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About 3 years ago I picked up a Mania brand neck through telecaster copy with Seymour Duncan pickups in at PMT Music car boot sale. I had never heard of the brand but it was cheap and I use it for practice at home. I haven't though been able to find anything about this guitar brand on line and wondered if anyone knows who makes them and where I can find information about this one. It doesn't sound like it's a high end instrument and the hardware doesn't look expensive so I imagine it is a budget brand. Thanks in advance

Course, the easy answer to SG neck dive if it happens is just to add a Bigsby, which also has the bonus of adding about a million cool points to any guitar, really...

With their three price band rtanges, Gretsch are now playing a blinder. I've never had a Gretsch because of the megabucks cost of the Pro range, but the 5xxx Electromatic ones are really very nice indeed now - and, like Fender, Gretsch themselves show them enough respect not to push them as 'cheapos'. Even the 2xxx Streamliners aren't so bad - if i was looking for one I knew I wanted to rewire / fit with new pups and whatever, basis for ap rojec,t one of those could be the birdy. I'm currently GASing badly myself for the LE lefty G5240 in blue with the trem..... My number one next purchase was going to be a Player Strat, but I think this has jumped it in the queue..... Course, they'll likely not be around any more by the time I sell off a load of gear to afford it, but....

Yeah, I'd second that, actually. If I've gone into guitar shops to try an amp or pedal, I usually grab an Epi SG off the wall as it's the closest thing they have - so I've tried a few! - but it's never made me feel like I was missing out with my VS6. (If anything, I've come away thinking it played better than some of them...)

Rich Lasner designed the Pacifica 1412 and 1421 guitars which are boutique level quality (and sadly now, fetch boutique level prices). It's not possible to generalise about Pacifica models, they span the full range of price points. But yes, they're all well made. I like Yamaha guitars a lot.

These days almost all of the entry level instruments are good, maybe not brilliant but certainly much, much better than they were in the days of old. Get out and try a few, find one that feels right to you. The best thing you can then do, is have it properly set up, whether you do it yourself or pay a tech, honestly it will make the learning experience easier and more of a pleasure.

Yeah, I suppose, there's one way to find out, and nothing to loose if I'm polite. Thanks, Andrew!

Thanks both. I checked out Richard's Guitars earlier today, and realised that his shop is only about 20 mins from where we live! Caught up with Richard on chat on his website, and he offered some great advice, no hard sell at all, and the offer to come in and try some guitars out. He even told me to let him know in advance which guitar(s) my daughter is interested in, and he'll ensure they've been properly setup, all without any obligation to buy. Great service, so we'll definitely buy from him when daughter makes her mind up which she's after.

[Pedantry] Eco-friendly is not the same as biodegradable. Eco-friendly is to do with sustainability and minimising environmental impact. Biodegradable is to do with the breakdown of organic matter. Depending on the manufacturing process the guitar may or may not be biodegradable. Doesn’t stop it being eco-friendly though as long as the bamboo is obtained from a sustainable source. [/Pedantry] ETA: The bamboo construction doesn't automatically make it a bad guitar. If you go to YouTube and type 'bamboo guitar' into the engine you get quite a selection of interesting-looking guitars made partially (or even completely) from bamboo.

It's definitely more pronounced on the bass version! I've never found it to be a deal-breaker myself, though friends who've borrowed an SG for a gig in place of their normal Strat or Les Paul have commented on it. I'm sure the degree to which it bothers a player will depend on their playing style.

I've heard this mentality from some Strat and LP players - the notion that the Tele and SG were "supposed to be cheaper, mass-produced guitars," and that there's no point in investing in the expensive, high-end American versions, you may as well save your pennies and get the MiM / Epiphone versions. Granted, the SG is a far simpler construction than a properly chambered, curved-top Les Paul, but I still think it's a thing of beauty in its own right. Yes, it's got that rough-and-readiness about it through association with groups like The Who and AC/DC, and indeed some punk bands, but it's worth remembering that Cream-era Clapton and Santana's early work showed how they could really sing.