Guitar Packages

I lost my Gibson guitar in a house fire aproximately 13 years ago. The Gibson was a 1969 arch top acoustic guitar. I missed playing and decided to buy another. I am quite musicly inclined and I am a brass player. I purchased a Fender DG-8S at a local music store in St. Peters missouri. The sring tech helped me select this model over a few cheaper ones. Price 199.00 This after I searched around and found that it was well worth the money. It was set up and checked out ready to go when I left the store by the techs. Great sound and good action. Smaller neck on the finger board that will fit my bear paw of a hand. superior face that will outlast the others. I would have liked to pay less? No hard case. I am still living in the 70's where they all came with a fiber cardboard type case. I did not like the strap that it has in the pack. A little small for an adult I thought. Solid construction and bracing. rosewood finger board not some painted surface. Nice resonating sound. Very rich sound. I do think the action is every bit as good as I need in an acoustic. Great value. I could have bought on line and got it a bit cheaper but I would suggest like owning a good car, you need a go to guy and the location has one. This will last and be past on to others and still hold up well. My gibson lasted close to 25 years and sounded better at the end then in the begging. Good guitars made of quality wood just get better with age. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Saw it in a shop window, just had to have one. AUS$349 - discounted 30%. Novelty and overall build quality/presentation. Still reading/learning how to tune it for the best results - includes perhaps putting on much heavier gauge strings... Construction and build quality are excellent. Comes with a stap, chord, 'gig case', and even a 9-volt battery. Yes - "batteries are included". Ready to go out of the box (nice touch). I saw this thing in a shop and I just had to buy one. I think the concept and build quality are excellent. As for playability - well let's just say it's a steep learning curve. I guess the hardest thing so far is to get the lil b*stard of a thing to stay in tune. I just assumed you tune it like a normal guitar, but from what I'm reading around the traps it sounds like you need to tune it up several semi-tones/tones. Kinda makes sense when you think about it really - the whole thing is about half-scale, so to use 'normal' guitar strings it seems quite logical that the overall string tension is going to be relatively low. And considering the overall small build style of guitar, any stress you put on the fretboard/strings/neck is going to be amplified a lot more than on a standard full-sized electric axe. Pitch bends are achieved by quite minimal bending of the strings - I'd say down to about a third as much as what you'd use on a Strat for example. It takes a whole new feel to get this lil baby to sound right. The secret is to appreciate it for what it is and use a really light touch. Don't expect to be able to play full or fancy chords. In general, two-string power chords work ok, and light-touch lead riffs come up ok too. Just remember that it's a small instrument - probably more suited to a child's touch and hand-span than that of a chord-hammering adult. I've just come off belting the daylights out of a full-sized bass guitar, so I can immediately hear/feel that this thing requires a much more delicate style. I'm interested to see what effect of tuning it up from E-A-D-G-B-E sounds like. That of course means frying my brain trying to work out the various chord inversions to use in place of 'normal' chords. If you've ever used a capo to play harmonies against a 'standard' chord structure you'll get my drift. From what I've read so far, I guess I've been lucky enough to score one that has a fully adjustable bridge - string height and harmonics are totally adjustable. Neck action is also adjustable. But I'm not going to play with any of that just yet. I reckon that trying different tuning combinations and experimenting with playing style might just pay off. It's not rocket-science when you think about it. Mandolins and Ukele's are small instruments that can produce phenomenal sounds in the right hands. I'm sure the Pee Wee has got something to offer there as well. It's too early for me to really give constructive criticism yet - and I don't want to unnecessarily bag it until I've exhausted a few possibilities. I think the Pee Wee is one of those kinds of instruments that you have to learn to play from scratch all over again. And I'm sure there's going to be someone turn up on, say, YouTube, that sets this thing on fire. I'm positive that there's some great sounds to come out of it - only we have to find the key to unlock it's potential. It's a pretty bold and brave