Help with first electric guitar choice

If they don't let you try stuff walk out and find a store that will, they all should let you try and would most probably let you try different ampguitar combinations especially if you explain like in your post.
Also, it's slightly ahrd to recommend as you don't say where you are or what your budget is, US prices are markedly different to UK for eg

This sort of topic comes up a lot around here. It's pretty daunting knowing that you want someting, but not sure how to get there.

I'm going to concentrate on amp. Other's will fill in on the guitar, but you might want to look at a Squire '51 there. Good range of tones.

You might want to consider a Vox AD30VT or a Roland Cube 30. Both of these are 30 watts, but there are both larger and smaller wattage in these lines. I personally have the Vox, but I hear many similar good things about the Roland. Each is a modelling amplifier, meaning this amp emulates many very famous, and very expensive, other amps. They both also have several different effects, as in delay, reverb, flanger, etc. Both aim to be a one stop for players to get their feet wet, and also serve as very serious amps for more experienced players. I highly recommend the Vox amps!

Whatever you get for your amp, try to get it used. You probobly won't keep your first amp forever, and their is nothing wrong with used gear. Often, you can get more for less.

And when it comes to guitars, get something that sounds good and plays nice, not what looks the best. I got my paul stanley apocolypse pro, which is all black and red and pointy. I'm not an evil person, but for $175 I got a set neck, Duncan Designed Pickups, Grover Tuners, and a quality guitar. By the way, it was used.

What I'm trying to tell you is two things-
1. Used IS worth it
2. Go for functionability and quality, not looks.

Good Luck!

when it comes to guitars people here always think of the strat's and the les pauls/epiphones and/or copies of. i always, and i'm doing this now, suggest that people not overlook the great (i have one) PRS Santana Se or Tremonti guitar. Made by Paul Reed Smith company, in korea it's a fabulous, solid, easy to play, great sounding guitar. check it out before you decide.

and i agree on the roland micro-cube. a nice amp for not a lot of $.

I'll "third" the recommendation on the VOX AD30VT and the Roland cube 30. I have the Vox and use the Roland at my lessons. The nice thing about both these amps is that they have models of many different amp types -- and their models sound quite good. Should be a very good practice amp for you for a long time, and probably good enough even for gigging. They are both roughly around $200-250, depending on the moon, stars, alignment, sales ...

The guitar is much tougher. It's a bit of a catch 22 because you don't know what you will like until you start playing. I thought I would mostly play acoustic, so I bought a nice used Guild and then went and bought a MIM strat after playing acoustic for a while. I thought it would be nice to have an electric on the side. These days I play the electric way way more than the acoustic, and wish I had bought a American series Strat. It's also your philosophy on whether you want a couple of toys or a lot of toys, how long you think you'd stick to something etc, etc..

But, a hard clear budget and the type of music you would like to play would help people give you options (mostly help eliminate options, which is really what you want to do first..)

I'm really enamored with the Les Paul design even though the "sound"
I really enjoy is coming out of Strat players. I just feel the Les
Paul shape and "feel" are more to my liking.

So you like the shape and feel of a LP, but the tone of a Strat??

Perhaps one of these....

Les Paul Junior

Les Paul shape and feel, single coil pickup like a Strat. Now, this is not going to sound like a Strat, but you can get that single coil pickup tone.

Thanks for all the great advice....this has been some of the best, most concrete REAL advice I've gotten in a while!

I should hang out here more often! :D

Oh...I didn't specify...

I live in rural North Carolina....no big dealers by me so I'll have to look in the classifieds ore ebay for used stuff....

I've been playing mostly acoustic bluegress) but like playing metal also.

I've always liked bluesy players like Stevie Ray Vaughn but I'm even more interested right now in the deeper, raunchier sounds of heavier stuff (and I think...based on VERY limited experience) that the set up on a Les Paul-type Epiphone would be better suited.

I'm open to being educated though.....
:)

I'm really enamored with the Les Paul design even though the "sound"
I really enjoy is coming out of Strat players. I just feel the Les
Paul shape and "feel" are more to my liking.

So you like the shape and feel of a LP, but the tone of a Strat??

Perhaps one of these....

Les Paul Junior

Les Paul shape and feel, single coil pickup like a Strat. Now, this is not going to sound like a Strat, but you can get that single coil pickup tone.

That is a GREAT suggestion. You might also want to look into the PRS SE EG series. They have single coils, but a more substantial feel.

My suggestion is not to worry so much about it. I know this sounds strange, so many people are going all-out on a strat and thousands of players have been playing the blues on an LP. The most important thing right now would be finding a guitar that *feels* well, makes you smile when you see it and makes your significant other smile when he/she sees the bill. When you're getting used to playing electric and are progressing well you'll find you can usually play almost any genre of music with any kind of guitar, espescially with a proper amp.

This might sound totally crazy coming from someone with a rack full of guitars, but I really believe that initially sound should not be such a major concern, espescially if you have a broad musical interest which you seem to have.

Go for an Agile AL2000 (any finish you may like).

It is 160 - 200 $ and the best LP guitar for your money.

The link is in my signature.(Scroll the 3rd page under electric guitars)

Read the reviews on this guitar here.

It is 160 $ and the best LP guitar for your money.

With all due respect, but how many LP guitars did you actually hold yourself? For example, compared with the Dean Evo, Samick, London City and such brands?

It is 160 $ and the best LP guitar for your money.

With all due respect, but how many LP guitars did you actually hold yourself? For example, compared with the Dean Evo, Samick, London City and such brands?
Exactly, so all you can go on is reviews and the Agiles get fantastic ones! A couple of guys here have them and don't hesitate to recommend them, so that sounds pretty good to me.

Arjen : Read the post again.

"The best LP guitar for the money"

In that price range , i have yet to see a better one.I might NOT have played this guitar but many people have , including many on these forums and those on the Agile Guitar forums.

Here i am to help this person out with a great beginner guitar.