You are currently viewing 5 Best Beginner Electric Guitar Packs That Get You Started With Good Sound (2023)

Last Updated on April 30, 2023 by Teemu Suomala

Best Overall – Yamaha GigMaker Electric Guitar Pack 

Reviewer: Teemu Suomala

Sound
Playability
Overall Quality
Value For Money
Versatility
Accessories

Summary

The overall quality of this pack is high.

You get:
-Good sounding, easy to play guitar(Yamaha Pacifica 012)
-Amp that has all the features you need when getting started
-Pack includes all needed accessories from picks to a tuner.

This guitar pack has been available for over 10 years. The reason is this: they got it right the first time. This pack has only 2 cons…

-Yamaha should ditch the instructional DVD and move to the year 2021 with an app or online material.
-Guitar cable is only good enough. It gets you started but upgrading gives you better tones.

The best beginner electric guitar pack.

4.3

How Yamaha Pacifica 012 sounds:

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Best Les Paul Pack – Epiphone Les Paul Electric Guitar Player Pack

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Our Overall Rating

Summary

You get all that you need.

  • The guitar is easy to play.
  • It looks gorgeous.
  • And all the other parts of the pack handle their jobs.

If thick and warm-sounding Les Paul is what you like, this is the pack for you.

Epiphone could level up the quality of the tuners and cable just a little bit and make the amp sound a little bit cleaner tho…

… then this could really compete against Yamaha and Squier packs.

Not So Mainstream – Rogue Rocketeer Electric Guitar Pack

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Our Overall Rating

Summary

Rogue Rocketeer is a good instrument.

You can be happy with the guitar and learn to play with it.

Amp is also good if you only play with clean and slightly distorted sounds.

But the amp is pretty much useless if you want to play metal.

If you want a guitar from a not-so-mainstream brand (plus need a tremolo arm) Rogue Rocketeer might be a good guitar pack for you.

Most Popular/Best Budget – Squier Bullet Stratocaster Beginner Pack

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Our Overall Rating

Summary

Offers great value and definitely gets you started.

Bullet Strat’s pickups are one of the most underrated in my opinion.

Fender Magics with a budget price.

Playability is really beginner-friendly and easy. I recently had a ton of fun playing the Bullet Strat.

Great budget pick!

Runner-Up – Squier Affinity Stratocaster Beginner Pack 

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Our Overall Rating

Summary

Great Strat tones and slim neck.

Especially if your hands are small, the neck of this guitar is a good fit.

The neck is one the narrowest out there (40.6 mm (1.6″) nut width).

Really good value for the money pack. And only minor flaws are present.

If you are a Stratocaster fan who wants the comfort of a slim neck and high-quality internet guitar lessons, this is a really good option for you.


This is always super-exiting. Picking up a new guitar. Maybe this is your first time, or you are trying to find the first guitar for your kid! 

In this post, we look closely at the 5 best beginner electric guitar packages. You will get useful info about the benefits of each model so you are ready to pick the right one for you!

Let’s first look at these fine starter packs, and at the end of the post, you can find the FAQ section that helps you to make the best choice possible.

Who crafted this post:

photo reveals owner of guitaristnextdoor.com

Author: Teemu Suomala

I first grabbed the guitar in 2009. I started this website in January 2020 because I couldn’t do window installation anymore due to my health problems. I also noticed that most guitar websites don’t do a really good job, so I decided to just go for it! I got lucky and managed to get awesome people to help me with my website. I also got lucky because I have you visiting my website right now. Thank you. I do all this for you guys. If you have any recommendations, tips, or feedback, just leave a comment, I would love to chat with you. I have been fortunate to produce content for several large guitar websites, such as Songsterr, Musicnotes, GuitarGuitar, and Ultimate Guitar. I spend my spare time exercising and hanging out with my wife and crazy dog(I guess that went the right way…).

Eery one of these beginner packs is here based on extensive research and my 13+ years of experience.


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Best Beginner Electric Guitar Packs

I searched and researched info about dozens of different products. I chose 5 different packs to compare. All of these are great guitar packs for beginners and were available in January 2022.

