100% new to guitar

You should look to get a half decent amplifier, nothing to big. Even great guitars are going to sound poor through a cheap amplifier. And try and take some lessons, you can learn plenty off the net and dvds but a teacher can focus you on what you need to do.

you can learn plenty off the net and dvds but a teacher can focus you on what you need to do.

AND give you feedback. Seriously even if it's only for a couple of months, lessons will make you progress a lot in the beginning and you won't have to correct bad habits later on.

I'm agree, you should get a decent amp, it makes a big difference!

If you want to play rock songs and you only have 2 options on your cheap amp (CLEAN and OVERDRIVEN - which sounds pretty bad on a cheap amp) with 5 others button: GAIN, VOLUME, TREBLE, MIDDLE and BASS, you will have difficulties to get nice different rock sounds and you'll get tired of your amp.

But to start, it'll be OK... :)

As for guitars, you have a lot of good choices in the $400 range. Fender (made in Mexico) Strats, Epiphone, Yamaha, Schecter - find a couple that feel good to you and then ask about them in the forum. You'll probably want something with a humbucker pickup to get that "metal" sound. I have an HSS Strat with a humbucker at the bridge and it could definitely manage Metallica or Sum 41 if I could only learn to play them. :)

Roland's "Micro Cube" amps ($125) are good for practice if you don't want to crank it up too loud. I use a Line 6 Pocket Pod ($125) myself, either with headphones or plugged into my mixer and amp.

I also recommend you find a teacher. It's been incredibly helpful to me.

I want to second the Roland Microcube as a great practice amp. Guitar Center is having 20% off of anything on Friday morning (Only the first couple of hours) so you could pick one up for only $100.

If you stay to your price range for a guitar, there are so many good choices ... Personally, I'd take a MIM (Made in Mexico) Strat but you need to try a few in your price range to find your own personal preference. I know you don't play yet so "try a few" might not sound logical but just seeing and holding a guitar you might find one that clicks with you. That is important because the more you love your guitar, the more you are going to practice.

I'd also agree with taking at least a few lessons to get you going. If cost is an issue, you'd be better off spending $200 for a guitar and using the rest of the money you'd have spent for a guitar to get some lessons.
Here is one good resource for inexpensive, but decent quality, guitars: http://www.rondomusic.com/electricguitar.html
I haven't played a Rondo personally, but I've seen many rave reviews on the net.
Here is another alternative if you want a name brand (with a humbucker for metal): http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Squier-Affinity-Series-Fat-Strat-Electric-Guitar?sku=510629

Welcome to guitar. You'll love it.

Surf through the forum "I'm Looking for a New..." on these boards. You'll find plenty of suggestions for gear there.

This is going to sound contrary to some other advice, but this is what *I* did... (starting brand new at the age of 38)

Look at the "getting started", or "value" packs. They will give you a guitar, amp, and usually accessories (like gig bag, patch cable, tuner). Now...the stuff is cheap...but it's been enough to get going on.

If, after some time, you find you really like guitar and are starting to play with others, then upgrade to a better rig then. You'll have a much better idea of what's out there, where you really want your music to go, and how to evaluate the gear you are testing. Plus, you'll still have your job, so you can continue to save while the cheap rig tides you over.

If you lose interest, and it starts to gather dust in a corner...well...you are only out $200-250, and not $500-600 (for a MIM strat, and roland micro-cube).

I've been playing for 8-9 months on a Squier starter pack (Squier Strat (HSS), Fender Frontman15 amp). Now I'm getting up to speed on my band's book (sunday morning praise group...so Avalon, Newsboys, Michael W Smith, Selah, etc. ).

Last night, I just bought a Gretsch G5120. I guarantee I would *never* have dreamed of owning this guitar 8-9 months ago. I never would have even picked it up in the store. Even if I had, I wouldn't have appreciated the differences. But last night, I played 6 different models, and it was one of the best feels. (the other was a Gibson Les Paul...out of my price range).