move to try and produce a workable guitar on this 'bonsai' scale. I don't think a 300-buck mini-guitar can be expected to do what it's 10-grand cousins can. It might flop, but then again it might just take off if someone like Clapton or Sambora et al play something definitive on it. Along the same lines as the child's piano in Neil Diamond's 'Shilo'. Wouldn't it be great to see a 'Hendrix' figure grab hold of one of these things and ring it's neck until it screamed pure colour...? This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Im in a cover band, play all types of music. I've been playing for roughly 4 years now but have been with many bands already, pro and garage bands. Country to Death Metal. My main guitar is a MIM Fender Strat with Seyour Duncans. I also have a Cort Strat, B.c. Rich Bonze Warlock, and an Alvarez Acoustic. Im going to pick up an Epiphone LP Custom too soon. I got this package from a Co-worker a few days ago, he needed the cash bad so I talked him down to 100 bucks, i got the guitar, amp, and a case, he had lost the tuner and the other little stuff. This pack usually goes for $279 bucks in the catalogs. He had bought it only about a month before i got it from him. So its in new condition. To be honest, im picky when it comes to guitars, and being i have a pro built fender, i dont like much about this guitar. But its not horrible. Just doesnt meet MY preferences. I would say for the price, i guess it has a decent neck, tuners seem to be alright. Pickups seem to sound ok. The amp is junk in my opinion, but very louder than i expected. But i also have a Behringer GMX 212 as my gigging amp. For begginers though, the amp is good enough. Overall, i would say this pack is good enough for begginers, or if you're strapped for cash and just want something to dink around on. This is alright for the price, but i would probably try Epiphone, its better stuff for the price. I dont like how cheap it feels compared to my Fender, but hey, thats why its a Squier, not a Fender. I think the electronics are probably the weak point of this guitar. But they will get ya by. The amp is loud, but not a "quality" loud. Its kind of grungy sounding, but maybe you'er into that sound. who knows? It seems to be built good. I would bring it on the road, but only as a backup. Decent for the price i guess. I wouldnt buy another one. I dont even know why i boght this one to be honest. Idk, good enough for a beginner. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Ive been playing for 2 years and i like slipknot music I got it at a local shop for $200 I didn't like much of it because each one looks different. Each one of these guitars look different. The cord was rubbish, it broke in 2 days so did the cheap straps.The picks were not very good.THe amp cannot give a good sound.The distortion sounded crap . The only good thing was the clean channel. the quality wasn't very good especially with the electric guitar. I think that this pack wasn't good at all. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this from a local guitar store for £99 second hand. I played practically every guitar in the shop and found this to be the best sounding, even up against £2000 Gibsons this, for the price, had the edge. It is made with a thin body and neck which means it is so easy to play, especially in the high register.What I particularly like is that you can hear all of the strings when you play a chord, not just a mess of sound. ALso, it has such a nice "sharp" sound. It really sounds good! The colour is not nice. It is "torino" red, which is fun but not the most professional look. But this is not much of a problem. The pickups are a little quiet. But I have a Fender 30 watt amp, so plugging it into input 2 makes it sound that bit better. The construction seems sound. I like the way it is thinner than other strats as I have said. I have had no problems with it - a solid guitar! A great guitar at unbelieveably great value! But I would definately recommend playing the one you are going to buy. I played another identical blue one in the shop and it didn't sound a patch on mine. Don't be so quick to ignore cheap guitars - might strike gold! This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought it off samedaymusic.com for 155 bucks or so. it was my first guitar, I wanted to learn electric, but I started off with this one. It came with a pitch pipe, 3 picks, a thin gig bag, strap and some strings. I upgraded to better strings, got a stand, and after losing one bridge pin outside(don't ask) I ordered new bridge pins. i like that it is my first guitar, and it has a deep sound when played. It also it very loud, with a good bassy sound. This guitar has extremely high action. I can only play for 5 minutes at a time. I have been playing for 15 months(electric and acoustic) and