard.

I love the Jim Dunlop nylons. They come in fluorescent colors, and numerous gauges. I use the burnt orange (can't recall the gauge) for my usual needs, and the pale red as my "play quieter, please" pick.
I know what one looks like, input please.

Gig bag? Earplugs? Valium?

stand closer to the amp?;)

Oh. There's a difference, naturally. :smack: I'm going from memory, and I memoried the MB, but maybe they have an MG, the guitar-specific one.

Thanks all wrt the Squire, that's a lock now. Any similar input on the amp?