Any Squier is a good first guitar. That is Paul's answer. This page is the longer version: the guitars under $300 that are on our wall in Glens Falls right now, what each one is, what a setup does for a guitar at this price, and when it is worth going past $300.
Which guitars under $300 do we actually stock?
These are new, in the shop today, and every one is a Squier or a Fender. Prices are what they cost here. Stock changes, so the live list is under beginner guitars.
Electric
Squier Sonic Stratocaster HT, $249.99. The Strat with no tremolo. HT means hardtail, so it stays in tune and there are no springs to balance. Three single-coils, a five-way switch, a full-size scale, a C-shaped maple neck. Of the electrics on this page it is the simplest to live with: nothing to keep in tune but the strings.
Squier Sonic Telecaster, $249.99, in Butterscotch Blonde or California Blue. Two pickups, one volume, one tone, a three-way switch. The simplest electric guitar layout there is, which is a real argument for a beginner. Same scale and neck as the Strat.
Squier Mini Stratocaster and Mini Jazzmaster, $199.99 each. These are three-quarter size, a shorter scale than the full-size Squiers with a slightly narrower nut, so the frets sit closer together. They tune to standard pitch and play like real guitars, not toys. They are worth trying for a younger or smaller player who finds a full-size guitar uncomfortable to hold. Have them hold both before deciding; plenty of kids are fine on a full-size neck, and reach and weight matter more than a birthday. The Jazzmaster version has two humbuckers and a fatter sound; the Strat version has three single-coils.
Acoustic
Fender CD-60S, $229.99. A solid spruce top over laminated mahogany, on a dreadnought body, with Fender's Easy-to-Play neck and rolled fingerboard edges. The solid top is what separates it from most guitars at this price: laminate tops do not open up, a solid spruce top does. The rolled fingerboard edges are the other thing a new player feels. If the plan is strumming and singing, this is the dreadnought for it.
Fender CN-60S, $229.99. A nylon-string on a concert body, with the same neck width as the CD-60S instead of the wide flat classical neck. Nylon strings are softer under the fingers, which matters in the first month. For a young player, for anyone whose fingertips give out fast, or for anyone who wants the classical sound, this is the easiest acoustic on this page on the fingertips.
Fender California Standard Redondo, $249.99. The acoustic for someone who already knows they are an electric player. It has an electric-guitar scale length instead of the shorter one most Fender acoustics use, and a Jazzmaster headstock, and it is all laminate, which makes it less sensitive to humidity swings than a solid-top acoustic. The neck and fingerboard are still wood, so it still should not sit in a dry room all winter without a case.
Fender California Standard Redondo CE, $279.99. We're getting another one in. The same guitar with a cutaway and a pickup, with a tuner built in, so it plugs into an amp or a PA without adding a soundhole pickup later. Same laminate spruce and sapele body, same electric-guitar scale and slim C neck, in gloss Fiesta Red. If the plan includes playing out or recording, this is the version to get.
Bass
Squier Sonic Bronco Bass, $259.99. A 30 inch short-scale bass with a narrow 1.5 inch nut. Four inches shorter than a Precision, so the reach between frets is shorter and the strings are easier to press. This is the bass for a guitar player switching over, for a smaller player, or for a kid.
Squier Sonic Precision Bass, $269.99. The full 34 inch scale, one split-coil pickup, two knobs. The same 1.5 inch nut as the Bronco, which is narrower than a standard Precision, so the neck feels slim in the hand. If the player wants the full-scale bass from day one, this is it.
What should a beginner avoid?
Guitars from brands you have never heard of at prices that seem too good. At $99 for a full electric setup, something is being compromised, usually the hardware, the electronics, or both. Tuners that slip and pickups that hum are not beginner problems. They are cheap-guitar problems, and they do not get better with practice. At this price the brand matters more than it does higher up: Fender, Squier, Epiphone and Yamaha build to a consistent standard, and off-brand guitars at the same price often do not. We stock Fender and Squier new; Epiphone, for a Les Paul feel, and Yamaha, for versatility, are also solid at this price if you are shopping elsewhere.
Also avoid buying on looks alone. A guitar that looks like your favorite player's guitar but plays poorly is a bad trade.
Are the starter packs worth it?
We stock three. The CD-60S Dreadnought Pack and the CC-60S Concert Pack, the all-mahogany version, $249.99 each, are the guitar plus a gig bag, picks, a strap, a spare set of strings, and three months of Fender Play. The CC-60S is all mahogany with a solid top on a smaller concert body, warmer and easier to hold than the dreadnought. The Squier Affinity Stratocaster HSS Pack, $399.99, is the guitar, a Fender Frontman 15G amp, a padded gig bag, a strap, a cable, picks, and the same three months of Fender Play. The Affinity is a step above the Sonic: a humbucker at the bridge, medium jumbo frets, and a two-point tremolo.
