When you just step into the electric guitar’s world, there are so many items you need to get familiar including tuners, an amp, a bag, straps and so on. However, it’s so clear that buying one by one is definitely so much more expensive than a starter pack. If you wanna know which ones are worth your time, just follow us to figure out the 10 best beginner electric guitar packages.
Our Best Beginner Electric Guitar Packages Picks
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Electric Guitar
Summary
Our Rating
Donner DST-1S Full-Size Guitar Kit
The top of our chart. Perfect for beginner and intermediate players
Epiphone Les Paul Electric Guitar Package
The most guitar popular package in the world. Very good quality for such a budget guitar.
Squier by Fender Affinity Stratocaster Pack
The perfect complete set for beginner.
Best Choice Products – Electric Guitar Starter Pack
Great beginner guitar with affordable price
PylePro Electric Guitar Package
Wallet-friendly price. Playable and comfortable for beginners.
Full Review
Donner DST-1S Full-Size Guitar Kit
As countless starter packs, the Donner guitar kit was inspired by the Stratocaster line(Fender owns the Stratocaster trademark). The body is basswood mixed with a bolt-on maple neck, which makes the DST-1S a lightweight guitar with good sustain. The neck wears a comfortable, modern contour.
The pickup combo is a humbucker in the bridge position and a pair of single-coils in the middle and neck positions. True to its Fender heritage, the DST-1S also has a five-position pickup switch, one volume, and two tone controls. The bridge is a six-point synchronized tremolo. Sound-wise, the DST-1S can deliver everything from the classic Strat jangle to a hard rock growl.
The amplifier is probably the Achilles’ heel of this otherwise well-rounded package. It is a minuscule 3W unit with a single speaker. It does have two channels – dirty and clean, though players who like to crank the volume might find it lacking in power. A basic guitar strap, gig bag, clip-on tuner, capo, spare set of strings, four picks, and a guitar cable are also included.
Pros
- Lightweight guitar
- Good sustain
- Versatile pickups
Pros
- Very small amplifier
Squier by Fender Affinity Stratocaster Pack
This Squier Package starts off with the Affinity Stratocaster HSS. The guitar’s got a three-pickup setup with the stock Squier humbucker in the bridge position. The body is made of alder as opposed to basswood, the wood of choice in the majority of Squier electric guitars. The maple neck sports the C profile and the laurel fingerboard has 21 medium jumbo frets and dot inlays.
In the tone section, the aforementioned humbucker and two single-coil pickups offer a good balance between the chiming Strat neck tone and the treble-rich grit of the Standard-series bridge humbucker. Arguably, humbucker/single/single is the most versatile pickups combo on a stock Stratocaster, allowing the player to fully explore their musical interests.
The 15W Frontman 15G with two channels and one speaker, which is clean and distort, is used for the amp. The bass, middle, and treble knobs comprise the shared equalizer section. There are no onboard effects. Sound-wise, this well-built little amp won’t satisfy a club gig, but it is more than enough for your garage practice sessions or bedroom.
The package also contains a slightly padded gig bag, shoulder strap, tuner, set of picks, 10’ cable, and 3 months of online lessons.
Pros
- Versatile pickups
- Good body-neck balance
- Complete fretboard accessibility
- Comfortable neck
Pros
- Only 21 frets
Best Choice Products – Electric Guitar Starter Pack
Best Choice Products, or BCP, isn’t a company that makes musical instruments exclusively.
In spite of that, their starter pack is still perfect for anyone who wanna experience the electric guitar’s world due to its cheap price but still effective.
Just under $100 retail, you can get an amp, a strap, cable, extra strings, pick and of course an electric guitar.
The Strat-design guitar is pretty basic but surprisingly comfortable. The 3 single coil pickups may not be as versatile as a humbucker/single coil setup, but the guitar sounds bright and pretty clear.
The whammy bar and tremolo bridge allow for some extra fun while playing, just don’t force it too much, as it will get out of tune.
With a 10W amp, you can practice at home or even jam out with a friend or two. The controls are basic as well, including volume, bass, and treble, and there is a headphone output for making those late night sessions quiet.
Pros
- Comfortable guitar
- The amp is loud enough
- Overall good value for absolute beginners
- Gig bag feels solid
Pros
- No room for versatility
- Mediocre quality
So, if you want to spend as little as possible, definitely consider this starter pack.
