Once you get the basics down on your beginner guitar, you'll want to move to a slightly better, intermediate instrument. A reasonable budget for this would be around £350. At this price, you will get a fantastic guitar for the money.
My top recommendation would be the Squier Classic Vibes series. For this price, you are getting a recreation of a classic, tried and tested instrument, loved and played by so many great artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Yngwie Malmsteen, Eric Johnson and Eric Clapton. Whether it be a Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazzmaster or something else, you will not be disappointed with this series. There is something here for everyone with various colours and pickup configurations.
My second choice would have to be the Ibanez AZES. After the resounding success of the Ibanez AZ line used by artists such as Tim Henson, Manuel Gardner-Fernandes, Scott Lepage and Tom Quayle, Ibanez has created a budget-friendly version. These provide an excellent playing instrument for the masses minus the high price tags. These guitars are perfect for Blues, Metal, Jazz and everything in between. Their unique switching system allows for ten pickup positions readily available to you as the player.
My third choice is slightly different from the first two because this is less versatile but is a beast for anyone wanting to go into heavy/harder rock and metal. The Jackson JS series is mainly targeting those that like the heavier music, with almost all of these guitars being equipped with two humbucking pickups for higher output and some models having a locking tremolo system to be able to recreate the sounds of Kirk Hammett, Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads. This guitar is a lot of bang for your buck and will get you started on the rock/metal pathway.
My fourth choice is the Harley Benton SC-DLX. This is a classic single-cut style guitar similar to guitars associated with Slash, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend and Zakk Wylde. These guitars have been used for Blues to Metal, and they've been one of the most popular guitar types of all time. Harley Benton's take on this iconic guitar features:
Durable and shiny stainless steel frets
High-quality Gold hardware from one of the most reputable and long-standing guitar parts companies (Gotoh)
Custom voiced vintage-style pickups with coil-splitting capabilities allow you to have the most versatile guitar you can.
My final choice for this list is the Gretsch streamliner series. Gretsch has been in the music industry for over 130 years and, as such, has formed an excellent reputation; these instruments are very high quality, and this series is no exception. These are a stripped back version of their more iconic models played by many famous guitarists such as Malcolm Young, John Frusciante, Chet Atkins and Sebastian Danzig. These guitars mainly catered for Blues and Jazz but can handle more gain with many guitarists using them for classic rock. This is a great intermediate guitar for someone planning on playing a lot of jazz, pop and blues.
Oscar is a grade 8 student and resident guitar aficionado at Tremolo Guitar School!
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