I have played every one of these except the Rogue Rocketeer, but included it after research to bring something different to the table. I have gone through all the tones these guitars(expect Rogue Rocketeer) has to offer and spend hours playing them. Have a look through all the pros and cons of each one to find the best option for you.

Best Overall – Yamaha GigMaker EG Electric Guitar Pack

You can read the full in-depth review here: Yamaha GigMaker Electric Guitar Pack Review

This pack includes:

  • Yamaha PAC012 Pacifica guitar(with whammy bar)
  • 2-channel Drive guitar amp
  • gig bag
  • Digital chromatic tuner
  • Cable
  • Instruction DVD
  • Strap
  • extra strings
  • Picks
Sound

With 2 single coils and a humbucker, this guitar can produce tons of different sounds. From spanky blues to fast hard rock. If you want to play really heavy stuff, this guitar slightly loses for the most double humbucker beginner guitars. But after that being said, this Pacifica can handle some metal too.

So this guitar is really versatile. And that’s one reason why it’s so good for beginners.

I tested this axe in July 2022, and I did not have any problems with the sound. As a beginner guitar, it passes with flying grades. Yamaha can surely make a good-sounding guitar. 

Single-coil spanky’ness is noticeable, I like it, but some people might not. If you grave thick and warm tones more, get a guitar with 2 humbuckers.

I didn’t notice any buzz in the sound. But some folks have, and the reason for that is probably the guitar cable that comes with the guitar(it’s only good enough).

If you want to hear the sound demo I recorded with this guitar, here you go(note that I’m not using the amp that comes with the pack, but you still get a good idea of how the guitar sounds): 

Ease of play

Out of the box action is pretty low. And that makes this guitar easy to get started with. 

Action is the height of the string from the fretboard. If the strings are really high, that makes the guitar hard to play, because you need more strength to press the strings.

The neck is really comfortable. Edges and frets are not too sharp and the neck is slim and smooth. Feels good (upper fret access is really solid too). Also, these Pacificas have really comfortable contours on the body. This makes operating with your pick hand really comfortable.

It is also not the heaviest beginner guitar. And because of these, I would recommend this for a kid who wants to start rocking too.

Quality

I found out that some people even buy used Yamaha PAC012 Pacifica guitars. These bad boys are that durable. 

I can’t find any major flaws in this guitar. But I can find one minor flaw:

Staying tune is only OK, but this is really common with beginner guitars and didn’t cause any real problems for me. And I’m glad that this Pacifica is really easy to tune.

Looks: Looks very similar to original Stratocaster. This has slightly bigger curves. Personally, I like the looks of the original Stratocaster more, but this looks cool too!

photo displays Yamaha Pacifica 012 hardware
Amp

The pack comes with Yamaha’s own 15-watt, 2-channel Drive guitar amp. Amp gets points from me. I’m so glad that Yamaha included a decent amp in this pack.

Amp performs well with both channels and gives you all that you need from a beginner guitar amp. Some say that the amp has a slight buzzing sound in it. But there is a high chance that the guitar cable is the reason for that.

You can plug headphones into this amp too. AMP also has AUX input, so you can easily jam with your favorite songs.

Accessories
  • Picks=decent.
  • The Gigbag could be a little more protective, but it’s not too bad either. 
  • The tuner handles the job. No major problems with it. If you need one, this pack saves you around 15$.
  • The strap. Again, great for starting out, of course, it’s not the most comfortable but it is not weak like in some packs.
  • Instructional DVD will get you started. It’s great for beginners. Extra string is a nice plus too.
  • The Guitar cable is pretty bad. It can cause some buzzing sounds. I recommend that you replace the cable soon as possible.  If you want the best possible cable for a reasonable price, I recommend (I have one) Ernie Ball Instrument Cable.

Summary

Pros

  • Really high value for the money
  • Guitar and amp delvier nice tones
  • Guitar feels comfortable and easy to play
  • Versatile tones because of HSS pickup configuration
  • Almost everything is good in this pack

Cons

  • The guitar cable is not very good.
  • Instructional DVD is a bit old-fashioned way of delivering educational material
  • Not the best option for really heavy stuff

The overall quality of this pack is high. In my opinion, it’s the best beginner electric guitar kit. The only really weak aspect of this pack is the guitar cable.