So consider one of the starter sets from reputable manufacturers: Squier, Epiphone, Ibanez. You can get set up that way for under $300 with something that can tell you if you really want to continue.

edit: Oh! And with the money you save, you can get a few lessons! :)

Excellent advice.

My advice for what it`s worth. If you are going to buy a decent guitar, get a decent amp. Even if you are going to buy a half decent guitar, still get a decent amp. Buy a crap amp, and you will never be happy with your sound.
Get a teacher. This is important. even if it`s only for a short while, a teacher will point you in the right direction, help you to disapline your practise routine.
Don`t fix your sights on just learning rock, or metal music. Learn from all genres(blues, folk, jazz, country, pop, ect) of music, it will make you a more rounded, and better guitarist.

I've gotta repeat what many have said about the amp. Spending some decent money on one now will ensure that you have not only a good starter's amp, but a good practice amp for years to come. Looking at the bands that you're interested in, perhaps even one of the modeling ones (like the Roland Cube) might fit the bill. To start off, though, you'll do most of your things in clean mode just to follow along.

As fas a guitars are concerned, sure, get a decent on if you like. Many of us here play on $200-$500 guitars all the time and do just fine. The question though, is which one? Look of your band's gear online and see what they use. Not exactly, as they will be out of the price range, but what types. Strats? Les Pauls? SGs, etc. You will find out the types of guitars your favorites play and look at the pick-ups. Are the s-s-s, h-s-h, hh, h-s-s, etc. Anything will be good to start, but when you get good enough to play some of the heavier stuff, you'll want to make sure that your current guitar can handle it.

Remember, the sound comes from three things. The guitar, the amp and the fingers. Each one has variations that you will discover on your journey.

Lastly, make sure that someone sells you something that is known to be able to do what you will end up wanting to do. If a salesman says go with THIS guitar and THIS amp, make him prove to you that it will do the job.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

I already have a job and play baseball, so my parents wont let me take lestens because they think i wont have enough time for school or something like that....

Im gonna get some learn to play dvds, and books too probably. Can anyone recomend good ones?

Also someone mentioned having to get something on a guitar to make it more of a metal-rock sound. Whats it called?
And certain amps can make your sound more rock-metal as well?

The Roland Cube amp, with the effects and different amp models, is one type of amp that is reasonable and flexible. You pretty much select which amp, and it gets you close to where you want to be. It will play the hard stuff. There are others out there too. See what your local guitar shop has. (Line-6, Vox, etc) After a year or two, you'll want to upgrade. But, if you make a wise purchase now, you'll have that practice amp already covered. See, your starter amp and your eventual practice amp can be the same.

Now the guitar. You wanted more of a metal-rock sound. Quite a few ways to get there. Amp is important, but you gotta have the right type of gear to go after what your looking for. Many guitars in your price range to choose from. I'm willing to bet that most of your guitar heros use a double humbucker set-up on their guitars. As an example, Angus Young of AC/DC is well known for playing a Gibson SG, which has double humbuckers.

Feel free to ask the salesman. He'll steer you towards a few options. If you're not comfortable, run 'em by us. We'll help the best that we can.

For someone with a limited budget but wanting a hard rock sound, here's a good amp:

Randall RX20R

Randall specializes in amps that produce Metal tones and many Metal groups use Randall amps. This would be an excellent starter amp.

As far as guitars, as was said before, get a guitar with humbuckers. Ibanez makes good guitars for your style of music, humbucking pickups and a whammy bar. Something like this:

Ibanez GRX-20

This guitar and amp will get you started. No matter what you get now, you will get more guitars and amps later on, we all do. But this is pretty good gear for your budget.

As far as lessons, baseball season is over till spring. Take lessons till then. You will be glad you did.

Wes

I gotta second Wes's suggestion for the Ibanez. I've got a similar one, but without the whammy bar. The neck was a lot easier for me to learn on than what I had originally (and mistakenly) gotten.

Those two options will still be under your budget, which leaves plenty of room for an electronic tuner with a chromatic setting. Some of the harder rock bands drop their tuning down for that heavy/deeper sound. Your life will be easier.