Agile, Glarry, Grote, Harley Benton... any other inexpensive but quality brands?

[jageya]

squier 51- its all you need

 

[erobillard]

S-type? Forget those question mark brands and get him a Yamaha Pacifica. It’s the best bang for the buck guitar, period. They sell cheap on the used market.

1000%. My daughter was interested in playing for ten minutes when Freaky Friday was remade. Found her a Pacifica for under $150CAD, it looked great, stayed in tune, was well-built, and sounded great too. When she moved on to other things and let it go, it held its value, though I nearly kept it for myself. A solid choice.

-e.

 

[BrazHog]

You know what I find odd? Many guitarists (especially on YT) tout these cheapies and end up buying like 40 of them in differing colors or along some other glitzy line. They could have bought one or two of the best American made guitars but did not. What does that say about the guitar buying public today? YOU ANSWER THAT QUESTION. You already know my answer.

Yes, I remember back in the days of the Harmony Central forum (RIP) when some forum members would buy one of each model from the Rondo website. To each their own, but if the guitar is good, cheap or not, I'd say just buy one guitar, play it, and get to know it. Maybe two, if you think having a backup will be useful.

But a bunch of guitars, I mean, unless you are a bona fide studio musician, why bother. And in that case, you are not going to satisfy the neuroses of the producer by showing up with a Xaviere. Those guys are going to shriek that you must have to have a multi-thousand dollars Ric or USA Fender P or whatever they imagine they need for their track.

My opinion, of course...

 

[bgmacaw]

You know what I find odd? Many guitarists (especially on YT) tout these cheapies and end up buying like 40 of them in differing colors or along some other glitzy line. They could have bought one or two of the best American made guitars but did not.

Because I'm not going to spend $1000+ on a guitar just to modify and experiment with it. Instead, I'm going to buy a new or used cheap guitar, a kit or build a partscaster, like these...

 

[Loaded Goat]

Monoprice/Indio

 

[Brad_1]

I'm helping my brother find an inexpensive guitar to get back into playing after a number of years away from the instrument. He doesn't have a lot of cash but doesn't want a piece of junk. Budget is between $200 and $300 shipped, and body style doesn't really matter though he's most familiar with S type guitars.

Any brands that I missed? Thanks!

I have been buying fender clones for the last couple of years. I've bought Squire Bullets in both Strats and Tele's. I have a Glary Strat copy I've modded some and like. Just bought a Monoprice Indio Strat, that is really nice out of the box. Intonation, fret job and set up is ready to play. For a 99.00 guitar, it's darn hard to beat.Same with the Indio Tele clone. My favorite clone guitar is my Harley Benton 70 RW Tele. The squires are good for the money, but imo don't stack up to the HB. I think I paid 220.00 to the door. Took a while to get it though with this BS Virus thing hovering over us.

 

[kodiakblair]

@bender66

Congrats on the Inyen Vina SG.

That's a company which turns out great product. A whole lot of ESP and Peaveys were built by IYV.

 

[DougM]

Firefly gets a lot of love for their LP and 335 styles.
https://www.guitarsgarden.com/collections/fflp-electric-guitars

 

[Bloozcat]

Yes, I remember back in the days of the Harmony Central forum (RIP) when some forum members would buy one of each model from the Rondo website. To each their own, but if the guitar is good, cheap or not, I'd say just buy one guitar, play it, and get to know it. Maybe two, if you think having a backup will be useful.

But a bunch of guitars, I mean, unless you are a bona fide studio musician, why bother. And in that case, you are not going to satisfy the neuroses of the producer by showing up with a Xaviere. Those guys are going to shriek that you must have to have a multi-thousand dollars Ric or USA Fender P or whatever they imagine they need for their track.

My opinion, of course...

It's the nature of addiction!

 

[Bloozcat]

Another line of guitars to check out:
(link removed)

A little at the higher end of the bargain guitars, but the Wolfs are truly beautiful instruments that are set up by All in One Guitars before they're shipped to you. There's a guy who goes by the name of Guitar Max on YouTube that's done reviews on a couple of their guitars. Of course Max could make a broom stick with strings sound good...I'm just sayin...

 

[Bloozcat]

Wolf 750T...made in Korea.

 

[bender66]

@bender66

Congrats on the Inyen Vina SG.

That's a company which turns out great product. A whole lot of ESP and Peaveys were built by IYV.

