# Is this electric guitar starter pack junk or OK?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [November 21, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861 "2008-11-21T17:09:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/1 "2008-11-21T17:09:49Z")
Howdy – I’m looking to get my 13 year old son an electric guitar for Christmas. He has never played one before, but he really wants one. I think all the Guitar Hero playing has inspired him.
Anyway, my budget is $200 tops. I know that the Doper-approved thing to do would be to visit a local music store, talk to a knowledgeable salesperson, etc. etc. I went down this road last week and realized that I wouldn’t get out of the store with a guiter, amp, cable, etc for less than about $300 - $350. Too rich for my blood this holiday season.
So my next idea was to get an of-the-shelf starter package from Best Buy, Target, etc. They have two that fit my budget, and of course I would prefer to pick the cheaper of the tow, but not if it is complete crap.
Anyway, the ones I looked at were:
[Fender Starcaster starter pack ($199)](http://www.target.com/Fender-Starcaster-Strat-Guitar-Pack/dp/B000VOADMU/sr=1-3/qid=1227286942/ref=sr_1_3/179-9149786-5081622?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k%3Afender%20starcaster&page=1)
[First Act 222 starter pack (on sale right now for $119):](http://www.target.com/First-Act-Designer-Electric-Guitar/dp/B001D2CW6O/sr=1-1/qid=1227286847/ref=sr_1_1/179-9149786-5081622?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k%3Afirst%20act%20222&page=1)
I’d like to get the First Act one because that means I could get him another couple presents. If I get the Fender one, That’s pretty much going to be all he gets from Dad.
I want him to be able to learn how to play and have a good experience with it, so if the guitar is a piece of junk it could turn him off to sticking with it. On the other hand, I don’t want to spend a lot if he’s not going to stick with it, or if he likes the experience and wants to upgrade down the road.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
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### Author:  [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/2 "2008-11-21T17:21:39Z")
I totally get where you are coming from. I don’t like the look of either of those packs. And I don’t really trust target for this kind of thing. Guitar Center is about to have a huge in store sale, and they are willing to negotiate on prices.
I have always found [these](http://www.guitarcenter.com/Yamaha-PAC012DLX-Pacifica-Series-HSS-Deluxe-Electric-Guitar-103153664-i1166881.gchttp://www.guitarcenter.com/Yamaha-PAC012DLX-Pacifica-Series-HSS-Deluxe-Electric-Guitar-103153664-i1166881.gc)to be awesome guitars for the money. See if you can get one used and it should be even less. Talk to the guys there and see what they will do. The double coil pickup at the bridge is particulalry nice for a beginner. If you are willing to go to $250 there is a starter pack that comes with a practice amp, which is something he will need.
Or for $200 you can get [this pack](http://www.guitarcenter.com/Epiphone-Les-Paul-Jr--Electric-Guitar-Player-Pack-102920378-i1400422.gc) which is a better guitar than either of the target packs for about the price of the more expensive target pack. Thinking about it, this might be a better deal than the $250 pack for the Yamaha.
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### Author:  [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/3 "2008-11-21T17:28:38Z")
We bought TurboPuppy the Starocaster set last year, for his thirteenth birthday. We have found it to be perfectly suitable for a young teen to learn/beat the crap out of while he explores his interests.
We haven’t found it to be junky or a toy, but it did need a little filing to get rid of sharp metal edges on the neck.
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### Author:  [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/4 "2008-11-21T17:43:44Z")
The Fender pack doesn’t look too bad, the First Act one looks pretty yucky.
Any new guitar (especially a cheap one) will benefit a lot with a little bit of setting up. Getting the neck straight, adjusting the bridge heights and intonation, maybe a touch of filing the fret-ends. None of these things are praticularly hard but can change a guitar from practically unplayable to a fun instrument. Do you have a guitar playing friend or relative who could spend fifteen minutes tweaking it?
What **NAF** said. It is hard (these days) to find a crappy guitar, even a cheap one, in an actual guitar shop. And Yamahas are astonishing value.
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### Author:  [@Koldanar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koldanar)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/5 "2008-11-21T18:11:32Z")
I actually still own my Squier Fender from ~11 years go when I got myself one of those packs in college. I plan on upgrading the pickups at some point this year to make it an ok-ish guitar, hopefully. So these suckers CAN last a while, and still play well. I will say I’ve had to have the tension bar in the neck adjusted once or twice, and the cables between the jack and the internal electronics failed once about 8 years ago.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/6 "2008-11-21T18:33:59Z")
> [@Koldanar](#):
>
> I actually still own my Squier Fender from ~11 years go when I got myself one of those packs in college. I plan on upgrading the pickups at some point this year to make it an ok-ish guitar, hopefully.
I bought a Squier Tele that was a twin to my '93 Fender (except for the neck, which I changed to rosewood fretboard). My Beginner’s Opinion is that it doesn’t sound near as good as the Fender. As I’ve mentioned in other threads I build a Tele from 2008 American Fender parts, using SCN pickups and a control panel with a four-way switch I got from Pentagon City on eBay. It sounds (in my Beginner’s Opinion) better than the stock one.
So I’ve begun surgery on the Squier. I’ve shielded the cavities. I drilled holes in the body so that the strings will be through-body instead of toploading. I’ve got the SCN pickups and the new control panel like I used in the Frankencaster, plus a Fender American strings-through-body bridge and some ferrules. The holes are a little crooked, but it’s a cheap guitar so I don’t care much. I’ll try to put it all together over the holiday weekend.
To the OP: I would not buy a starter kit for myself, but if I were a 13-year-old kid getting my first guitar I’d be happy with it. At that age there’s time to upgrade to a good guitar later.
