What are your thoughts on Monoprice DLX Plus guitars versus guitars such as Squier Affinity/Classic Vibe, Epiphone Special, Yamaha Pacifica, Harley Benton, and etc?
Yamaha is in a different class. Their stuff punches above their price point. Squier Affinity/CVs are good guitars. I’d never buy a Harley Benton, due to the fact you can’t play them first, and you pay more in shipping than the guitar costs. I would never buy a Monoprice guitar, solely based on the fact that you have to live with yourself and the fact that you made that choice.
Out of those options, Yamaha is the far and away winner in my book.
I don’t actually own a Yamaha guitar currently, but I’ve played a Pacifica 112 and 612 and they were basically the same guitar. The 612 was just a whole lot prettier and had gold coloured hardware (gross)
If I were in the market for a cheap Strat copy, I’d probably get a 112. I think they have an even cheaper one now but I don’t know anything about it.
Yamaha really is all that. I had a cheap Yamaha bass and an expensive Warwick bass and when I was recording, guess which one the recording engineer preferred. That may be more of a comment on recording a Warwick than anything, but still. The Yamaha sounded great on those songs (too bad it wasn’t a better band lol.)
I would agree on Yamaha, just make sure you play it 1st and get a good setup or learn to do it on your own. I don’t own one but have handled a couple, I’d say they come in a bit nicer than the Ibanez Gio stuff and just under their lower main line of instruments. Depending on what price point the Epiphones are you can also get a great guitar cheap - their set neck models, pound for pound, are better built than their Gibson counterparts, mainly because Gibson still cuts the headstock along with the neck, creating a weak spot. Epiphones are done with a scarf joint which is much stronger if it happens to take a spill.
If you care about playability but not especially about sound (can always pickup swap later), Ibanez is the best starter guitar. If you care about the whole package, Harley Benton or Yamaha are great deals.
