As I said I need a new guitar because this one sound like shit, but I'm not surprised.. Bought a beginners kit back in 2010. So I'm looking for a Strat, my budget is around 630$. Can you recommend me a Strat around that price or should I save my money for a guitar around 1.3k $ ?

squire classic vibe guitars are apparently very good for the price, Im not sure price wise with the dollar conversion etc, but maybe look at the 2nd hand market.

 

80s made in Japan squier and fenders have good hardware for the price and have a good reputation

 

fender usa highway 1 are cheaper than most usa models, so may also be worth a look at

I'm not sure what the market is like in Sweden, but in North America, you can get a Fender Standard Strat for around $540, and the Plus Top version (nicer finish) for about $630 + tax.  It's still a Made in Mexico Strat though, and if that's what you're looking for you might be better served to pick up a used one.  They sell used for around $350-400.

 

As far as to whether you should save and buy something in a higher price range, that all depends on what you're looking for out of your guitar, and how serious you are about playing.  It also depends on what you're playing for.  A lot of the difference in price has to do with where a guitar was made (American vs International), the hardware (chrome vs nickel vs gold, name brand vs generic) and the pickups.  Body and neck materials can be a factor too, but that usually gets folded into where the guitar was made.

 

If you're just jamming at home and/or playing RS, then a $1000+ guitar isn't going to make much of a difference for you.  There are plenty of guitars in the $200-800 range that will play quite nicely and do the job for you.  If you're looking to do some recording, playing in public, or want to blow the roof off, then something in the $1k range will be what you're looking for (if you have a good amp to play on).

 

I own 6 guitars (and possibly 7 by the end of today) and they range from a $200 Squier to a $2500 Gibson LP Limited.  They're all set up differently, with different strings and action, as well as tunings.  I like to play a wide variety of music and this saves me from retuning and doing setups all the time.

 

My main guitar is a Gretsch 5620 Centre-Block, which I paid $869 + tax for.  I have it set up with 10-52's and it suits a lot of the stuff I like to play.  When I want killer sustain and a thick heavy sound, I play on my Gibson LP with 11-52's (think Black Key's El Camino, which was recorded on this model of guitar).  But since it's worth $2500 (a little more now because it's a rare finish and is becoming collectible) I baby it a lot and don't like to leave it sitting out.  It's in the case most of the time and even though I play it almost every day, I feel it still doesn't get the play time it probably deserves.

 

I also have a Squier Classic Vibe 60's Strat (about $410 new) that I like to play Green Day, Nirvana, and other 90's stuff on.  It has a poor reputation (as do most Squiers) but it sounds decent for that style of music.  I wouldn't play publicly with it though, as the tuners are crap and it needs to be retuned a lot.  The pickups are also pretty weak, but the guitar isn't worth putting $200 worth of upgrades into.

 

I also own a G&L ASAT Classic Tribute Series Telecaster, an Epiphone Firebird Studio (barely gets played), and an old 1996 Anniversary Edition Squier Strat which was my first guitar.  It's beat to crap but still sounds great.

 

If I buy a 7th guitar today, it will be a 2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar which are about $329.  It's what Kurt Cobain played (although his was a heavily modified 60's original) and it has that Nevermind sound.  They're built well enough, and the Duncan Designed pickups are better than what the Squier reputation would imply.  It needs a $50 bridge mod to make it truly playable, but it's worth it.

 

Anyway, after being a little long-winded about it, my point is this:  Go to a local music shop and try out any guitar that appeals to you.  Leave price out of it until you find the sound and feel you're looking for.  Once you've narrowed it down to a few that you really like, compare the build quality and see what the price difference is.  If it's higher than your budget, then you've answered your own question and you should save up.  If it's in your price range, then you've found the guitar that's right for you.

I'm most satisfied with my Ibanez GRG170DX with its flexible Tremolo system and 24 frets.

And you can see a faithful review here, in it's variability in tones with 2 humbuckers and a single coil, all single selectable.

 

At its price of around 300$, I can't see anybody convincing me for something else.

But please do!

 

Or you may go for a floating Tremolo version, which allows not only to bend down but also to bend up.

Which would make it usable in Rocksmith.

 

The flexible base system makes normal bending more comfortable, and less, less strings breaks.

None for me, in fact.

Fernandes are having a clearout sale atm.

 

This might suit, and is within budget on the sale.

 

EDIT: Granted, they don;t really retail for the MSRP, as far as I'm aware, but at that price, there's a lot of bang for your buck.

Dose it have to be a fender ? Have a look here http://www.andertons.co.uk/solid-body-electric-guitars/pid25507/cid671/chapman-ml1-in-trans-black.asp

For the price these are good you can't go wrong if your in the USA there's a place RNA music that can help you with this brand they are 1 of 2 music stores that are selling chapmam guitars in the USA

Read this tread in this forum http://www.robchapman.tv/forum/threads/first-gig-with-ml-1.29331/ A guy is doing a running review on the guitar as he gigs it

 

I have just got the am ML1-hotrod version of this guitar on Monday it plays wonderfully

http://www.andertons.co.uk/solid-body-electric-guitars/pid32041/cid671/chapman-ml1-hot-rod-electric-guitar.asp

As somebody already mentioned, Squier Classic Vibe strats are great. I have one and it plays and feels really good. I used to have an old mexican strat, and this one I think is much better. And they only cost 300-370€ new, about 220-250€ used.

 

I also recommend buying a second hand guitar. You can buy a mint condition American Special strat for 600€ and an American Standard for 750€. I see these guitars on sale all the time and I'm from a country neighboring Sweden. 

 

I don't really recommend buying a 1200€ new stratocaster if you are still a beginner, cause you might not like it, and you will loose a lot of money trying to resell it. So you are probably better off getting a Classic Vibe for now, and after a year you can upgrade to a Fender if you feel like it.

 

Having said all that, I prefer a Les Paul to a strat. I just find it more comfortable and easier to play because of the shorter scale. And the two humbuckers with coil-tapping give it a very diverse tone range. So if you never tried a Les Paul, you should definitely give one a try.

i as well can recommend the squier models.. i have a telecaster vintage modified SSH (my first guitar) and i still enjoy playing it..

my former teacher has a mexican fender and told me that he actually prefers mine ;)

 

a good setup also makes quite a difference, so i'd recommend having done that right away when buying it..

 

a good setup also makes quite a difference, so i'd recommend having done that right away when buying it..

 

Very good advice that I forgot to mention in my very long-winded post above.  

 

I always ask a technician at whatever store I'm buying from to give it a once over and make sure it's set up to my liking before purchasing.  Most music shops, in my area anyway, also offer 1 free setup within the first year of purchase.  I usually take my guitars in around 6-8 months after purchasing to get the free setup.  Basic setups are easy to do at home by yourself, but I like to take advantage of the free offer.  That way if there is anything major that needs work (fret dressing, faulty machine heads, etc) it's free to have fixed.

 

I once bought a used Epiphone Special II for $99 and took it in with a week left for the free setup because it had really bad fret buzz on the treble strings.  I had barely played it because I bought it for my wife to learn on and she had lost interest and it just sat in the closet.  I had decided to sell it, and wanted to get it set up prior to the sale.

 

It ended up being a $130 repair job because the frets were all out of whack and most needed replacing and/or filing.  Because of the free set up, all it cost me was $7 for a new set of strings.