Cheap Electric Guitars

Here you can learn about cheap left handed electric guitars or cheap electric guitars, places to purchase them and all else related. Normally nothing comes cheap without a little (or not that little) catch. However, once one equipped with the sufficient knowledge of the subject, it becomes much more realistic to actually find an inexpensive electric guitar without regretting wasting money later on and becoming an epitome of "cheap pays twice".  

Things to avoid absolutely and to give no consideration at all would be any off brand electric guitar for a less then a $100. Those can be usually seen at places like Wal-Mart and packaged as the "beginner's ideal kit" or some such. I do not know if those things even were made by humans and with what purpose in mind, but it was not a guitar playing or even music. 

To make a long story short, one of that a kind of "cheap electric guitars", most likely will be incapable of to be tuned out of the box, which completely defeats the purpose of having a guitar in the first place and you will end up using it as a hat/coat hanger and the amp that comes with it will be successfully utilized as stand for your beer and ashtray. I kid you not.  Those products can be purchased for much better price (hangers and stands, that is).  

Now, when we got that option out of our way, let's get down to some real deal business. 

Surprisingly, "beginner's ideal kits" made by the major guitar manufacturers, as opposed to the above are actually very decent products, despite of being priced just anywhere between ~ $100 and $150.  And that goes for both guitar and an accompanying amp. Particularly, Ibanez I was impressed with.  However, any major brand normally does a good job in that respect, as well. Look for brands like Yamaha, Fender, Gibson, Epiphone and Laguna first. There are many others, but the above mentioned seem to excel in manufacturing good quality, cheap electric guitars that also come with a decent amp.  

For example, the cheapest Ibanez with an amp I purchased, cost me less (~$120) then a stand alone Schecter (~$150) and the Ibanez turned out to be a better guitar! So you get a better guitar, a very decent amp to practice at home or even to rehearse with your band and you pay less! As a note, Schecter guitars can be very good, but normally for ~$200 and above.  

It's just you get consistently good products, even when cheap from guys like Ibanez, Fender, Gibson, and Yamaha. It probably has something to do with their quality control lines, since they had a plenty of time to establish themselves over the decades. 

On the other hand, there are new guitar companies, like Laguna, that might surprise you with a low price combined with the great quality/qualities. Since they are so new on the market, they try to pay real good attention to establish and maintain high quality standards, even when it comes to their cheap electric guitars. They are very well built, the wood is great, they are equipped with decent pick ups, capable of versatile tones and just great looking guitars. They also are "green" and claim to plant a new tree every time you buy their guitar, which is a nice thought. So that is that, as far as "beginner's ideal kits". 

There are many other great brands that offer a stand alone cheap electric guitars (without an amp). 

Some of them to consider are: Jackson, Kramer, Paul Reed Smith (PRS) Guitars, ESP, Dean, B.C.Rich, Washburn. These are, normally, a bit higher priced then the models from the manufacturers I mentioned earlier though. 

My personal advice is to stick with Ibanez or Laguna, at least for starters, especially if the budget is tight. The chances are very high that you will be very happy with any of those two, no matter how cheap they are. As far as where to buy, it's always much better to shop at the physical store vs. on-line, since that way you will be able to see, touch and even play the instrument before you part with your hard-earned money. 

There are great chain outlets like, Guitar Center as well as many smaller guitar shops, where you can also get a bargain, since often you can speak to the shop's owner directly. 

Shopping on line, however, is also an acceptable option, but in that case you going to have to rely heavily on:

1. The knowledge/understanding of the guitar specifications 

2. Customers reviews (more is better) 

3. Your own intuition 

The places on-line I personally trust and recommend shopping at are: 

1. www.musiciansfriend.com 

2. www.sweetwater.com 

And then, there are always places like www.ebay.com, www.amazon.com, www.craigslist.org and so on. It's more risky, but occasionally you can get a real good deal too.  

Wish you good luck and creative success! 

 Regards,

 The Left Handed Electric Guitar Team

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