tax return soon!! im being coerced by my gf and her mom to go on vacation with them in a few months but after paying for that i should have enough left over for a beginner guitar. is the one i linked gonna be good? im surprised by the price, how is a guitar (with good reviews), with an amp and several other accessories that cheap?

also my gf's bday and our anniversary and valentines day are coming up and i wanna get her an electric drum kit since she's been wanting to learn drums. is this one good https://www.guitarcenter.com/Alesis/Nitro-Mesh-Special-Edition.gc?rNtt=alesis%20nitro%20mesh&index=1 its expensive but i know a good quality trap set is much more. i think she'll appreciate this to start off since she can just play into headphones and its more portable

thanks hexbear!

  • Shinji_Ikari [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    In my humble opinion, i'd avoid entry level kit epiphones. I personally hate the feel of any epiphone in the hand. I've owned two epi LP jrs, gave one to my sister and gave one to a music shop with the request they donate it to a kid who could really use it.

    The tuners are trash, the neck feels plasticy and lifeless, and the pickups do the job.

    Squires, Yamahas, and Ibanez guitars are all pretty good electric starting points.

    • ZoomeristLeninist [they/them, she/her]
      hexagon
      M
      ·
      2 years ago

      o wow, thank you for the advice! youve convinced me to stay away from epiphones!

      is this ibanez any good? its so damn cheap i worry abt quality https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GRX70QATVT--ibanez-gio-grx70qa-transparent-violet-sunburst

      • Shinji_Ikari [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        What kind of music do you want to play?

        There's a few things about that guitar and ibanez electrics in general that one could love or hate. Ibanez electrics typically have a fairly flat fretboard profile, as well as fairly thin/shallow neck profiles. A lot of people like them and they're great for playing metal or other fast technical stuff. This guitar has a tremelo system(wammy bar essentially) which means it can be a lot of fun but more difficult to keep in tune as the bridge moves.

        The HSH pickup layout, two humbuckers with a single coil in the middle is fairly versatile. Pickup type is totally down to genre and preference, the latter generally being more important. You can technically play anything on any kind of guitar but some guitars will push back more than others if that makes sense. This setup will trend more towards warmer "clean" tones and a tighter "crunch" with distortion/overdrive. The single coil is more jangly and brighter in tone, but creates a lot more noise due to various electromagnetic reasons that aren't super important.

        Entry level guitars have come a long way in the last 10-15 years and Ibanez doesn't typically make trash. This guitar is more or less identical in dimensions to more expensive Gios, the difference being level of fit/finish and hardware quality so cheaper pickups, electronics, bridges, tuners, etc.

        If you get a guitar around that price range, make sure to get it professionally setup at a music shop or local repair guy, it'll cost 50-100 bucks but the guitar will play a lot nicer. Cheaper guitars from the factory will often have a high action(distance between string and fret, requires more strength to play a note), their frets might not be perfectly level(creating a buzz when a vibrating string hits a high point) and the nut may be too high(causing the action to be too high in a less adjustable way).

        A proper setup and a fresh set of strings will make it play like a 500 dollar guitar.

        • ZoomeristLeninist [they/them, she/her]
          hexagon
          M
          ·
          2 years ago

          im gonna want to play a lot of jazz, some alt and prog rock as well. from what ive researched, humbuckers will be best. im thinking ill take ur advice abt getting a pro to do a setup with new strings on a cheap guitar. not set on the ibanez but its def a contender!

          thanks for the help shinji! :congratulations:

      • ssjmarx [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        its so damn cheap i worry abt quality

        My advice it look on Craigslist for somebody who is selling their own "starting guitar" after realizing they don't play it nearly as much as they thought they would, it's pretty common (especially in bougie areas) for people to buy $500 instruments and part with them for half that a couple years later. If you're really lucky you can find an older musician clearing out their garage - just make sure you have the chance to strum it a bit and hear what it sounds like through an amplifier before purchasing.

        • ZoomeristLeninist [they/them, she/her]
          hexagon
          M
          ·
          2 years ago

          thanks for the tip! i might do that in a year or two when i upgrade but i dont trust myself rn to know if a guitar sounds right