i don't play guitar but i tried it out - i bought guitar and amp. pretty crap. my problem is that, if you buy a keyboard you can play a song and it sounds acceptable. however i learned to play we will rock you and all i get is feedback, no sustain, too loud, not enough clarity - i tried some basics such as turning the gain down. i've a few questions:
is a guitar and an amp on it's own not possible to sound good? (even an expensive guitar and amp)
are effects pedals absolutely required
Sounds like you need to buy a half decent modeling amp and get a few lessons.
Apart from your beginner skill level you'll most probably find you have a crappy amp. If you love music and the idea of playing it, then don't give up without a few lessons, it's very rewarding and a never ending learning experience,
IMHO, a decent guitar and practice are a minimum. I have a US strat and never had guitar lessons (but they do shorten the learning curve and can be very rewarding!) Music theory and practice are a must. Of course a bad amp is not good but there are some good cheaper ones out there (or use headphones).
If you want to get different sounds (or Brian May-like sounds) a multi effects board is a good way to go. I have a Vox Tone lab but the the Boss GT8/10 can nail the Queen sound when set right.
For music theory - learn scales until they are 2nd nature, then chords. Add some advanced theory like pentatonic scales and then get create your own sound.
There is a lot of mystification about what constitutes a 'good guitar'. You don't need to spend $1000,- on a hand-made masterpiece, you don't need to buy a Gibson or a Fender.
What is important?
1) The neck. It has to be straight (obviously), the frets have to be in the right place (use a tuner - tune the guitar, and check if the notes are still in tune* on the fifth, ninth and twelfth frets. If so, you're ok. If not, don't buy the guitar) and the neck and fretboard have to be smooth.
2) The tuners. You want tuners that keep your guitar in tune for more than five minutes. Ask someone who knows their stuff to come along with you and check this out.
3) Electronics. This is highly overrated - if there isn't a lot of hiss and the sound isn't too muddy (use headphones, because cheap amps suck), you're fine. Don't expect a wonderful sound, because that's 45% technique and 45% amp.
4) THE AMPLIFIER. This is *the most important part of your rig*. You don't want a crappy 10 watt amp with a 5" speaker, but you don't want a 1000 watt quad-12" combo either. Amps usually need to be between 3 and 7 on the volume gauge to sound good. Pick an amp that sounds good at a decent volume. Again, this is a point where you might like to have someone who knows their stuff with you. Don't automatically trust the salesman, because they will usually try to sell you the amp they earn most on. Be ready to spend more on your amp than on your guitar. It'll be worth it. If you're going to be using it mainly in your house, I recommend something with a 10" speaker.
5) Effects. Don't bother when you're just beginning. You really don't have any need for them yet. If you must, get a reasonably cheap multi-effect like the Digitech RP series.
@Holly2003:
That's just not true. Acoustic and electric guitars are just different, nothing more and nothing less. The difference between an acoustic and an electric is as big as the difference between a steel string and a nylon string acoustic.
* if they're something less than 10 cents flat or sharp, that counts as in tune in my books.
She's talking about using effects, what type of amplifiers to use etc. In my view a beginner would be better getting a half decent acoustic and learning that way.
As Thomas said, the choice between acoustic and electric guitars depends entirely on what you're planning to do with them. Neither is easier or more difficult to learn than the other. If your main interest is Queen, you're probably better off with an electric.
Unfortunately it is true that the cheap amps dont sound that great. a transistor amp and a cheap guitar will not sound great, however after careful experiment you sound be able to get something decent out of it.
IMO the amp is the more important element here, a cheap guitar will sound reasonable on a good amp but a custom shop guitar will still sound crap on a cheap amp.
first on all try to get a good clean sound out of the amp, make sure the guitar is in tune and without any effects ie reverb try to get as pure and clean and natural sound from the guitar. once you are happy with that slowly add distortion.
Your amp will either have a second channel for distortion or you will have to turn up the gain slowly, often a little is better than a lot, if you add a small amount you will be able to play the guitar and hear the chords clearly with the ring of the strings, the more you add the less tuneful it will become.
Buying a cheap effect pedal will add a cheap sound to the guitar
buy good quality second hand effects on ebay when you can afford to they will be better value. Boss pedals last forever and are the industry standard.
But remember it's all about the clean sound, the better you get that the better the distorted sound will be
It all depends on what you're after. If you're going to play a solo over a backing guitar, you will need to set your clean sound extremely thin for it to sound good as a whole. If you're going to play a fingerstyle part all by yourself, you might want to saturate the mids a little more, but cut the lows and moderate the highs, so the distortion doesn't take over. There just isn't one correct way of going about things.