Which budget guitar should i buy

[Yasin]

Should i get a ibanez grg 121DX Gio WNF

Or

An epiphone Les Paul player pack

[Si600]

Do you have the option to try them both? Instrument quality can vary wildly between manufacturers and even from the same factory. 

You're better off actually trying them. I can say get the Ibanez over the Epiphone because I'm not a fan of the Les Paul shape but the one that you get *may* weigh too much and have sharp fret ends, at which point it's put you off playing it.

What's the budget out of curiosity, and do you have to get an amp and the rest out of that money?

[Dad3353]

Either of these two guitars will get you started with no issues. The Thomann site has sound clips from both; they sound very similar to my cloth ears; there's certainly no radical difference. They'll both play pretty much any style in the same manner. The real clincher will be, in my view, your own aesthetic tastes. I'm an Official Old Duffer, so would be more at ease with the more 'traditional' Les Paul shape; I doubt you'd have these same qualms concerning 'pointy' guitars, so it's totally up to you. The Epiphone pack has the slight advantage of being 'Plug'n'Play', in having absolutely everything required; the Ibanez would need an amp of sorts to get the best from her, and strap etc, so the budget climbs slightly (depending on choice of amp, of course...).
The Short Answer is: both are fine, so you choose, and be happy. Good luck on your journey. 

Edited July 10, 2020 by Dad3353

[ezbass]

I think buy which one you like the look of and will make you want to play it. Any shortcomings can be sorted out by a setup or hardware upgrade. Perhaps the Epi might hold its value better should you move it along, but I may be wrong there (it's certainly true of basses).

[Wuggis]

If you can I'd say go and try guitars in a shop. You may find what you like the look of doesn't actually feel that good in your hands.I'd like to suggest you try the humble Yamaha Pacifica as well. Quality control is usually very good from Yamaha.

They're very well made have nice slim comfortable necks. They are also fairly light and comfortable to play.

When I returned to playing 18months or so back I was determined to get a Les Paul style So i did.

A Harley Benton sc500 to be exact. And it looks great,sounds good, and is really very nice for what it cost.

And I hardly ever play it. It's heavy and really awkward to play sitting which is how I mainly play these days.

Then just before lockdown I saw a used Pacifica for next to nothing on schpock. I went to see it and came away with it.

I bought it to learn setting up guitars. But it just played so nicely that I got a but carried away tbh. And needed something to do whilst in lockdown

Custom paint/new pickups warman 12 gauge in the bridge and a cheap hotrail at the neck/new wiring(full size pots) the old ones were scratchy.

I did get the guitar for next to nothing but even with what I've spent it cost less than £100 .

It's now the guitar I pick up most. It's just easier to play and tbh now the best sounding one I own. Not bad for a 20 year old beater

I've gone off the track here a bit. But my point is the entry Pacifica is a really good for the price. And will take you along way down the road before you surpass it's capabilities.

[Rikki_Sixx]

Good shout from @Wuggis on the Pacifica. They're very well made, comfortable, good quality hardware and you can pick them up used for less than half the price of the Ibanez. In fact, that's exactly what I did.

After a lifetime of bass playing I wanted to dabble again with guitar. Instead of dropping a few hundred on something like I've done in the past, I got a used Pacifica which I still love. With what you save you can put a bit more towards an amp or some pedals.

Coming at it from another angle, it also lets you find out if you enjoy guitar at a safe cost. If you drop £60 and you're not into it then it's less of a big deal! 

If you're set on buying one of the very reasonably priced guitars in your original post, then absolutely go with what speaks to you more in terms of style. Which is cooler? They'll both be well put together and great quality. We're very spoiled with the quality of (many) affordable guitars these days!

[Skinnyman]

Twenty - or even ten - years ago, quality at the “budget” end could be very variable. With modern CNC cutting and improved QC it’s hard to buy a “bad” guitar nowadays. But you can still buy a guitar that doesn’t suit you which is why it’s important to try them to see what feels most comfortable.

The chances are that the guitars you’ve mentioned are put together in the same factory - in any event, there won’t be much to choose between them in terms of quality. 

