Guitar advice for a teenager who likes 70/80's Rock

Hawklan

Hi

I want to help my teenage son buy his first serious guitar. He is using two guitars at the moment - a very low end Fender electric and no name classical guitar that I purchased a few year back. They had been left in the cupboard until about 6 months ago when he decided to give it another go. With a passion for 70/80's rock and a great deal of self tuition (you tube came in very handy to learn chords) he now sounds really good.

We have a budget of around £700. We'd be happy to buy used to help push up the quality factor

Any help you can give will be much appreciated

Many thanks

Ron

reevesy

...been a lot of grumbling on the 2015 models as I understand it...been mentioned in the below thread I've linked

could ask here and link to your wanted thread......the rocksmith lads are always looking for an excuse to buy another guitar

https://www.avforums.com/threads/the-learning-equipment-thread.1817335/page-364#post-22507165

.......someone might want to offload one

Hawklan

Thanks Mate

Kinda supports buying a used one

RBZ5416

Only as far as tradionalists are concerned. They made a lot of changes including fitting automatic tuners to all models & large price hikes. As a result sales have (allegedly) been poor. So if your boy isn't one of those that dislikes them then there's the potential for decent discounts.

Guess he'd need to try one of he hasn't already.

Kelltic

The 2015 Gibsons have a lot of detractors due to the change in some of the specs - wider fretboard, a brass nut, the robo tuners, the ghastly (imo) Les Paul 100 signature logo. But, as a result, online vendors are beginning to sell them discounted. You can get a new 2015 Studio for 699 from some places such as GAK I think, maybe worth checking out.

GloopyJon

How old is he and what doe he have now?  Has he ever played a Gibson guitar, or is he just looking at them on websites?  You really need to play a guitar before you buy it, so my advice would be to take a trip to a local (good) guitar shop with him, even if you intend to buy second-hand, so that he can get a better idea of what he wants.

Of course, if your son is already experienced, this may be unnecessary, but if he just wants a Gibson because they are "the best / classic guitars", then this is absolutely the wrong approach.

I can suggest the Epiphone Slash Rosso Corsa, which is a very nice Gibson-style guitar (Epiphone is owned by Gibson, and is the only company that is permitted to make authentic copies of Gibson guitars).  This one is £599 in Guitar Guitar.  I and another guy here both have them, and we like them a lot, so it's a cheaper way of getting a fairly authentic, hard-rocking Les Paul guitar.
Epiphone Ltd Ed Slash Rosso Corsa Les Paul

Hawklan

Ah right
I see where you are coming from now. That's a bit of a relief

Many thanks

Ron

Hawklan

Hi

He's a young teen and has a low end Fender at the moment. He has been to a local Guitar shop that has a amazing selection. He spent a great deal a of time playing with what they had under the £1k mark and like the sound of the Gibson's the most.
I will run the Epiphone's past him

Many thanks

Ron

Clewis09

As GloopyJon has said, there is no substitute for going into a shop to play models. I'd highly recommend he go and play a few guitars in the store just to make sure he's 100% sure of what he wants, as a guitar is such a personal thing ultimately.

GuitarGuitar is fantastic for that, my father went in several times in a week just to play their acoustics, they were extremely helpful from what I've heard, good knowledge as well. But ultimately it boils down to how a guitar plays, feels, and looks in your hands. Smaller independent guitar and instrument shops are great, as often you get some unique models, with the opportunity to haggle on prices

EDIT: I can also vouch for Epiphone, and, although I'm no expert, I've heard that the differences between the two are so minute that only experts will be able to tell. I'd imagine it ultimately boils down to subtle tone differences, and things like sustain length. But the difference in price is vast. Well worth a look in my opinion, although I understand that branding is attractive.

bilbosmeggins

Also worth considering the Japanese take on Les Pauls.  Tokai, Burns, Edwards etc.  A lot of people, myself included, have been converted.  You will get more guitar for less money.  I had a 2006 Gibson Standard before, and it was okay.  I now have a mid-high end Tokai for less than Gibson Standard money and it is amazing.