Need help for 15 yr olds first guitar purchase.

[TheRoland]

Over to the hive mind. What’s the best way to shop for a decent first instrument? I’m wanting her to stay away from the cheapo entry level BS and purchase a by-God instrument.

We're in a golden age of cheapo entry level BS, where the worst Chinese knock-off is as good as a mid-range guitar of twenty years ago. It's really hard to make a mistake these days as long as you can put hands on the instrument before buying it.

For $1000, if it were me, I'd buy whatever guitar she liked for $500 and get the nicest practice amp I could find with the rest (although your post implies you already have one).

[Bucky]

Just like guns, there is a feel to guitar and how it fits. There are (very generally) two different scale's / sizes. Then you have fret width, angle / strings to body, etc. As other's mentioned, first try them out and determine the type (Strat, SG, ETC). Going from a Les Paul to a Strat is very different in feel. Also, consider weight. playing a Les Paul from a standing position for 2 hours these days would take a toll on my back. Hopefully you daughter doesn't have back problems at her age, but if she is small in stature, that could also come into play. Oh, and "test drive" the guitar in the manner she will be playing it. In other words, if she is going to play standing up, that's how you need to try it.

Admittedly, my last purchase was 10 years ago, so I haven't kept up with brands and their quality, but first figure the type, then shop brands. In other words, if you like the Stat, it doesn't have to be from Fender.

[HeavyDuty]

I’m a bass player, but I have guitars too. A higher end Epi SG would be an excellent choice. Just be aware they make them to all different price points, even down to ones having a bolt neck (an abomination before man and Angus.) The SG Prophecy mentioned upstream is where I would be looking.

If you can find a good one at the local stores, perfect. If she sees them there but not exactly what she wants, I’ve had repeated good luck with Sweetwater.

I wish I could see her eyes the first time she realizes you can do neck bends on a SG… lol.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...ger-aged-gloss

[Lex Luthier]

I have a few minutes, and a lot of thoughts...

(Puts professional guitar builder/multi-decade repairman hat on, also the goofy magnifying goggles)

The SG is an excellent, versatile guitar design with a few soft spots.
The neck-to-body joint has been a weak spot here because of the small mortise hanging way out there with little support against string tension
(as it is for the Flying V, early Les Paul Specials, and a couple of others). The earlier design SGs and their reproductions -Epiphone calls these 60s models and you can identify them by the small bit of pickguard between the neck pickup ring and the end of the fingerboard- are more susceptible to this. The neck also sits farther out from the body by approx 3/4" and changes the balance toward the headstock end. These are generally prone to the flexing to which @HeavyDuty alluded.

The current (since 1973) SGs have the neck mounted deeper in the body; they balance better on a strap, and the neck is closer to the player, making first position chords easier to reach for smaller players. The modern SGs have a bigger gluing surface at the joint and suffer far fewer problems.
The older Epiphone G-400s from the late 90s-mid 2000s are often really good guitars that just need better electronics, fret refinement, and maybe bridge swaps to work on a pro level. These were made in Korea using good wood supplies and modern humidity control. The current China made ones are far better than the ones from 2005-10.
For decades, the Japanese-made Epiphone Elitist SG models were as good or better than the US made Gibsons. If she can find a good used one, they are a lifetime guitar, no excuses. They were and are an excellent choice.
I cannot speak to the current Epiphone line, but I know they are making strides. The electronics arrangement on the Prophecy models is intriguing, but it might be a bit limiting if she eventually wants the simplicity of two humbuckers, two volume & tone controls, and a selector switch.

The weak point of all the Epi SGs I have encountered is that they utilize a scarf joint to attach the peghead to the neck shaft under the 2nd/third fret, and there have been glue failures resulting in separations and odd fingerboard humps. Other repair folks have dealt with many more than I have, and there are known fixes, but it's still something to look out for when evaluating the individual instruments.
On the plus side, this is a far stronger design than the original Gibson peghead joint(that Gibson still uses on it's domestic guitars) , and is much less susceptible to catastrophic removal if it falls off a stand.

Gibson electrics use a 24.75" scale that has a little less string tension than Fender's 25.5" scale for Telecasters and Stratocasters; it makes for a slightly easier to play guitar for many.