And maybe, if you want to play heavy stuff and love the warm and full sound, the Epiphone Les Paul pack with 2 humbuckers is the better option…

This guitar pack has been available for 10 years. The reason is this: they got it right the first time. And it has been a high-quality pack since. My favorite beginner electric guitar pack.

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Best Guitar for Distortion – Epiphone Les Paul Electric Guitar Player Pack Review


You can read the full in-depth review here: Epiphone Les Paul Electric Guitar Player Pack Review

This pack includes

  • Les Paul Special II guitar
  • 10-watt practice amp with overdrive
  • gig bag
  • guitar tuner
  • strap
  • cable
  • picks
  • Free eMedia guitar lessons online
Sound

Double humbuckers provide a full and warm sound. It’s great for rock and metal. But it handles blues and jazz sounds well too.

So, this is one of the best beginner guitars when it comes to offering thick distorted tones. But this is no one-trick pony, the guitar is really versatile, you can jam with it no matter what music you are into! You should note that the spanky tones that Stratocasters are known for are not present with this Les Paul(or with guitars equipped with humbuckers in general).

If you want to hear how it sounds, check this video out:

Ease of play

Les Paul’s scale length is slightly shorter than in many other beginner models.

Guitars scale length is the distance from the nut to the middle of the Fret 12, multiplied by 2.

Scale length affects the tension and the sound of the instrument. Les Paul Special II’s slightly shorter scale length makes strings a little bit more loose and easier to play. 

Les Paul Special II string action usually hits a sweet spot out of the box and adjusting it is easy. So, you don’t need too much extra effort to press strings. Of course, if you are just starting out you always need to build your finger strength.

The Neck of this guitar is a little bit chunkier than other guitars on this post. For riffs and chords, playing is pretty comfortable, but upper free access, especially below the fret 15, is a little bit limited.

Upper fret acces: means frets of the thicker (E-A-D) strings after the 13th fret.

Overall this guitar is beginner-friendly and comfortable/easy to play(but not the easiest).

Quality 

Epiphone is known for a good value/quality for the money guitars, and this is no exception. The finish is really solid. Everything works great. 

Tuners of Epiphone’s beginner guitars are the biggest con. I recently reviewed Epiphone Les Paul Special VE and the tuners of it are not very good. The Les Paul Special-II that comes with this pack has the same exact tuners.

So be ready for that. These tuners don’t ruin this guitar but are by far the biggest con of it.

But still, price and quality are in the right alignment for the buyer.

Looks

I’m a big fan of Les Paul’s look. It’s iconic. You are playing with an instrument that has a long history. Some absolute masters have been jamming with Les Paul’s.

Amp

This pack includes a 10W Epiphone amp with an overdrive switch.

The power of this amp is 10W. So don’t expect stadium-level sound quality. But after listening to many samples of this amp, I can say that it handles the job quite nicely.

Maybe the sound could be a little bit cleaner, sometimes different notes kind of get lost when playing. That’s a minor flaw. Amp also provides a nice distortion sound. So if you are into heavier stuff that’s a nice plus.

After all, it’s a practice amp, it doesn’t even try to promise anything else. And when you are just starting out that’s almost always all that you need.

You can plug your headphones into the amp (in case you don’t want to drive everyone around you crazy). The amplifier also has AUX input, in case you want to rock along to your favorite songs.

Accessories

A gig bag made for Les Paul is nice to have. It protects your guitar when you have to move it from place to place. The quality of this bag is solid for the price.

The cable is all that you need at the start. But there is a high chance that you are going to replace it later because it’s pretty cheap. Better cable can improve sound quality. 

Picks are really basic. As always in a starter back. My favorite picks are Dunlop Max Grip Jazz III, I’ve been only using these for over 5 years now. Consider trying those out at some point.

