Anyone have first hand experience of the following cheap brands?

Littlejonny

I am charged with getting some electric guitars for the school I work in. I’m trying to keep them in the £150-199 range.

has anybody here got first hand experience of:

Squier Sonic Series
Eastcoast
Harley Benton
Encore Blaster Series
Jet Guitars
ibanez Gio

I want something with a great neck and a balanced body.

Im seriously considering Squier Sonic Duo Sonic for the smaller size. I just find something weird about the necks on Squier Affinity and I’m guessing that’ll be the same deal on the Sonics.

thanks

Nikc

Aria pro 2 or something from Cort 

ICBM

If it’s for a school, things like neck profiles don’t matter.

What matters above all else is robustness. Don’t get anything with an angled or scarf jointed headstock. Also avoid anything with a plastic jack plate if possible.

Guess what gets broken most on school guitars .

It’s very hard to go wrong with some sort of Strat or Tele - Strats are marginally better with the recessed metal jack plate, although the trem can need a bit more work to set up so it stays in tune well (I would set them down flat to the body). A HSS Strat will give access to the most useful range of sounds.

The Duo Sonic would be a good choice for younger kids.

If the jacks do get broken or come loose, replace them with USA Switchcrafts, superglue the nut and do it up with a socket and ratchet handle… it will never break again. Cheap jacks may seem like a big cost saving but they’re a false economy.

Once set up correctly, threadlock/superglue all the bridge saddle height and intonation screws too, that will stop them working loose and messing up the setup or falling out completely and getting lost.

Also, if they’re going to be played on a strap, get a packet of woodscrews which are the largest that will fit through the buttons and about 30-40mm long - the usually supplied 20-25mm ones are too small and will easily work loose and pull out of the wood.

LionAquaLooper

I have Harley Benton guitars and they're great value for money. But in your situation I'd buy the Squier Sonic.

Lawriejones1

The GIO guitars are exceptionally well made.

Greatape

I liked the Jet stuff I tried. But am guessing that for school, you might want short scale? 

ICBM

Greatape said:

But am guessing that for school, you might want short scale? 

Primary school yes, secondary school usually no - although a short-scale bass option is useful, and the Squier Bronco is hard to beat for that.

OilCityPickups

Lawriejones1 said:

The GIO guitars are exceptionally well made.

I gave a GIO 7 string ... and they are very solid and robustly made. 

monquixote

Sonic Mustangs are great

Littlejonny

ICBM said:

If it’s for a school, things like neck profiles don’t matter.

What matters above all else is robustness. Don’t get anything with an angled or scarf jointed headstock. Also avoid anything with a plastic jack plate if possible.

Guess what gets broken most on school guitars .

It’s very hard to go wrong with some sort of Strat or Tele - Strats are marginally better with the recessed metal jack plate, although the trem can need a bit more work to set up so it stays in tune well (I would set them down flat to the body). A HSS Strat will give access to the most useful range of sounds.

The Duo Sonic would be a good choice for younger kids.

If the jacks do get broken or come loose, replace them with USA Switchcrafts, superglue the nut and do it up with a socket and ratchet handle… it will never break again. Cheap jacks may seem like a big cost saving but they’re a false economy.

Once set up correctly, threadlock/superglue all the bridge saddle height and intonation screws too, that will stop them working loose and messing up the setup or falling out completely and getting lost.

Also, if they’re going to be played on a strap, get a packet of woodscrews which are the largest that will fit through the buttons and about 30-40mm long - the usually supplied 20-25mm ones are too small and will easily work loose and pull out of the wood.

Great advice, thanks ICBM

Littlejonny

I actually played on an Ibanez Guitar yesterday and was impressed with the feel and sounds. Reminded me of a Pacifica but with a more comfortable neck (I hate Pacifica necks).

Funkfingers

Littlejonny said:

I’m trying to keep them in the £150-199 range. 

Before or after the educational discount? (There is extra paperwork involved to sort the V.A.T.)

IMO, it would be worth seeking dealers with "run-out" stocks of the Squier Affinity Telecaster HH. (DV247 claims to have these for under £200.) Robust, simple guitars that do most things. With a five-way Superswitch, they become capable of even more.


EDIT
Some LEAs choose to keep equipment purchases from suppliers within their geographical boundaries. Hence, your options may be severely limited. 

Littlejonny

Thanks - no worries with LEA it’s an independent school and I have the budget. I’m only going to buy 2 new ones as we have some others that I can fix up. 

I went into PMT today and very briefly laid my hands on a Squier Sonic Series Duo Sonic and an (PMT own brand) Antiquity Mustang. I can confirm the Sonic series have different neck shape to Affinity, being perhaps a little chunkier and also more modern feeling (I find the Affinitys very skinny and with narrow spacing.) They feel really quite nice actually. The Antiquity was very similar - slightly better set up. But is also 50 quid more than the Squier. Both had scratchy frets so I’ll get some of those ‘fret rubbers’ in the budget.

I also really like the Fender Mustang LT25 amps so I think a couple of those would help us. we have 2 x Marshall MG30s that are stuck on the chorus effect, so I will get rid of those.

Sarge

My Jet Js400 I really cannot fault, very well cut neck pocket means there's no slop at all with the neck, the body has had a couple big hits so far. and not even a dent or scratch so that finish seems pretty durable.
The neck is the main seller here, absolutely lovely fretwork and it's a semi chunky feeling modern C, so pretty comfortable.
The 2.point trem seems stable too. 
I've read a lot of praise for the sss Js300 strat version too.
Exceptional guitar for the money. 

ToneControl

I own lots of high end gear, bought some HBs for fun:

The Harley Bentons are good but QC is weaker than PRS SE by a long way, you would have to send some back for replacement.
Most need fret polishing (15 mins tops), all need a setup.
Most other cheap guitars need a setup, and fret polishing is nice to have, but the decent-enough HB strats cost £155 incl VAT.

Whatever guitar you get, I'd set the trem to rest on the body to reduce tuning issues

Not sure what your situation is.
If they are not all needed at the same time, and cost is a factor, and you can set them up, I'd go for these.

If you need them someone to set them up, you could get some deal?

also bundles with cases etc. are cheap at Thomann.

also
For resellers, music schools etc., we’ll be more than happy to check if we can make a special deal for larger quantities and bulk orders, so feel free to contact us for an offer.

guitarjack66

I own Jet guitars and they are ok for us enthusiasts but do have some parts, such as the jack plates and strap buttons,which tend to need replacing pretty quickly. 

paulnb57

I just took a punt on an East Coast L1 (Les Paul) Goldtop
Obvs not suitable for school kids however if it is representative of the rest of the range it is outstanding

Fit and finish, excellent, no sharp fret ends, no fret level needed, action and nut action needed no adjustment, even the strings are good, punches far above its price tag…just needed tuning and played well out of the box

Far and away the best presented guitar I have ever unboxed, and Ive had loads budget and premium

Littlejonny

Thanks everyone. Cheap guitars are fun aren’t they? Some of them do have me very tempted!

im going to buy two Squier Sonic Mustangs, one in red, one in sunburst, both the single coil option. It’s obvs important to keep kids in mind so the short scale is important. I find cheap single coils easier to work with than cheap humbuckers (especially when wired to a tone control) and let’s face it…those Mustangs are cute as.