You probably know the drill:
Play the guitar- whichever one rings best unplugged and most evenly up the neck is your best candidate. Then consider fret condition and whether it needs repairs or mods right out of the gate.

For new instruments, I second the recommendation for Sweetwater. Their setup techs are among the best in the industry for any mail order retailer.
The GC recommendation is a good one, too. @Duelist has a good point, since they will ship store to store for free. You might want to get his kid's contact info.

Go ahead and ping me via PM if you want a deeper dive...

(ETA) Here's one I'd be on the phone about now if I were in the market.

https://reverb.com/item/56559029-epi...e-pickups-case

[Totem Polar]

As expected, @Lex Luthier knocks it out of the park with the info dump.

[TOTS]

Guys, I greatly appreciate all the interest you are showing. I’m letting her read all your comments. So many of your points to address! She’s not committed to any specifics yet but is smaller in stature and likes the thinner feeling necks. She obviously has good tastes as the only ones she says feels good are the $800-$2K models!! Appreciate all the info about construction, etc. Not looking for a heirloom or grail guitar, just a solid first purchase that she’s not going to regret buying if she continues to a musical career or decides to stop playing only to pick it back up after a decade and a half like me. Right now, she’s learning theory and beginning to transition smoothly from chord to chord and consistently get a solid sound out of barre chords. We’re both pretty much beginners (I’m actually a drummer) Neither of us are at the point where we can understand the nuances of one pickup over another.

The $1000 wasn’t a budget, that was just an example of her discipline and tenacity. I was pretty proud as how many teens today would develop a vision, get counsel about it, make a plan, and then follow through with the execution. Hell, I’m just happy she’s included me in her life as a teenage girl.

Thank you for the recommendations and websites; that’s exactly what I came to you for. I’d definitely like to buy used but don’t know enough to avoid buying a problem.

I bought her an Amazon modeler that she can play into headphones or out via aux jack. I’m an audio nerd and have a pretty robust Marantz/ Paradigm stereo setup that we’re using for sound. I bought a Fender Mustang LT25 practice amp for her but haven’t given it to her yet.
https://www.fender.com/en-US/guitar-...311100000.html

Shes using the school’s house setup/PA/pedals, etc, and we’ll cross all those bridges when we can actually play the instrument. The whole Indian and arrow thing again!!!

[TheRoland]

I bought her an Amazon modeler that she can play into headphones or out via aux jack. I’m an audio nerd and have a pretty robust Marantz/ Paradigm stereo setup that we’re using for sound. I bought a Fender Mustang LT25 practice amp for her but haven’t given it to her yet.
https://www.fender.com/en-US/guitar-...311100000.html

Something to be aware of is that most people think modelers+speakers and modeler+headphones feels different than a guitar amp, and that can effect inspiration/motivation for beginners.

I use a modeler when I need to put a guitar part in a mix, but getting it so it's as much fun as an amp in the room is a lot of work for me. But perceptions vary.

[Duke]

There’s a super legit 2022 USA Paul reed Smith McCarty 594 for sale here.

I know the guy.

🥸

Just saying.

[okie john]

I'm totally willing to be shut down on this, but have a good tech double-check everything and set it up properly so it plays in tune up the neck.

It's a lot like zeroing a firearm.


Okie John

[Elwin]

I'm totally willing to be shut down on this, but have a good tech double-check everything and set it up properly so it plays in tune up the neck.

It's a lot like zeroing a firearm.


Okie John

That's totally a thing, especially if you don't know how to do it. She should eventually learn of course, but that's something to worry about after getting some more experience knowing what "right" feels and sounds like. I'd definitely plan on having the purchased guitar set up by a pro for the string gauge and tuning she's going to be using.

Edit because this made me think of something. If you're looking to perhaps spend less than the $1,000 and if you're doing a setup anyway, I'd strongly consider a PRS SE of whatever price you settle on, then having a tech set it up, and while they're at it replace the plastic nut with a Graphtec. That's the only weak spot with those guitars (causes string binding and therefore tuning stability issues), and a tech can easily take care of it. This is the route I was going to go for getting back into playing (though I planned to do the work myself) until I stumbled on a locally available Dean MD24 Select that was a good price and worked out of the box for my tastes (which include metal genres and a preference for very hot passive pickups).

PRS also splits the difference between the Gibson 24.75 scale and the Fender 25.5 at 25.00.