And another vote for Yamaha as a good, well-made instrument that would also sit well on your shortlist.

Good luck whatever you get, have fun with it

[EdwardMarlowe]

Interestingly, watching eBay, the bottom end Harley Bentons don't seem to lose much at all on their purchase price when selling used. Maybe a lot of  folks want one, but want somebody else to set it up?

[Wuggis]

I actually see Harley Benton guitars going on eBay for as much or more than direct from thomann!

Baffles me every time I see it. I own the sc500 as I said above. And for the price you really can't knock them. The contoured heel on the single cuts (at least those with the set necks) is great.

I suppose the exchange rate has something to do with it. Here in the UK thomanns prices fluctuate quite a bit as the £'s value to the euro changes.

And from time to time they update the models but don't change the pictures on the website.

The budget end sg clones for example. The site still shows some of them as being basically sg shaped. When in fact the went to an offset viper style body shape a while back.

Kind of dissapointing to open something and find it different to what you ordered.

With eBay your seeing photos of the actual guitar. And I think your right buying used means some one else will probably sorted out the little niggles you may come across.

The nut on my sc500 was awful. And tuning stability was none existent. I was blaming the strings and when I went to change them the nut fell apart.

Don't get me wrong once it was replaced with a bone nut the thing is great. 

 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Wuggis
Additional comments

[EdwardMarlowe]

Good point on the body shapes. I'm very keen on their Dirty Mustard DC junior type, which I know is different than the "rela" shape, but you only notice it when they are side by side. It's subtle. I kinds fancy the SC version as well (gives me memories of Ray Davies' SC Melody Maker that he was playing when I saw him on later, and I think TFI Friday, back in the 90s), but I'm wary of the body shape. Thomann seem to photograph their guitars at an agle which suggests they're much closer the original than might be the case. Not that I mind a bit of variation - if I was gonig to buy an LP type, actually one of my fist ports of call to consider would be an LTD/ESP type, as they do some models which are very much "could have been made in the 50s", but that sharp lower horn immediately screams what they are. I really like that they are so claerly not trying to 'pass off' as a Gibby at first glanc,e yet they also don't look "wrong". Some 'close to' LP shapes just look all wrong - the blunted lower horn on the later Agiles when they were all the rage, for example, looks just.... off. I wish they would just do a 'full frontal' shot on the website and then it's clear.

The HB "Jazz" range looks really interesting - basically Gretsch styles. BE interesting to compare them to the 2xxx range Gretsches.

Nonetheles, it's going to be interesting to see how long the buzz lasts. HB seem to be the latest 'cheap guitar craze' - I wodner if they'll be replaced like all the others, or if they will be like Tokai and stick around? A good range of cheaper guitars is essential to keeping the instrument alive, imo. I remember back in Belfast my guitar shop guy used to say the reason drummers were thin on the ground was that even the most basic of quality kits was  four to five hundred, which in those days was enough to buy you a Mexican Fedner and and amp and a couple of pedals.... or not far off a used Les Paul (in late 90s Belfast, those used to sell all day for £600). Hek of al ot of kids who first asked about drums instead walked away with £150 worth of Squier and amp.

Funnily enough, nearly bid on eBay on the DC a couple of weeks ago, guy selling a nice lefty one, but when I looked close he'd replaced the p90 with a HB. Do not like HBs, and Will Not PLay.

Another affordable brand I have half an eye on is Slick Guitars. I really fancy one of the DC '59' models (bolt on maple neck, single p90, body the same shape as the symmetrical double cutaway Gibson Melody Makers). Greast reviews and write-ups, but as yet at least no left handers. I'd consdier converting and using a right angle jack if the socket was on the face, but fom experience having it on the edge is a pain in the bum.

[[email protected]]

On 10/07/2020 at 16:08, ezbass said:

I think buy which one you like the look of and will make you want to play it. Any shortcomings can be sorted out by a setup or hardware upgrade. Perhaps the Epi might hold its value better should you move it along, but I may be wrong there (it's certainly true of basses).