PylePro Electric Guitar Package
Pyle brand is not famous for making only musical instruments, but PylePro Electric Guitar Package should be noticed.
For the price, this is a great starting point.
The guitar, once again, is pretty plain looking, but that shouldn’t be a dealbreaker for most beginners. It’s lightweight, and the double cutaway design makes for an easy reach of those last few frets. The single-coil pickup layout allows for some versatility, and the sound is good. Average, but still pretty good. This guitar also has a tremolo bridge for those vibratos!
The amp is somewhat better than the one in the previous bundle, with pretty much the same controls. You get 10W of power, more than enough for practicing at home. The overall sound is great, without any noticeable degradation at higher volume levels.
Pros
- The pack includes a strap, strings, cable, and picks
- A couple of different color choices for the guitar
- Lightweight and easy to play, Strat- design
Pros
- String noise can be present
- Gets out of tune fairly quick
Epiphone Les Paul Electric Guitar Package
Just around $200, the Epiphone Les Paul Pack succeeds in cramming that unique build and sound quality in a pack
The guitar is an LTD LP Special II, which sports the classic Les Paul look and feel. The quality level is at a noticeably higher level, with everything including the tuners, frets, and each detail carefully crafted and machined.
With a pair of humbuckers, a 650R and 700T, you can count on a clear and natural sound, with as little noise possible. Going from a sweet clean tone to an aggressive distorted one is pretty easy, and makes this guitar really versatile when it comes to different genres.
The whole pack is worth your money including a good quality guitar itself and a couple of extra useful items. The amp is a 10W one as well and complements the guitar quite nicely.
Pros
- The guitar feels and plays much better than the previously mentioned ones
- Amp includes an aux input and headphone output
- Gig bag and other accessories feel solid
- Much more value for slightly more money
Pros
- The amp sometimes makes buzzing noises
Going with the Epiphone bundle is a great idea if you’re not on a strictly tight budget.
Ibanez IJRG220Z
Ibanez is known for making a very wide range of musical instruments, especially in terms of catering to the needs of both beginners and professionals. Their IJRG220Z electric guitar pack provides excellent value, with the guitar offering much more than the ones found in most other packs.
The Superstrat-style Gio RG guitar is simply levels above the competition. Focusing mostly on hard rock and metal, the two Ibanez humbucker pickups make for a seriously heavy sound. As expected, the tremolo bridge adds to the fun but can detune the guitar if forced too much.
10W in terms of amp power seems to be the norm in most guitar packs, and this one is no exception. The controls are pretty simple, ranging from volume to bass and treble, but the overall experience is quite nice. The gig bag feels durable, and the included strap, cable, tuner, picks, and accessory pouch make for a well-rounded pack.
Pros
- Great choice for rock, metal, and other heavy genres
- Attention to detail and build quality are above average
- Small yet a pretty good sounding amp
Pros
- The amp could be a bit louder
Ibanez manages to deliver great quality at a pretty decent price point. This guitar pack is a great choice for anyone looking for a heavier sound.
Yamaha Gigmaker EG Guitar Pack
To talk about electric guitars for a newbie, we can’t forget to mention the Yamaha Pacifica 012 that you can get in this pack. It doesn’t cost a fortune and even creates an opportunity for a beginner to practice well.
The bridge pickup is a humbucker, while the neck and middle are single-coil. In terms of versatility, this guitar is your best bet.
Even the amp you get in this bundle is a step ahead of the others. With 15W, you can even count on doing smaller gigs, with practice and jam sessions with your friends definitely being covered. With a 3-band EQ as well as separate gain controls for the 2 channels, you get much more room for shaping your own unique tone.
The gig bag is a little bit thicker than the others on the market, and the rest of the accessories attached to this pack make for a neat and complete combo.
Pros
- Probably the best guitar for beginners
- Great versatility due to the pickup layout
- A more powerful amp with more room for shaping the sound
- Overall great value
Pros
- May require additional setup out of the box
All things considered, the Gigmaker EG guitar pack by Yamaha is probably the best bundle you can get!