This pack includes a tuner too. It can handle the job, but it has limitations. For example: sometimes detecting notes is a little bit hard for it.

The strap is nice to have, especially if you are going to play when standing. But the fact is this: you are not going to get the best strap quality with starter packs. Personally, I think that this still does the job well.

Also, this pack includes Free Guitar Lessons. Those will get you started. Note that you get free lessons only for 30 days. After that, you must pay if you want more lessons from eMedia. 

The cost of online lessons is pretty low nowadays. After your free 30-days ball is in your corner, you can start paying to eMedia, you can choose to learn from other paid lesson providers or you can try to learn for free.

Summary

Pros

  • Easy to play guitar (string tension is pretty low because of shorter scale)
  • Good quality and finish in guitar
  • Guitar sounds great
  • The package really includes all that you need
  • Free lessons
  • Guitar is versatile
  • Handles distortion well

Cons

  • Tuner and cable are a kind of minimum quality that you can accept
  • The amplifier could sound a little bit cleaner
  • Guitar’s upper fret access is not so good
  • Some tuning stability issues

The value for the money of this package is really high. You get all that you need. The guitar is easy to play. It looks gorgeous. And all the other parts of the pack handle their jobs. Maybe Epiphone could level up the quality of the tuner, tuners, and cable just a little bit and also make the amp sound a little bit cleaner. Then this would be a real contender for Yamaha and Squier Affinity packs.

The best Les Paul starter pack in my opinion.

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Not So Mainstream – Rogue Rocketeer Electric Guitar Pack Review


Rogue Rocketeer is different than most guitar pack guitars… It has a unique look. It comes with a whammy bar. It is an absolute killer when it comes to staying in tune. But this pack has flaws too...

Pack includes

  • Rogue Rocketeer 100 guitar(with whammy bar)
  • G10 Amplifier
  • gig bag
  • picks
  • strap
  • cable

Notice that this pack doesn’t include a tuner.

Sound

Rogue Rocketeer includes 2 Single-coil and 1 humbucker pickup. This makes Rogue Rocketeer a pretty versatile instrument.

You have the possibility to get that spanky jazz and blues tones out of this, but you can also turn on the bridge humbucker and provide decent thick and warm tones.

If you are into metal and hard rock and want to play with heavy distortion, RR is not the best option for you. It is too muddy, especially when you are playing with the amp that this pack includes.

But if you want to play blues, jazz, and old-school rock, Rogue Rocketeer is a good choice.

My opinion is that this guitar sounds OK. Not great, not awful, but when I look at the price tag it all makes sense.

If you want to hear how it sounds, check this video out:

Ease of play

The neck is ultra-thin, so that is a plus, it makes playing easier especially if you have small hands. Also, many owners say that it feels quite nice to play.

But it has some issues too...

The frets stick out a little. As you go down to the fretboard, past to 12th fret, frets can also feel too sharp.

Yes, this can be fixed, but I think that this is annoying. You should not have to go and take a new guitar to the local music store to get it fixed just after you bought it. But of course, sharp frets don’t always bother this guitar, but they can be present.

You can also try to fix it by yourself with steel wool, sand paper or fret files. It’s no an impossible task, but please be careful!

It’s not the easiest to play, but it’s definitely too hard to play either. Will get a beginner started.

Check our favorite electric guitars for small hands here.

Quality

Overall quality is great. As I mentioned the one issue is the frets sticking out. I couldn’t find any other issues that are hurting the overall feel and quality of the guitar.

Almost everyone says that this guitar stays tune very well. That’s an awesome thing and a sign of good quality. Points to the Rogue Rocketeer for that!

Looks

It is different from the rest of the beginner guitars, that’s for sure. Some think that it’s a good thing and some don’t. I think that Rogue Rocketeer is solid. Not my favorite tho.

If I look at the neck from the backside, it looks a little bit cheap. But generally, I like the looks of this guitar and we have to remember that this is a cheap guitar.

Amp

This pack comes with Rogue G10 Solid State Amplifier. The power is 10W. So it’s a practice amp and it’s a solid amp for home use.

It is possible to plug headphones into this amp.