Well said ezbass it's never the tone of a guitar that has caught me when I  first walk un a shop its the looks 

[Wuggis]

On 20/08/2020 at 22:13, [email protected] said:

Well said ezbass it's never the tone of a guitar that has caught me when I  first walk un a shop its the looks 

Me too but it has cost me in the past. I remember in the early nineties seeing an explorer shape in a local guitar shop. An epiphone if memory serves.

I was still mainly a metal head back then an had to have it. The guy let me buy on a lay away plan. And every week when I got paid I'd go and pay a bit off on it. Play it for ten or fifteen minutes and he'd put it back in the store room.

A couple of months later it was paid off and I went and got it. And within a couple of days I knew I wasn't going to keep it

[[email protected]]

Ive never done that i always play before i buy even when I started out dan a freind of mine came wuth me to make sure i was bying somethung decent but i do still look at looks wheni walk in a shop and i sometimes get both a looker and a sounder or just a sounder but if i get just a sounder then ithas been known for the sander to come out and take it back to the bare wood and either a leave it natural or b paint it 

[ubit]

Why don't you build a guitar? I built a Strat out of bits from Ebay. I bought the electrics from KiOgon over on Basschat which includes Wilkinson pickups I painted the body myself and set it up myself. It sounds amazing and cost a lot less than even a Squire Strat. Im going to do a Les Paul next.

Edited August 7, 2021 by ubit

[EdwardMarlowe]

On 07/08/2021 at 08:43, ubit said:

Why don't you build a guitar? I built a Strat out of bits from Ebay. I bought the electrics from KiOgon over on Basschat which includes Wilkinson pickups I painted the body myself and set it up myself. It sounds amazing and cost a lot less than even a Squire Strat. Im going to do a Les Paul next.

Old thread, I wonder what OP bought in the end? 

This is a really nice looking Strat type you've built. Was the neck from a Fender, or did you just add a Fender decal? 21 frets, nice. 22 is not a deal breaker for me, but if I had my druthers, I'll take the original 21 every time, never much cared for the 'hanging' 22nd fret. Pickups look like they may well have started off in a Vintage. Daphne blue looks fab - did you do the relicing yourself? Really nice, light touch to it - looks 'real'. So easy to go OTT on a relic job, but this looks absolutely fab. 

[ezbass]

15 minutes ago, EdwardMarlowe said:

Old thread, I wonder what OP bought in the end? 

This is a really nice looking Strat type you've built. Was the neck from a Fender, or did you just add a Fender decal? 21 frets, nice. 22 is not a deal breaker for me, but if I had my druthers, I'll take the original 21 every time, never much cared for the 'hanging' 22nd fret. Pickups look like they may well have started off in a Vintage. Daphne blue looks fab - did you do the relicing yourself? Really nice, light touch to it - looks 'real'. So easy to go OTT on a relic job, but this looks absolutely fab. 

I’m guessing that the OP signed up to get some advice, found what they were looking for and moved on  

[EdwardMarlowe]

7 hours ago, ezbass said:

I’m guessing that the OP signed up to get some advice, found what they were looking for and moved on  

Quite likely. I've been a member of a clothes-related forum for nearly fifteen years now, and that does happen - in among a regular churn of members every few years. Like watching a village change over time - the people who only visit, those who move away after a few years, and on it goes... 

[Stub Mandrel]

Not wasted though, this thread got me to find this:

 

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_dc_60_junior_pelham_blue.htm

 

Now I have to find an excuse not to...

[EdwardMarlowe]

On 20/08/2021 at 17:12, Stub Mandrel said:

Not wasted though, this thread got me to find this:

 

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_dc_60_junior_pelham_blue.htm

 

Now I have to find an excuse not to...

Oh, indeed. I normally significantly prefer Gibson's earlier designs, but the SG just has something that bit more aggressive to its vibe, and in Junior form.... oh, my. Somehow I always seem to find that "Les Paul" sound in my head comes to me much more readily from an SG type (though I don't own an SG, at least not yet. That HB could be the scratch for that itch...). 