They got a 335 thing with P90's now too!

 

[user34603]

I'm helping my brother find an inexpensive guitar to get back into playing after a number of years away from the instrument. He doesn't have a lot of cash but doesn't want a piece of junk. Budget is between $200 and $300 shipped, and body style doesn't really matter though he's most familiar with S type guitars.

Any brands that I missed? Thanks!

Monoprice Indio is better quality than Glarry and APPARENTLY better than THAN Grote

 

[user34603]

S-type? Forget those question mark brands and get him a Yamaha Pacifica. It’s the best bang for the buck guitar, period. They sell cheap on the used market.

yes; and a Yamaha one that is killer and very cheap is called EG303 or Eterna ... they sold cheap even new and I find them on shopgoodwill.com with pics and ship cheap, too!

 

[1 21 gigawatts]

I like used, cheap guitars for a few reasons:

1. I like projects. I enjoy taking them apart, figuring out what needs fixing, upgrading a few parts, and making them better. Cheap guitars are perfect to learn luthier skills on (i.e. make your expensive mistakes on cheap guitars).

2. As a beginner, I don't feel like I can justify an expensive guitar. I don't want to be that guy with $10k worth of equipment and $10 worth of talent.

3. As a beginner, you don't know what you don't know. My current collection consists of mostly used Squires and Epiphones. My goal is to get a decent example of what I consider the essential classic guitars (LP, LPJ, SG, Strat, Tele, Super Strat). This way, I learn what I like and dislike about each model. By the time my skill level can justify a "nice" guitar, I'll know that I am making an informed decision.


I've spent about $900 on the six guitars in my collection. With that budget, I could have gone out and purchased a Fender Strat as my first guitar. While it would be nicer than anything in my current collection, I wouldn't have ever learned that three single coils is my least favorite configuration (or gained the experience of doing three fret jobs, fitting four nuts, refinishing two bodies, soldering pots/switches, etc.). Sure I could have tried out a bunch of styles of guitars in a store before making a decision, but that isn't enough time to figure it out. As an example, the first time that I played an SG in a store, I hated it; the neck felt like it was four feet long. The SG is currently my favorite guitar. Point is, you don't learn these things without spending quality time with the guitars.

 

[doblander]

Truthfully, never mind the brand. The guitar you are looking for is ANY budget guitar with a straight neck. The more obscure the name the greater the potential. I have found that China does NOT make any crap guitars.if you can file your fingernails you can file fret ends And level frets. YOU can make an Acme or an Xyz exactly as easy playable as any $2,000 guitar. A cheap used modelling amp and a that Xyz 2nd hand guitar offer a very pleasing transition to a lifetime of music! Headstock ink does NOT influence beginner guitar potential!!

 

[11 Gauge]

Yeah, I read that recent thread about SX guitars. They're definitely on the radar - thanks for the reminder.

While I will also admit that the SX guitars can be lacking with some attributes out of the box, I love that the neck on my SX Hawk is much chunkier and more substantial than what I've found with most other budget stuff.

This is possibly the singular thing that I dislike about many budget guitars - many have very shallow or thin necks. I understand that beginners or younger players will potentially at least initially be less stifled if the neck is thin, but if someone ends up playing for long periods of time, and they're playing more rhythm and chords maybe up to primarily not much beyond the 10th fret or so, then a chunkier neck can potentially eliminate a bit of fatigue in the fretting hand.

Anyway, the SX Hawk neck that I have isn't as fat as my MIM 50's Tele, but it's actually not too far off. And unlike that Tele, the Hawk's fretwire is bigger, and it's got a 12" radius. I think the combination of those three attributes makes it just a really great neck for a potentially large percentage of players.

 

[MusicBill]

Check out AIO or Wolf guitars , really nice guitars and the price is pretty good. You can also check out the good will site, you may stumble across a sweet guitar at a great price. Good luck. also try reverb.

 

[Charlodius]

If you want a LP type it’s hard to beat a used Agile. If you want a fender type it’s hard to beat a used classic vibe. If you want a hollow body, it’s hard to beat a used Ibanez Artcore. For a LPJ, I’m jonesing for the Harley Benton right now.

 

[fatboris1]

After watching this review I have almost pulled the trigger several times on it...just cause. $250 with a gig bag. He has a lot of reviews of cheap guitars on his channel and breaks down on bios quality.



....but if he can find a Yamaha, I’d agree