Guitar kit rec's, Squire vs. Epiphone

My son wants an electric guitar for X-Mas. Anybody out there rec one of the above over the other? These come in a kit deal with amp, gig case, pics, stand, headphones and instructional video(DVD). You professional musicians out there have any rec's?

Originally posted by scacchipazzo
My son wants an electric guitar for X-Mas. Anybody out there rec one of the above over the other? These come in a kit deal with amp, gig case, pics, stand, headphones and instructional video(DVD). You professional musicians out there have any rec's?

Originally posted by scacchipazzo
My son wants an electric guitar for X-Mas. Anybody out there rec one of the above over the other? These come in a kit deal with amp, gig case, pics, stand, headphones and instructional video(DVD). You professional musicians out there have any rec's?

I'm a Gibson and Marshall guy, but I bought a little Fender kit a few years ago that kicks butt. That's the way to go, in my experience.

http://www.musician.com/product/Epiphone-Les-Paul-Special-II-Player-Pack?sku=518677

http://www.musician.com/product/Fender-SE-Special-Strat-Value-Pack?sku=513287

Thanks everyone. Great idea to post links. Both cost $199.00 and free shipping.

The boy seems impervious to being lured into drugs and not quite yet interested in girls! Good student and great kid so he deserves a good X-Mas present. The Strat pack comes with headphones.

Headphones won't do things any justice to things. He'll want to learn about controlling tone as well as how to play, so I don't recommend getting into the habit of playing with them. Better that he have somewhere to play which doesn't require them, so I wouldn't use their presence as a buying bonus.

Otherwise, get either. Check if the amps have a reverb knob, I've bought both these kits in the past and the Marshall amp which came with the epiphone had no reverb control.

Originally posted by Starrman
Headphones won't do things any justice to things. He'll want to learn about controlling tone as well as how to play, so I don't recommend getting into the habit of playing with them. Better that he have somewhere to play which doesn't require them, so I wouldn't use their presence as a buying bonus.

Otherwise, get either. Check if the amps have a rev ...[text shortened]... kits in the past and the Marshall amp which came with the epiphone had no reverb control.

Originally posted by scacchipazzo
The headphones will be a must because of his mother. These amps do not have reverb, not in this price range. He will have plenty of time to practice with the volume and other knobs while mom is at dance practice and other activities. I think his interest in music is beyond the superficial as he just wrote a killer essay on Roger Waters of Pink Floyd and ...[text shortened]... ot a great grade for it. BTW, thanks to you and all others who responded for the great feedback!

My brother's first electric guitar was a Fender Squire (the white Wayne's World Squire Strat in fact!), and it sounded decent and played well. These days, there are so many great guitars and practice amps it's hard to go wrong. My personal preference is Fender-style guitars for both sound and feel. I used to recommend the Yamaha Pacifica to my student's parents as beginner guitars because the workmanship and sound quality is noticeably better than Fender's low-end entries. It looks like they have a beginner's package as well:

http://www.yamaha.ca/content/guitar/products/guitarpackages/EGBLKIT/keyfeatures.jsp

You may also want to consider finding a used guitar on eBay or Craig's List, you might be able to pick up a deal. If you're going to buy the guitar and amp separately, I recommend something with built-in amp modelling and effects like a Roland Cube 30 (I own this one and it's great for practice) or a Line 6 Spider IV 15. They're slightly more expensive than the 10W, 6" speaker amps, but not that much more expensive, and honestly there's no comparison sound-wise - a DSP practice amp blows a straight-ahead transistor amp out of the water. Don't feel like you have to go this route though, my first amp was a Fender Bullet and I loved it despite the distortion channel sounding like a hot cardboard sandwich. 😀

Originally posted by PBE6
My brother's first electric guitar was a Fender Squire (the white Wayne's World Squire Strat in fact!), and it sounded decent and played well. These days, there are so many great guitars and practice amps it's hard to go wrong. My personal preference is Fender-style guitars for both sound and feel. I used to recommend the Yamaha Pacifica to my student's pare ...[text shortened]... loved it despite the distortion channel sounding like a hot cardboard sandwich. 😀

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
he likes Pink Floyd? get the stratocaster, he can play 'the wall', simply by learning the d minor chord and strumming it appropriately, sounds great on a strat! also try to check if there is overdrive, which i think there is on the fender amp, in case he needs to fuzz it up! Dave Gilmour plays a strat and a telecaster, with awesome sound!

Originally posted by scacchipazzo
Thanks for the rec! Do you know what the product ight be called in the USA? I tried entering the model# in the Yamaha USA website and it does not give me anythng comparable.

I like Yamaha products. Always good and priced right! Whatever I end up getting I'm sure my son will love it!

Originally posted by Starrman
Try this: http://www.yamaha.com/guitars/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=60152&CTID=5068500