I have substantial caluses on my fingertips, but this guitar cuts right through them. I cannot barre on this guitar. I would take it in to get the action lowered, but frankly, I don't even know if it would be worth the money(40 bucks!) I play mostly my electric now, but i play my acoustic many times too. I bet that if I had bought this guitar in a music shop,(it was 50 bucks more expensive) its action would have been perfect. The acoustics in the shop had action as low as my electric! So I rather can't say. The guitar also buzzes somewhat on the bass strings. This guitar is made very well. I have banged it and dropped it (all accidental!) many times, and it barely has a mark on it, except fingerprints. All in all, it is a good first guitar, but I would buy it in a local music shop. The extra price is worth the low action they set it too. Other than that, this guitar was a good deal. I don't plan on upgrading it (i just keep entering contests on music123.com and musiciansfriend.com to win a new one! I know, i am such an optimist. :-) Hey, Vegas does that to you!) This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Epiphone PeeWee package is a great little rig for someone looking for a small and easy to carry around package that has the feel of a Les Paul, at least somewhat anyway. It's basically a half sized Les Paul copy that has the general shape of the bigger models, a 19 fret neck, standard sealed tuners, a wraparound style bridge and a single humbucker pickup wired to one volume control. It's pretty simple, but it's meant to be just a basic instrument for kids just starting or perhaps to take traveling or leave at the office. The half size scale is hard to get used to if you're of normal stature, but that's to be expected. The quality isn't bad, but the guitar does have some tuning issues, especially if you try to tune it down to concert pitch as opposed to up higher. The hardware is decent but not stellar, and the stock pickup really doesn't have any remarkable traits. It comes in a package with a basic little bag, a cable, other accessories and a basic little amp that, while simple, gets the job done. The pair of them work well for a starting rig for kids. I got mine when I was just learning to play at age 4 and it served me well until I got a big bigger and upgraded to a bigger guitar. If you don't mind the tuning issues or cheaper parts, it's not a bad little instrument pack and if you want something that looks like the real deal Les Paul, it's your best bet.

This is one of those combo packs aimed at children who want to learn how to play an instrument and don't have any clue where to start. This pack comes with a guitar, amp, strap, tuner, picks,and a cable. This is everything a kid needs to get jamming right away. Though all of these items are on the lower end it rally doesn't matter to a starter player just trying to explore their talents. Not a hard amp to get used to. It doesn't have that many control knobs to get in the way. The thing has two channels and in my opinion it should have some amp modeling or something else to go along with this thing. To me the clean are fantastic but the dirty channel is really thin brittle and everything a solid state amp sounds like. It has no character or soul in the tone and you ave to fight the thing to make a decent sound out of it. Fender Frontman 15R Guitar Combo Amp Features: Solid State Output 15 watts into 8 ohms 8" Fender Special Design Speaker Reverb Channels - Dual Selectable Channels (Normal and Drive) 3-Band EQ Headphone Jack Auxiliary Input for CD, Tape, or Drum Machine Closed Back Blackface Styling with Silver Grille Cloth Covering: Black Textured Vinyl with Silver Grille Cloth Weight: 15 lbs. Sunburst Stratocaster: * 25.5” Scale Length * Agathis Body * Maple Neck, C-Shape w/Polyurethane Finish * Rosewood Fingerboard, 9.5” Radius * 22 Medium Jumbo Frets * 3 Single-Coil Pickups * Master Volume, Tone 1 (Neck Pickup), Tone 2 (Middle Pickup) controls * 5-Position Blade Pickup Switch * Synchronous Tremolo Bridge * Standard Die-Cast Tuners * Chrome Hardware * 1-Ply White Pickguard * White Dot Position Inlays The guitar is not the custom build kind.This is about as basic as a setup as you can get.The tone is nothing special and at best sound terrible. But for the kid learning the instrument it makes no difference is the guys over in Corona put this together with precision and fine tuning. This is learner guitar and at this price you can't really ask for too much. You can pick up this starter pack for a little over $200. Not a bad price for getting your child into the electric guitar. If mom would have bought me this when I was younger maybe I would have not gotten such a late start playing the guitar. This is great deal for someon parent trying to get their kid rocking at a decent price.