 

[adamg67]

I'm working on a Harley Benton Tele at the mo, for a guitarist I play bass with. He had noticed a few issues, even after someone else he knows smoothed off the fret ends for him and tried to set it up. He reckoned the intonation was out at the nut end, couldn't get the action down where he needed it and thought the sound was a bit muddy.

 

I haven't spent ages on it but the string height at the nut was much too high, at the first fret it was half a semitone out - sounded horrible. The neck won't go straight even with the truss rod slackened right off, so it will always have a bit too much relief in it, and there are definitely a few high spots on the frets. I'm going to do what I can with it for him for nothing but if you had to pay to get it sorted it's suddenly not such a cheap guitar.

 

Nicest guitar I have at the mo was also built from bits, some leftovers I had plus ebay bits. Made a slight boo-boo going for a hard tail Ibanez as bridges are hard to get, but it did mean I started with a £50 neck that plays like a dream (I actually bought 3, picked the nicest and returned what I didn't use, including a mint Gio neck that was going to take too much work on the frets). Definitely a good way to get value for money if you enjoy doing it and don't count the time spent as a cost. I'm almost certainly going to sell my USA PRS S2 in favour of the bits guitar.

[ubit]

On 19/08/2021 at 09:47, EdwardMarlowe said:

This is a really nice looking Strat type you've built. Was the neck from a Fender, or did you just add a Fender decal? 21 frets, nice. 22 is not a deal breaker for me, but if I had my druthers, I'll take the original 21 every time, never much cared for the 'hanging' 22nd fret. Pickups look like they may well have started off in a Vintage. Daphne blue looks fab - did you do the relicing yourself? Really nice, light touch to it - looks 'real'. So easy to go OTT on a relic job, but this looks absolutely fab. 

 

 

Thanks mate, sorry I haven't been on here for a while. The neck was just one I got from eBay. I put the decal on myself. I am never going to sell it as a Fender so wasn't bothered. The relic'ing I did myself and I didn't want to over do it, So as you say just a light touch. I bought the pick ups from KiOgon over on Basschat who does a great service if you are looking for any electrical hardware.

Edited September 7, 2021 by ubit

[EdwardMarlowe]

20 hours ago, ubit said:

 

 

Thanks mate, sorry I haven't been on here for a while. The neck was just one I got from eBay. I put the decal on myself. I am never going to sell it as a Fender so wasn't bothered. The relic'ing I did myself and I didn't want to over do it, So as you say just a light touch. I bought the pick ups from KiOgon over on Basschat who does a great service if you are looking for any electrical hardware.

Very cool. If I were to put together a frankenstrat I might go a similar route. I'm quite tempted, though, to badge up a neck with what looks like a 57-era Fender labelling, til you look close and it actually says something like "Edward Marlowecaster".

[ubit]

I have decided to build a Les Paul now. I bought a body from eBay but stupidly didn't double check the pictures and it has come without the pick up holes routed out or the inside tunnelling for the wiring. I have a router but having to buy templates and stuff kind of put me off so I have shelved that one for the time being and I bought a kit from Amazon. In my defence the same companies other bodies had the pick up holes routed. I just bought the wrong one.

I have ordered a set of Wilkinson humbuckers from Amazon. The kit is purely to get a body and neck and I will replace all the hardware with better quality as I want and I will get a wiring loom from KiOgon.

[ezbass]

3 hours ago, ubit said:

I have decided to build a Les Paul now. I bought a body from eBay but stupidly didn't double check the pictures and it has come without the pick up holes routed out or the inside tunnelling for the wiring. I have a router but having to buy templates and stuff kind of put me off so I have shelved that one for the time being and I bought a kit from Amazon. In my defence the same companies other bodies had the pick up holes routed. I just bought the wrong one.

I have ordered a set of Wilkinson humbuckers from Amazon. The kit is purely to get a body and neck and I will replace all the hardware with better quality as I want and I will get a wiring loom from KiOgon.

Return it and swap for the one you actually wanted?

[Si600]

Oi! The Build Diaries section is there for a reason.

 

 

Just sayin'

Edited September 12, 2021 by Si600