Originally Posted by: renDon't get a pack - you can generally get better equipment outside of them. I'd suggest a squire standard strat. The Crate amp looks OK, but it might also be worth looking at the Line 6 Spider amps - they're good for the money.

Cables - not very important at this stage - just go cheap.
Tuner - the same
Strap - the same
Picks - get a bunch of different gauges so you can experiment

Great advice from Ren. The most important thing is the guitar itself and a good selection of regular shaped plectrums (forget the Ninja shuriken shapes!). Squire Strat is a solid starter as is an Epiphone or my personal favourite - an entry level Ibanez. It kind of depends on the type of music you like though - Ibanez is a great all rounder that veers more heavily thowards rock and metal. They come with tremelo systems too and 24 frets, you may or may not want to go the trem route but if you do its handy to start out on a model with one in place rather than trying to get used to it later. As far as amps go a cheap modeler is great for starting with. I would look at the VOX AD30VT, Line6 Spider or Crate Microcube - all reasonably priced with good bang for the buck fromo jazz to blues to metal.