This guitar would be better put to use as fire wood then actually playing. The pickups are very weak and brittle sounding. The combination of this guitar with the Fender amp that you get in the pack is just ear piecing bad. I completely understand that this is a starter pack for the uninformed, but for any experienced player putting their hands on this guitar will leave them scratching their head wondering who would want to continue to learn the guitar if they were giving this thing. Again I'll say this guitar is fine for someone exploring whether or not they want to play the electric guitar. In that case this is a fine guitar to try out. However, you may never want to play guitar again after playing this thing. Not a hard amp to get used to. It doesn't have that many control knobs to get in the way. The thing has two channels and in my opinion it should have some amp modeling or something else to go along with this thing. To me the clean are fantastic but the dirty channel is really thin brittle and everything a solid state amp sounds like. It has no character or soul in the tone and you ave to fight the thing to make a decent sound out of it. * Black Stratocaster: * 25.5” Scale Length * Agathis Body * Maple Neck, C-Shape w/Polyurethane Finish * Rosewood Fingerboard, 9.5” Radius * 22 Medium Jumbo Frets * 3 Single-Coil Pickups * Master Volume, Tone 1 (Neck Pickup), Tone 2 (Middle Pickup) controls * 5-Position Blade Pickup Switch * Synchronous Tremolo Bridge * Standard Die-Cast Tuners * Chrome Hardware * 1-Ply White Pickguard * White Dot Position Inlays This guitar comes with a standard Fender Stratocaster pickup setup with three individual single coil pickups. This one comes in a black paint finish that looks as cheap and it sounds. The guitar itself has a feel that doesn't appeal as an easy guitar or even a comfortable guitar. I am not sure what the price of these guitars are new. I can't imagine them being any more than $200 tops. These are basic beginners guitars. These things will sound like the feel and look....not good. These do not feel like a real Fender Stratocaster and if you have played a real American one then this is big let down. The best thing for you to do to maximize the value os to get this guitar in that pack thing where you get the amp and the tuner with the picks, strap, and gig bag. I would recommend this guitar to anyone other than a parent trying to get their kids interested in paying the guitar. You won't need to spend a whole lot and for the experiment of teaching kids is is a no brainer. If you want to get an electric guitar because you are moving away from the acoustic this is not going to be your thing. You will get easily frustrated.

After going to my first concert, I decided that I wanted to play guitar. My parents went out and bought me this package for Christmas. I’m a bit torn when it comes to reviewing this as there are two sides to this story. I guess I should start with the good stuff first. The Squier Affinity package is geared towards beginner guitarists who want to start playing the electric guitar. It comes with a guitar, a gig bag, a cable and even an amplifier. Everything is fairly bare bones, especially the amplifier. For the guitarist just starting out, this is a pretty good, complete package. Add a tuner, start practicing for hours a day and you’re guaranteed to excel. The main problem is that this guitar is really built poorly. When I got mine, they were being made in China. I’m not sure if they’re still MIC, but mine was a total piece of shit. The amplifier sounds like total garbage, and there’s absolutely no real tonal variety. The pickups are garbage, and the wood is some mystery “solid wood.” I think it’s agathis. I used this guitar for a few years before I decided I need to upgrade to something better. The bridge’s saddle height allen bolts stick out and cut your hand, the fret edges were awful, the neck joint had a huge gap and was just a poor guitar. Despite that, I practiced for hours and hours a day on this thing, not knowing any better. For a beginner guitarist, I really think you can do much better, but you also have to look at the age of the player. When I got this, I was about 13 years old, and most people who buy these don’t want to spend a ton on an instrument their child might or might not use. It’s hard for me to recommend it, but it’s also hard for me to totally dismiss it.

(Originally written by Chroune/translated from Audiofanzine FR) - How long have you been using it? I bought it secondhand in April 2008. Update, 15th March 2009: after one year, I had the need for a better guitar... - Which feature do you like the most / the least? Pros: very playable neck and good access to the upper frets. Cons: you want always more, no cons if you're a beginner! Update, 15th March 2009: average quality pickup, they sound too metallic and have a low dynamic range. After only one year I started having fret noise, even with new strings... - Did you try any other models before buying it? No, I got it at a nice price so I tested it and took it. - How would you rate its value for money? Good value for money if you buy it new (I found it secondhand). - Based on your experience, would you buy this product again? Secondhand, yes. If I had to buy it new, I would try out other guitars before. Update, 15th March 2009: I lower the grade from 9 to 7! It's a good guitar for beginners... But once you are more experienced and demanding you'll have to buy another guitar (I personally bought a Mexican 70's Strat...).