what is the best guitar for a beginner thats not very rich?

im almost 15and im a chick and id like to learn how to play but im also very very poor and dont have the money, plus my mom doesnt want to buy me somthing im going to just throw back under my bed and never play again after the new-ness wears off..any suggestions?

[Edited by muffins on 12-30-2001 at 11:36 PM]

well... i got a hondo electric guitar for $289 canadian...(left handed, right handed guitars are generally much cheaper)... and it's pretty good. a used guitar wouldn't be a bad choice either IMHO. Just get something cheap, and get a tuner. Get some tab, and go at it. When you find out your addicted to playing, buy something nicer :)
*shrug*

I'm not crazy about the tuner... Make your ears work!!

haha i never use my tuner, i have my instructor tune mine ( i would but personally since im not playing with any other musicians currently its no big deal).

i'm not rich either i started with a cheap cracked clasic - just to see if like it.
and if you're for electric i would go for the Fender Squier deal in guitartrade.

I don't actually own one, but I always heard good things about the Mexican made Fender stratocasters and telecasters. From what I've heard, they are well made, sound very good, and are under $500.00. Maybe someone else has heard differently, but that was what I heard. Whatever you buy, the key is you don't want to buy something that you can't tune or that won't stay in tune. Just make sure you play the heck out of the thing before you buy it. If it's inexpensive and stays relatively in tune after a lot of string bending and hard strumming, then that may suit your needs. Bring someone who knows a lot about guitars with you when you go looking. A lot of music stores pay their salespeople a commission on everything they sell, so sometimes it's nearly impossible to get a straight answer from them because they just want to make a sale.

I agree with frishynibbles...perhaps you can try a pawn shop and pick up a cheap acoustic guitar...I hear that any guitar would work to learn the fundamentals...then if you like it and you can save the money get a guitar that you will be happy with...move on from there.

This is unrelated, but... what is a "canuck"??? Is it a person from Vancouver, a person from canada, or am I totally off base???

it's any canadian.
:)
frisky the canuck

As a Canadian I feel the need to clarify. A "canuck" is a term that really more describes a "coffee and donuts-eating lumberjack who likes hockey", you know... a "hoser". You get a few of 'em up North and out West and East, but that term can't be applied to all of us anymore! We've been way to Americanized.

Is it a little pejorative, like 'redneck' for americans?

don't be misslead, we have rednecks in canada too, they live in calgary and we call them cowboys

The Epiphone Les Paul Custom is pretty decent as well.

I recommend a used hollow-body or acoustic for a first guitar. An amp is just too much distraction at first. There's a lot to learn ar it is, without getting sidetracked by amplifier settings.

I live in Calgary. I won't sully this fine gathering by typing out what we call the poor b**t**ds that live in Edmonton, but I will give you some insight into the colourful names we have here for people from different regions.

My father is from New Brunswick (herring choker). He moved to Ontario in search of work (sellout). That happens a lot. He left behind the 'bluenosers' of Nova Scotia, and the 'spud islanders' of Prince Edward Island. He passed through Quebec ('pea-soupers') on his way to Ontario (tetes carres).

He married an Ontario woman. She would be called an 'Upper Canadian' by the folk he left behind in 'The Maritmes', or a 'mainlander' by the 'noofies' of Newfoundland.

The capital of Ontario is Toronto (Hogtown), the populace of which considers their city to be the centre of the known universe, largely based on near-total ignorance of the rest of the world. Canadians, (being basically smug sorts), are united in their disdain of Hogtown.

I lived for the last 25 years in Ottawa, which is the capital of Canada. This means that the citizens of Ottawa (f'n' bureaucrats) are almost as universaly reviled as people in Hogtown!

I moved to Calgary, (Cowtown), a couple of years ago, because I was suffocating in the atmosphere of entrenched socialism (%$%*&$# Liberal Party of Canada!) in Ontario (down East). In doing so, I crossed the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan (flatlanders).

Here, (in God's Country), we poke fun at Edmonton (a festering boil on the buttocks of the North), because its the capital of Alberta (Oil Patch country).

Across the Rocky mountains, is the province of British Columbia, (British California), which extends all the way to the Wet Coast. (Yes, that [u]is[/u] spelled correctly).

The only thing that we enjoy more than inventing colourful names to call each other is beating up on fools who poke their noses into our family spats (constitutional reform conferences).

I do hope this has helped to clarify things. :D

I think your points are valid, but I draw a different conclusion from them.

Our young lady friend, (if she's still with us :o), is likely to have trouble concentrating on chord fingerings and progressions if she's trying to nail her favourite band's sound.

Having said that, your gear selection is great for new stuff. If she can bring a knowlegeable friend along for a few safaris, she can probably save quite a bit at a pawn shop, or the used gear section of a music store.

I would just like to add that another good first set to start out with is a Harmony guitar ($90),and a Peavey 100x. I used this for a while then I moved up in the music world. I now have a Gibson Epiphone($799), a Peavey 600x amp($600)
and Gibson 2000 fx pedal($399). It sounds pretty good to me, and the people seem to love my bands music with this new addition. That is all I have to say, and until next time, keep playing and have fun. Peace out to everybody.

yes im still here. thanks for your suggestions! they will help alot, have any of you heard about the daisy rocks guitars, their kinda girlie but are they any good?

They look like this: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/ex/shop/home/010613002254063026050125783513?pid=513060

Harmony Central has a large data base of user reviews. This page is the directory, sorted by manufacturer. http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/#man

There is no listing for Daisy Rocks, which is probably not a good sign. I'd hate to see you waste good money ($250) on what may be a novelty item.

Your best bet would be to stick to some of the brands which have been around for years. Another manufacturer which I have found to be pretty reputable is Yamaha. I had a Yamaha acoustic and a Yamaha electric. both were very servicable guitars and both cost under $250.00 Even with the lower price, Yahama still put out a quality made product that had decent sound and stayed in tune relatively well. Plus they have been around for many years.

If you are looking for a good starter acoustic guitar, you should check out Ovation Guitars. Their lower end models could run around $250.00 - $350.00, but they are a little more player friendly than some of the other acoustics and they are a pretty reputable company. Some people really like their guitars, but most acoustic guitar purists or fingerstyle players, tend not to like them.

If you are looking for a cheap amplifier, The Pignose amplifier has been around for a long time and you should be able to get a new one for under $100.00. (Any store selling it for more is not a store you want to deal with.) Some people swear by them and use them to play gigs in small venues. I know folk players as well as hard rock players who use them regularly. The drawback is that they are pretty basic and don't have reverb, which is important to some players.

As for whether you should buy an acoustic or an electric, I think that will depend on the type of music you play and how much money you can afford to spend. Keep in mind, an acoustic will be physically harder to play than an electric, which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. Acoustics, especially the ones in the lower price range, tend to have a higher action than the pricier acoustic guitars and acoustics use higher gauge strings than electrics. That makes them a little tougher to play especially when you are starting out.