Key Things to Consider to choose your best beginner electric guitar packages
Obviously, the most important piece of any guitar bundle is the guitar itself. Therefore, we will give you guys some points you need to notice when selecting your first guitar.
Body
Most beginner starter kits and packs come with a guitar fashioned after the Telecaster, Stratocaster, or Les Paul. You may also find Explorer, SG, and V-shaped models.
Materials-wise, poplar and basswood are the most popular choices because they’re very affordable and easy to work with. The former is slightly on the bright side and close to alder (Fender’s favorite wood), while the latter is on the warmer side of the spectrum.
That being said, you might also find a wide range of cheap tonewood for the body, such as Okoume and agathis, as well as alder.
Neck
Most of these guitars come with a maple neck. It is cheap, relatively easy to work with, and by far the sturdiest of all conventional tonewoods.
However, you should pay attention to the shape of the neck. Traditionally, Les Paul, Tele, and Stratocaster all have far chunkier neck profiles than modern guitars. However, some contemporary players actually prefer them over the paper-thin Ibanez and Jackson profiles.
Most commonly, the fingerboard would have 21 or 22 frets. Some budget models like the Jackson JS12 Dinky and some Ibanez GIO series of guitars have 24 frets, though it’s more of an exception to the rule. Short-scale models might only have 20 frets. Rosewood and maple are the most common materials.
Another thing to consider is the scale length, the distance between the string nut and the bridge. There are two standard scale lengths: 25-1/2” and 24-3/4”. PRS is the only major manufacturer that uses 25”.
For beginners, the 24-3/4” scale is better suited for players who have smaller hands and adolescents. The 25-1/2”-scale would be more suitable for adults. Of course, these are general guidelines that may not apply to you. If you are wrestling with a 24-3/4” model, you might want to switch to a 24” or even a 23” scale.
Pickups
These guitars can have a range of possible pickup configurations. The most common ones are two single-coils, three single-coils, two humbuckers, and a humbucker and two single-coils.
Telecaster clones are routinely equipped with a pair of single-coil pickups, standard-sized at the bridge and smaller at the neck. These single-coil pickups are best for the country, reggae, ska, and other types of music with a twangy guitar sound. Pop and pop-rock can sound good on single-coil guitars as well.
The three single-coil sets can accommodate a wider range of styles, especially if it’s combined with a 5-position pickup switch. In such a setup, positions 2 and 4 would have two pickups working at the same time, thus somewhat imitating a humbucker sound.
Humbucker/single/single combo is for players who want to play a combination of hard rock and mellower stuff. The bridge pickup can handle aggressive riffs, while the middle and neck singles melodies and solos.
Finally, the two-humbucker combo is best suited for heavier blues, rock, and hard rock. Owing to the fact that the humbuckers on these guitars are not nearly as powerful as those on more expensive guitars, you’ll be fine playing country, pop, and soft rock.
Amplifier
The combo amplifier is the second-most important piece of equipment in an electric guitar starter kit. In the budget range, you will most likely get a one-speaker 10 to 15W amp, which is compact enough, and yet not as powerless as a portable mini amp.
It should have clean and distortion/drive channels that share the same equalizer (two or three knobs). Bass and treble are mandatory, the midrange knob is optional. The clean channels will have independent volume, while the distortion channel will also have the gain/drive knob.
Many of today’s amps come with 3.5mm headphone outs so that you can plug in and listen on your headphones, as well as auxiliary inputs where you can hook up a CD player or another source device for jamming along with your favorite tracks.
Other Accessories
You should also pay attention to the accessories that come with the guitar and amp. They might include the following.
- All starter kits should come with a basic shoulder strap. It’s usually polyester and non-padded and nothing to write home about in terms of comfort.
- Of course, you’re going to need a tuner for your guitar. Many of them support alternative tunings and are rather precise.
- You will get at least one pick with your beginner set. 3-5 is the most common number, consisting of picks of different stiffness and thickness to let you experiment and find your style.
- Virtually all beginner sets will include a set of spare strings. Most commonly 9-gauge sets.
- The instrument cable is an essential accessory and therefore all packs come with one. Usually, it is a 6-10’ cable with two straight plugs.
- Gigbag. Basic gig bags are included in all starter packs. Some manufacturers may offer a lightly padded bag in a bid to increase the value of a starter pack.
