I need help finding a guitar with amplifier and instruction book

[RebelOne]

This is a gift for my grandson. He is a beginner and I am totally clueless as where to look for something like this. Don't say go to EBay because there are too many scammers there, so I don't trust them.
I need some ideas as where to look online.

[mdhunter]

1. Musicians Friend, American Musical Supply, Guitar Center

All mass market, relatively low priced, reliable options.

[RFSea]

6. Musicians Friend

is an OxyMoron

No offense intended to you for mentioning them.

If I had to do a "mass" supplier/retailer, I would choose Sweetwater, but really would opt to find a local shop somewhere contiguous, with a good online merchant rating, if they were far away and shipping/online purchase was obvious way to go

The Guitar Shop in Cambridge MA is EXCELLENT, and her prices are just as good as Musician's enemy

-RF

[Liberal_Andy]

2. Go to a local guitar shop, or chain like McFaddens

They have beginner's packages, guitar, amp, case, strings. You can get a nice Epiphone and cheap amp for 2-3 hundred.

[name not needed]

3. Acoustic or Electric?

[RFSea]

4. I can help

I own 2 Fenders, 1 Gibson, and one custom Harper Guitar built by hand, that entire transaction is a story in itself, and if I had to do it again, I would probably choose a different custom Luthier, although I must admit, the final product is to die for.

Of the two Fenders I own, one is a "Thinline" semi-hollow Telecaster ($600 new) with dual humbuckers, made in Mexico. The other is a Stratocaster (Solidbody)with a somewhat hefty price tag and is not for sale.

The Gibson is still under evaluation, and is an ES135 semihollow, and is very large, and not recommended for beginners.

I would suggest you purchase six months worth of lessons from a reputable Guitar shop near you. What I mean is, look for a Guitar shop that also has folks who teach by the hour. I bought the fenders here: http://www.guitarstop.com/Fender/72tele.htm That is a picture of the Thinline. Excellent merchant, and they do lessons too, as I described.

I also have a cool Marshall combo Amp for sale, that is no longer used much, and was never used much at all. I play thru a HiWatt now, and really wouldn't play thru much else, till I lay big bucks for a louder, more "metal" type overdriven tube sound, which isn't easy to achieve with the Hiwatt

I would deal the Marshall and the Fender (Thinline) as a package for a competive price, shipping included.

If you would rather purchase new, I would understand, and would suggest something like the Fender, and something like the Marshall combo as a good quality package

I bought that Fender waiting for the Harper custom to arrive, and it quickly became my axe of choice. It stays in tune, and rarely deviates from it's setup wrt intonation and action. It is easy to play, and doesn't strain the back with excessive weight. It has strap lock nuts on it now, which would be sold with it, or can be removed, and a free strap provided.

Anyway, in a nutshell, I would suggest a Fender Telecaster type Guitar with Humbuckers, and a good quality combo Amp, with at least a tube pre-amp (The Marshall for sale has a tube pre amp, and solid state transistor power amp)

Hope this helps-

-RF I-NH

[Squeech]

5. You should have a real music store around

You can get the guitar from a mail order firm (I like Musicians' Friend) but the guitar may need to be professionally set up. (If the strings are too high or it's otherwise uncomfortable, he won't play it.) And, unless you can show your grandson how to tune it and play the easy chords, he'll need a teacher.