If you want to play with a clean sound, the amp handles the job very well. I liked the spanky, crispy, and clean tones that come out of it.

But if you want to play with heavy distortion….this amp kind of sucks. It’s way too muddy and noisy in a bad way. If you want to play decent distortion with Rogue Rocketeer, you will need another amp.

One other con is this: amp is pretty noisy when it’s on and nothing is played.

Accessories

Oh boy, oh boy…

The guitar is good. Amplifier is OK if you don’t play with distortion. But almost all the other stuff….not so good. But remember that the guitar is the main thing. Amp is the second. All the other stuff is very easy to replace.

But let’s go through ‘’the other stuff’’. We start with the best. 

Picks are solid and basic. You are going to be just fine with these picks. My opinion is that the color of these picks is ugly as me in the morning, but you can definitely play with these.

The guitar cable can handle the job. It looks a little bit cheap(and it is cheap), so you probably have to replace it at some point

When I went through customer reviews I find out that guitar strap holes are a little bit too small. So attaching the strap can be a little bit tricky. That is a minor flaw. The next one is not…

Many people report that the strap broke. And that is a major flaw. The whole guitar can break when it drops to the floor when playing. It can break your toes too. So consider buying a real guitar strap if you want to play in a standing position.

Summary

Pros

  • Unique look
  • Includes both Humbucker and Single coil pickups(versatile).
  • Nice spanky sound(if you like that)
  • Guitar offers decent tones
  • Playability is good if you make little adjustments
  • Amplifier can provide nice clean sound

Cons

  • Frets stick out
  • You may need to adjust the action of the strings(not always)
  • Amplifier’s distorted sounds are useless
  • Strap is useless
  • No tuner included

Rogue Rocketeer is a good instrument. You can be happy with the guitar and learn to play with it. The amp is also good if you only play with clean and slightly distorted tones. But the amp is pretty much useless if you want to play metal.

If you want a guitar from a not-so-mainstream brand (plus need a tremolo arm) Rogue Rocketeer-pack might be a good option for you.

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This is definitely one of the most popular starter packs out there. But is it worth your hard-earned money?

Pack includes:

  • Squier Stratocaster Electric Guitar(with whammy bar)
  • Frontman 10G amp
  • Gig bag
  • Free 3-month subscription to Fender Play®
  • Strap
  • Cable
  • Picks
Sound

This pack offers iconic Stratocaster tones for beginners. 3- Single-Coils provide bright and crispy tones, great for rock, funk, jazz, and bright-sounding blues.

  • Clean tones are surprisingly stable, clear, and detailed.
  • Crunchy and low distorted tones give you a nice attack, and some classic rock riffs sound good with this axe.

In my opinion, Squier Bullet Strats have one of the most underrated pickups out there!

But you should note that if you want to play metal and other really highly distorted stuff, this axe is not the best option. If this is the case, I would look for a guitar that has at least 1 humbucker pickup.

But this guitar can still handle some distortion, and some rock and old-school metal riffs sound good with this one.

From a beginner’s standpoint, this guitar sounds great and will get you started with nice Strat tones.

Hear how this one sounds:

Ease of play

C- neck shape is ideal for beginners, and for small hands. It’s really easy to wrap your fingers around it and correct thumb placement feels natural too.

The scale length is Strat standard 25.5”, and while this makes strings a little bit tenser than in Les-Paul and other Single-Cut guitars, the comfortable C-shaped neck makes up for that. Great for beginners when the setup is made right, and I loved the playability too.

If you want to do guitar setup for yourself, find our favorite guitar setup/tool kits here.

And the nut width is only 1.65″ (42mm), which makes this guitar easy to get started with. No need for the hands of a basketball player.

Quality
Squier Bullet Stratocaster displayed for readers
Photo of Squier Bullet Stratocaster I tested.

I recently bought Squier Bullet Strat HSS, and it had bad finish issues. Worn of nut and glue on the fretboard. I ended up sending it back.

Of course, not every Bullet Strat has these issues, I just received a lemon. Bad Luck. But now you are aware that this kind of stuff can happen. And here the free return policy of the music store is nice to have.

