I’m on week 2 of grade 1 and I’m struggling with my ancient acoustic (which has been in a cupboard since 1992). I just cannot hold the strings down. I like the idea of an electric guitar, and Justin says they are easier to play. He recommends East Coast guitars as a good cheap starter. My question is has anyone got an East Coast beginners guitar, and how do you find it?
I like the look of this one .
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Hi Beth welcome to Community! I was actually tempted as yourself to buy an Eastcoast when I was starting over 2 years ago and if you check my profile and any of the videos I have published over here on the Community you will notice I use a strat type Eastcoast.
Now as for recommendation I would look at different ones to be fair. One of the pickups quite quickly started to show up some copper wires and eventually I will have to replace it, one of the saddles popped out when I replaced a string and needed to replace the whole bridge (fortunately warranty covered it however because of Covid I couldn’t drop it off at local PMT and needed to do it myself which was fine in the end).
Tone knobs barely make a difference and on mine at least I can’t get action low enough, I would have to possibly redo the frets as truss rod is well balanced and I can get saddles any lower without buzzing around 7th fret.
Don’t get me wrong it’s a playable guitar and I have it for 2+ years now but I don’t plan to hold it for life, once I save some money I will spend it on something better.
I will leave others to recommend you some better options but my answer is you can do better on the market.
Hi Beth, what would you say that your maximum budget is for a guitar? There are lots of really good guitars out there for less than £200. The other thing is do you intend to buy online or go to a shop? It’s good if you can go to a shop and try a few options and let the guitar choose you - if you really like it you will know!
Hi Darrell, thanks for replying. I could spend about £150. At the moment I think I would have no clue what I like as I can’t play at all, so I was planning on buying online. I am looking for something that would see me through a year, and then I would know if I am going to keep going and justify spending a bit more money on something better. I don’t want to buy secondhand as I would have no idea if there was something wrong with it. I was hoping that the acoustic guitar would be good enough for a few months and I’d be in a better position to decide what I wanted, but I just can’t play it at all. And now I’ve got the idea of an electric guitar in my head and I really want to do that.
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Hi Adrian,
Thanks for your reply. Is it the black guitar that’s the EastCoast one? You have partly confirmed what I thought, that the quality is not that great. However, if you are still playing it after 2 years, that would be good enough for me.
I watched your videos on youtube, hard to believe you have been playing for such a short time. When are you playing live somewhere?
That’s fine, setting up the limits is the best way to decide how to go. I shall take a look and see what is available. You may get a really nice guitar from Thomann from the Harley Benton range, they’re mostly very good value because they are made by their supplier specifically for them, so there’s no middle man. Also you get a very good warranty and returns service. Andertons are pretty good as well so I’ll take a look what they have as well. I will come back to you later.
No the black one is fender and I actually bought it second hand for a 100 so was true bargain. The red electric is Eastcoast, last recording I did I believe was with my Eastcoast.
Haha thanks Beth you made my day, I play live in front of my own eyes every day in my spare room 
no audience except my wife at least yet
Wish you all the best with looking for your first electric, as Darrell suggested go over to the shop and try some yourself. I missed out on this one due to early pandemic and everything being closed.
Hi Darrell, That’s really kind of you. I have been looking at Andertons and watching their videos. They do quite a hard sell on their EastCoast line. And I do like the look of that white one. But the more videos I watch the more confused I get.
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Hi @bethruk if you are in the UK. It might be worth checking out the range available at Peach Guitars. They inspect and give each guitar a set up before dispatching.
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Thank you @Socio . I am in the UK. I’ve added the shop to my list of places to look at. I know Colchester quite well, although I haven’t visited for about 3 years now. I don’t remember seeing this shop, but I guess I wasn’t looking for guitars then.
@bethruk no worries, It’s certainly worth a visit. The store is like a saloon, it has an authentic western vibe and has a stage and bar. I just bought an guitar online from them the other week and the setup they gave it feels good.
On a side note you mention in your post that you were struggling to hold the strings down on your old acoustic. It was the same with me with my old acoustic I bought in the 90s. I found the action was far too high. I bought another acoustic before starting Justin’s course from a big box store and immediately found a big difference. So don’t let that old acoustic put you off from playing an acoustic again later in your guitar journey.
@bethruk I have heard good reviews about Artist Guitars and their prices are pretty reasonable.
They have a 100 day return policy/100% money back guarantee, if you don`t like/get on with the guitar just contact them and they will arrange collection.
There`s too much choice really with guitars in general, only my view.
I bought the black L1 EastCoast electric guitar that came packaged with a 30w amp and some other bits. It arrived yesterday, actually. It’s my first electric as well after spending a couple of years learning on acoustic.
So, I’m obviously no expert, but overall I’m really pleased with it so far. All I would say is I have to use a strap with it, otherwise I find it sits too low for me, although that’s probably something I’m doing wrong.
Going from acoustic to electric is taking some getting used to, but I have trying to learn ‘Whole Lotta love’ to help.
You are right and the problem is that the action is too high. I think in one of the lessons Justin says how high is the maximum it should be and I could see that it is higher than that. Thanks for the encouragement.
Hello @bethruk and welcome to the community.
Your budget of £150 can get you something to git your reuirements - and certainly decent if you widen out and consider 2nd hand.
You will also want amp / cables etc.
Where are you - I will do some searching to help and give you some local options.
@Dsmith thanks for your reply. Can you hear it ok without the amp? I just want something to practice quietly to myself at the moment, so it doesn’t matter if other people can’t hear it.
I think the smallness would be OK for me as I am only 5 ft tall
Is it easier to hold the strings down? What made you decide to try the electric guitar after spending a couple of years on an acoustic?
Hi Richard, @Richard_close2u
I live in Windsor. I was going on Justin’s advice that as beginner I don’t particularly need an amp at the moment. Would you agree with that? I’d be looking at getting an amp in a month or 2 if I think I could use one, or could I play with headphones? I’m not keen on 2nd hand because I would have no clue if there was anything wrong with it. I’m looking for something that would last me about a year, and then if I stick with it I would be prepared to spend a bit more money.
I am left handed but so far have been playing right handed, and it seems fine but don’t know if that makes any difference.
@bethruk I came across the following which may be a short term solution if you could stretch your budget. You would still need to allow for a cable but I’m sure you could find one for less than a tenner. It may not be the best but better than nothing is my thoughts.
Yeah you can hear it pretty well without the amp. I’m probably going to have to get some headphones for it, before I upset my neighbours 
.
A bit like you I just got it in my head that I wanted to try one out. Plus there were some songs i wanted to try, some rock riffs that just sound better on an electric. I still love my acoustic though.