Incidentally, I recently bought an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top. (MSRP is about $950, but the street price is about $450 – about $550 if you go to Guitar Center.) At my last guitar lesson I played the Frankencaster and I let the instructor play the Epi. We were doing Blues, and the Epi sounded more suited to it. Based on what other posters ( **Wordman** , _et alia_) have said in other threads, and based on my own (Beginner’s) ear, Epiphones are fine guitars. I don’t know how good their bottom-of-the-line starter kits are, but if I were buying a starter kit for a 13-year-old I’d consider the Epi kit just based on the name.
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### Author:  [@Koldanar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koldanar)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/7 "2008-11-21T18:37:58Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> Incidentally, I recently bought an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top. (MSRP is about $950, but the street price is about $450 – about $550 if you go to Guitar Center.) At my last guitar lesson I played the Frankencaster and I let the instructor play the Epi. We were doing Blues, and the Epi sounded more suited to it. Based on what other posters ( **Wordman** , _et alia_) have said in other threads, and based on my own (Beginner’s) ear, Epiphones are fine guitars. I don’t know how good their bottom-of-the-line starter kits are, but if I were buying a starter kit for a 13-year-old I’d consider the Epi kit just based on the name.
/hijack
That is actually my second guitar, and the one I love playing. I got it in a deep burgundy stain, where you can actually see the grain through it. I just want to upgrade those pickups as well, the guitar itself is fantastic especially considering the price (the above-mentioned $450)
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### Author:  [@Pithy\_Moniker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pithy_Moniker)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/8 "2008-11-21T18:48:12Z")
> [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](#):
>
> Anyway, my budget is $200 tops. I know that the Doper-approved thing to do would be to visit a local music store, talk to a knowledgeable salesperson, etc. etc. I went down this road last week and realized that I wouldn’t get out of the store with a guiter, amp, cable, etc for less than about $300 - $350. Too rich for my blood this holiday season.
You just have to find the right store. I bought my first guitar from a music store last January and got a nice Ibanez starter pack with amp, cables, tuner, etc. They didn’t try to upsell me but they did explain the differences in the starter packs. The total cost was $230. Plus they set it up for me at no extra charge, showed me how to restring it (very important!) and I got a free lesson.
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### Author:  [@Finally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finally)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/9 "2008-11-21T20:22:30Z")
I found a store-I’m in the Chicago suburbs-that would rent the full package to me for about 35.00 month. This was a bass guitar, along with the amp and necessary cords and stuff. The great thing about it is that the store had a rent-to-own program and every cent I paid towards the rent went to the total cost. I was concerned my son wouldn’t stick with it.
Of course now he plays bass guitar in the school band and in the Jazz Band.
I highly recommend that method!
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### Author:  [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/10 "2008-11-22T15:47:27Z")
Thanks everyone – this helps a lot. I may swing by the local Guitar Center store this weekend and see what they can do. I appreciate all the advice.
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### Author:  [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/11 "2008-11-22T17:34:58Z")
This is fate. Just this morning my son asked me for a guitar for Christmas. I had no idea where to start my research. Now I know. Thanks guys.
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### Author:  [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/12 "2008-11-22T18:34:24Z")
> [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](#):
>
> Thanks everyone – this helps a lot. I may swing by the local Guitar Center store this weekend and see what they can do. I appreciate all the advice.
Good luck. Let us know how it goes.
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### Author:  [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2008, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/13 "2008-11-28T18:43:00Z")
Well, I picked up a guitar pack today, so thanks for all the help everybody.
I went to Guitar Center and they had this [Fender Squire starter pack](http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-Stop-Dreaming-Start-Playing-SE-Special-Strat-Pack-With-Squier-SP-10-Amp-104486238-i1177837.gc) on sale for $179. Then on top of that, I printed off a 15% off black friday coupon from their web site, so I got the whole thing for about $150. Score!
Thanks again. I think my son is going to freak when he open it.
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### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/14 "2008-11-28T18:59:29Z")
Slight hijack: isn’t it traditional (and/or easier) to learn on an accoustic?
Not nearly as cool, of course.
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### Author:  [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/15 "2008-11-28T19:07:04Z")
I’m sure an acoustic would be a better thing for him to learn on, but it’s all about the cool factor. Heck, at age 13 what isn’t about the cool factor?
I’m pretty sure the primary motivator for my son wanting an electric is the time he has spent playing Guitar Hero. I honestly don’t think it would have even occurred to him to ask for an acoustic.
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### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/16 "2008-11-28T19:11:40Z")
> [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](#):
>
> I’m pretty sure the primary motivator for my son wanting an electric is the time he has spent playing Guitar Hero. I honestly don’t think it would have even occurred to him to ask for an acoustic.
That, and Hendrix got laid way more than John Denver. 😃
Just kidding.
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### Author:  [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/17 "2008-11-28T19:21:54Z")
Yeah, but that didn’t have much to do with the acoustic guitar. John Denver’s problem getting laid was that whenever it got to the “Oh, God!” part, women would picture George Burns and lose the mood. 😃
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### Author:  [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2008, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/18 "2008-11-28T19:56:09Z")
> [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](#):
>
> I’m sure an acoustic would be a better thing for him to learn on, but it’s all about the cool factor. Heck, at age 13 what isn’t about the cool factor?
No, you did good getting him an electric. Acoustic has a steeper learning curve.
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### Author:  [@Pithy\_Moniker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pithy_Moniker)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/19 "2008-11-28T20:41:55Z")
Congrats on the purchase! I speak from recent experience, electric guitars are lots easier to learn on than acoustics.
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### Author:  [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2008, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-electric-guitar-starter-pack-junk-or-ok/473861/20 "2008-11-28T22:08:50Z")
Why are acoustics more difficult?
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