Tuning is not as stable as with Fender Affinity Start, but there are Bullet Strats with Affinity Strats tuners available. I managed to get one recently. So if possible, get a Bullet Strat with round tuners like this:

displays best tuners of squier bullet stratocaster

But Square-shaped tuners are not all-bad either.

My copy of Bullet Strat didn’t have any frett buzz, but it can happen. But it’s also easy to fix with minor saddle and/or truss rod adjustments.

Looks: This guitar looks great. You will get even better finish if you spend more, but for the price, looks are hard to beat.

photo displays Squier Bullet Stratocaster HSS hardware quality
Amp

The Fender Frontman 10W is one of the best cheap beginner amps in my opinion. It offers you stunning fender cleans for the price and crunch tones are nothing to feel ashamed about either.

I bought this amp recently and here is my full in-depth Squier Bullet Strat review.

The distorted tones are not that good tho. This is not a metal amp, but some hard rock will go just fine with this little amp.

When it comes to loudness, this amp is loud enough for beginners. You can definitely disturb your family to the brink of insanity when rocking with this pack, and performing in small places is possible too.

Accessories

This pack offers your stable value for money, and the accessories are not an exception.

  • Picks, solid
  • strap, solid
  • and even the guitar cable will serve you well
  • and the gig bag is protective enough (not very thick padding, but that’s the way it goes with beginner packs).

A free 3-month subscription to Fender Play is really nice. In my opinion, it’s the best learning tool that comes with starter packs. Note that after those 3 months you have to pay if you want to continue using Fender Play.

Summary

Pros

  • Nice original Stratocaster look and sound
  • Free 3-month subscription to Fender Play
  • Amp is solid
  • Overall, the pack offers high bang for your buck
  • Great for classic rock
  • Really nice tones (underrated pups)

Cons

  • Staying in tune is sometimes a problem
  • Noticeable finish issues happen every now and then
  • Amp doesn’t handle distortion well

This is my opinion the best budget electric guitar beginner pack. The price is definitely not bad, and the guitar sounds great. Amp handles clean and crunch tones well. This pack will definitely get you started.

But if you got more to spend, Yamaha and Squier Affinity Strat packs are more versatile and offer higher quality.

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Runner-Up – Squier Affinity Stratocaster Beginner Pack Review

You can read the full in-depth review here: Squier Affinity Stratocaster Beginner Pack Review

This guitar pack includes:

  • Squier Affinity Stratocaster Electric Guitar(with whammy bar)
  • Frontman 15G amp
  • Gig bag
  • Free 3-month subscription to Fender Play®
  • Strap
  • Cable
  • Picks
Sound

This Squier Affinity Stratocaster HSS comes with 2 single-coil and one humbucker pickup.

That means a nice spanky and funky tone, but you can add warmness to the tone with the humbucker. Great for funk, jazz, blues, and rock. But it can handle distortion and metal surprisingly well too. Really versatile guitar.

Overall, this guitar sounds really good. The best-sounding guitar in this post with the Yamaha Pacifica 012. A really good option for a beginner.

If you want to hear how it sounds, check this video: 

Ease of play

The neck is one the narrowest out there (40.6 mm (1.6″) nut width). It’s really thin and slim at the same time. For kids, teens, and small-handed players, this is one of the best beginner guitars out there. No huge hands needed.

The neck has the same old comfortable C-shape. Round and fits a hand of a human being like a glove.

Upper fret access is really good too.

With the Yamaha Pacifica 012, this Squier Affinity Strat offers the easiest starter pack playability.

Quality

My opinion is this: as a beginner guitar, the quality is solid. It sometimes has fret buzz and minor finish issues. But the Squier Affinity series is a clear improvement from the Bullet series when it comes to quality.

This guitar stays in tune well.

Looks

Iconic Fender look. What else can I say? I really like it. It’s always nice to play with Stratocaster. The main question is this: Do you like how Stratocasters look?

Amp

This pack comes with Fender Frontman 15G Combo Amp. It’s nice to have a 15watt amp instead of 10W, a little bit of extra power and loudness.

