r/electricguitar

Hey guys! I used to play on my acoustic guitar. Buuut my neighbours are not happy about it since I have time to practice only during the night 😃

Therefore i am looking for a new beginner friendly electric guitar. I am mainly interestert in models and in your experience "how to learn it". Online? Offline teacher? What are the pros and cons and what suited you the best?

Thank you for all your inputs!

G'day, my SG guitar stays in tune. However, when I detune/tune down (before tuning up to pitch) the tuners suddenly go slack, that is they don't detune gradually. When I tune up the firmness is as expected. Is this a sign of worn tuning pegs? Or something else? I repeat, the guitar stays in tune. Thanks.

Fender just won a massive legal loophole in Germany, ruling that the classic Stratocaster shape is a protected "work of art." Now, they are aggressively issuing Fender Cease Desist letters to clear out the competition. They aren’t just demanding a stop to production—they want inventory "recalled and destroyed" across the EU market!

While many letters are being sent behind closed doors, independent builders are starting to sound the alarm, and everyone is holding its breath to see how the biggest brands in the industry survive this.

Here are the popular brands currently targeted, confirmed to have received letters, or directly at risk of being wiped from the S-style market next:

LsL Instruments
Harley Benton / Thomann
PRS
Suhr Guitars
Tom Anderson Guitar Works
Schecter
ESP Guitars
Ibanez (Particularly the AZ series)

Are we looking at the literal extinction of Strat clones? Is Fender completely out of line here, or do they have every right to protect their body shape?

Hey everyone,
I’m primarily a drummer, but I’ve recently decided that I’d really like to start learning electric guitar. The problem is that I have pretty limited free time, so I’ll probably begin with online lessons and practice whenever I can.
At the music store where I take drum lessons once a week, I came across a PRS SE Mark Holcomb that I can buy for around €1000 and it got me seriously considering it as my first electric guitar.
My main question is:
Is buying a guitar like the PRS SE Mark Holcomb overkill for a complete beginner?
On one hand, I know I could start with something much cheaper. On the other hand, I’d rather buy something that will last me for years and keep me inspired to play, instead of upgrading shortly after.
I’m mainly interested in:
Comfort/playability for a beginner
Overall versatility
Whether it’s a good long-term instrument
If the specs/features make sense for someone new to guitar
I’m also wondering whether I should instead look at something like the PRS SE CE 24, which seems to be recommended a lot as a versatile option for beginners and intermediate players.
For context, I enjoy progressive metal/rock, but I’d also like a guitar that can cover other styles reasonably well while I learn.
What do you think?
Would you recommend the SE Mark Holcomb as a first guitar, or would a different PRS model make more sense?
Thanks!

I'm getting my first electric guitar anybody got any recs for an amp for like £50 gbp cause that's all I can afford at the moment if possible please provide links

I've been playing acoustic guitar for a while now, so I wanted to buy my first electric guitar but I literally know nothing about these so I hope that you can help me. I don't want to spend a lot on my first one, so my budget was around 400€ to 600€. I looked within that price range and I liked a jazzmaster but everyone says that they are bad. I also liked an epiphone les paul but I heard that they are for playing hard rock and metal, but I just want to play softer rock like Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits etc. , and also some blues, pop and jazz, so it really doesn't align with the kind of sound i'm looking for.

I also looked into fender stratocasters but they are also heavily criticized. Every guitar that catches my attention seems to have some flaws, and as I said before I just know about acoustics, so I hope that someone can guide me and help me with my decision :)

Hello guys I need some suggestions in selecting the electric guitar and possibly a good amp.

Share your experience with your guitar and your suggestions.

I love playing rock and metal music. I’m looking for personal use and may be combination (guitar+amp) that can be played in moderate space with few people like 20-25W.

Budget is moderate - Under 50K or 500$

I've had two high e strings come unwound at the ball end within the last two days, on two different guitars. The strings are about two months old, a set of Skinny Top Beefy Bottom strings from Ernie Ball. I play in D standard/drop C.

What strings do you guys use, how do they hold up? Two different strings coming undone back to back makes me think I should try to broaden my horizons and try other brands. Does anyone else make hybrid sets like these? If so, what do y'all recommend/use?

What are some good riffs to train hand movement/ switching and fingers agility.

Note: I previously posted a review of this guitar but decided to delete it. I wanted to spend more time with it, do a proper deep-dive into the setup, and fix some misconceptions. However, during my final inspection, a serious issue emerged. Here is my updated, definitive review.

I ordered the Donner HLX-500 from their EU site where I managed to snag a solid discount. The MSRP is €349.99, but I got it for a bit over €250. At first, I thought it was an unbelievable bargain, but a major structural flaw has completely changed my mind.

Here is the full breakdown of my experience.

Unboxing, Specs & First Impressions

https://preview.redd.it/8zcv0mkipa2h1.jpg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=024a7222358cd320c1ec4815cd7325b083afc76f

https://preview.redd.it/ywpxacwjpa2h1.jpg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a9bdddf7d35d394d439fc2245aa345bc98f0828

https://preview.redd.it/57pwdrclpa2h1.jpg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=45e7a3c1ab28539f8eb6a06db26e1601ce957412

It arrived in a nice branded cardboard box with a handle. Inside, it comes with a surprisingly sturdy, well-padded gig bag, a strap, Allen keys, a truss rod wrench, and some small plastic tubes (which you must use during string changes to prevent them from getting stuck in the locking mechanism).