The packs make sense if you own nothing. If there is already an amp or a gig bag in the house, buy the guitar alone and put the difference toward a setup.
What does a $250 guitar need before it plays right?
This is the part no one tells you online, and it is the part that decides whether a first guitar gets played or gets leaned in a corner.
New guitars at this price arrive from the factory playable but often not finished. The action is often higher than it needs to be. The nut slots are cut but often left high, so the first three frets take more pressure than they should, and that is exactly where a beginner lives. The intonation is close but not set. In a Glens Falls winter, when the heat comes on and the air goes dry, wood moves, and on some guitars the fret ends turn sharp.
A standard setup is $79. It covers the neck relief, the string height, the intonation, and filing the nut slots to the strings when they need it. Sharp fret ends are a separate job, a fret edge dress, and we quote it when we see it rather than folding it in. On a $250 guitar that $79 is a big share of the price, and it changes how the guitar plays more than anything else you can spend on it. A properly set up Squier plays better than a more expensive guitar that has never been touched. We see that regularly: a beginner comes in frustrated with a guitar bought online, and leaves with one that plays.
We do setups here. Ask for one when you buy, or bring in the one you already have.
When is it worth going past $300?
In Paul's words: any Squier is great, they are excellent first guitars, and the Standard Series Fenders are excellent choices. That is the whole ladder for a beginner, and there are only two rungs.
The Fender Standard Stratocaster, Standard Telecaster and Standard Precision Bass are $679.99 each. What the extra money buys, instrument by instrument: on the Strat and Tele, hotter single-coils that push an amp harder, medium jumbo frets instead of narrow tall, a satin-back Modern C neck, and steel block saddles on the bridge; on the Precision, the same neck and frets with steel barrel saddles and open-gear tuners. You can feel the frets and the neck finish the first time you pick one up. If the budget is there and the person is sure, buy the Standard. If the budget is not there, the Sonic is a good guitar, and a set-up Sonic is a better instrument than an untouched Standard.
Between those two rungs sit the Affinity and Classic Vibe Squiers: the Affinity is fine, the Classic Vibe is better, and either one set up properly plays well. We also carry a rotating selection of used electrics and used acoustics that were more than $300 new; a used Classic Vibe or Epiphone in good condition will outplay a new entry-level guitar at the same price. Every used guitar on our floor was evaluated for playability before it went out, and a used guitar is a legitimate way to get a better instrument for the same money. Read the used guitar buying checklist before you buy one from anyone else.
What amp do I need with an electric guitar?
You need one, and it does not need to be much. The Fender Frontman 10G is $89.99, 10 watts, one 6 inch speaker, clean and overdrive, and it is the bedroom amp for most first-year players. The Mustang LT25 is $179.99, 25 watts, and loads 30 presets so a student can hear a clean Fender sound and a stacked distortion from the same box. The case against the Mustang is that presets are a rabbit hole. Some players scroll more than they play. You also need an instrument cable unless it came in a pack.
A bass needs a bass amp. Those two are guitar amps. The beginner bass amp here is the Fender Rumble 15, $99.99, with an aux input for playing along and a headphone jack for playing late.
The short list
- One electric with nothing else to go on: the Sonic Stratocaster HT, because there is nothing on it to keep in tune but the strings.
- Electric for a player who wants the simplest layout: the Sonic Telecaster.
- A younger or smaller player who finds full size awkward: a Mini, after holding both.
- Acoustic for strumming and singing: the CD-60S.
- Sore fingertips, or a young player on acoustic: the CN-60S nylon-string.
- Bass for a guitar player switching over, or a smaller player: the Bronco. Full-scale bass from day one: the Sonic Precision.
- Budget is there and they are sure: a Standard Series Fender.
Whichever one it is, get it set up. Then start lessons or do not, but play it. Any Squier is a good first guitar. That is still the answer.
If you are still deciding between acoustic and electric, or new and used, start with What Guitar Should I Buy as a Beginner? If you are an adult wondering whether it is too late, it is not: Can I Learn Guitar as an Adult?
We're on the second floor of The Shirt Factory in Glens Falls. The building went up in 1902 as a men's shirt factory and made shirts until 1996. Today it's home to more than 70 studios, shops and galleries, and now a guitar shop. Use the Cooper Street entrance and take the stairs up.
Come in and play them side by side. Players come in from Queensbury, Lake George, Saratoga and across the Capital Region to try what is on the floor, and we are not going to push you toward anything that does not fit your goals or your budget. Paul's Guitar Hideout is located at The Shirt Factory in Glens Falls, NY. Use the Cooper Street entrance and take the stairs up. If stairs are difficult or you're bringing in something you don't want to carry up, call or text us and we'll arrange access.
The Shirt Factory
71 Lawrence St., Suite 201B, 2nd Floor
Glens Falls, NY 12801
Wednesday–Sunday, 12–5 PM
(518) 217-8695 · info@paulsguitarhideout.com