Beginner electric guitars & accessories that make you want to play

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When it comes to guitars I can't pretend I am an expert anymore than the next guy, but I have been playing for 25 years so I have learned a few things & know what beginners like to hear and see. My first guitar is one I'll never sell, a 1990s Mexican Fender Strat. It's on my wall rack and at least 50% of the time if I have something I am trying to figure out I will grab it. It's like the comfort option and it is extremely versatile. After that came a few Les Pauls, a few Ibanez options including a Jem etc. But that is a lot of intro, let me see if I can't save you some time and money with my prior mistakes with a little bit of a distilled list.

My top 2 picks are extremely high value for money and from sort of opposite ends of the style and sound spectrum. Either is an awesome choice for a heavy hitter guitar that will last lifetimes and cover both single coil strat tones, or humbucking heavier tones.

All sub $1000 options for this list

1 - Yamaha Revstar Standard (Japanese made)

While I personally love tons about a Les Paul and have owned several for comparison, this #Yamaha has the benefits of the solid body construction and humbuckers with the modern body contours so you don't have a sharp edge digging into your ribs all the time. (minor annoyance I know) In my experience with #Japanesemade instruments I could not be more impressed. The build quality, feel and finish are just always incredible and at this price point this thing is nuts.

2 - Fender Stratocaster - Mexico

These are still as awesome as ever, come in a bunch of color options, and in my opinion are one of the best value options. (value does not mean cheap, and it does mean a lot of guitar for the money) Fit and finish is excellent, and there has historically been a lot of shared training and finishing details shared between these and the American made versions . So in terms of buying a brand new guitar I see this as one of the best options under $1000.

3 - Ibanez RG450

If you are looking for an entry level that will be well made and look the part of something a little more high speed and hardcore this is a good option. #Ibanez always does a great job with any of their guitars and this has all the cool gadgets like a #floydrose & nice thin neck that you want for a more #shreddy style.

Honorable mention to the Epiphone Les Paul Custom

This thing looks awesome, and while I do not have first hand experience I do know that these are a significant step up from some Epiphones in the last 10-20 years. They use Gibson 490/498 Humbuckers and are finished very very well. (This is a bit more expensive than the #Yamaharevstar and I personally would pick the Yamaha even though the classic styling on the #Epiphone is excellent)

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Quality of life improvements

Both of these things significantly increased the amount of time I spent and wanted to spend playing around with guitar and I attribute these sorts of things to improving my playing a lot because of it. I mean who wants to play with a setup that either doesn't sound good or is unable to play loud enough? When you find that right tone and can crank it with high quality headphones you will play for hours. Trust me.

Another quick note, I personally really like using a headphone / headphone mixer setup since it is not exactly feasible to rip a tube amp at 1am when you randomly feel like playing. Some of my quick last minute recommendations for this would be -

Sony MDR Professional Headphones

My dad bought a pair of these in the early 90s and they still work and sound awesome. They have great features and easily replaceable ear cups.

Mooer GE100 Multi Effects pedal

I have an older version of this model and I love it. I use it for tuning and recording little #licks, #riffs and tunes I have been trying to get out of my head and not lose. Recording is one of my favorite features and playing back with the loop feature is awesome and a great way to learn playing with a rhythm. This particular model has 80 presets, and 66 effects. You can play around with all of this and find a huge variety of #guitartones and be comfortable doing it any time night or day with headphones. A bit easier to lug this setup around than a 75 pound amp and a bunch of effects pedals... but both are great

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