With this Frontman, you can drive your family and neighbors even crazier than with just 10 watts of power.

This 15-watt Frontman is a minor level-up when comparing it to the Fender Frontman 10G. But nothing groundbreaking. Slightly louder, slightly fuller tones. I like it.

Clean tones are clear and you can get some nice classic rock tones out of this too. But again, distorted tones are a bit limited. This 15-watt Frontman is a minor level-up when compared to 10 Frontman on this distortion department too. But this is still not a metal amp.

You can plug your headphones into this one too. Also, there is an AUX input, so you can jam with your favorite songs.

Accessories

Similar stuff as with Bullet Strat pack:

  • Picks, solid
  • strap, solid
  • The guitar cable is really solid too.
  • Again, the Strat-friendly gig bag is protective enough, but the padding is pretty thin.

The free 3-month subscription to Fender Play is really nice. In my opinion, it’s the best learning tool that comes with these starter packs. Note that after those 3 months you have to pay if you want to continue using Fender Play.

Summary

Pros

  • Nice original Stratocaster look and sound
  • Free 3-month subscription to Fender Play
  • Amp is solid
  • Nice sounding Strat
  • Versatile tones because of HSS pickups configuration
  • Overall, a really solid pack

Cons

  • Amp still doesn’t handle distortion very well
  • Fret buzz in some cases

Really good value for the money pack. Only minor flaws are present. 

If you

  • are a Stratocaster fan,
  • want a slim & narrow neck,
  • want easy playability
  • want versatile tones
  • need high-quality internet guitar lessons…

this is a really good option for you!

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Which pack is the best one and why?

In my opinion, the order is this:

1. Yamaha GigMaker EG Electric Guitar Pack

I really like the Yamaha Pacifica guitar. It’s really comfortable and easy to play and is pretty light too. That makes this pack the best option for kids too. The whole pack is really solid, great amp, a useful Instruction DVD, a working tuner, and a decent strap. The only real minus is the guitar cable. Great pack if you want to play jazz, blues, rock, and hard rock.

2. Squier Affinity Stratocaster Beginner Pack 

The guitar is a good all-a-rounder. Squier offers great value for money, the guitar is comfortable and the tones are great. And especially 3-months free Fender Play-lessons is a really nice bonus. This pack is great for jazz, blues, rock, and hard rock.

3. Epiphone Les Paul Electric Guitar Player Pack

Epiphone Les Paul is a really good guitar. Comfortable to play, but not the easiest because of limited upper fret access. The amp is just not as good as in Yamaha- and Squier packs. If you want to play metal, this guitar is the best choice from starter in my opinion.

4. Squier by Fender Stratocaster Beginner Pack

With this pack, you get bang for your buck. The guitar is easy to get started with, the amp provides nice tones, and the 3-months free Fender Play is a nice plus. If you are into funk, jazz, bright blues, or classic rock, this pack is a great choice.

5. Rogue Rocketeer Electric Guitar Pack

Rogue Rocketeer is a decent and different-looking guitar. You can definitely learn to play with it, but frets stick out a little bit too often.  Amp sounds good if you play with clean tones, but you can’t really play distortion with it. If you choose this pack, remember to replace the guitar strap if you need one. The original strap is so weak that it can break and cause a disaster.


Buyer’s Guide – FAQ

What Do Beginner Electric Guitar Packs Include? (Usually)

These packs usually include

-guitar
-amp
-cable
-picks
-guitar bag

In some cases, these packs also include extra strings, free lessons, and a tuner too.

Benefits of Beginner Electric Guitar Packages

When you get all these in the same package, one thing is sure….your wallet thanks you. And that’s one of the top benefits of guitar packages. You get more bang for your buck.

Also, you will save time. Because you get all at the same time from the same place. 

Nowadays, the quality of these packages is usually great.

For guitar brands, these starter packs are a way of introducing their products to you. So they make a real effort when crafting these models because they hope that you are going to buy a more expensive model from them in the future.