The guitar weighs about 2.5kg (approx. 5.5 lbs) and is remarkably well-balanced. The finish on the body and the roasted maple neck looked flawless at first glance. The matte lacquer over the natural wood looks and feels excellent. The neck has a fast, variable thickness that flattens out towards the body, and the 12" radius feels great.

Debunking the Specs: Truss Rod & Intonation

First major discovery: despite Donner’s official website stating it has a single-action truss rod, it is actually a dual-action truss rod. This was a huge positive surprise because it means you can compensate for any kind of neck bow, giving you full setup control.

Second update: my initial worries about the bridge and intonation range didn't really pan out. It turns out the saddles accommodate everything from .009s to .011s perfectly fine without needing extreme adjustments.

Fretwork & Playability

https://preview.redd.it/7rd9v1aopa2h1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6fa0225e2f1146111658e68903da927e15894708

https://preview.redd.it/v1gopydppa2h1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a5ee2ad1fb6d183de28e8f813522f7ea86911738

https://preview.redd.it/whm3lhpqpa2h1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a190eb1af0afbe1e190d40539f2578be438e6f98

The fret edges are incredibly well-finished. Considering that even €1,000+ guitars often suffer from sharp fret sprout, Donner did an amazing job here. They aren't mirror-polished, but they feel smooth enough and there's no gritty grinding feeling when bending.

However, to be picky, a few frets are slightly high, mostly past the 12th fret. I checked them with a fret rocker, and they wouldn't seat any further even after trying to tap them down with a fret hammer. You only notice this with a very low action. A professional fret leveling would make it perfect, but honestly, the fret buzz is minimal with .009s and you can barely hear it once plugged into an amp.

The Bridge Alignment & A Weird Acoustic Mystery

https://preview.redd.it/5p1i4cospa2h1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d212a2bab2aa43b09813153bc024725e2734ba9

https://preview.redd.it/59o1brmtpa2h1.jpg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b00f0cb208d0e9e131561ead3d510c7d949c558

I noticed that the high E string sits closer to the edge of the fretboard than the low E. You could probably fix this by loosening the neck pocket screws and realigning the neck, but I found that simply nudging the bridge saddles slightly by hand solves the issue completely.

Now for the weirdest part: there is a bizarre technical intonation issue mostly on the A string (and slightly on the E and D). The natural harmonic at the 12th fret rings about 5-6 cents flat compared to the open string. From a physics standpoint, this is highly unusual. I tried multiple string brands and even adjusted pickup height to eliminate magnetic pull, but the issue persists.

My hypothesis is that it's a design limitation of the headless hardware and how the string is anchored at the ends. The combination of the zero-fret and the headpiece locking screws might be pinching or slightly twisting the string's core right at the witness point, altering its vibrating mass. It forces you into a "compromise" intonation setup on those strings, as it doesn't seem fully fixable.

The Dealbreaker: Structural QC Failure (The Plot Twist)

While adjusting the neck pickup height, I noticed what initially looked like a minor machining "step" or a sloppy router line inside the neck pickup cavity. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a disaster: the wood has literally cracked and split open under the mechanical pressure of the neck joint. The wall of wood between the neck pocket and the pickup routing completely gave way under the tension of the tightened neck screws and strings. This is a clear structural failure caused by poor tolerances or compromised wood choice in a high-stress area. It's not just cosmetic; it ruins the long-term stability of the neck joint.

https://preview.redd.it/jfqxa7qcpa2h1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ecf1274cec71f945d031b89e14bb1f62f8b1c92b

Electronics & Hardware

https://preview.redd.it/ronfyg66qa2h1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=70e23816872101aad419493f344c63be32ebfd6c

The volume and tone pots feel great—smooth, quiet, and with a nice premium resistance. The 5-way switch feels solid and is completely noise-free.

The ceramic pickups do their job fine and have that classic Strat-style snappy attack. Keep in mind that the bridge humbucker is not splittable and the wiring doesn't include an auto-split feature in position 2. This means the only hum-free selector positions are 1 (bridge humbucker) and 4 (neck + middle). Also, upgrading the single coils down the road will be tricky because they are flangeless (no mounting ears), making replacements hard to source.

Final Verdict

I desperately wanted to love this guitar. For a little over €250, I was willing to overlook the minor fret high spots, the weird A-string harmonic mystery, and the slight bridge misalignment. I even told myself that returning it was a gamble because I might get a replacement unit with worse fretwork.

But a cracked neck pocket area is where I draw the line. Budget guitars can have cheap hardware or average electronics, but they shouldn't self-destruct under their own mechanical tensionam returning this guitar immediately and I cannot recommend it. No matter how tempting the price or how clean the finish looks on the surface, a structural defect like this is an absolute dealbreaker. Buy at your own risk.

do i buy the valeton gp100 or nuxmg300(not mk2) i tried finding a valeton gp100 but only found a used one from 2021 which i think has some issues like the pedal. i found a nux mg300 from 2025 which do i buy. i only care if i can record audio over my phone video to post on social media. im a begginer (COMPLET BEGGINER)

I made a Reddit account just for this. Im seriously thinking of buying an electric guitar but i have never owned one, and have no experience in music whatsoever.

I asked chatgpt to help me and it recommended me yamaha pacifica 112J and squier sonic stratocaster hss mn. The squier is the cheapest option however Im thinking that I really wanna make this decision to learn long term so I don't want to judge based on prices. I wish to hear what all the pros here have to say.

Is there a better guitar for a beginner ? Between these two options what's the better one? Please tell me your experiences

( Also is there something i should know before buying an electric guitar). Thanks in advance !

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