But it’s still true that you get what you pay for. But especially if you are just starting out, the guitar package is almost always a good option. These packs include all that you need.

When you should not buy a guitar package? If you are really serious, have a big budget, and want to pay for the best quality possible. In these cases, you can definitely go and buy a more expensive guitar and gear. You get what you pay for.

Also, if you want to perform, guitar-pack amps are not powerful enough for large spaces. But if you just want to practice and play at home, 10-15W amps are in most cases enough for you(power and loudness-wise). And you can even perform in small places with these started amps, especially with clean tones.

If you are still wondering: ”are guitar starter packs worth it?”, this guide answers to that question.

Before You Buy – Pay Attention to These When Picking Up a Guitar Pack

Remember the rule of thumb: buy the best guitar you can afford. 

When starting out, a guitar pack is in many cases the best you can afford.

Why?

Because you don’t know yet how it is going to go? Is it my thing? How much time I will have to spare for playing?

But when you develop more and more skills, there comes a time when you want to buy a better and more expensive guitar because you are 100% sure that THIS IS YOUR THING!

How loud you wanna play? Most packs include a 10-watt amp. Trust me, it’s all that you need to drive your family crazy. But if you are planning to perform and play in bigger spaces, the power of the 10W amp is limited. If that’s the case, look for amps with more power.

Do you want a whammy bar(also called tremolo arm)? The Whammy bar is attached to the electric guitar and it bends or loosens the strings. It’s not easy to install a whammy bar afterward. Watch this video to see a whammy bar in action:

Are you buying a guitar for a kid? Kids are small and their hands are small.

If you buy the biggest model in a market for them, playing could be hard because some parts of the fretboard will be hard to reach with their small hands.

Especially pay attention to the size of the guitar’s neck. I’m recommended good options for kids too, so I got your back. For example, the Yamaha Gigmaker pack includes a Yamaha Pacifica guitar that can work for kids too.

You can check this review-article about small sized beginner guitars: 4 Best 3/4 Electric Guitars in 2022 – Buyer’s Guide

What kind of music do you want to play? Do you want to play with heavy distortion(metal, hard rock), or do you want to play some spanky blues and jazz? Keep the music you love in your mind when picking the right guitar for you.

A guitar with double humbuckers is a great option for hard rock and metal. If you are into jazz, funk, or bright blues, a guitar with at least a couple of single coils is a safe pick.

Sometimes guitar packages won’t include a tuner. If you need a tuner and your package doesn’t include it, it’s smart to buy it at the same time. I recommend this one. You can also download the guitar tuner app to your phone from Google Play- or App Store. Apps can do the job but have some limitations. I recommend the ”Fender Tune”-app.

Do you need guitar lessons? Some of these packs include Instructional DVDs or online guitar lessons. Do you need those? For beginners, these are almost always a good option. 

Consider these things really carefully. Buying the right guitar pack for you has a huge impact on your guitar journey.


Conclusion on Best Beginner Electric Guitar Packs

I really hope that this post helped you to choose the right beginner guitar pack for you. These are, based my experience, the best beginner electric guitar packs/packages. I have to say that Rogue Rocketeer is my least favorite, but it’s not a no-no either.

If you have any questions about these or other beginner electric guitar packs, leave your question in the comment section! I’m here to help.

I wish you all the best and keep rocking!


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Teemu Suomala

I first grabbed the guitar in 2009. I started this website in January 2020 because I couldn’t do window installation anymore due to my health problems. I also noticed that most guitar websites don’t do a really good job, so I decided to just go for it! I got lucky and managed to get awesome people to help me with my website. I also got lucky because I have you visiting my website right now. Thank you. I do all this for you guys. If you have any recommendations, tips, or feedback, just leave a comment, I would love to chat with you. I have been fortunate to produce content for several large guitar websites, such as Songsterr, Musicnotes, GuitarGuitar, and Ultimate Guitar. I spend my spare time exercising and hanging out with my wife and crazy dog(I guess that went the right way…). Expertise: guitar learning techniques, electric guitars, and guitar amplifiers. You can connect with me on LinkedIn or just email me.

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